Nemesis (Manan Fanfic) On Hold!

Chapter 13: Blood, sweat and tears

A week later

♠

I couldn't forget. The memories were vivid. My peaceful sleep had been ruined by images of what had transpired inside the Arcade. Whenever I closed my eyes, scary dreams of him haunted me. Dark circles had formed under my eyes due to my lack of sleep. I was unable to fathom the being called Manik Monster Malhotra.

Navya caught the flu and had been home the whole week. I missed my bubbly new friend. I made a mental note to text her after classes because I wanted to visit her coming weekend. I bought herbal tea at our local market the other day. It was strange how quickly I had gotten attached to her. I was usually wary when it came to meeting new people.

"Nandini?"

I twirled around and faced Dhruv. He was standing there, looking nervous.

"Hi, uh, I found your lunchbox," he mumbled and reached into his backpack. He pulled out the other half of my green lunchbox.

"Thanks," I said curtly and yanked it from his hands. I didn't expect this.

"I'm sorry for everything. I didn't mean to...I, uh, I won't let anything happen to you again," he said and gazed into my eyes with sincerity.

I did not trust him. He had handed that note to me and tricked me into going to Manik's house that night. Once bitten, twice shy.

"You have no reason to trust me, but I brought you the other half of your lunchbox. I hope you accept it as my apology."

I sighed. "Thank you, Dhruv. I appreciate it."

"I will see you around, Nandi," he said with a nod and walked away.

I was smiling for the rest of the day at college. I finally had my lunchbox back, and I had Dhruv to thank for that. Maybe he did deserve a second chance?

Once the last class had ended, I placed my books inside the locker and made sure the lunchbox was safely inside my handbag. After that, I went to the bathroom quickly. Once I was done washing my hands, I walked towards the door. Suddenly, it flew open with force, making me stumble back and drop my bag in horror.

He slammed the door shut behind him and stalked towards me. His nostrils were flaring. His fists were clenched. He looked like he was going to murder me. I almost shrieked but managed to press my lips together.

His angry eyes shifted to the floor and fixated on something. He picked it up and held up the lunchbox. "Where did you get this?" he hissed, he was seething with fury.

My throat closed up in fear. You shouldn't have accepted it from Dhruv, my inner voice scolded.

"HOW DID YOU GET THIS?" his voice boomed so loud that I flinched and wrapped my arms around myself in a protective manner.

"Answer me, Nandini. Speak or so help me God, I will not be held responsible for my actions!" he barked and took one big step, so he was right in front of me.

I was shaking. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat to answer him, but my voice abandoned me.

"Speak!" he yelled.

He grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me harshly. Tears were brimming in my eyes, blurring my sight. I tried to focus on my breathing, but I ended up gasping for air while my heart hammered in my chest. He continued to shake my shoulders like a madman until my head started to spin. My vision became fuzzy.

Somewhere far away, I heard someone call my name.

...

I stirred in my sleep. The feeling of something wet being placed on my forehead, made me groan. I didn't want to be awakened from my peaceful sleep. Then a soothing feeling as if someone was stroking my hair followed, and it calmed me. I fell back into slumber.