The Nerd and The Brat ✔️

24. Harshad

Hello Fam :)

Here's the next chap. This is one of the major point in Manik's development/transformation. Hence, please be patient. As I said, I don't remember properly but this might be the last chapter where you could hate him. After that he is trading only hearts. ❤️

Happy Reading...

Cabir was furious when he found Nandini pinned against the wall at the backside of their college building, the abandoned cabin which was her place of isolation.

After explaining the situation to Abhimanyu and Mukti, he followed Manik, fearing about the safety of his brother. He traced Manik's location on his mobile and raced to the place. The head boy was whispering something in her ear while holding her in place against him as she struggled to get herself free.

Cabir's brain filled with rage as he threw himself at the head boy, bodily throwing him away from Nandini. He threw the punches, making sure to let some of the blows land on his face. If he can't kill him, he could definitely disorient his face. There were another two guys attached to his back, stopping him but they were pretty easy to deal with. Within a few minutes, the three boys were scrambling across the floor before running away for their life.

Cabir saw his brother kneeling on the floor but he had other priorities. He went to the head girl, who was rooted in her place and shook her gently, afraid of touching her. "Nandini?", he whispered, "you are fine. They are gone."

She hugged him tightly, burying her head on his chest. "Cabir..he..tried to"

He shook her again, taking her face in a gentle hold. "No, you aren't going there. They are gone. You are my fighter, right? Calm down, yeah?" He tightened his hold on her and pulled out his mobile from his pocket before sending his location to Abhimanyu in a quick text, asking him to reach asap.

He whispered assurances in her ear, soothing her with his voice as he threw worried glances at his brother. The boy was crying, his head hung low and his whole frame was trembling. Cabir's heart clenched seeing him, he was angry at Manik's helplessness and he wanted to punch something. He concentrated on the girl in his arms to keep him sane. It was another few minutes when Abhimanyu reached the place along with Mukti and ushered Nandini in his arms.

"We can talk later. Take her home", he told Abhimanyu when he saw the questions in his eyes. He brushed the tears from Nandini's eyes and looked straight through them. "You aren't letting them affect you, yeah? You are bouncing back as my fighter again. Take care." He caressed her hair before giving a small smile when Nandini nodded at him.

Cabir waited till they disappeared before rushing to Manik. He knelt down in front of his brother and drew him to his arms. "Manik, it's fine. She will be fine. Breath, now."

He rubbed his back in soothing circles as Manik babbled apologies. He broke the hug when he heard him calming down slightly. "Manik", he trailed off after seeing the bruises on his face. "Did they hurt you?"

"Nandini. They hurt Nandini. Harshad."

Manik wasn't coherent enough to form full sentences and he was breathing hard. Cabir drew him into a hug again. "Nandini is strong. She is our head girl, remember. She is stronger than letting herself be affected by a few idiots. We will take care of Harshad later. Properly. But for now concentrate on breathing, Manik and then we are going to the hospital. Is anywhere else hurting you?"

Cabir lightly ran his hand along his body and noted the places where Manik hissed. The rest of them could take a moment but the bruise on his face was turning bad. He brushed his finger to check but withdrew his hand when Manik winced. "I am going to kill them before it heals", he muttered as he helped Manik to stand up and reach their car. Some of his anger evaporated seeing his brother struggling to walk.