After what happened yesterday, the only thing that I did when I saw Ved was to run. We had the same lectures but I never went even in a ten meters radius of him nor made any eye contact.
Ayush was absent again and I knew he must be taking a rest at home. His attendance was irregular but since his father was an influential person, Ayush didn't need to worry about that. He was allowed to study from home and he could send his assignments through his helper or someone else.
But there was one thing for sure. His health was not good and though he played soccer, he was suffering through some mental problem. And I knew I was responsible for it some or another way. I wanted to ask about it but I was too scared to do so.
I was sure that if I even took Ayush's name in front of Ved, he would bury me in the ground without thinking. So, I always ran away whenever lectures got over and during lunch, I made some excuse to Surbhi and left earlier than usual.
I was worried about Ayush, but I knew I could do nothing in that matter. I wasn't aware of what I did for him to act like that and I didn't think I would be able to help even if I got to know.
Moreover, he had Ved to take care of him. He didn't need me. He never did. I was the only one who kept pestering him and made him my best friend by force when we were kids. I was really fond of him-I still am but it was never mutual.
I was sure he tolerated me just because he had no other choice. I didn't give him one. I always relied on him to solve my fights with Ved and made him stay by my side. I used to complain to him about Ved everytime and he always understood my side.
I wished I had a time machine to go back in the past and beat my younger self and put some sense in her. I was a complete brat, and I enjoyed pulling pranks on others; mostly Ved.
While going down the memory lane, I didn't realise that I was walking without looking where I was going, and I banged into a wall. And yes, it was actually a wall this time and not some guy. I rubbed my forehead and stepped back.
I wanted to punch the brick wall but realised it would only hurt me in the end. I continued on my way but suddenly halted when I saw Ved in front of me. He was staring at me with narrowed eyes and no emotions on his face.
Run Sandhya! Run!
So, that's what I did. I turned on my heels and ran like Road Runner. I heard Ved calling my name but I didn't reply and kept running till I reached somewhere. I didn't know where I was. Some students glanced at me curiously but I ignored them.
After a few seconds, I noticed that I was on the second floor, in the Second Year students' section. I rested my back to a pillar and drank some water. I looked out from the corridor to check if Ved was anywhere near. He wasn't.
"Kid?"
I turned around on hearing Rajeev's voice. He asked me if I was okay and I nodded my head. Soon after, Mayank also appeared and when he saw my state, he began laughing. I shot him a glare but he went into a laughing fit.
He knew I was avoiding Ved like my life depended on it, and he tried to make me understand that I was safe, but I didn't believe him. Rajeev told him to calm down and asked me what I was doing in senior section.
"Just strolling," I lied and punched Mayank on the shoulder when he opened his mouth to tease me.
"Sandhya!"
On hearing Ved's voice, my eyes widened and I quickly ducked behind Rajeev. Ved strode towards us and stopped in front of Rajeev. He looked at me and I grabbed Rajeev's left hand as a support.
"What's up, Ved? How is your basketball practice going?" Rajeev asked.
"It is going fine, bhaiyya," Ved replied but his eyes were on me.
I was peaking from behind Rajeev and waited for Ved to leave but he didn't. He casually chatted with Rajeev and Mayank for a while and kept glancing at me.
"Can I have a little talk with her?" Ved pointed towards me and Rajeev looked over his shoulder at me.
I shook my head and Rajeev raised his eyebrows in question. "You don't want to talk?"
I nodded and he pursed his lips. Ved was shooting lasers at me but thankfully, the bell rang and the whole hallway got crowded in mere seconds. I quickly retreated my steps and got mixed with other students.
When the guys looked for me, I just waved my hand in the air and sprinted off. All of them had different expressions on their faces. Rajeev was confused, Mayank was amused while Ved looked like God of War.
Just when I turned towards the steps, I heard loud footsteps behind me. I looked behind and all of my blood drained out from my face when I saw Ved coming towards me. Adrenaline pumped up in my veins and I ran like Usain Bolt.
But Ved was hot on my heels and he warned me to stop but I didn't. I tackled other students, fell a few times, but continued running. If he caught me, I would be surely dead. After a few minutes, I dived inside an empty classroom and hid under a desk.
Ved soon arrived and scanned the area. He went towards the windows on the other side of the room, and I took it as my chance to escape. I moved my feet and was about to cross the threshold of the classroom, when Ved caught me from behind.
My back hit his chest and I said a quick 'R.I.P.' to myself. Today was the day I died. My body went limp and I tried to move my limbs, but it was like my body had officially given up on me. My doom was near.
"You can sure run like hell, Sandy Pandy," Ved commented and I could feel his heavy breathing.
"Just kill me already," I said and gave up.
I will miss you, Mom and dad. Surbhi, Parth, I will always miss you.
"What kind of weird stuff are you thinking?" he asked and I shook my head.
He tightened his hold on my waist and looked down at me with a weird expression on his face. I couldn't make out if he was angry or frustrated since my back was against him. He grabbed my right arm and my body went rigid.
I was wearing a long sleeved pullover which hid the bruise on my elbow, and I thought he was going to break my arm for sure this time.
Ved moved up the sleeve slowly and stopped above my elbow joint. He rubbed his thumb around the purple bruise and did just that for a whole minute.
"Does it hurt?" he asked and I shook my head furiously.
"Don't lie, Sandhya."
I didn't respond and he pulled down the sleeve of my sweatshirt. He turned me towards him and braced his palms on my shoulders. I ducked my head and glanced around for a way to get out of the place.
"Look at me," he commanded but I kept my eyes glued to the floor.
He sighed and stepped towards me. I stepped back and he again took a step forward. We kept doing this and my back hit the wall. I glanced around me but there was no one in sight. I could be murdered today and no would even know.
"Hey! Stop over reacting. I am not going to kill you," Ved assured but I didn't believe him.
"Say something atleast!" His voice raised in the end and I flinched.
I dug myself deeper into the cold brick surface and when he raised his hand, I shut my eyes close. I thought he was going to hit me but the hit never came. I opened my eyes and he was looking at me with a saddened expression.
"I am sorry, but I did nothing," I said and pushed back the tears.
"Then why do you always make mistakes that you have to be sorry for?" he questioned.
"I didn't know that Ayush will cry. I was just talking to him."
"What did you talk about for him to react like that?" he asked in a low voice this time.
"I... I wanted to.... I just wanted to apologise to him for his tenth birthday which got ruined because of me," I explained.
"Did he tell you anything?" Ved asked and clenched his jaw.
I shook my head and he let out a huge breath. He ran a hand through his hair and after a few minutes, he spoke up.
"Don't bring that topic ever again. Especially, in front of Ayush. You got that?" he advised and I nodded.
"I promise I won't go near him," I replied fastly and Ved's expressions became relaxed.
He stepped back and I rubbed my eyes. I could sense his stare on me but I didn't have the strength to look at him. He told me I could leave and I stepped out of the classroom. I didn't run but walked in a slow pace. I knew Ved was not following me.
If he wanted to kill me, he could have done that earlier. I didn't blame him for reacting like that during yesterday's episode. If I was in his shoes, I would have also done that. He was just protecting his best friend, nothing else.
But I decided that I would not wave off Ved's warning. He was dead serious about what he said and I didn't want to land myself in more trouble than I already was. Only if I had paid heed to him from the start, I wouldn't be feeling guilty like this.
I reached The Banyan Tree and sat down under it. I hugged myself and pulled the hoodie cap over my head. I closed my eyes and decided to remove unnecessary thoughts from my mind but someone had to disturb my peace time.
"Wake up, sleepyhead. I got some work for you." Mayank shook me but I ignored him.
He did that a few more times and when he saw that I wasn't paying him any attention, he poured water over my head. I opened my eyes and hit him on the shoulder. He hit me back and threatened me that if I hurt the Dean's son, I would get suspended.
I rolled my eyes and he chuckled. He sat beside me and handed me a flyer. I was about to make a boat out of it, but he shot me a 'don't you dare look' and I stopped. He told me to read it and I did but I didn't find anything new.
"What is this about?" I asked as I reread the contents of the flyer.
"Volunteer work. Here. Distribute all these to the First year students." He handed me a small sized box with a lot of similar flyers in it.
"What?!" I gave the box back to him.
He shoved the box back at me. "Help me in this and it will really benefit you."
"How exactly?"
"You can earn extra credits if you get this box empty by tomorrow evening," he offered.
"Are you serious? You aren't joking, right?" I looked at him doubtfully.
"Come on. Have some trust on your Mom." He pushed my shoulder.
"Mom?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Yup. If Rajeev is your adoptive father then I am your Mom by default." He smiled.
I looked at him with pursed lips and flat eyes. I sometimes wondered if he had a brain or not.
"You are really weird," I remarked and put the box of flyers beside me.
"Like you are the one to talk." He rolled his eyes.
"Whatever."
"Just do the work."
"Fine, but I won't promise anything."
He gave me a thumbs up and got up. He left after irritating me and I glanced at the box beside me. I sighed and looked around me. There were hundreds of students roaming around in just this small part of college and I was supposed to hand these flyers to everyone in first year.
Was Mayank mad or what? How was I supposed to do that? Argh! I will kill him one day.
I rested for sometime and began with the work to save time and effort. Since, it was Friday today, I didn't need to go to the gym. I had three days off in a week from my work and it was upto me whether I wanted to work extra hours or not.
So, I got started with the work Mayank had asked me for and it was fucking tiring. Students were not interested and I had to force them to take that tiny piece of paper. I lied about the credit points and some students accepted it.
I used that tactic and by the end of the day, one third of the box was empty. To make it disappear quickly, I decided to go to the dorms. After a hectic day, no one had the strength to argue and it would make my task a lot more easier.
I pumped myself up and walked towards the hostel. While I was knocking on the fourth door of girls' hostel, I noticed a familiar sulking figure few metres away, on my right. He was carrying the same box as me but it was a bit big in size compared to mine. He had an annoyed expression on his face.
"Shreyas!"
He turned in my direction when he heard me calling his name. I shook the box in my hands and a small smile of relief curved his lips. I went towards him and asked him if Mayank had given him the task. He nodded and I understood his condition. He was also a victim of Mayank.
"Don't worry. We will get this work done and leave soon," I assured him.
His mood brightened up and we continued our work. Shreyas told me that the finale of 'Rising stars' was next week and I congratulated him for making it to the finals. He asked me how I was doing now and I gave him an 'okay' sign.
We finished our work though our boxes still had a good number of flyers in them. We made our way toward the exit and he went in the parking lot to get his car. I waited for him and once he left, I also went to my bus stop.
Today was really tiring. With all the running, long lectures and then that volunteer work. But one thing was stuck to my mind.
Why did Ved look so concerned about my bruise? He is so weird. He should worry about Ayush, not me.