AvNeil: Chase Against Time

Chapter Sixteen

Ananya let her eyelids drop while she massaged her temple and bridge of her nose. Goodness, what in the hell did just happen there. It had been a fair amount of time after she had finally gotten out of bed. She needed to grab some lemonade. Neil was still there, his eyes moved with every single move of hers.

The urge to snap back at him was strong; and she would have, had it been any other day. However, she didn't have enough strength to. 'Not yet,' she thought to herself. Settling next to Neil on the couch, she sipped onto her lemonade. His eyes pinned at her as if he had questions but didn't know how to start. It would be an understatement to say that she was puzzled. He would ask, when ready. Just when she dropped the thought, his voice swept across her, "I know this might not be the right time to ask but," his words merely a whisper in the air. "Can you tell me what happened there? I need to know everything," he breathed.

She sighed heavily. Reliving those moments which had blurred imprints on her mind was stressful. It wasn't difficult to put the pieces of the incident in place and conjure the images. But she wasn't ready yet.

She slid across the couch, sulking. "I was standing there when I heard the faint screeching of door," she started. "Knowing that there was someone there, I was on alert," her teeth dug into her lower lips. "Also, I heard the gun being loaded," a bitter laugh escaped her lips, "you see, the murderer wasn't quite subtle." Her eyes travelled to his. He held a blank expression. Attentively listening to her. She drew back her eyes as she stared ahead.

Her heart quickened as she thought about it, "I realized that I had to make a move. I couldn't just stand there and wait to be shot," she gulped. "By the time I threw a back kick, the trigger was pressed." A thought crossed her mind but she pushed it aside. She had to be cent percent sure to voice her doubts. Recollecting the incident, she continued, "The gun landed on the ground and that's when you heard the gun shot, I believe. I launched a punch but wasn't quick enough. I was in a tipsy state, not that it can be used as an excuse. Anyways, Then my head was banged against the wall, I guess. You know the rest," she stated dejectedly.

His palm rested onto her knee as he spoke softly, "You did good there." She didn't know what to make out of those words. But she left it at that.

His demeanor changed and he asked, "By the way, how did you get there?"

"I sneaked out," she simply stated as her shoulders rolled into a shrug, while adding further, "I know the place quite well to know the exits and stuffs. Knowing that you'd be watching every move of mine through some camera or even worse that spy of yours, irritated me. So I went to a place where you couldn't monitor me." Those words changed something within him. His body went rigid.

"How could you be so careless?" He unbelievingly yelled at her. His voice loud and harsh.

"Excuse me," she eyed him challengingly, "You plan to suffocate me to death as you keep me trapped in the name of protection and you ask me about my carelessness?" She didn't care, if she sounded rude.

"What about your carelessness? You let the murderer escape and you've got the balls to question me?" She threw the questions at him, incredulously. 'Screw the politeness,' she thought with a huff.

"That wouldn't have been the case, had you not been so careless," he retorted back.

Dear Lord, that had changed into a war a few minutes back. Both of them blaming each other. It wasn't until he received a message that he stormed out.

Now, with Neil gone, she had the time to clear out her head. She thought of the incident, replaying it in her head again and again. 'Surely, there was something wrong,' she muttered to herself.

"I have to figure out," she thought out loud. There was only one way out. She scrambled out of her seat, padding towards the bedside. Damn, the murderer had even destroyed her phone.

She grabbed the cordless and punched in the numbers. The ring was short lived as she heard a sigh on the other side.

"Aman," she called out. He wouldn't speak until he was sure it was her on the other end. Rules of the team.

"Di, you scared us," he complained yet the hint of relief quite evident in his tone.

"I am alive," she joked. However, she knew she was going to be scolded for the same. Instead, she cut in, "I don't have much time, Aman," she warned, her voice laced with urgency. "Can you dig in and find a footage of the crime site from tonight? Anything that might have captured the scene. It's kind of urgent," she knew that he was well aware of the last bit.

"I think the cops would have grabbed the footage already but I can get you a copy of all of the tapes. I can do that," the pride in his voice made her smile. He surely would. 

*

Does this give you an insight to the mystery or adds to the mystery? 😂

Anyways, I just wanted to add my Instagram hanndle, so that if there's anyone who wants to follow and get updates on the upcoming chapters and teasers, you can get that there. Because I am certainly planning for it. ;P

So to follow me on Instagram, add @_mystic_blues_