Adhura Alviida

got me lookin' so crazy

Zoya ran to the door and began banging, hoping that maybe someone would hear her. She twisted the lock back and forth as if her life depended on it. Aditya saw her struggling and held her delicate wrists away from the lock.

"Maya, this isn't going to help. Ek kaam karte hai, call Noor from your phone. Arjun or her will come get us out of here." He reasoned with her. Aditya knew if Sahir were to see them in this condition, he would probably think the worst of her. And he truly did not want to be the cause of another issue.

Zoya looked up at Adi "umm...actually...can you call...my battery is dead." She mumbled.

"Maya, I left my phone in the car!"

Zoya looked at him as if he just committed a crime. No, no no....this couldn't be happening to her right now. She needed to get home or else Sahir would be shutting down the whole city in a few minutes. And she's stuck that too with her estranged husband in a bridal shop locked from the outside? Ya allah! It was like fate really wasn't on her side today.

Her nervousness wasn't unnoticed by Aditya.

"Relax!" He said putting his palms out in a motion intended to calm her down but instead only riled her up.

"AIMAK HAI KYA AAP? We're stuck inside of this shop for Allah knows how long and my fiancée is expecting me at home soon and you're telling me to relax?" She screamed.

Aditya looked at her in surprise. No one in his life had ever called him aimak except for her. If he was honest, that night he had to google the meaning of her urdu taunts. Aditya looked at Maya in shock, it was like minute by minute she did something reminding him of Zoya.

"I was just saying, there must be a phone somewhere in this store, Maya!" He justified as he moved around cautiously in the dark, trying to locate a phone.

"And besides, you know urdu?" He asked suspiciously.

Zoya gasped. Luckily her back was to his face and he was unable to see her. How could she be so careless and let the words slip out of her mind? It was like she really had no control over herself when she was around him.

"erm...I'm from uh...Lucknow...so yeah." She lied.

"Oh!" He sounded unconvinced.

"Isn't Mehrotra a Punjabi surname though?" He questioned.

"Haan toh? Isn't Hooda a Rajasthani name, yet you're from Mumbai so why can't I be from Lucknow?" She retaliated.

"Um, Maya. How did you know I'm from Mumbai?" He asked.

She bit her tongue as she realized she had slipped up again! How aimak could she really be?

"Noor told me!' She lied...again.

"Did you find anything?" She asked, needing to change the topic immediately.

"No. I don't what kind of freakin' boutique doesn't own a damn telephone. You'd think for the amount that they charge they would at least have a source of communication." Aditya replied in annoyance.

"I think.... we're stuck here. I'm sorry, Maya" He said dejectedly.

Zoya closed her eyes and groaned audibly. She didn't see the point in hiding her frustration. She mentally chanted to herself, that this would all be over in a few days. Just a few days...

**

It had been eight whole hours since they sat in the store. Zoya rested down on the couch and Aditya on another. He had heard her shivering nervously for the past 15 minutes but didn't want to make her feel awkward by approaching her. As he heard her trying to hold in her sobs, he couldn't help but turn around and reach out to her.