Manzil

08- Flashbacks Hit Hard

"Such a je-" Arav mumbled while looking at Ravi Dada from the rearview mirror, tightened his fists, and swore for being overly loud. Angad gave him a scowling expression before slamming the door shut.

FLASHBACK

"Babaa.. baba, kahan ho app, where are you?" Arav shouted loudly.

"Aru, don't shout.. I'm coming."

"Jaldi aao neeche.. we need to talk." Aru said it again, causing Angad to roll his eyes. Sometimes I wonder if he was my father.

"What do you want to say, Aru?" And why were you shouting like anything.." Angad asked.

"I WON'T ALLOW THIS, BABA." Aru yelled, putting his hands on the sides and fuming. Man, this child was tough.

"Aru, shh, don't shout.... aur aaise kyun chill raha hai, jab mein tere samne khadha hun, bol kya hua." Angad stated, looking at his brother.

"But I won't allow this." Aru said it yet again.

"What actually happened?" Sighing hard, Angad murmured.

Hats off to people who take care of their children on their own, because it was not Angad's cup of tea. Actually It was Anagad's cup of tea. That, too, a Kadak-Masale-Wali-Chai. Lol!

"Why do you always have to send Ravi Dada and his four bodyguards to my school, now in my everty trip? I go to an educational organisation, not a terrorist one." Arav said while pouting, making Angad awe.

"Ahh Arav, tu issliye gussa tha..Aru, tu bhi na." Angad said happily, pulling his cheeks, which were burning red with rage.

"Don't baby me, baba. Kitni baar baba."

"Kitni baar meine bola hai aapko..but still you send this man to my school. I recently turned ten.Mein apna dhyaan rakh sakhta hun Baba. Do you know how embarrassing it is.. Everyone thinks I'm a royal prince." Arav said angrily.

"Haan toh galat kahan kaha. You're my prince. Aren't you my royal-prince? Anagad said softly, making him feel even more cringy, damm he was loving his look on his face.

"Baba, haa mein hun aapka prince, but I'm fed up of this bodyguard life..I dont like it." Aru muttered sadly, causing angad to sigh.

"Meine kya bola tha aru, it's for your safety, right?"

"par-"

"Sorry, sir, Aru Baba forgot his bag in the car." Ravi Dada said huffingly

"Keep it there and take some rest, dada.. looks like someone made your day hard." Angad said, making arav irk...he made imitating faces but stopped as he caught his brother watching at him. Angrily.

"No, sir, it's fine, Aru Baba, and Arj-- yours family security is my responsibility. Em, I'll leave now, sir." Ravi Dada said this and then walked away, giving him a longing and pained look.

"Huh. Aru Baba's security is my responsibility. Jaise koi chota baacha hun. Such a Jer-"Arav said, imitating Ravi dada, but immediately stopped, seeing Angad staring at him.

"No, pick me up and take me... My leg hurts." Arav said bossily, and Angad groaned before tossing his head in disbelief. Aren't you ten now? He wanted to be sarcastic, but his heart wasn't in it.

"Accha baba theek hai... but you will do as I say... you will change your clothes, then we will have food, and you will take medicines bina kisi tantrum ke.Then we'll talk about your vibrant vocabulary." Angad said while he lifted him up.

"Je se jerry ki baat kar rraha tha, jerk ki nahi." aapki soch. "Ow," Arav muttered, but then stopped when Angad clutched his ear.

Flashback ENDS

Making his own brother away from his brother and playing the best villain of everyone's life-what in the world could be worse than this for Angad's life?

Everyone has a messy life, and he was not the type to complain about it. But it wasn't just a messy, it was the worst. Angad sighed deeply as a tear ran down the corner of his eyelids. Bounces of guilt, rage, regret caged inside his chest, unable to find an outlet for expression. His mind wavered out in annoyance, he felt like an incompetent loser.

"Sir," Ravi said, jolting him out of his self-pitying haze.

"Hm." He glanced at Arav, who had already dozed, and carefully pulled him out by gently placing one of his arms around Arav's knees, and went inside the house.

He sat alongside him and stared at him wistfully. His hands wanted to tenderly touch his face, and his body was yearning to embrace him as tightly as he could. Even as the agony consumed him, he closed his eyes and pulled out the frame.

Arav opened an eye as looked at his baba. He glanced at Angad, whose only back was obvious and his eyes welled up with tears.

"This is the man, we all adore. A pure dumbo, His Baba can solve every problem.But Arju's Agni can't. Wow! And for that, he needs his bhaiyu.It looks like Arav needed to do something, Just like him, his bhaiyu were also dumbos.And they weren't going to solve things until he fixed them .And guess what? He'd do anything for the stubborn baba sitting next him, not the one who was a bad liar, but for his smile-his Arju's agni smile, that was too precious for him to lose for something he don't know. But any reasoning they gave was so stupid for him. "

The dusy weather outside and warm sunrays had woken him up, and the first thing he realised was the absurdity of the situation.

"Shit, meri ankh kab lag gayi, ah" Angad's eyes closed in fury and agony.

He lay there, beside Arav while he wrapped his small, slender hand over his abdomen as if holding onto him, maybe for life. His soft, pulpy, and innocent face dug into his masculine torso, his grip tightening again. He wanted to smile and adore his face, but the brain had its own will. He scrunched his eyes in pain, regret. A regret to say "yes" on a trip. Or a regret of--

"Baba subhe-subhe A/C kyun band karte ho," Arav said this while barely waking up.

Angad sighed.

He needed to get out of from here.

Angad softly removed his hand from his waist and placed a nice side pillow beside him, taking care not to disturb his sleep.

-

He pressed the shower, as water fell on him. The frigid, icy water felt lovely on his skin, and his cheeks burned from the hot water that poured down from his eyes as he relished the pain that he buried eight years ago.Flashes of his 8-year-old Arjun began to resurface in his imagination.

"Angi, I'm telling you tie him up before leaving. Tera baby ek accident prone kid hai. Woh youtube ke adds nahi hote. He is that. Irritating and troubling."

"Kitchen mein nahi, ghar mein kitne room hai padhai karne ke liye, par tujhe yahin kyun padhana hota hai."

"Agni, itni dheere kya chala raha hai, tez chala-na." Arjun said while standing on his bike and spreading his arms out wide.

"Just be in the moment bhaiya. Kya pata kal jisse dekhne ke liye hum tarse woh ho hee nahi. Ish kya line maari na meine." Angad palmed his face at his total gibberish talks. How can be someone this cheezy.

"Ouch, chodo na. yaar chodo na agn-, bhaiya please chodo na. Abb kabhi naam se nahi bulunga." Arjun cried out, and Anand smiled, loosening the grip, knowing he would call him by name again soon. Just a little too soon.

"Agniiiiiiiiiii." Arjun shouted.

Angad chuckled with tears.

-

He stepped out of the shower and hurriedly pulled out his cleaned apparel, quickly tucking his shirt while put on his specs before looking at Arav with a sad chuckle.

He was angry, guilty, and scared, but more than that, he was broken. The dam of Strong-Rock-Angad broke. It broke badly. His trust broke, and this time his own son broke it. his arav. Angad drank all the tears that were fighting to fall anytime soon. Yet again.

A/N Do vote, comment and let me know how was the chapter.

All the best ;)