~Dangerous Things~

My eyes fly wide open. How come I didn't hear him come in?

"Hey." He smiles.

I walk up to him, covering the distance between us in three long strides. "What are you doing here?!" I whisper. One of these days this guy is going to give me a heart attack, I swear.

I hear the sound of water coming from the bathroom and thank God inwardly. Navya won't be out for a long time now.

"I came to see you."

A sudden rush in my stomach indicates the presence of butterflies but I try to keep them at bay for now.

I stand a foot away from Manik, frowning, "There are doors made for that specific purpose, Manik! This— " I point outside the window, "— is dangerous."

He tilts his head and studies me for a second before bringing his mouth near my ear. I shiver as he breathes, "Why are you whispering?"

I immediately pull back and place a hand on his chest to keep him away, "Navya is in the bathroom." I whisper again pointing my thumb towards the bathroom door.

"I know. I saw her stomping away after that bitchy swirl she did. I jumped in right after that." He says and my heart stops for a second.

Oh dear God. How much did he hear?

"Did you.. You heard what we were saying?"

"Nah. I heard what she said though. Who are you still hung up on?" He lifts his eyebrows in question.

I sigh heavily and feel a weight being lifted off my chest. I don't know why but it feels good that Manik doesn't know what we were talking about. I just don't want to let too much out too soon especially when I still don't know anything.

"Why are you here?" I ask ignoring his question on purpose.

"I came to see you." He says and leans back on the window sill, sliding down so that now our heads are at the same level.

"Aha. Okay. And?" I look over my shoulder towards the bathroom door.

"Nandini, you didn't.. you didn't tell Navya about what happened last night, did you?" I jerk my head back to him.

A lot happened last night, I want to say. But which part is he talking about?

As if reading the confusion on my face he says, "About that guy in the kitchen."

A shiver passes through my body at the mention of that horrible incident. "No." I say at last. "I didn't think it would be wise to let her know.."

"It won't be. It's already dangerous for you, I don't want to have to keep an eye on Navya as well. She's too much of a pain to bare." He says, scrunching his nose in displeasure.

Yeah, well. At least their dislike is mutual. One less thing to care about.

On the mention of Navya's name I turn my head back and stick my eyes to the bathroom door. I feel like every second that I am not looking at it, there are higher chances of Navya to come out sooner than expected.

"How do you feel now?"

I look at him,"I feel fine now." And go back to staring at the bathroom door as if It'd stay closed if I keep looking at it.

"Fine and distracted." He says and I look at him again.

"What?"

Manik heaves a sigh and pulls himself straight up. His fingers encircle around my wrist. "Come." He says and starts walking towards the door.

"What? Where?" I whisper as I follow after him. He walks down the stairs with my wrist still in his hand, taking me with me. "Why are we going down?"

"So that you can talk to me by actually looking at me." He says and comes to a halt as we enter the long hallway. Leaning against the wall behind him he crosses his arms across his chest and watches me.

"What now?" I ask as I lean back to the wall in front of him, precisely two feet away.

"You do recall you fainted again last night, don't you?" He studies me.

"Again?" I frown. "I fainted just once, right over th—" I point to the front door on my right and stop.

The memories of last night rush back to me making me feel sick in the stomach. I recall hands holding me hostage, a feeling of a needle being injected and an awfully disgusting laugh. The feeling of sickness in me is accompanied by another growl in my stomach, not so loud this time.

I shudder on account of the disgusting recollection of the incidents of the previous night.

"Hey," I suddenly feel warmth around me and I move my eyes off from the door and settle them on Manik who has now crossed the two feet distance and is standing close to me, in front of me. "That is not happening again, okay?" He says and I nod automatically.

"But you said I fainted again?" I inquire.

"You did. You don't remember?"

"I don't think so.."

"What's the last thing you remember?" Manik asks.

I take a moment to think back to last night and the first thing that comes to my mind is Manik. His hands all over me, my hands all over him, feeling the dents and ridges of his hard flat stomach and the muscles of his back. I recall his lips on mine, feverish and not at all gentle, his fingers digging into my waist, my fingers hooked into the waistband of his jeans.

I remember stopping him from leaving when he asked me to rest. I remember getting lost in his arms when I shivered with the fear of being alone that night.

I swallow back and feel the moisture being lost from my lips. "I don't remember much." I lie.

For a second Manik seems to be taken aback because he steps away from me and looks down at me curiously, "You don't?" He asks with a slight disappointment in his tone.

"Nope." I shake my head. "Although.. I remember asking you to stay.."

"You asked me to stay twice last night." He says and the frowns on his forehead drops. "Which one do you remember?" He tilts his head and I see a slight grin forming on his lips. "The one before we did stuff or the one after that?"

"The time when I asked you to stay." I say, ignoring the grin. "I don't really remember much." I lie again but I know my cheeks have given me away.

I clearly remember last night.

I had jumped up on Manik and hugged him tight when he promised he'd spill the beans, finally. It gave me a ray of hope, made me happy to know that all I had held onto was not for nothing after all.

"But, I think you should rest right now." He had said when I asked him to start from the start.

"You said you'd tell me." I looked at him accusingly.

"And I will. But right now you need to rest." He lifted me off the table despite of my many protests and had laid me down on the bed.

"What if you wake up tomorrow and decide against it?" I sat back up. "I'd lose my one and only chance to find out about all this, Manik tell me now!"

"I will not decide against it Nandini. And I seriously think you need to rest before I tell you what I have to." His voice had turned grim. "I don't think you're going to like it very much." He leaned against the window sill on his butt.

"I don't care, tell me now." I held up my argument.

"You might even think differently about me after that." He had added.

I glared at him, "I just told you nothing can make me hate you or think any differently about you as I do right now."

Instead of replying back Manik just kept looking at me.

"Have a little faith." I said when he didn't waver his gaze.

"Oh, I do. I do have faith in you snow but you need to believe me when I say it that I will tell you everything but just not right now. Tomorrow, for sure. You've had a pretty long night and I think you should let the dizziness fade naturally now."

Not having any good reason against that, and not wanting to let Manik think I didn't want to have faith in him, I gave into his wishes. "Fine." I said and fell back into the bed.

"Thank you." He smiled at me. "Now I'll leave you to it." He said and bend down to slip out of the window when I had thrown the covers off me and rushed to his direction.

"No, don't leave!" I tugged on his arm. "I can't.. I don't want to be alone tonight. Please."

"Oh," His grin widens and he takes a step ahead, closing the gap between us. His hand reaches for my waist and as soon as his fingers come into contact with the thin fabric of my shirt, I feel current pass through my veins. "So you don't remember this—"

I slide away from him, standing back against the other wall and pull at my clothes, suddenly feeling really conscious about myself.

Where was this feeling last night, huh?

I know there's a deep red colouring on my cheeks already, I can feel the warmth of the blood there.

"I remember last night, I was teasing you. You don't have to demonstrate it again." I say, tucking back my loosely spread hair.

Manik laughs, "I knew it already. Your red cheeks gave you away."

"Yeah, okay. Whatever. But I seriously don't remember fainting for the second time." I look at him and watch his expressions change.

"Well, you did faint. Right after you asked me to stay back. For the second time. I think you remember that—"

"I remember. That." I add quickly. "But not the part when I fainted again. Anyway, what do you want to tell me?"

"I wanted you to know something before you freaked out and went into the 'I hate Manik' zone again." He says.

"If you're here to tell me the truth about stuff, let me inform you that now is not the best time for it. Navya can be out any minute now."

"I'm here to tell you that I have to go out today." He says and something inside me drops. "I thought I'd tell you before you started thinking I lied to you about wanting to tell you the truth."

"Oh." Is all I say.

He's going away. Again.

I can't help but feel a tinge of disappointment. Nothing ever goes right when he is away.

Manik presses his lips together and slides his hands into his pockets. "So, okay. I'll be back by the evening. I'll come see you then?"

"Okay."

"Okay then." He says. We look at each other for a few seconds before he moves his head to face the front door at a distance. "I'll go now." He walks in the direction of the door. "Oh, by the way," He stops midway and turns to face me, "I left you my number before leaving this morning. It's in a book that was on your study desk."

"Okay." I smile lightly. He keeps his eyes on me for a while but soon turns away and starts to walk towards the door.

I watch his retreating back with a sinking feeling in my heart. It feels like someone has put a heavy weight on my heart and it's sinking deep into the ocean. With every step he takes away from me, the weight on my heart gets heavier and heavier and it sinks deeper and deeper.

Unable to bear the feeling any longer I open my mouth, "Manik, wait!"

He stops right next to the door and retreats his hand from the knob and turns around. I run the small distance towards the door and stop in front of him. "Thank you." I say.

"For?" He looks puzzled.

"For telling me this before I freaked out." I smile. "I just need to know one thing."

"Okay."

"You said it's too dangerous for me, is it really? Are you... Is that why you're going?"

"It can be." He answers. "If you decide to stick with me— "

"And I will." I say. "You don't get a say in that, it's my choice. I want to know."

"I think I have understood that concept by now."

"Is it dangerous for you? This.. whatever it is." I ask not bothering about his earlier response.

He takes a minute to reply, "It is. It is very dangerous snow." He looks into my eyes, "But don't worry, I'll not let anything happen to you again, do you hear me?"

I inch forward and take his hand into mine, "But what about you?"

"What about me? I'll be fine." He shrugs. "You'll understand once I tell you everything after I return. Right now I have to leave, Nandini." He slides his hand out of mine.

"Manik, does wherever you are going has anything to do with what happened last night?" I ask. My heart, not wanting to listen anything more, sinks again.

"You mean with us?" He frowns.

"I mean with.. With that guy."

Manik holds his gaze, looking into my eyes for a few seconds before he answers. "It does." I notice the dark rings underneath his eyes, the telltale of his lack of sleep. The bruises on his jaw and cheekbones are more prominent today although he has taken off the band-aids from his face.

The drowning feeling in my heart is replaced by a sense of fear. My heart starts to beat like drums as I remember why he has those bruises on his face. "Don't go." I hold his arm with both my hands. "It's too dangerous, Manik. Don't go and don't leave me here alone." I plead, clutching onto him like a kid.

He removes his arm from my hands and places his palms against my cheeks. "I'll be— Do you have fever?" He frowns.

I frown back.

"No."

"Snow, you're a little warm here." He presses his hand to my cheek, "I think you do have a fever."

I ignore him. "Manik, don't go." I say. "Please. I don't want to know anything about why that person came or what he wanted. You say it's not happening again and I believe you. I don't need to know anymore than that. That's why I haven't even asked you. Manik. I don't like this."

"I'll be fine, Nandini. It'll be okay." He bores his eyes into mine.

I want to believe him but I can't ignore this feeling in my chest that tells me I've been dragged into something dangerous and that involving Manik in all this would put him in danger too.

I put my palm over his and bring his hands down. I can feel the roughness of the scratches over his knuckles. It makes me shiver.

"Manik, why is it such a big deal?" I say and feel stupid for saying it.

I was attacked last night. It has to be a big deal.

"Nandini—  "

"No, okay. It is a big deal, I know. But can't it be a coincidence? It's not like something like this happens everyday.. it was just one time. I don't want to have anything to do with this stuff."

"Snow, it's too big a deal for it to be a coincidence and I thought about it a lot last night and for quite sometime I have been confused about certain things but now that I put two and two together, things do make sense, somehow."

I look at him, my eyebrows knit together in confusion, "Sure, they do make better sense. Now that you've confused me more than ever. What does whatever you just said even mean?"

He sighs, "I just need to find out what that guy wanted from you and why he targeted you."

"I can tell you that. He told me he had been chasing me. Why do you have to go put yourself into danger for that? We can go to the police with this."

He stiffens all over. "Did he tell you something?" He asks. "And I am not putting myself in danger."

"He told me that he finally found me and that I've been keeping him and his team going in circles and that I have pretty good bodyguards." I say recalling the incident. "Although I have no clue why he would think I have bodyguards." 

Manik's eyes turn away from me and settle on something behind me. I turn my head around and find nothing there. Looking back at him I see a distant look in his eyes that shows his confusion.

"I don't understand."

"Neither do I. So it's best to let it be, right? Why are you putting yourself in danger?"

"Because that's what I do, Nandini. I associate with danger. And this time it's not about just any random person. It's you. And whatever that guy said to you.. If I can find out what that's about then I will. I'll do anything to keep you safe."

"But Manik, I don't understand, how can you do anything about it? It's not your duty. Why can't we just go to the police with all this?"

"The second I befriend you I assigned myself on an eternal duty to safeguard you. I might have not been much capable of it back then but now I can guarantee you that I am. And you will know why soon. And trust me when I say that you don't need the police when I'm here."

I look at him ignoring his 'eternal duty' speech, "Manik. Why can't it be a coincidence?"

He sighs. "Because I fought him, Nandini. And he managed to run away from me. He wasn't fighting how an amateur would and that got me thinking— "

"That got you thinking what? Like you'd know how a pro fights." I remark. "Manik, this is ridiculous!"

"For a fact, Nandini, I do know how a pro fights. I'd love to help you get that confused look off your face but I have no time right now. I have to go!" He pulls away from me. He seems to have gotten irritated by my constant denial.

"Fine then." I step back and cross my arms over my chest, "Go."

Manik stares at me before sighing heavily. He shakes his head and puts his hands on my arms, "I'll be safe."

"Okay. And I'll just stay in here and wait for another random guy to attack me while I also worry about you going to a random place for some random information. That sounds about right."

"I've taken care of that too. You'll be safe in here."

I laugh incredulously, "If you're forgetting let me remind you that I was attacked in my kitchen, in this same house last night."

"But it won't happen again. Trust me." He looks into my eyes. "You do, right?"

Without another thought I close the distance between us and wrap my arms around him, laying my head above his beating heart and pulling him closer. I close my eyes tight and breath him in. I smell the same cologne on him as I did yesterday but no sweat. A boyish smell mixed with fresh soap. His arms surround me.

"I am so damn confused about everything right now. Whatever you just said didn't make any sense to me and all I got out of it is that it's too dangerous. Not just for me but for you too and you're stepping into it for me. I don't know what this is and I don't understand why it can't be a coincidence, I just don't know. Just.. tell me you'll be back just as you're leaving and I'll put my trust in you when I see you tonight."

He runs his hands through my messy hair soothingly along my back. "You will not see another scratch on me. Okay? I promise I'll be back. I'm not going to fight, just for information."

I break away from him and stand back with my hands to myself. "Go then." I look at him. "Go do your bizarro snooping around or whatever it is that you do."

He smiles, "I'd rather call it looking for a lead."

"Yeah, right. What are you, FBI? Some secret government agent?"

"That's not what we call it here. But close enough." He winks at me before turning around and sliding outside the door.

I stare at the closed door replaying his words in my head.

That's not what we call it here. But close enough.

What does that— Okay, what?

Wait a minute.

-----

Hey guys!

Now I've decided to get a little regular on updates and therefore I have days when I will update. Twice a week. Tuesday and Saturday.

Yay! Stay glueddd! A lot of fun is coming your way and I'm excited about it.

Please ignore the typos.

Do like and comment.

XOXO 💋