Ever Since Udaipur

Chapter 12

THIRD PERSON POV

The club grew more crowded as the night wore on. With every passing minute, the levels of chaos increased, but the inebriated didn't seem to mind. Most of them were too drunk to care about the mayhem around them. Debauched, they paid very little attention to their surroundings, often bumping into one another or hurting themselves while grooving to their favourite songs.

Mahi was no exception.

Caught up in the moment with an urge to savour the night, she gave in to the wild energy before the looming stress reclaimed her. She was aware that with the arrival of the morning sun, any trace of joy would be erased with the weight of anxiety.

With her arms raised and hips swaying to the rhythm, Mahi spun to the beat, completely lost in the moment. She was having the time of her life, but her joy was abruptly cut short when her feet tangled, causing her to trip over someone else's shoe.

A sharp gasp escaped her as pain shot through her ankle, her face twisting in agony. The jolt made her yelp, which quickly turned into a shriek as someone's pencil heel came crashing down on her toes.

"Oh shit!" Aditi cursed from the bar, noticing Mahi's state. She hurried over to the limping girl, leaving a giggling Yuvi behind who was lost in his own drunken world.

Once the apologies were exchanged the two settled by the bar and had been talking for almost an hour. With Yuvi's low tolerance for alcohol, it didn't take long for him to get tipsy.

"Whooo!" he cheered, spinning on his bar stool without a care.

At the hoot, Aditi paused and glanced over her shoulder, her lips pressing into a worried line. She hesitated, not wanting to leave him unattended, but seeing Mahi in distress, she shook her head and rushed to her aid.

"Mahi, are you alright?" Aditi made her way onto the dance floor and asked urgently as Mahi squeezed her eyes shut from the pain, leaning into her for support.

Across the room, Kabir shot up from his seat and rushed to her side the second he interpreted the situation. Zeeshan, seated in front of him, was too absorbed in his phone conversation to notice Kabir had left.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Kabir asked, gripping Mahi's arm to shield her from the bumps and the hits people threw their way unintentionally while dancing.

"My foot," she whimpered, "It hurts so much!" She glanced down before looking up at Kabir, her eyes brimming with tears. "The sangeet is in two days—what about our performance—"

"Mahi, this isn't the time to worry about the sangeet," Aditi interrupted, then quickly turned to Kabir. "I will get some ice from the bar."

Kabir nodded, wrapping his arm around Mahi's waist to lead her away from the bustling crowd. He gently guided her toward an empty booth, helping her settle on the leather. "Easy..." he whispered and kneeled before her to examine her  heel cladded foot.

Caustically, he removed her black footwear and watched Aditi return with a few ice-cubes concealed within an almost wet tissue. He retrieved it from her and pressed the ice against the swollen skin.

He paid no mind to the dirty floor beneath him or the numbing chill of the ice against his fingers. The only thing that mattered was making sure Mahi felt better.

✩✩✩✩

"Email me the details tomorrow morning. Bye" Zeeshan said to the hotel's manager, hanging up the call. "I am sorry, I know that took me long-"

He interrupted himself when he realized that the person he was apologizing to, Kabir, wasn't even present there.

'Where did he go to?' He thought to himself, getting up from the booth to find the guy he accompanied.