SEAL THE DEAL

chapter 30

Manisha hadn't ever run that fast in her life. Heck, she hadn't even known that she was
physically capable of running that fast. Her feet crashed against the ground with every step She took, the rainwater splashing against her jeans and her lungs burning as she ran.

As promised, she arrived at the gate within two minutes and threw a quick glance over the park but didn't see Abhishek anywhere. Her heart was thudding in her chest, threatening to burst out of its cavity as she pushed the gate open and jogged inside, her eyes hurriedly scanning your surroundings. It was hard to see anything through the rain, but she breathed a
sigh of relief when she finally spotted a familiar figure perched on one of the uncomfortable wooden benches in the rear end of the park.

"Abhishek!" She cried out frantically, running over to the bench with renewed vigour. He looked up at the sound of her voice and watched as her collapsed next to him in a heap. "Sorry I took so long," she gasped, clutching the left side of her torso as you panted for air and took deep breaths to calm her erratic heartbeat down.

Manisha turned to look at Abhishek and her stomach lurched because he looked absolutely exhausted, as if something had sucked the life out of him and left an empty shell in his place, and frankly, it terrified the shit out of her.

She immediately slid closer to him and held the umbrella over his head, shielding him from the rain so that it didn't strike his shoulders anymore. She bit your quivering bottom lip as She leaned forward and ran her hand through his damp hair, the water droplets flying in all possible directions as she gently shook them out. She felt him shiver under her touch and She remembered with a start that she made sure to leave her house with a spare jacket in tow. Manisha juggled the umbrella in one hand, making sure that it didn't stop protecting Abhishek from the downpour that refused to cease, while she struggled to spread the jacket over his shoulders and across his torso with her other hand.

Mani:-"God, tum to purye bheeg gye ho," she mumbled as she pulled away, filling the silence between the two of them because it was starting to become deafening.

Her eyes roamed over Abhishek's face and his body, looking for any signs of physical harm and injury. But her quest was unfruitful and she felt a wave of sorrow roll over her when She realised that all of his wounds were probably on the inside.
He hadn't uttered a single word since she arrived and every silent second was making her feel more and more on edge. She had no idea what was going on and she had never felt as helpless in her entire life than she did at that moment because she had no idea how to make him feel better either.

A few seconds later, manisha felt a hand slip into her own and he eyes widened at the shocking coldness radiating from Abhishek's fingers. Then she felt him shift next to her until his head was resting on her shoulder and tears pricked her eyes when she felt that spot on her hoodie growing damp; and she knew that it definitely wasn't because of the rain.

Mani:-"Are you okay?"
She knew that it was a totally futile question but she felt the imperative need to say
something to him, to say anything to him, because the uncertainty of everything was driving Her insane.

“No,” Abhishek whispered and her heart sank even further than where it had been lying at Her feet. She knew that she had to hold her emotions together for his sake - how would she be able to glue his broken pieces together if she fell apart?

Manisha closed her eyes and sighed shakily, "You're going to catch a cold if we don't go inside," She said, stroking his freezing hand with her thumb soothingly as she attempted to calm both him and herself down.

Abhi:-"Can we just stay here like this for a while?"
In that moment, manisha wanted nothing more than to be able to take his pain away, every single bit of it. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and nodded, and as the two of them sat there for a little longer, she blew a silent prayer into the frosty air.
She prayed from the bottom of her heart that Abhishek would be okay, that regardless of whatever the hell had happened, he would pull himself together and make it through. And she prayed that she'll be enough to save him.