Zaroorat

Chapter 19

When Aditya finally finished telling his story, Zoya let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding.

Aditya stepped forward and closed the gap between them to wipe the tears steaming down her face. It was almost like he was wiping her pain away and she was finally letting him.

When he was done he stepped back.

'Do you believe me Zoya? When I walked back with Kirti it was after we had spoken and cleared up our misunderstandings. She doesn't love me and I do not love her. I love you Zoya and I don't need to do anything to prove it. What you do with that information is up to you.

For a few seconds Zoya just stood in her spot. Stunned into silence imagining what would have happened if she hadn't spoken to him allowing him to clear the misunderstanding. Imagining what would have happened if Aditya had actually loved Kirti and Zoya had lost him. She didn't like what she imagined and how she felt.

Before she could say anything though, the lift started moving downwards rapidly and pushed both Aditya and Zoya towards opposite ends of the lift.

'Aditya!'

'Zoya!'

They both threw themselves forward towards the middle of the lift so their bodies collided in an clumsy embrace.

Aditya our both his hands in her cheeks to comfort her.

'Zoya it's ok, nothing will happen, we'll get out of here I promise.'

She put her arms around his waist and shook her head violently.

'I believe you Aditya.'

They both looked towards the door and the buttons and started pressing them to get the lift to stop descending at the speed it was going.

Aditya banged the buttons in frustration and was rewarded when the lift jerked to a halt.

He moved towards the door and tried to pry  the doors open with both his hands.

'Aditya! What are you doing?' Zoya asked bewildered.

'Zoya it's far too dangerous to be stuck in this lift. If it starts descending again the way it just did we could get hurt. We have to get out of here as fast as we can.'

He continued to push and pry and was quickly rewarded for his efforts when the doors fell open. To his dismay they hadn't stopped at a floor but rather between two floors. He could see a small gap near their feet so that wasn't an option however the space above his head was slightly larger. There was really only one way out. He turned around quickly to explain.

'Zoya, listen to me. I'm going to lift you up. You need to use all your strength and squeeze through that space above my head and then I'll follow you. Come here, let me lift you.'

Aditya went to take Zoya's hand but she put her hands on his lapels pulling him to her.

'Aditya no, I'm not going to leave without you.'

Aditya put his hands on her cheeks to calm her down.

'Listen to me Zoya. You're not leaving me alone, but we can't get out of here at the same time. There isn't enough space. I promise I'll be right behind you. Ok I promise.'

Zoya's body was wracked with shivers as she pulled him closer, panic clearly written across her face.

'No! No Aditya you can't do that! Why don't you go out first and then pull me out.'

'I'm not going to do that Zoya. You need to be boosted up from here to reach outside. If I get out first and you can't reach me, I won't be able to get you out. I have to boost you up first so you can get out and I will follow behind you. Don't worry about me Zoya. I will be fine.'