In His Custody ✎ (MaNan)

✰ 23 - connections

I want to highlight this before you guys start reading this part: this is meant to be a dark story. If this affects you, please do not read further.

The underlying themes of this story involve unhealthy relationships on many levels, but trauma is not an excuse to be horrible to someone or hurt someone. It can explain such behaviour, but it does not justify it and cannot be used as a crutch to escape accountability. If you are struggling with navigating your past, please seek professional help.

If you've made it this far, drop in your guesses for the song that Nandini's singing :P Thank you for your support <3

⭒

Manik

At closer to two in the morning, after the biriyani break, we were in the heart of Lonavala, approximately twenty minutes away from our booked accommodation. A familiar barricade came into view, flagged on the edges with red and pink banners alternatively.

"Manik slow down, I think this is the girls' hostel," Navya said, at the edge of her seat.

"Is that Warrior High?" Ranbir asked, peering through the window. "I've heard so much about this school,"

"Yeah Manik's mother runs it and SPACE too, our school," Alia said.

The ones who had had a bit to drink had somewhat sobered up, but laid in one spot with their eyes closed to avoid a headache.

"The basketball court, we should play!" Cabir suggested.

That sounded like a brilliant idea.

Minutes later, we were at the security guard's office, with a full screenplay in place.

"Bhaiyya, we used to live in Roses and Thorns Towers, us..." Alia pointed at Navya and Rose who were seated on either side of her, "We all met there only in sixth standard," A tear escaped her eye, that she dramatically wiped away. Good God, women were great at this stuff!

"We're here with our partners and their college friends, and are flying out of India at nine in the morning, we can't believe we won't get to see this place again!" Rose said, hugging Alia.

"Please let us this one time, we'll be out in less than thirty minutes, I promise," Navya said, joining her palms.

"You don't have to do it for free," I pulled out a wad of cash from my wallet and placed it on his table. Cabir's gaze oscillated between me and the security guard who was nervously wiping his forehead.

We were let in through the back gates that led straight to the basketball court.

Rose asked suspiciously, "What was the need to pay him?"

"Incentive," I suggested.

Nobody on this planet did anything just like that, just like a favour, for anyone. Everything came with a price tag. That was one belief that I had carried through from my childhood till date. Thanks to Nyonika, Mukti and I learned that lesson super early in our lives.

Except for my biggest pillar of strength–my friends. Be it Dhruv who had thrown himself in danger to save me from that goddamned shooting star, or Alia who had sacrificed her relationship with her brother, or Abhi who had left everything and everyone behind and boarded at SPACE, or Cabir who had nothing to offer but his joy and humour and forever loyalty–every single one of them had earned their place in my life.

Harshad had lost that privilege the night he shoved Dhruv and I in the path of that star.

But when it had come to Nandini, that line had blurred away and taken a new form. She was not a friend, yet I had unwavering faith in her, from day one. That had been terrifying to realise; that this one girl had that much power over me, for no apparent reason except that I had let her.