Guardian

-:chapter 8:-

Avyansh turned slowly and saw Rahul Dhawan standing there with two other boys. Rahul Dhawan, his biggest nightmare from his previous school, looked as smug as ever.

"Woah, I didn’t think I’d see you here, loser, So, how did your druggie dad manage to scrape together enough money to send you to this school?"Rahul sneered, his voice dripping with contempt. "

Avyansh clenched his fists, a familiar wave of fear and frustration washing over him. He tried to walk past Rahul, hoping to avoid a confrontation, but Rahul quickly stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

"Don’t you dare ignore me," Rahul growled, his eyes narrowing.

"stop causing a scene and let me go, Rahul" Avyansh mustered the courage to speak.

Rahul laughed, a harsh, mocking sound.
"Well, well, it looks like you’ve grown a spine since we last met. Think you can stand up to me now, huh?"

He leaned in closer, his voice low and menacing. "You think you’re better than me because you’ve got some fancy new friends? News flash, you’re still the same pathetic loser you always were."

"Hey, what’s going on here?" Rohan called out, stepping between Avyansh and Rahul.

"None of your business, bro," one of Rahul’s friends shot back, but Rohan wasn’t intimidated.

"It is my business when you’re messing with my friend," Rohan retorted.

"Avyansh doesn’t want any trouble. Why don’t you just back off?"

Rahul scoffed, "You think you can just walk away from me?" he asked, his voice laced with a challenge.

"Yeah, I do," Rohan replied calmly, putting a hand on Avyansh’s shoulder. "Come on, Avy, let’s go."

Avyansh nodded, grateful for the intervention. Together, they turned and started to walk away, but Rahul couldn’t resist one last parting shot.You better watch your back, looser," he called after them. "This isn’t over."

Rohan and Avyansh continued down the hall, ignoring Rahul’s threats. Once they were out of earshot, Rohan turned to Avyansh, concern etched on his face.

"You okay?" he asked.

Avyansh nodded, though his hands were still shaking slightly. "Thanks, Rohan. I...I didn’t want to cause any trouble."

"Hey, don’t worry about it," Rohan said, giving him a reassuring smile. "That guy’s just a bully. We’ll stick together, and he won’t bother you again."

Avyansh felt a wave of relief as he walked away with Rohan. The fear was still there, but with his new friends by his side, it was easier to bear.

Abhimanyu arrived at the hospital, his expression turning cold and focused as he walked through the sterile corridors. Aditya was waiting for him outside one of the rooms, his usual easygoing demeanor replaced with a grim seriousness.

“How is he?” Abhimanyu asked, cutting straight to the point.

Aditya shook his head. “Not good. He was about to tell us something about RR’s identity, but he didn’t make it. He died before he could say anything useful.”

Abhimanyu’s jaw tightened, the frustration clear in his eyes. They had been tracking RR for months, and this lead had been the closest they had come to discovering his true identity. “Did he say anything at all? Anything we can use?”

Aditya sighed, running a hand through his hair. “He started to say something, something about RR’s full name. But then… he just stopped.”

As they stood in the hallway, discussing their next move, a nurse walked by, followed by a woman who immediately caught Abhimanyu’s attention. There was something about her,something familiar that he couldn’t quite place. She was older, with kind eyes that held a deep warmth, and as she passed by, she turned to look directly at Abhimanyu.