LOST

44. AADITYA

~ Aaditya ~

"Aadi!" Chachu's voice jerked me to a stop. I stared at Sapna's back as she continued walking away from me. An unnerving fear settled in the pit of my stomach.

"Dheeraj is on the second floor. You should go help him with the formalities."

Right. Uncle wasn't alive. He stopped existing hours back. And there was no way I could get over the loss any soon. Right now, though, I had to think practically. Moaning wasn't going to be on my to-do list.

"But Sapna –"

"She's been through a lot. It's best of you leave her on her own for a while."

Fuck no. I knew my angel and being left alone would be the last thing she wanted. But on Earth how was I supposed to explain that to Chachu?

"But –"

"He needs you and you should be there for him."

He.

Dad. Needs me?

And where was he when I needed him?

I swallowed and cringed. Arguing would only complicate and worsen matters. I looked back in the direction of the gates.

Sapna was gone.

"Aadi, I'll go after her." Raveena volunteered.

"Stay away from her," I warned.

"You have to trust me –"

"I don't have time for this, Raveena!" I snapped. "Stay the fuck out of my life!"

I sensed motion. A sharp noise and a sudden violent stinging pain on my face. My cheeks burned and Raveena's unflinching glare pinned me down. She slapped me.

"Cut down your drama, Aaditya. I am going after her. I'll take care of her now and I will deal with you later. You and I," she jabbed her finger in my chest, "have unfinished business."

I stood there, too stunned to register what just happened. I blinked sever times in order to clear my head. Done with myself, I turned to Raveena. "Make sure she's fine. And please, don't let her do anything reckless," I pleaded. She nodded and I shifted my gaze to the rest of my family.

"Go inside," Chachu ordered. I checked my surroundings and there was no sight of Raveena. I silently prayed to God for helping her to the right thing. "Rishi, go with him."

It took me a lifetime to get rid of the place. It was nighttime already. I tried keeping Uncle out of my head, since thoughts would reduce my pace and then I would linger on moments and it would ruin everything. However, I couldn't stop worrying about Sapna.

As soon as I arrived at the bungalow, I clambered up the stairs and headed for the room. The door hung open, and the lights were off. I inwardly hoped that she was sleeping. Stepping inside, I flipped the switch.

"Fuck."

The room was a mess. Not the kind of mess I encountered when I first entered Sapna's room in Indore. This wasn't the creatively designed mess. It was intentional destruction caused by painful flurry of emotions.

I scanned the room. The comforter was lying on the floor, the cushions, each one was them, were ripped, cotton oozing out of them, the photographs that proudly took their place on Uncle's dearest wall were torn apart, frames and glass broken, the wardrobe was open, clothes spread restlessly across the room, the dressing was disturbed too.