Ananya's POV :

"Right, so I'll see you all tomorrow", said Roma as we dispersed.

Yes, I couldn't believe I was actually back on FYF.

When I had stepped into the hotel that morning, I'd felt like a goat being sent to the alter for the holy sacrifice. Only a garland had been missing on my neck.

After Arjun's almost lethal accident, I was still here. But Arjun's life seemed to have lit up after the incident. It had turned out to be a boon in disguise for him.

After my parents had agreed to enroll him in a music institute, he was so insanely happy. He was most likely to go to Mumbai for studying and he couldn't believe that his dream was actually about to be realised. He forgot all about trying to win FYF.

Not two months ago, he was insisting that I had to quit the show, but that evening he had supported my decision and insisted that I come back.

With neither Pooja nor Arjun around I felt a bit put off. Shilpa and Oviya had clearly not expected that I would come back but were neither cold nor warm towards me.

Kishan was my only solace. He apologized for not being around when I left and took the trouble to enquire all that happened at home and even asked after Arjun's health.

I felt my closeness with him waning but still spent all my time there with me, struggling to detect what exactly I felt about him.

Anyway, we were now close to the finish line so it hardly mattered how I felt.

I would probably never meet Kishan after FYF. We were not in the same school and out of the hundreds of medical colleges in Tamil Nadu, it was highly unlikely that we would end up in the same one.

But then I also knew he was aiming for Madras Medical College just like me. And he was a merit student too.

So at the back of my head, I knew it was actually very likely that we would end up in the same college. With some difficulty, I pushed off the thought from my mind.

Regardless of the future, for now, there were just three more days to go before I left this cursed hotel. And in the meantime, I had to do my best and find out who had been Arjun's attacker.

"Don't take too much risks", Arjun has warned "Try to find out who it is and if you seem to be at a dead end, for heaven's sake leave it. Just finish the competition and get back. We don't want you too coming from there in an ambulance like me."

For once, I was going to listen to my brother. Whatever happened, I was going to be okay with it. I mean, how hard can three days be?

But as usual I was mistaken.

My inauspicious time phase, started that very day.

                                        ~~~~~

"Enough Ananya", Kishan said grinning with difficulty "Stop tickling me. Someone might see us and we're standing in such a wrong position".

"We don't know anybody here and we're only going to stay for another three days", I smirked "So it doesn't matter".

Just that morning I had assumed my love for Kishan was fading out and had thought it was over before it had started, but now I felt all the gush coming back to me really fast.

"This is sick An", Kishan said cheerlessly.

Come on! I was putting so much effort for the guy. He didn't have to be so nonchalant. Or was he genuinely worried about something else.

"I'm fine, if that's what you're thinking", he added before I could ask, throwing one arm around my shoulder.

I leaned in towards him and my lips were almost on his when he pulled out.

Just like that.

I instinctively backed away too.

What had happened?

I couldn't figure out. Was I smelling? No way!

"Umm..Kishan?"

"Sorry Ananya", he muttered.

"No problem", I said, my voice sounding high pitched.

I was hoping the explosion taking place in my stomach was not showing on my face. Kishan took his arm off my shoulder, slowly. His hands looked puffed and I saw the area beneath his fingernails were reddened. There was something weird with him but I couldn't place what exactly it was.

I walked back to my room feeling puzzled and a bit irritated.

Why was Kishan being so moody? If he was going to continue like this for the next two days, then I certainly didn't want to be there.

And that's when the coin dropped out of nowhere.

I suddenly knew what I'd been seeing in Kishan. The redness under Kishan's fingernails had been blood.

There had been dried blood under his fingernails!

OH. MY. GOD.

Kishan was the mystery guy!

                                     ~~~~~

"We should've known!" Pooja yelled on the phone.

"I know right", I replied uneasily.

For some reason I'd felt like calling her and not Arjun. My brother was already lying in a bed, unable to get up and being shifted from one hospital to another. I didn't feel like he could be of help right then.

"The signs were always there", Pooja said slowly "Now I come to think of it".

"Yeah", I said sadly "That drawing of the unhappy child and the lady was supposed to be him and his mom."

"That teddy bear was his too", Pooja said "He was the one who discovered the writing on the wall, as well. He drew out the blood from beneath his fingernails, that's why there were no scratches on the rest of his body. And he brought in the plates that day. But...but what about the drawing disappearing?"

"The baking soda!", I said "He must've used Raghav's baking soda to wipe it off the wall".

"Does baking soda do all that?", Pooja asked in surprise, "Okay fine, I won't argue with a class topper".

I didn't reply.

"One more thing", Pooja said "Do you think he did this deliberately?"

"I don't want to find that out", I mumbled "Actually I wish I hadn't found out even this much!", I said all of a sudden, the euphoria of finding the culprit fading out of my system.

Pooja sighed, "I understand", she said kindly.

But I was sure she didn't. She hadn't spent half of the day holding Kishan's hand.

When I didn't reply again, she asked "What are you going to do?"

"Go talk to him, what else?", I said weakly "I thought I'd immediately rush to the management after finding out who it was. Shit! This definitely wasn't the scene I'd imagined".

"I'm really sorry about this An", Pooja said.

"There's one more thing", I croaked "Kishan told me he stayed with his parents somewhere for a holiday and that's where their relationship completely broke off."

"And you're wondering if that place is Walter's Residency", Pooja completed for me.

"Not wondering. I am almost certain of it", I said numbly, "And I'm going to confront him".

"Take your phone with you", Pooja advised "Call me if he tries to do anything to you".

"No it's fine", I said in a much braver tone than what I was feeling "He won't hurt me".

"Are you sure?", she asked anxiously.

"Yes. And Pooja while you're at it", I said "please call up my injured brother and talk to him. It'll make him very happy".

                                  ~~~~~

For the first time in my life I understood what exactly 'weak in the knees' meant.

I could barely stay on my feet as I dragged Kishan to the balcony wondering ceaselessly if it was actually possible that was a criminal behind those adorable dimples and irresistible curls. And if he wasn't doing it intentionally (which I hoped was the case), I didn't like to think about what more was there to this.

"You know, Kishan I was thinking about the writings we saw", I said and immediately getting a nasty feeling in my mouth for saying it.

Kishan looked at me, slightly agitated, "What about that?"

"I wondered how much someone would've suffered in this place to write that kind of messages up here. Their whole life was probably destroyed in this place. 'Everyone is destroyed at Walter's Residency' - that was the message right?", I explained, now practically hating myself. I couldn't do this to Kishan.

"Yeah maybe", he said now looking particularly disturbed and pained.

Okay, enough. I couldn't do this anymore. My nerve was failing me. Maybe the next morning I could just go and tell the management.

"Shall we go down to the restaurant and grab something?", I managed to croak to Kishan.

"No I want to stay here", he said.

"Okay then, shall I get us something? Like orange juice?" I asked.

"Okay".

I turned and was just walking out of the balcony when I heard a scrambling sound from behind me.

I turned around and froze at what I saw. Kishan was standing on the edge of the railing, his back facing me, ready to jump down.

"No Kishan! Wait!" I yelled, "Please!".

He didn't turn to look at me. I ran towards him. But before I could get to him, he had keeled over.

I stood there like a dummy, my heart thumping for a few seconds before I heard a loud thud. He had crashed to the ground.

I couldn't bear to go over and look down.

A/N : Hey babes ❤️

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