With You

Chapter 10

Zarah's mind blocked out everything as her senses became frail seeing the scene in front of her. The tiny light of hope which had illuminated in her heart of reaching her home seemed to be washed out with the screams around her. Her heart was beating faster with every passing second and it felt like it would just burst out.

"Leave the car." Ryan's voice echoed in that heavy voiced vicinity as it was holding so much weight. Was he stranding her just like that?

"What do you mean-" Zarah asked, her grip tightening around the bag strap over her shoulder and she glanced at Maira who was still fast asleep. Her sleep would always be an irony for their surroundings.

"Zarah, leave the car. Don't ask questions. "

She quickly opened her side's door as she saw Ryan opening his. When Zarah exited, Ryan took Maira from her hold in a hurried manner and held her hand surprising Zarah all over.

"Leave my hand, Ryan." Zarah shouted as Ryan pulled her to follow him to God knows where he was taking her. She tried to wiggle out her hand from his grip as his hold tightened while her mind set off a warning alarm. When she was about to pull her hand out of his hold, Ryan pulled her closer and crouched down-taking a seat under a wooden roof. "Stop it Ryan. Don't you have sort of respect for wom-"

"Shut up and stay quiet for sometime." Ryan whisper-yelled, stopping her speech in middle. His voice was cold and grave as he watched outside from the barely there opening of that small place. "Those men, they had seen us and they were coming for us. Do I have to tell you what the so called angry mob do to women?"

Zarah felt her throat too narrow to swallow the ball of fear which formed inside her hearing Ryan's words but all she was doing was to ignore that sudden feeling of respect which crawled in her for Ryan on his concern, that simple gesture which put him fully in a different light.

She gulped and looked from that small opening from where Ryan was looking outside as their surrounding began to hold the screams and yelling of the protesters, the crushing sounds of the glass as they broke everything which came in their way. How could a human being become so mad, insane in the rage of mob? How could his sense become so weak in this so called protests of human rights? Were they not destroying lives of others just like others had done?

"Hell." Zarah heard Ryan's mumble as they both saw his car getting destroyed by the protestors. "If I hadn't you both with me, I have had shown them the dirt."

Didn't know was it the pressure of their situation or her mind was just too broken, Zarah felt as if she was a burden on him. She didn't tell him to take her with him then why he was talking like that.

"If we weren't with you, you would be dead by now."

******

Ryan raked his hand in his messy hair while he saw the incidents unfolding before him. First of all they broke his car! It was the most costly and lavish piece and they broke it like it was the solution to their problems.

He fisted his fingers trying to cover his anxiety and anger and on top of all of it, Zarah was with him. That girl who challenged him in every way. They both were totally different but one thing connected them; the hunger to win. They both didn't want to lose any kind of battle and that was why they couldn't stand each other even an ounce.

"Yeah why not. I'm alive because of you." Ryan mocked her words, glancing at his watch which was showing quarter past two.

"Good to see you're showing gratitude." Zarah said in her cold voice while trying to console whimpering Maira who was now in her arms. Ryan stayed silent because he didn't want to waste his energy in argument with Zarah. She wouldn't let him win and his silence didn't mean that he was accepting his defeat. Over his dead body!