"Mana kar du kya?" Priya spoke to herself, pacing up and down her room as she re-read Ram's message. "Nahi. Mana kiya toh sawaal poochenge. Kal raat hi toh haan bola tha maine unhein, aaj lawyer se milne ke liye."
"Magar main unka saamna kaise karu?" Priya stopped, her shoulders dropping. "Woh sapna...ughh...so awkward...akele itni der kaise reh paungi main unke saath?!"
"Pick karne bhi woh hi aa rhe hain! Kya yaar Priya, har baar tu apna transport manage karti hai naa, toh kal kyun maan gayi tu, jab unhone kaha ki woh pick karenge tujhe? Gadhi!"
Priya continued to pace up and down her room for some more time and then finally she thought of something. She walked out of her room and entered Akki's.
"Akki uth" Priya shook a sleeping Akki by his leg.
When he did not respond even after many attempts, she walked towards his head and shook him by his shoulder violently. "Uthhh!"
"Haan-haan-kya hua?" Akki woke up with a jerk, alarmed by the sudden shaking.
"Itni der se utha rhi hoon! Uth'ta hi nahi hai tu!"
"Sunday hai didi, sone do naa" Akki groaned as he pulled the blanket over his head.
"10:30 bajj gaye hain, aur kitna soyega?! Time se sona chahiye aur..."
"...time se uthna chahiye." Akki completed her sentence in exasperation. "Pata hai. Lekin yeh rule Sunday ko apply nahi karta. So good night" Akki turned over, showing his back to Priya.
"Akki woh..." Priya spoke in a low tone, immediately grabbing Akki's attention. He rolled on the bed to face her with a frown.
"Kya hua di?" Akki sat up worried, the blanket wrapped around him.
"Kuch nahi...woh...umm..." Priya did not know how to ask Akki what she wanted to.
"Bolo naa di, kya baat hai?"
Priya sighed. "Mr. Kapoor ke jo lawyer hain naa, Aman Mathur, unhone aaj 12 baje bulaya hai apne office. Mahendra Sood ka case discuss karne..."
Priya looked at Akki, who was waiting for her to continue.
"...toh main soch rhi thi, agar tere paas koi aur kaam nahi hai, toh tu mere saath chalega?"
Akki patted the empty space on the bed next to him, asking Priya to sit down. She did as she was asked to.
"Aapko darr lagg rha hai?" Akki asked, his tone soft.
Priya looked at him with mild shock, understanding how he might have interpretted this entire situation. "Tujhe kaise batau Akki. Darr toh lagg rha hai. Magar Mr. Kapoor se. Unhein kaise face karungi main? Tu saath chalega toh asaan hoga."
Seeing Priya's worried expression, Akki held her hand between his. "Darne ki koi baat nahi hai didi. Hum sab aapke saath hai. Mahendra Sood hum mein se kisi ka kuch nahi bigaad payega." Akki assured her.
Priya nodded with a smile.
"Tu chalega naa saath?"
"Of course didi. Yeh bhi koi poochne waali baat hai?"
"Theek hai. Toh phir uth jaa, naha-dho le, main tere liye breakfast ready kar deti hoon tab tak. Mr. Kapoor 11:30 baje aayenge humein pick karne."
Akki frowned. "Ram bhai bhi saath aa rhe hain?"
"Obviously. Woh kahan maante" Priya shrugged.
"Toh phir aap mujhe kyun saath le jaa rhi ho?"
Priya did not have a reply to that. "Woh...main..."
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
BALH2 FF: Hum Tum Kitne Paas Hain
FanfictionThis story picks up from Episode 3 of BALH2. Ram and Priya meet in a restaurant in Worli. What follows is a friendship in which they find comfort, trust and peace. And maybe love?
