The girl next door - Ch 103 - pg 108; note pg 109 - Page 3

The club was not too far from the apartment but the area was not screened by BU security so she had to be careful walking back home alone at that time of the night. It was past midnight and there was not a single soul on the streets. She decided to take another route which she thought was safer since the security would be only a block away from there. She was halfway into the street when she spotted a man who was smoking ganja, it looked like. At the very same instant she spotted him, he looked up at her. Not able to hide her terror, she stood there frozen for a few moments. When he made to get up, she walked over to the other side of the street and continued to walk masking her emotions. She picked up speed when she saw his shadow on her side of the street and he did as well. She suddenly started running and he followed put but before she could reach the end of the street, he pulled her behind a car that was parked there and covered her face with his hand.

She didn't have it in her to scream or run. She was just too terrified to make any move. But when he pulled her hair, she mustered all the courage to push him. Was it her luck or was it destiny, they heard a police siren just when he was about to crush into her neck. Hearing the siren, the man got scared and quickly released her but in doing so, his wrist band cut into her skin around the side slope of her neck and scratched down to her shoulder until the strap of her dress tore. He ran away while she stayed there in position.. dumbfounded.

Out of nowhere Rohan came running to her calling out her name which brought her out of her stupor and she turned to see him. Tears started flowing down her cheeks and she just raised her finger to point in the direction in which the man had run.

"What happened? Are you alright?" he was panicked too which reflected clearly in his voice. She tried to speak but her voice had given up on her. She kept opening her mouth to speak but no words would come out and she kept pointing in the direction the man had run. He noticed her bleeding shoulder and her torn dress. He couldn't hold back his concern and pulled her into a hug. Just when he did that, she hugged him back and broke into a sob. She was crying hard and loud when Simran caught up with them.

"Oh my goodness Kits, are you okay?" she sounded panicked and concerned too. She merely looked at her and closed her eyes to cry louder still hugging Rohan and tugging on his shirt crumpling it in the back. Words had abandoned her for she kept pointing in the direction but couldn't say anything.

They called a cab to take her back to the apartment rather than making her walk. The apartment wasn't far but they wanted to make her comfortable and that's why they didn't even call security that time. She clearly didn't have it in her to speak about her horrifying experience and answer all the questions she would have been posed. Once they got to the apartment building, Rohan and Simran came out but Keerti was still sitting inside with her eyes fixed at a distance, no seemingly looking at anything in particular. Simran gestured to Rohan and he carried her to the apartment. Her hands had locked around his neck and when he laid her down on her bed, she didn't let go. He sat down on the floor near her bed and slowly removed her hand from around his neck. Just as he was about to let go to put the comforter on her, she held them again. He whispered to Simran to cover her and asked her to switch off the light on her way out. He would come out when she would fall asleep. This was the first time she made him feel needed and there was no way he was going to let her suffer alone in the darkness of the dreadful night...specially when he solely and fully blamed himself for what she had to go through.

There was heavy traffic on the bridge. The entire bridge was lined with cars, bumper to bumper. And to top it off, it was pouring. It seemed that the clouds had one mission in hand - to flood the city. And sure enough the river beneath the bridge started rising quickly. It was all too sudden that the water nearly reached the bottom of the bridge and everyone started panicking. And he got out of the car too. She didn't know he was there too. What was he doing there? Her heart began to sink as she saw the rising level of the water. People had started to run towards both ends of the bridges but he was still quite far. And then something happened that she had never imagined - both ends of the bridge collapsed. With limited support, the two ends started to collapse further towards the middle and now only the middle was left where he was standing. Just as the middle was about to drown in water too...she jerked in bed startling him too.

She was still holding his hand when she opened her eyes and saw him in front of her. She was petrified by this nightmare and seeing him in front of her, she didn't know what to do. Without notice, she pulled him closer to hug him around his neck and began sobbing again. She is probably too affected by the episode tonight and that's why she is having nightmares, he thought. Little did he know what she had dreamed about and what it meant to her. He tried to shush her by caressing her back but she didn't stop.

Simran came into the room almost immediately and tried to pacify her. She had come in every now and then to check on her even while she had fallen asleep. She held onto Rohan's hand so tight that even in her sleep she didn't let go of it. Simran had to get him water and refreshments all through the night. It was almost 4 am and both Simran and Rohan had been up watching her.

She slowly let go of him then and just for a brief moment looked into his eyes which reflected sheer helplessness. He didn't know what to do or how to make her feel better. She sat up on the bed resting her head on Simran's shoulder. "I'll be back" he said as he made to get up. It ached him to slowly release his hand from hers since she was still refusing to let go but he had to use the restroom.

He came back in with a glass of water for her. "We should probably clean up her wound. Can you get the first aid box Simi?" he asked as he kneeled on the floor to hand over the water to Keerti. Simran came back with the box and handed it to him. He looked at her questioningly and she replied "Mujhse nahi hoga. I cannot handle such sights. You do it."

As he started to dipped the cotton roll in alcohol, Simran ran out of the room saying "Call me if you need. I can't handle this." He proceeded to clean the scratch by dabbing the roll onto the wound. She twitched in pain as she closed her eyes when alcohol burned her skin. To ease her pain, he moved closer to blow air where he dabbed and she opened her eyes at the sudden coolness. Seeing him so close made her nervous and she started shivering.

"Simi...come quick" he called out to Simran as he made to move away from her. Is she that affected by my closeness? Maybe she thinks I will harm her. He tried to hide the hurt and guilt and was quite successful if not for his moist eyes. He saw her looking him in the eye and looked away so she wouldn't notice what his eyes would have given away, but it was too late. She already knew why he left the room with the excuse of washing his hands. Simran put her back to bed and covered her to make her more comfortable. A half hour passed and he hadn't showed up yet. When she was sure she had unknowingly and involuntarily shoed him away, she fell asleep hoping things would change with the bright morning.

It was almost a week since the incident and she hadn't seen him around. Neither did she spot him at the Cafe where she purposely worked late hours nor did he show up at home. He didn't even check to see if I had recovered. Or did he keep tabs on me through Sims? In fact Simran was gone most of the day and came back only in the night before dinner. She is probably spending time with him at his place. Why has he never invited me to his apartment? She didn't ask Simran anything about him nor did Simran speak to her about him. She grew more restless with each passing day and so to get a release from the clutches of guilt and dejection, she spent her evenings running on the streets around BU. She continued to run outside hurting herself despite the cooling temperature hoping it would compensate for the deep wound she had unintentionally caused him. She was almost coming down with cold and fever from the physical and mental stress she was taking upon herself.

She would often sit on her recliner trying to read a book to distract herself when his face would flash by and make her mind run in his thoughts. That day was no different either. Simran and Keerti had finished dinner and retired back to their rooms. She went to the recliner and was lost deep in his thoughts looking at the sea beyond when suddenly she heard Simran crying. She rushed to her room and onto her bed to pacify her.

"Hey what's wrong Sims? What the matter?" she asked as she tried to shush her.

"He wants to break up with me. He doesn't want to see me again " she answered back between her sobs and this made Keerti fall back against the headboard.

"What? What are you talking about?" she didn't hold back the confusion. Simran had been bitterly crying and she had to know what's going on.

"He...he will never see me again." she got up to sit on the bed and placed her hands on Keerti's to add "He doesn't want to be in my life anymore. Kits what am I going to do without him? He's the only one I have. Woh...Ro..." she couldn't even complete her sentence when she broke down completely. She was just plain miserable.

Keerti's heart was racing so fast she was afraid it would burst and splash the blood all around her room. They have been dating each other? Since when? And why hadn't any of them told her anything? She felt a sting in her heart, what for...she didn't know. Was it that he was with her, or was it that they kept it from her all this while or was it that this knowledge was about to change everything around them...she didn't know. All she knew was that she felt exceptionally heavy at heart and light in head at the same time. The thoughts and questions running through her mind were bogging her down. But seeing Simran cry so bitterly, she felt obligated to help her out. She picked up Simran's phone and dialed Rohan's number as she walked out her room. He didn't answer which she kind of expected given the situation but she was determined to get to the bottom of this and help her out. If she had to run after him to convince him to get back with her, she would not step back from it. She was determined to do all that she was capable of to bring them together again. She left him a voicemail "Rohan, uh hey. Keerti here. I uh... I wanted to...actually can you come here right this minute? It's a bit urgent."

She had been pacing back and forth in the hallway impatiently hoping he'd come soon and end the misery that Simran had been going through. She was still crying her lungs out and she didn't know how to pacify her. Nothing she said would soothe her aching. Not being able to see her state, she kept walking out of her room. He didn't call or message nor did he show up. She looked at the watch and barely 5 minutes had passed since she left him a voicemail but it seemed like an eternity. The door bell rang and she almost ran to get the door.

"What happened?" he asked as he entered their apartment.

"Oh you don't know what happened?" she bit out not being able to hold back her sarcasm. She closed her eyes in regret and continued walking behind him. She had not right to meddle in their affair specially since she didn't have an inkling of what had happened. Thankfully he didn't catch her tone and walked right into Simran's room. She looked up when he entered and instantly got up from the bed to hug him. Keerti felt a bit awkward at that moment. She didn't know whether to stay and help him pacify her or to give them privacy to sort out their issues. But something stopped her from walking away.

"Hey hey hey what's the matter?" he said as he stroked her head while she continued to hug him. She pulled apart to look at him and told him between her sobs "He wants to break up with me."

"What? That's impossible. How can he do that now? After so many years?" Keerti heard their exchange and turned her back to rest against the wall right outside Simran's bedroom door. She clutched her tee on her chest as if trying to even out her breathing that had been heavy since she had stepped into Simran's room a while ago. She bit hard on her lower lip to prevent the smile from showing on her face completely and closed her eyes to prevent the tear from trickling down her cheek that was just welling up. She was relieved...

She entered into the room with two glasses of water and placed it on the dresser after seeing she was still hugging him. Although she was relieved that Simran had a man in her life other than him, she still could not digest their comfort level and their proximity. If she is going out with someone else, how can she be this close to him? Just as she was about to leave, he held her by her wrist which caught her completely off guard, completely immersed in thought that she was. He immediately let go realizing what he had done and with guilt in his eyes he asked her if she could bring some tea for Simran. She had again done it, she again gave him the wrong notion. She wondered if she will ever be comfortable around him and put an end to the guilt trip she seemed to be sending him to again and again.

When she brought a cup for them each, he had already made her sit on the bed and was seated next to her with her head resting on his shoulder. He gestured her to keep the second cup on the dresser and took the one to bring it to her lips. She resisted initially but gave in when Keerti knelt down on the floor and caressed her thighs. "Sab theek ho jayega. Please don't cry."

"Haan...sab theek ho jayega. I'll talk to Adi aaj hi. But you please stop crying."


Adi? He will talk to him? He knew who she is dating? Perhaps that's the reason they are so close. Keerti had been taking mental notes from their exchange.

"Promise me you won't tell him of my state. I don't want him taking undue advantage of my love for him."

"I promise, I'll make things alright. Let me first talk to him. Then we'll see. But you have to promise me you won't cry anymore."

She simply nodded wiping her tears and taking the cup from his hands. Keerti couldn't help admire the calming effect Rohan had on Simran. Her sobs had turned into short gasps of air and she was slowly closing her eyes now. She wished everyone has a friend like him in their lives.