One Day At A Time

Chapter Twenty One - An Incomplete Story

A cold sweat broke out on her forehead as Khushi watched Arnav walk towards the bike. A voice in her head was begging her to turn around and sprint down the street to vanish into the crowds and never return. She hadn't anticipated a situation where she would have to come clean about what had transpired between her and Kabir this early. Her face paled, wondering how Arnav would react to it, and her knuckles turned white as she held on to her handbag tightly with her fingers.

Arnav reached the bike before her and hopped on it, waiting for her to join him. "The earlier we tell him—" He began, but his brows closed in a slight frown when he looked at her. "Khush? Are you okay?"

"Yes!" She said a bit too loudly and quickly, startling him.

He regarded her for a moment, a golden glint sparkling in the depth of his light brown eyes. "What's wrong?"

She turned sideways to face him while his eyes remained firmly fixed on her. "Arnav, can-can we pick up the guitar later? We-we need to talk. Now." She looked into his brown eyes which were staring at her, concealing the expression in them. "Can we go to Canal Road for some time?"

Arnav was beginning to get worried looking at her blanched face and nodded immediately. She sat astride the bike, and they rode in complete silence through the noisy traffic, each of them unable to find words to initiate any conversation. It was a long torturous ride for them as they weathered a storm of thoughts which blew endlessly in the two minds until they reached the Canal Road.

Arnav sat on their regular bench waiting for her to join him, but she stood next to his bike which was parked a few feet away from him and kept staring at the carpet of crunchy leaves scattered under her feet.

"Arnav..." Khushi began in a barely audible voice and saw him regarding her in a way that sent her heart hammering inside her chest, releasing a flood of panic which rushed through her veins, flipping her insides in a way that affected her regular breathing. "Ar-Arnav—"

He saw the colour drain from her face, and he sprung from his seat in a flash and rushed to hold her. "Khush, are you okay?" He grabbed her hands in his and rubbed her palms, trying to warm them up. "God, you are trembling, and your hands are cold! Come sit next to me right now." He ordered, and she obeyed without a protest.

"What is all this?" He asked her, worry written all over his face." Fuck, did Kabir get you into some kind of trouble?"

"No." She held her breath as she felt a thousand needles prick her skin all over her body.

"Khush," He held her hand in his as he spoke "I am repeating what I have said long ago on this very bench we are sitting on right now. Be it anything under the sun, you can tell me. I am here for you. But I want you to relax. You are scaring me right now!"

She sat facing him and drew in a long breath. Her fingers rolled into tight fists, as she tried to roll out the ominous words from her mouth with great difficulty, the words she had intended to keep inside her heart for the rest of her life. Her eyes lowered to the white expanse of his shirt, and she spoke in a voice which emerged from her throat as a whisper. "I --I think Kabir had a crush on me."

She held her breath and waited for an explosion to happen around her after uttering the words destined to tilt his world on its axis, toppling him over into a vast sea of despair. She felt him stiffen immediately, and after a few breaths, he let go of her hand. Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach as the fear of losing him became real in her life, paralysing her senses completely. She realised in those few anxious moments, how much this man really meant to her and how meaningless her life would be without him.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and his hands clenched into tight fists. His face darkened immediately while his intense eyes scanned her face. "Did he say that to you?"