The Window

60 Hours After...

The ride home was a fairly silent one. My rebellious attitude towards germ infested subway trains seemed to have disappeared altogether. I couldn't help but play the incidents of the day in my mind over and over again. The fact that I was a psychopathic killer's next target made me queasy enough. Finding out that he was the very same cop who'd interrogated me in my own home made it far worse. Suddenly, my cozy little studio apartment didn't feel like a haven anymore. The feeling was oddly unsettling, and I wasn't certain as to when it would abate. All I could do was hope that Tremblay would abandon his plan of blackmailing us and simply leave town, since we'd stolen the evidence...

When we finally reached my apartment, I expected Manik to turn around and go his way. However, I was slightly surprised when I observed him walking into my building along with me.

"Um...Did you want something from my apartment?" I asked.

He merely shook his head and said. "I'd prefer to walk you to your studio...the security in this place isn't exactly tight."

I wanted to object to his offer, but my fear got the better of me. Besides, it was partially his fault that I was in this mess, so I convinced myself that he might bloody well take some responsibility for it.

I nodded in response and walked to the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, I couldn't help but recall our first encounter in his apartment's elevator. I could feel my pulse quickening slightly as I thought about his rough grip on my neck, and how deliciously kinky it felt. I looked up at Manik in order to gauge his thoughts, but all I could see was the same ramrod straight expression he wore over ninety percent of the time.

When the doors finally opened, my breathing returned to normal. We walked to the studio without exchanging any words. However, the shock I experienced when I found an unexpected visitor at my door was pretty extensive. And considering the day I'd had, it was truly saying something!

"Nandini? Where have you been? I've been waiting at your door for nearly two hours..." Liam's accented voice brought me out of my state of inertia.

"Liam...what are you...what are you doing here?" I mumbled, as it sunk in that he was truly present in person.

"I heard that you were unwell. So, I just wanted to check on you...you weren't replying to my messages...and I didn't know what to do...I wanted to apologise..." Liam stuttered.

"Enough Liam! I thought I was pretty vocal the last time we spoke! I want nothing to do with you, remember?!" I screamed.

I was pretty angry with Liam, but after the day's events, I realized that I was really angrier with myself. Angry because I'd let my life become the mess it had. And Liam was about to bear the brunt of all that pent up frustration.

"Nandini, I'm sorry...I made a mistake...please give me another chance..."Liam said, his voice laced with desperation.

It was at this exact moment that Manik took a step forward, so that Liam could get a full view of him. He proceeded to slouch against the wall opposite my door in a bored fashion.

Liam stared at Manik for a few seconds, utterly dumbfounded.

He then turned to me with an aggressive look on his face and said with gritted teeth. "Him? He's the guy you're dating?! When I saw you weren't home, I asked Fran about your whereabouts. She said that you'd gone out with your boyfriend. I assumed that she was mistaken...after all...you made it abundantly clear to me that you don't want a relationship..."

His words made the rage within me bubble to the surface with increased vigour.

"What I do, and who I date is none of your fucking business, Liam! And how dare you question Fran about my whereabouts?! Why are you acting like some insane stalker?! Earlier, I did consider you a friend, but you ruined it entirely when you tried to force yourself on me yesterday! Just get it in your head! You mean nothing to me!" I screeched.