Song of the chapter is Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paloma Faith

-22-
-Zoya Afreen-
-Present-

__________

Delmore High
20 November, 2030
12:30 am

As we treaded through the familiar beige hallways of our school, a soft sigh left my lips.

I stopped in my tracks. "Forget it, we're never gonna find anything here."

This made Himanshu stop in his tracks as well. He sighed.

"This is a disaster, Himanshu. We're reaching a dead end." I spoke, a hint of frustration laced in my tone. "How is all the footage from that day just gone?"

It had taken us approximately fifteen minutes to figure out how to get to the security room and another ten to realise that whatever we were looking for had already been wiped out clean from the place. There were no traces of any cctv footage from the day of the reunion, which meant that we were back at square one again.

"I have...no idea." He purses his lips slightly. "It seems like this killer's thinking one step ahead."

"Yeah no shit!" I cursed. How could he know our every step?

"But I still don't understand why he killed those four boys and that lady? I mean, why them? Why not just come after one of us?" Himanshu furrowed his brows.

"Because he's a psycho killer, Himanshu." I stated in a matter-of-fact manner.

"No, Zoya, think about it. These people....they always have some kind of motive, some agenda that they're trying to fulfill." He enunciated. "Think about it. Even Yash had a strong motive. He was pissed at Alishka and Avinash, so he killed them. Ahaan found out about his real identity, so he had to kill him."

"Yeah, but he also killed Vivaan." I pointed out.

"Yeah, but that was a casuality. Vivaan had captured something in his camera which could've gotten Yash into a problem. That's why he had to kill him."

"Wait, are you trying to justify the murders committed by Yash?" I asked, raising a brow.

"No, absolutely not, Zoya. It's not about justifying. It's about realising that their indeed was a pattern. Whoever came in his way,... was killed to save his ass." Himanshu explained.

"So what are you saying? That there is some kind of pattern here too?"

"Maybe. Maybe it's something they all share in common." Himanshu theorized.

"But then....what exactly do we have in common with these people?" I asked. "Why come after us?"

"That's what we need to find out." He looked up at me. "If this is all connected to the 2019 murders, then we all share something in common."

"We're the victims." I added.

"Not necessarily in his eyes." Himanshu said. "But yeah, that."

"But that would rule out the others. The one's who've been murdered."

"Well, maybe that's the reason we aren't dead....yet." He enunciated. "Maybe that's what makes us different from them."

"That's disconcerting." I narrowed my eyes.

"Yeah. Because why would the killer go for some,... no offense to the dead,... random lady and not Saina, or even the rest of you, despite-"

"All of us being in the place." I completed for him. Massaging my temples, I muttered under my breath. "Dear heavens!"

"My guess is....if we figure out what the pattern is....we might be able to save his next-to-be victim from dying." Himanshu stated, sighing. "Maybe even ourselves."

"How are we supposed to do that?" I asked.

"We investigate the dead, instead of finding traces of the killer." He spelled out. "Because it looks like he's been covering up his trails pretty good."

"He'll make a mistake. They always do." I rolled my eyes at the situation.

"Let's hope so." He shook his head.

Just then, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I retrieved it and found Saina's caller ID flashing.

"It's Saina." I gave Himanshu a look.

"Pick it up."

And as I did, Saina's muffled cries echoed on the other end. My heart immediately sank.

"Saina, what's going on?"

"It's him....he was here." She stuttered between sniffles. Himanshu signalled me to put it on speaker, looking at my horrified expression.

"Who?" I asked as I did. "Who was there, Saina?"

"The killer." Her hushed whisper sent shivers down my spine. I exchanged a look with Himanshu.

"And...and..."

"And what, Saina?" Himanshu asked gently.

"And...Veronica
.....she was....stabbed."

_____________

To say that I had never seen Himanshu as panicked and out of control as he was the entire ride to the Delmore hospital would be an understatement.

But then again, this was about Veronica. And when it came to Veronica, there was nothing he wouldn't do, no line he wouldn't cross to ensure that she was safe.

As we rushed through the busy hallway of the hospital, with nurses and doctors flogging the place, my eyes spotted Siya and Saina.

I ran in their direction, with Himanshu right behind me. As we got to them, before a word could slip out of my mouth, Himanshu asked, "Where's she?! Where's Veronica?"

"They've taken her inside. They wouldn't let us see her." Saina explained, her voice quivering. Her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying.

"What happened guys? And Siya, where's Kartik?" I asked.

"Here." A voice came from behind us. We both turned and found Kartik, with his fist wrapped in a bandage and blood on his face.

"Oh my god, Kartik, what happened?" I asked as I hugged him.

As they explained the entire fiasco, my heart sank to its very bottom. The killer had had the nerve to cross all of the police protection and had almost tried to kill one of my closest friends. The anger boiled inside me. If Kartik hadn't shown his presence of mind, we could've lost Veronica tonight.

"Well...there goes your theory out of the window, Himanshu." I spoke as soon as Kartik finished.

"What theory?" Siya asked, looking between the both of us.

"I'll explain everything....Right now.... I just.... I need to see her. I need to make sure she's okay-" Himanshu uttered, out of breath.

"She will be." Kartik reassured. But we all knew, he wouldn't be assured unless and until he had seen her himself.

One of the doctors wearing a blue uniform came out just after, asking us if we were here for Veronica. As we nodded, he told us that Veronica was alright and they had given her a dose of morphine to help with the pain and that she would drift off soon, so if we wanted to visit, we should do it now.

And that was enough words for Himanshu to rush past the doctor and into the room that they had kept her in. We followed right after thanking the doctor.

As we all entered, I saw Himanshu breathe a sigh of relief at having finally caught her glimpse. Veronica's eyes were trained on him but as soon as we entered, they shifted to us. She winced as she tried to sit up.

"Hey..." Himanshu warned softly as his hands travelled up to her arms but then stopped themselves midway.

Veronica looked over at him once, so as to reassure him that she was indeed fine before sitting up properly. He slowly moved away from the bed and came and stood next to me.

I smiled inwardly. God, these two!

"Are you alright, V?" I asked.

She nodded softly. Her face was even more pale than usual. However even in that dull white hospital gown, she looked better than the rest of the people there.

"Did you see who it was? I mean....you fought it... did it feel like a guy or a girl?" Siya asked.

"I honestly don't know." She uttered, shaking her head. "At that point.... I was just hoping Kartik would just run and get the hell out of there."

"I couldn't leave you there, Veronica." Kartik said, frowning slightly.

She gave him a weak smile.

"Anyways,... you should get some rest." Himanshu spoke as he looked at her again. "The morphine's probably gonna kick in soon."

Veronica's eyes met his and she slowly nodded. Himanshu slowly moved forward and pulled her blanket atop her.

"Take rest, V. We'll be right outside m" I kissed her forehead before closing the door behind me.

As I came out last, I found Himanshu sitting on the grey bench just a little feet away. My lips pursued in a thin line.

"Guys, why don't you grab some coffee?" I asked the others. "It looks like you need it."

"Yeah, I was thinking that too." Siya said, interlacing her fingers with Kartik's.

"Himanshu and I'll be right behind." I gave a small smile as she nodded and walked away with the rest.

Once they were out of hearshot, I went and sat down next to Himanshu. He shifted slightly as my arm brushed against his. I slacked back and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

We both sat in silence for a long time.

"She's gonna be okay, you know." I spoke first, without deigning him a look.

"Yeah... yeah... I know." He stammered.

I paused for a moment, to look at him. "Then why are your hands still shaking?"

He stopped and slowly gazed at me, then at his hands which still couldn't stop shaking. He looked down instinctively.

"I was in the car with you. I saw....how worried you were....how your hands... they couldn't stop shaking." I said, looking forward. "I saw how... despite being a wonderful driver, you almost drove into three lampposts on our way."

He scoffed, chuckling slightly. I closed my eyes with a thin lipped smile.

"You still care about her, don't you?"

A long pause followed, causing me to open my eyes. When I did, I found him fidgeting with his fingers.

"I care about....all of you."

"Yeah, I know." I said, looking directly at him. "But not as much as you care about her."

He moved his gaze to look at me, blinked and then lowered his eyes, without saying a word.

"If you're still in love with her....then why on earth are you, mind my language, marrying that mammoth?" I asked.

He smiled slightly, sighing.

"I moved on, Zoya." He said. "I guess I was just tired of waiting for nothing. Tired of....being stuck in the same place. Tired of..." He trailed off.

"Veronica?"

A blink. A sigh. A forlorn look on his face.

"But then....have you really moved on?" I asked.

He inhaled a deep breath and looked in the direction of Veronica's room.

"I don't....think I'll ever be able to." He said. "Not completely."

I nodded, pursuing my lips into a thin line. Even blood wounds and deep cuts were in no comparison to the cruelty that love carried with itself.

Love wasn't soft, like the poets said. Love had teeth which bit, and the wounds left behind never close.

And as I softly rested my head on his shoulder, I realised the answer to my question, 'Does love kill? Can one die of love?'

'....so it seems.'

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this turned a bit philosophical at the end, but well! now you can say that I'm giving you the full package -- romance, thriller, horror and angst!

all in one!

tell me how much you liked the chapter? was it worth loving? do we need more zoya and himanshu scenes in the future?

tell me in the comments below! And also don't forget to vote and share the book!

love,
Bosedisha