Situations(MaNan FF)

Part 9

Her eyes and attention on her mobile phone, Nandini had almost no sense of her surroundings as she came out of the college gate and almost stepped into the ongoing traffic.

But before she could be crushed into paste by an approaching car, she was pulled back with a harsh hold on her arm. Her eyes suddenly shifting focus from her now falling mobile phone, to  the familiar brown orbs she had gone through both hating and loving in the last few months.

After their argument, Manik felt the tears rushing back. He felt like the walls were caging him into suffocation. Pulling on his hair, he barely noted his movements as he stepped back and crash on the floor. Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes trying to get rid of her accusing eyes, all the while taking deep  breaths.
When he couldn't clear his head, he decided to take the help of fresh air and walked out of the building.

Hands in his pockets, eyes on the ground, he was shuffling around a rock on the ground when he heard steps. Looking up, he came across his worst nightmare. He found himself running towards the scene as fast as he could carry them. Grabbing her arms roughly, he pulled her towards himself.

" What the hell were you thinking? Dhyan kaha tha tumhara? Jab phone hi dekhna tha toh road ki taraf gayi kyun? ( Where were you lost? If you wanted to look at your phone, then why did you go towards the road?) What if something happened to you? Do you even realise how dangerous......"

Hearing his words broke her trance and word by word, gratefulness left her heart leaving behind anger and irritation.

Pushing him back, she screamed at him.

" Thanks a lot for saving me. But don't you dare think that you have the right to shout at me. Agar tum nahi aate toh bhi kya hota. Tumse baat karne se toh achha, main gaadi ke neeche aakar hi..... (Even if you hadn't come, what would have happened. And rather than talking to you, it would've been better that I would have come under that car and.....)"

But his hand on her mouth prevented her from recreating the horrific image in his mind.

" Don't say that, please."

His voice was almost shaking as the plea died in his mouth and couldn't reach her ears.

Hearing him she almost gave up against him again but his words from a few hours came back to her mind.

" We're Over!"

And once again, she collected herself and stepped back, glaring at him.
His hand hung in the air as he felt her rejection both physically and emotionally.

She brought her eyes out of the painful eye lock and tried looking for her phone.As the image of it's cracked screen reached her brain, all the worries came back.Picking up the device she tried to switch it on, but to no avail.

Looking at her panicked state, and accumulating tears, his hands immediately started reaching for his own phone to calm her down. But before he could find it, they were both startled by the loud horn.

Placing his arm in front of her protectively, he looked around to find the source of the noise.
She pushed his arm aside as she recognized her uncle's car. Running to the passenger side, she immediately opened the car door. 

" Chachu, Rishu.....?"

" Beta, abhi gaadi mein baithon. Sab batata hoon. (Dear, sit in the car right now. I'll tell you everything.)"

The car sped off as Nandini immediately complied to her uncle's instructions, leaving behind a confused Manik, burning with questions at hearing the familiar name. Heart pounding, he stood there as the car soon made the turn disappearing into the moonless night, deserting the empty barely illuminated road.As the moments passed, he kept staring at the empty road, till a car passed, bringing  him out of his trance. Once again, searching for his phone, he frantically looked for it in all pockets.