Arranged HATE

[20] Upside-down

NANDINI'S POV :

I storm out of the hall, utterly devastated. I still could not believe my brother, who always used to support my feelings for Manik, is doing this to me.
I agree that he cares for me but now all I crave is for his trust. I have tried to explain him about my situation, I have tried to tell him that I cannot hold on with the regret of not trying to set things right.
And in the end he questions our bond saying that I'm choosing him over Manik? What rubbish!
Only if he'd trust me with my gut feeling, once and for all, I wouldn't have walked away, leaving him in agony.

I straight away walk to the rooftop to clear my mind off things. I am not yet ready to face any kind of situation.

Feeling the cool breeze, I sit in a corner, hugging my knees.
My heart felt heavy but my mind fumed in anger at Abhi for overthinking about the moment when he saw Manik and me together.

I fetch for my phone in the pocket and find it plugged to the earphones.

I carefully put the buds into my left and right ear.
I leave a message for Navya before clicking on the small, round button on the clip.

It takes me by surprise when my phone automatically plays "In silence" by Janet Suhh, as if it could detect my sadness.

[ A/N : This song is really beautiful. Give it a listen, you'll definitely love  it! deekshitha4545 here's my surprise for you! ]

I close my eyes and listen to it on repeat as I get carried away by its soothing melody and the lyrics. I sit there hugging my knees tight, with not even a single drop of tear leaving my eye.

**

" Guys... " Navya shouts, " problem solved! " she lifts her phone in the air.
She shows the text Nandini just sent her.
Everyone gathers around to get a clear view of the message.
" leave without me in the evening. Please don't wait for me. I want to go home alone! "
The message reads.

" Okay! " Kabir nods, " any other obstacles? He asks.

" She fought with her brother so she obviously won't be going home with Abhimanyu! " Mukti says.

" Not with us too " Arnav and Navya say.

" So, no more obstacles " says Dhruv.

" So she'll definitely go home alone. " Alya says.

" And you know what to do after that? " Kabir turns to Manik and questions.

" Yup! " He makes an OK with his fingers, " Leave the rest to me. " he winks

" The plan doesn't end with you Mr. Manik. So we cannot leave the rest to you! " Mukti flashes him a quick fake smile.

" argh! Not the literal meaning of that! " He says with annoyance.
Mukti playfully sticks her tongue out at him.

**

NANDINI'S POV:

The loud noise of the ringing bell distracts me from the music. I open my eyes and click on the home button to check the time.
I was not at all surprised for spending four hours on the rooftop.

I moan in pain when I try to stand up as my legs hurt for sitting for a long time.
I put up with the cramp and manage to walk to the end of the rooftop. I rest my hands on the rails and watch people leaving college.
In this huge crowd it was difficult to find my friends.
I stay there, blankly staring at everyone leaving the premises.
It took quite a time for the college to become empty, with no students.