Chapter 15: Chapter 15

When Ankita got a grip on herself, she let go of Punit and trudged a bit away from them to be alone for a while.

Punit watched her intently as she stood with her back to them. All of this felt unreal. The brutal assault Sibal and his cronies belted out on him, Ankita’s rampage on the bullies, and now this... Something rolled over in his guts, infuriating him. His hatred for Mr. Shah had reached an all-new level. How could the man be such a coward, such a puppet as to punish the victims instead of the culprits, and that too, in the most painful and humiliating manner?

It was then that he realized why his back hurt as if scalded with boiling water. Mr. Shah had whipped him like a horse. Anyhow, he was glad that she didn’t have to take that.

Despite knowing that she was furious and needed time to cool off, he went ahead and joined her. Cautiously, he stole a glance before meeting her glare.

She studied the bruises on his face for a moment. When she did, an inferno stirred in her eyes. Suddenly, she grabbed his hand and tugged him along.

“Hey! What?” He cried in surprise.

She led him to the wash area close by, opened up the tap, and wet her hanky under the running water.

“What? What’re you doing?” he asked, wondering what she was up to.

Without a word, she dabbed the wet hanky over the bruises on his face.

“Ow!” He winced and glared at her, dumbstruck.

She ignored him and continued to tend to his bruises, this time, on his lip.

Hissing in pain, he blocked her hands and tried to stop her. “Stop it yaar, leave it, it’s hurting,” he tsked.

She slapped his hand away and mopped the dried blood off his lips.

Through scrunched eyes, he stopped and studied the very serious look on her face, the concern boiling in her angry red eyes. He couldn’t help but smile at how hard she tried to look tough, but ended up showing how soft and sensitive she really was inside.

Noticing this, she paused, looking angrier than ever. “What’re you laughing at?” she spat crossly.

“Nothing,” he shrugged innocently.

She tore her eyes off him and resumed attending to his face. “He’s got himself fucked up as usual and then finds the whole thing funny,” she muttered under her breath, but he heard that.

“I didn’t get myself fucked up,” he asserted.

“You did! Okay? Now shut up!”

“I didn’t...”

“Then why the fuck didn’t you fight back?” She grew louder.

“Babes, there were six of them,” he cooed in an attempt to calm her down.

“So? So what!!!?” She grew even louder, making her bandmates turn heads. “And don’t ‘baby’ me!!!” she warned through clenched teeth.

“Okay...” he said quickly and pursed his lips.

“Just be honest, Punit. Did you try, at least try to land one punch on any one of them?”

“They knocked me out before that,” he sighed.

“You allowed them to,” she retorted.

“I didn’t.”

“Oh, shut up! If you’d at least tried, Punit, things would have been a lot different.”

He pondered over her words. Maybe she’s right? If only he had stood his ground and defended himself. He might have taken a few extra hits, but maybe it wouldn’t have gotten this worse. But knowing her, she was bound to get back at Sibal any time of the day.

In all these years, he learned an important aspect about Anki. She was very possessive about the ones she loved and cared for. She tried so hard to look badass before the world. But deep inside, she was softer than a cake. Finding her loved ones in a state of pain or discomfort hurt her so badly. Such a situation always infuriated her, sometimes to the point of violence. He still couldn’t understand what made her that way. Why was she so bull-headed and stubborn? Why was she like this?

Yeah, you’re right. You wouldn’t have got yourself into trouble, he wanted to say but chose to keep quiet instead. He felt it was best to defuse the situation.

He released the tension with a deep sigh. A little too deep that he felt a sharp pain ring in his gut. He groaned a bit, earning a frustrated glare from her.

“What did they do to you?” she asked anxiously.

“I don’t even remember,” he looked away and lied. Giving away details would only make her madder than she already is.

“You need a doctor,” she said, panicking a bit.

“I’m fine,” he assured.

“No, you aren’t,” she argued.

“Babes, I am, now chill.”

“At least go and sit there!” She grabbed his hand and began to tug him towards the bench when Punit noticed their fathers Ratan Agarwal and Rajendra Soni coming from afar.

“Shit,” Punit hissed with his eyes on them. “Dad’s here, both of them.”

Ankita’s hold on his hand loosened as they drew closer and halted before them. The first thing they spotted were the bruises on Punit’s face.

Raj held his son’s face and assessed the damage, while Ratan studied Anki and Punit.

Noticing the elders, Anki’s bandmates drew closer.

“What happened?” Ratan finally asked.

“Sibal and his gang beat him up, uncle,” said Jyotsana.

“There were six of them,” Bruno informed.

“He never got the chance to attack him these past years, ‘cause we were around most of the time. But today, we had practice with Mr. Andrews. So, he took advantage of it. When we... Anki and us... got there, they’d already messed him up.” Edwin sighed.

"And you did nothing?” Raj shot at his son.

“I tried, but there were six,” Punit reminded quietly.

“Next time, don’t stand there like a mutt and take all the hits. Give them hell. Whether one, six, or twelve. Do you understand?”

“Yes, papa.”

Though Raj sounded strict, it was obvious that his son’s state stung him.

“After that, we took on those guys, we murdered them, and then, Mr. Shah tried to punish us, instead of them,” said Jyotsana, “Anki tried to stop him, and he... slapped her.”

A pained silence followed.

Ankita felt her heart drop to her guts. She wished that her father never knew about that. She knew how much it would hurt him. When she finally worked up the courage to meet his sharp gaze, she found his eyes studying her, clearly, with a lot of agony in them.

That was the moment, every bit of resolve and courage crumbled. Throughout the ordeal, she’d tried her best to stay strong-headed like always, not to cry though she was on the verge of it a couple of times, seeing the hurt in her father’s eyes rammed through the last barrier and stung her heart.

Punit, whose attention ping-ponged from Ankita to her father, and back, noticed red, hot tears brimming in her eyes.

Shit... is she crying, he wondered as he leaned over to get a better look.

She stood with her head hanging low and her eyes on the ground, as if desperately wanting to hide her tears from the world. Her cheeks, eyelids, and nose shone scarlet red from the struggle she put up to get a grip on herself. As the tears spilled over, she hastily swept it away.

Damn, she’s crying, he realized with a crushing feeling in his chest. “Anki...? Hey...” he cooed and nudged her in the side. Her hand trembled, and he reached out and held it to comfort her with a gentle squeeze.

It only broke her further.

“Hey, shh, listen, come on...” His throat hurt that he could barely talk. Seeing her so broken and defeated made him weak in the knees. He felt so helpless and guilty. How he wished there was a magic charm to cheer her up, but all that he had at the moment was a squeeze and gentle strokes with his thumb to her hand.

Mr. Ratan tore his eyes away and nodded his head as if determined to fuck the whole world. “Okay...” he finally uttered and returned his glassy eyes to his daughter. “You don’t worry, okay? Everything’s going to be alright. Trust me on this. Okay, baby? Hmm?” He gave a few comforting pats to her tear-stricken face.

Mr. Ratan couldn’t do it anymore or hang around for another second. His daughter was hurt and humiliated, and it was killing him inside.

“Don’t worry, darling,” Punit’s father, Raj, joined in comforting her. “We’ll sort this out. Cheer up.”

Mr. Ratan turned to Ankita’s bandmates while trying to look unaffected. “Your parents not here yet?”

“On their way, uncle, they’ve been informed,” said Jyotsana.

“Good,” he said and turned to Punit’s father. “Shall we, Raj?

“Sure,” Raj answered, pausing to give Punit a slight nod.

Edwin, Bruno, and Jyotsana stood around and watched the men disappear into the Principal’s office. When they turned back to Ankita, they found her hiding in Punit’s chest and seeking comfort while he held her close, stroked her now and then, and whispered sweet, consoling nothing’s into her ear.

A smile appeared on their lips. Seeing these two together always did that to them, especially now.

***