Pune

"Aunty please! Aunty nahi! Aunty please!" I heard Akku scream as she was literally pushed into my room. "Aunty I will not talk to this man! He doesn't even deserve a friend! Aunty pleaseeeee...."and she stopped. I heard the door of the room lock when I was trying to figure out what this drama queen was now up to.

"Kya? Kya drama kar rahi hai?" I asked her getting up from my bed and walking towards the door. She had been getting on my nerves now. "Get out of my room. Mujhe tujhse baat nahi karni." I told her. Whenever she came to me it was always because she wanted to talk about her.

"DRAMA!?"she shouted widening her eyes. "Drama dikh raha hai tujhe ye? Aunty had locked me up in this room with a jerk like you! She said jab tak I don't talk to you she won't let me out. Ghar bhi nahi jaane degi mujhe!"

"What? I don't want to talk to you.. Tu please yaha se ja." I held her arm with one hand and the door knob with the other.. I figured she was serious when the door didn't open. "Maa! Kya hai please open the door!" I shouted but didn't get any response.

"Dekha? She went locking me up with you. Ab toh tu bolega beta.. Jab tak nahi bolega tab tak mujhe aunty nahi jaane degi and tab tak I will eat your brain!"she sarcastically smiled at my face.

"Please, I said I don't want to talk about it. I said I don't want to talk about anything.. Just!" I left her arm and walked by to my bed. I didn't want to talk about anything. I didn't want to listen, I didn't just care anymore.

"Parth please.. Right now even aunty isn't there and Parth you can share anything with me, you know it right? You always have yaar.. Kya ho gaya hai tujhe? You've just changed yourself and its definitely not a good change. Please talk to me Parth.. Ek baar yaar, not for yourself but for me at least? Even I've been worried sick because of you. Look at yourself! Kya tha.. Kya ho gaya hai.. Just ek baar sunle.. Please."she literally begged me to talk to her. I knew she cared for me. She always did, like a sister. She was always happy when I was happy, she cried when I cried, she was my best friend. I could hide my pain from mom but I could never hide anything from Akku. She came and sat next to me and out her hand on my shoulder. I knew I couldn't hold on anymore and all of a sudden I wanted to let it all out.

"I loved her Akku. I still do." I said as a tear left my left eye.

"But you didn't love her enough to let go of your past Parth. You didn't love her enough to let go of the insecure person that you had become. You loved her, I know you did, I know you still do and I know you always will. I know you don't want to forget her, I know you still want to go back to her, to them and you know it too!" She was right. She was right about everything. How could she know me better than I knew myself?

"I was drunk. I didn't mean to say any of it that night. Jo bhi maine usko bola tha uss party mein.. I didn't mean any of it. I know she loved me..."

"Then why did you say all of that? And even if you said it, why didn't you apologize later, huh?"she interrupted me.

"Because.. Because.. I don't know... I.. I don't know." Why didn't I apologize? Why did I hurt her so much? Why didn't I stop and think what I was doing? Why did I leave the house that night when I knew she needed me the most? Why did I walk out on her, on them? Why?

"Because Parth, even though you knew that she could never break your trust and even though you knew it that she loves only and only you, you still thought that she was going to leave you again just like Sukriti did. You were scared of rejection. You were scared to be broken again. You were holding on to that bad past of yours and you were letting it ruin your beautiful present and future!" Even though I knew she loved me I held on to my past. Somewhere deep inside I knew it all along, why I never accepted it I don't know. "And your silence says that you do realize it now.

"I don't know.. I don't know Akku." I got up from my bed and started to walk around the room. "I don't know what it was but how she let him touch her? That too mere saamne? Just.. How?" I was again burning inside.

"Parth! Vo usko help kar raha tha! He's her friend Parth! By doubting on her because of that guy you are actually doubting on us too!" She stood up and came in front of me.

"What? Us? Where do we come in?"

"Parth, like them even we are best friends! Bachpan se! Imagine if someday my boyfriend tells me to stay away from you and he says he hates you and doesn't like you around me and asks me to break my friendship with you then how would you feel?" She stopped waiting for an answer, but when I didn't speak for long she continued again. "Do you know how would I feel? Terrible. I will feel terrible Parth. I will not want to go away from someone I've grown up with! Parth I'd feel like the person I love doesn't trust me! Because what else could that mean? Huh?"

"Do you know that guy had feelings for her? Do you think I'm mad? Main kyun thodunga uski friendship? Why would I want her to stay away from him?" This time it was me who was waiting for an answer. "Because Akanksha, I knew he had feelings for her. Niti's sister herself had told me once that Tushar liked Niti bachpan se, he had had feelings for her since childhood. Isliye maine usko bola tha to stay away, but no! THE DAY hoga, the day she decides to listen to me."

"Okay.. Theek hai. For once, let's accept that the guy had feelings for her, but what was her fault in all of this? Parth if my boyfriend would have told me that my best friend has feelings for me I would have slapped him right there. I know what my relation with my friend is. Even if that guy had feelings for her, did he force it on her? He knew she was in a relationship with you but did he ever try to break you guys up? It was you who did that. She was not at fault at all yet you blamed her. For what?"she stopped for an answer I guess but continued the the next second. "Leave it. I'll tell you why. Because you thought that Niti bhi tujhe Sukriti ki tarah ditch karegi. Because yes, you didn't trust her enough. Because you did love her, but not enough to maybe trust her." Her words hit me hard. Every thing she said made sense. Maybe hearing it out loud from someone who knew me better than I did, made it sound correct and made it seep in.

"Lekin..." I realized I had nothing to say in my defence. I realised that everything she said was right, everything I had been hiding from, everything I had been avoiding. I had hurt the girl I loved the most! I had left her when she needed me the most! I did not trust her when I always knew she was right! I had left my baby too.

"Parth do you remember what color did Sukriti like?"she said snapping me out of my thoughts.

"What? Where does she fit in?" Why was she asking me such stupid stuff when we were in the middle of a serious conversation? "Are you out of your mind?"

"Just answer me."she said in a firm tone.

"No.. I don't.." I replied.

"And Niti? What her favorite colour?"

"Its black." I said even without thinking for a second.

"Sukriti's favorite actor?"

"I don't know.."

"Niti's?"

"Damn she's crazy about Shahid kapoor! I mean.. Okay, they have almost matching heights but what's so good about that guy? I'm much better, trust me." I said getting a bit jealous. I knew about her obsession with Shahid, she was mad about him!

She asked me a few more favorites of Sukriti and of Niti. I knew nothing about Sukriti but about Niti's favorites, I knew every thing. From her favorite actor to her favorite brand. Everything!

"What does all of this mean? Why are you asking me this?" I knew everything about Niti but how was this related to what we were discussing earlier?

"Because Parth jiske vajeh se you left Niti, you know nothing about her. Parth you never loved her, it was always just an infatuation for you. What you couldn't take was to be rejected by Sukriti. Parth do you really think what you had with that girl was love? What you felt for her was love? Because if that was love then you should have known her in and out but you didn't. Tujhe Niti ke baare mein choti se choti cheez bhi pata hai, uska favorite cartoon tak you know! And all this while you kept hurting her because you thought that she will hurt you just like the girl you loved did once. Parth no! Sukriti had hurt your ego and that was what you held inside all along. Tujhe laga it was love but it wasn't." She explained to me in a soft tone.

I hated it when she made sense. She was right in every word she said. Realization started to seep in. "Yaar maine dekha tha, aunty ne dekha tha how much you loved Niti! That happiness, that sparkle, that smile of yours! Parth all of this was not there earlier, it was just because of Niti. Parth please, wake up, realize your mistakes before its too late! You left her all alone, she was bloody pregnant with your child! You know, I think for once she would actually have forgiven you for that humiliation she faced but what hurt her the most was when you didn't accept her and your baby. That baby is not just hers, tera bhi contribution tha ya nahi usmein!?" I actually nodded in a yes to that stupid question of hers. "Then how could you just leave her?" she continued, now yelling at me "Parth seriously maybe there is still a hope for you! Even though you're an hopeless idiot! Please wake up. That's all that I can say, the rest is your call. Teri life hai Maine apna part acche se play kiya hai and I can't do anything more than this."she moved away from me and started walking towards the door. Why wasn't I accepting stuff when I knew I did the wrong thing? I had to accept my mistakes! I had to go back to her! I had to woo her back! I had to give her all the happiness that she deserved! I had to bring her and my baby back to me. Yes, I had to. I wanted to. I needed her, I needed my baby.

"How do I get her back?" After a long silence I finally spoke. Akanksha was about to leave, when my words stopped her feet. She turned back to look at me. "I want her and my baby back, I need her. Within her is where I find my peace, my solace, it all lies with her. I need her back. I need her with me, her, me and our little princess. Help me." I looked at her, helplessly. I had done such blunders and now that I had realized, I wanted her back. I wanted to apologize to her and to my baby, I wanted to tell her how much I loved her and what a stupid, idiot, fool I was to let her go. I need Akku's help.

"Are you sure about it?"

"I am as sure as I am about me being alive. I need her back."

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I had been getting a lot of 'please get them back soon' requests but guys getting them back soon would take a lot of time! It should actually. But anyways, I took a step forward, I made him realise. Its a bit abrupt but just because of the requests :) So I hope it doesn't spoil anything.. Maybe.. As in for the character of Parth. Thank you :) !