A Tale of Trust - A DevAkshi & SamAina FF

Chapter 16- Times have changed

Can't even say happy reading now.

"What would you like ma'am?" The waiter asked her.

Clueless about what to order Sonakshi said, "The hardest one?"

"On the rocks then?" The waiter smiled at the first timer.

"Yeah whatever!"

Shot after shot Sonakshi kept gulping her drink. It burned her throat at first and the sensation made her momentarily forget about her parent problem which always surfaced in unexpected, happy situations ruining her mood.

She snatched the entire bottle from the waiter's hand and took it outside in the dirty balcony 'decorated' with pigeon poop. She took a large sip.

"Akele akele" Dev sat beside Sonakshi, holding a glass of wine in his hand.

"Is it lady like?" He swriled the glass in his hand and asked her.

Sonakshi looked at the glass in his hand and then back up at him. The way she started idealising Sahil and then the way Dev was slowly turning out to be didn't match at all. He kept on saying that he relates to Sahil, there were minor similarities that she  noted but Dev wasn't her Sahil. Stupid, she still couldn't let him go.

"Sonakshi? Kaha gum ho bhai?" Dev asked her.

"I just ... Kahin nahi." She looked away.

He shrugged his shoulders and took a sip from his glass. They sat in absolute silence looking at the pitch black sky from the balcony. Sona turned around to look at the party, she rested her back on the balcony's railing and looked at Bijoy having a good time.

"Why is he happy?" She pointed at Bijoy and looked to her right, where Dev was standing. He looked slightly blur as her vision got clouded by tears.

Dev didn't know how to answer her question.

"Why is he happy? Why is he given a good life? Mai aur Maa to itne khush nahi rehte jab ki galti to humari nahi thi." A lone tear traced her face. "Why does he gets to smile? Wo kyu khush hai Dev?"

Devrat Dixit, the master of witty responses had no answer. He opened his mouth quite a few times to say something but not a single word left his lips.

"Mai choti thi. Humein financial problems thi. Baba hum dono ko chod ke chale gaye aur khud kamane lage. Selfish! Hum kitni problems se guzre hain inhe pata hai? Inhe farq padta hai? Aur mere saamne Ishwari ma'am ke saath flirt karte bhi nahi sharmate. Kabhi mujhse milne bhi nahi aate set par, ghar pe. Mujhe nahi chahiye aise Baba." Her words became incoherent and her tone softened and became baby-ish. She began losing balance; so, she tried to lean against Dev's torso. That was when he noticed that she was drunk.

He just wrapped his arm around her to give her some physical and emotional support. She smiled through her tears and looked at him.

"I like you. You're a good boy Dev." She pulled his cheek and repeated the line over and over again. Dev had a hard time in keeping her steady.

At a point he had to pull her and literally drag her to his car. He dumped her on the back seat, she was half asleep by now.

He knew her address. He had been there once to help her find one of her PG girls. He had felt the excercise a waste of time then. Now, it finally seemed useful!

He tried to keep his mind focussed on the road and the traffic but her questions kept banging in his head. Questions, for which he had no answer and questions, which should not concern him.

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Asha Bose had walked a long distance from home. A sharp cry of a horn from behind her made her gain back her senses.