•Suhana•

"You deserve this. You definitely deserve this" I mumbled to myself as I hit my head rhythmically every 2 seconds against the bathroom wall.

The entire bathroom air was filled with the embarrassment crisis I was and am facing currently.

Why?

Why did I even do that?

Would any person in a sane mind would ever do something like that?

Well then, it doesn't apply for me I guess.

"Suhana is everything alright?" Mom's worried voice reached inside the bathroom from outside, as I tried to compose myself.

"Yes mumma, I am heading out" I splashed some water on my face using one hand without straining the other, as I then moved out.

"The Doctors said they can discharge you in the next 4 days Suha" Mom sounded excited as I sat on the hospital bed.

Same bed where me and---

Ugh, just think about something else, I mentally hit my head.

"Mom, I don't even need 4 days for that. It has already been more than 5 days, and I'm more than fine" I whined as Mom stuffed a tangerine piece inside my mouth.

"You don't know anything, keep your mouth shut."

"Mom, I am a doctor for God's sake. It's just a shoulder injury, I can take care of myself" I grumbled as I wiped my lips to make sure I wasn't spilling the fruit's juice out while talking.

My fingers froze, as they unintentionally moved along my lip corner, stirring memories and sending warmth all over my body, with my lips probably flaunting to my other organs about it's adventure that occurred yesterday due to my negligence.

"Where's your mind at?" Megha waved her hand in front of my face, as she forwarded a piece of tangerine forcing me to eat with her constant eye stares.

"Nothing" I brushed her off, as I forced myself to chew them.

Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss.

"I'm heading out" Megha declared as I decided to do anything that doesn't involve me dwelling over the kiss.

Just think about anything else, I reminded myself.

I breathed out through my mouth with great difficulty as I decided to count from A to Z to distract myself.

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I , J, Kiss, Vikram.

Ahhh, someone save me from Me.

I wriggled my hands off, emotionally done with myself and my impulsive decisions.

"What's wrong Megha?" Mom asked her, as she barged in and pulled Mom along with her outside the door.

What is wrong with her?

"Vikram is heading towards here" She whispered from near the door and ran away.

Vikram is coming here?

VIKRAM? HERE?

I panicked as I jumped out of bed, trying to look for places to hide.

Maybe under the bed?

What if your stitches tear open? My mind spit facts at me.

I don't even mind getting another stitches, but facing him right now is going to be the toughest job ever.

"You alright?" I remained still as I heard his voice from behind.

Act cool Suha, Act cool.

"Yeah of course" I turned back with a 100 watt smile.

"Why are you standing? Sit down" He walked forward, and took a hold of my hand as he made me sit, at the same time making sure he wasn't hurting my collarbone.

"You're feeling better than yesterday?"

I am feeling 1000 times worse than yesterday.

Because of you.

"Yeah, I no longer find it painful"

Only because of you Vikram.

If only you hadn't closed your eyes and put your lips on display right in front of my eyes.

"Good" He almost whispered, while his eyes fixed on his shoes.

"Well..hmm...about yesterday..." He swallowed his words as daggers from all over the room attacked me, bringing me back to reality, and forcing me to face the consequences of my hasty decision.

"Ahh, I heard you came to visit me yesterday " I could almost feel my heart clinging on to my last rib, ready to fall out.

That is the kind of situation I have put myself into.

"Huh?" His eyes shrunk as his eyebrows shot up in the air at the speed of 100000/sec.

He is pissed? For kissing him? Or for pretending that I no longer remember the kiss?

"Well...I heard from mom that you came to see me yesterday. Too bad that...I don't remember...right?" He fake chuckled as I could feel my soul leave my body with the constant confused stares he was shooting on me with his laser eyes.

"Ohh, we shared a..." He paused as my eyes grew wild.

"...shared a...?" I gulped, scared of what he was about to say.

"...shared a conversation. And it was pretty long and...intense. " He looked straight into my eyes as he continued, " Are you sure that you don't remember it?"

He sure does know what he's doing right now.

The look in his eyes. The eyebrow raise. His body language. He sure is seducing me.

Even if he had no such intention, I sure was being seduced.

"Of course! I really don't remember anything! Why? Do you think I would lie simply because I'm embarrassed? Of course not" I laughed, with my whole body shaking just by thinking about 'THE INCIDENT'

"Okay then! Take care" He turned back towards the door.

"What? You're leaving?"

"Yeah, I've got a busy schedule " His tiny nods hadn't even reached my mind, as he barged out like I no longer exist.

That's all? He's leaving? Huh?

How could he? How could he even act like this? He spoke as if he was the kindest man yesterday and today he is...just a different person.

Was it really not Vikram yesterday?

Was I hallucinating?

Is my condition that bad?

Or is it because of the...Kiss?

Oh crap, is that why he is speaking to me like a stranger?

Line! Is he drawing a line between us?

I'm doomed then. Lost the friend I had. Wait, can I even call him friend anymore?

If not, what is he even to me then?

• • • •

5 days.

It has been five days since Vikram came and checked up on me.

Isn't it mean from his side?

Shouldn't he be here next to me and be checking if I'm doing good or if I need anything?

I took a bullet for him, the least he could do is sit next to me and offer me water.

After our last conversation I had to stay in the hospital for 4 days, got discharged today morning and reached home an hour ago.

When I say home. It's my home.

And I don't even know why I'm here. Shouldn't I be there at Vikram's home?

Did Vikram fall on my dad's feet and begged him to take me away? Am I really that annoying?

Maybe I am.

I'm losing my mind for I don't know why he hasn't even texted me yet.

Is it really difficult to ask 'Are you fine?'

At Least he could've typed it as 'R u 5n', it wouldn't have taken 5 seconds of his time.

But he didn't and he won't. Guy is probably having his best times without me.

If he ever comes back to me with a guilty face, I'm going to punch his face and make sure his nose bleeds.

"Suhana '' I jumped back to reality as Megha was standing in front of me giving me weird expressions, as she forwarded my phone.

'What?' I mouthed, "He wants to talk to you,'' Megha whispered as I collected my phone from her.

"Hello?"

"Hello Suha, are you fine? Did you reach home safely?"

And BOOM! I am the most disappointed person ever.

The kind of disappointment you undergo when you order for a sizzling brownie fudge but get a cup of vanilla delivered instead.

It was Harshad when I thought it would be...nevermind.

I can't even believe that Harshad checked up on me...like everyday. And to be honest, I never really expected it coming from him.

But somehow it felt good to know that there was indeed someone interested in my well-being. Though it feels like I am collecting good looking men as my friends just like lottery tickets.

Like Harshad, Vik...Ugh

Someone please help me put a lockdown for my brain

Sighing to myself I replied,"Yeah, I am doing good Harsh"

• • • •

•Vikram•

"You're kidding right?" I grit my teeth, almost on the verge of losing my patience which is almost the size of a safety pin.

"Of course not" A calm tone from the other side of the phone made me want to smash my laptop against the wall.

If only she wasn't her sister...

"Why wouldn't you inform me? I told you to do so right?"

"And I said I wouldn't do as you say...unless you tell me why you were sneaking into Suhana's room every night after she was asleep the past few days without her knowledge?"

"That wasn't me" I tried to be upright as it meant no deal to me.

"Oh really? If I wasn't you who did I witness with my sister all these days, stealing glances, making worried faces and staying by her side without anyone's knowledge late at night? You thought I was dumb enough to not check up on her past 2am?"

"Oh wait....if not you...then who was she making out with the other day? Huh...the doctor, nurse? Or your doppelganger?" I could feel her smirk through her voice as I rolled my eyes, feeling trapped.

"Fine it was me!...Now tell me when did you get her discharged today?"

"Good boy! Now man up and take her back to your home and...by the way she got discharged today noon"

"If only it was that easy"

"Why not?" Megha raised her tone.

"Don't tell me you both made out just for fun! Wait...are you a player? Are you playing with my sister's feelings"

"Can you please give me a second to reply?" I mentally slammed my head, as I could feel the resemblance between the Chatterbox sisters.

"Okay fine, tell me what's stopping you"

"2 reasons. 1...Your dad isn't really fond of me. And 2...Your sister isn't really fond of me"

"What rubbish, you are..." Her tone raised above the clouds as I interrupted,"No more questions, me and Suhana will manage whatever that is happening, so keep your nose out of it little one."

Vinay barged in with his laptop as I hung up on Megha.

"What's wrong?"

"Boss! We ran a CCTV check on the hospital you were admitted 6 years back looking for any footage with you"

"But we had already run through it, right? The hospitals claimed that their CCTV cameras weren't working"

"Yes Sir but...they were referring to cameras inside the hospital. Which means..."

"We can have a look at CCTV cameras outside the hospital." I couldn't take the next breath, as I was going back to the night, reliving it.

Me and Vinay had been invested in finding this for the last 5 days and this has been the first ever lead we got on the topic.

Honestly I am not even sure why I'm even trying to find this person.

But for some reason, it feels like this person holds all the answers to my questions.

Maybe I could ask him/her, how bad was the situation, when they were about to save me.

And ask...if 'SHE' was still alive when they had arrived at the scene

"Exactly sir, This striked me a few days ago and so I asked the agencies regarding the footage. But since this occurred 6 years ago...3 CCTV agencies failed to retrieve the files, whereas I could get hold one one particular camera footage."

"Which camera? Where was it located?" I sprang up from the chair, unable to control myself.

"The one located in the hospital's parking lot"

"Why didn't you tell me as soon as you got your hands on it?" I shot a glare at him, as he interrupted defending himself.

"I didn't want to waste your time and disappoint you if there wasn't anything useful in there..."

"What about now?! Did you have a look at it? Did you find anything?" The more I tried to sound patient, the more it sounded impatient.

"Yes sir, I think you should have a look at it"

I grabbed the laptop from his hand and placed it on the table, as I lent over, trying to focus on the footage.

And at the time Vinay had selected on the video, all I could see was a bright red car halting in front of the hospital, opposite to the car parking with the back of the car facing the camera.

It was impossible to figure out whether it was a man or woman who jumped out of the front door.

The more we tried to zoom it, the more it became pixelated.

Within seconds I could somehow figure out the hospital nurses walking towards the car with stretchers.

And then with seconds passing...I realized.

"It isn't one...but two people we should be looking for."

Vinay remained silent, probably not catching up with my thoughts.

"The person who jumped out helped with the stretcher and walked in so there is indeed another person driving the car"

And as I completed the sentence, the car moved towards the camera, entering the car parking area, slowly moving away from the camera.

"Looks like there was another entrance for the hospital" Vinay sighed in disappointment when the person never walked back towards the camera.

"Vinay, figure out the car number from the license plate and run a quick scan for the owner's details."

"Yes sir!" Vinay nodded as he headed out.

And somewhere within me I could feel a storm advancing towards me at full speed.

• • • •

• Suhana •

"I'm fine Aishu, really!" I kept persuading two stubborn idiots on my phone, as I laid flat on my bed watching my fan spin.

"Common, she's just going to pretend like that until we see her face to face." Ankita declared.

"Can you please tell me how you got hurt?" I could feel sweat beads forming on my face.

I hadn't told either of them how I got hurt, I couldn't bring myself to. I don't want Aisha to distance herself from me or to hate her brother. And at the same time I don't want Ankita to misunderstand the situation and hate Aisha because of her brother.

"I'm not uttering a word regarding the embarrassment I faced, so let's change the topic"

"Whatever, we're crashing your place tomorrow night. It's girls night stay tomorrow " I could imagine Ankita jumping on the bed and running through the walls from the other side of the phone.

"Yeah I'm up for it! Suha's place it is then" Aisha joined in.

"Deal! See you all tomorrow then!"

"Catch some sleep Suha!" I hung up the call and threw my phone away as I stayed in the same position on the bed.

It was already past 12am and the tablets that I should've taken 3 hours ago were still lying on the table near my bed.

You guessed it right, I'm not going to eat it.

7 tablets? And I had them continuously for 4 days.

28 tablets in the past 4 days? The thought itself makes me want to puke.

28 tablets...wait, are they still in my body or are they already out. Oh wait if my calculations are right...probably right now 14 tablets are in my body right now.

But if I eat those tablets now...then there would be 7 tablets in my stomach and 14 tablets in my large intestine. 21 tablets in my body isn't a good sign.

So I'll just quit eating those today. I gave an explanation to myself as I laid back and switched off the bedroom lamp, as darkness took over my room.

I adjusted myself on the bed, making sure to be extra careful with my collar bone and closed my eyes.

Tossing and turning for the next 45 minutes or more on the bed, I sighed to myself and grabbed my phone again.

Still no messages or missed calls.

To heck with him. I'm not going to forgive him this time. I'll make him go crazy by ignoring to the extreme core.

Or should I call him? And ask him if he's fine?

'What happened to your make-him-go-crazy plan?' My mind snapped at me.

Ugh, I hate him. I hate myself for wanting this.

Sighing to myself I walked out of the bed confused, vexed and provoked.

Let me get some good air, I decided as I pulled the curtains away and opened the balcony door.

"Ahhhh" I screamed my lungs out, and could almost feel my heart finding its way out my mouth.

I furiously rubbed my eyes, wondering if I was hallucinating as the creature in front of me stood there stunned, with both the eyes wide, astonished, while seated on the balcony chair.

"What the hell are you even doing here" I yelled using my vocal cord to the fullest as he closed the distance between us within a millisecond and closed my mouth tightly by the inside of his palm.

"Shh! Be quiet, unless you want the entire neighborhood to wake up" I stared at him blatantly with my eyes wide while my heart was racing against Usain Bolt.

• • • •

"Care to explain?" I tried to fold my hands against my chest.

Yeah, I tried. But failed miserably so I just quit putting pressure on the wound.

"Explain what?" He glanced at me once as he turned around shooting darts around my room with his eyes.

Seriously? He's asking what?

"Excuse me? You just sprang out of nowhere and ended up in my room, which is creepy enough for me to lose a week's sleep"

"You switched off your bedroom light almost an hour ago, what were you even doing without sleeping?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Mr.Vikram Malhotra, first answer my question. You can creep me out with your stalking revelations later"

"I just...thought...of checking up on you" The last 5 words were almost like a whisper, yet I could hear them.

"Vikram" I glared at him with confusion.

"What?" He adjusted his hair, as my heart had already won the competition against Bolt.

"You know that my house has a front door, right?"

He remained silent as he walked away glancing around my room.

"This is invasion of privacy, Mr.Vikram" I paced forward following him.

"Stop calling me Mr.Vikram"

I know that tone. Pissed off.

"Oh really, do I know you? When did we last meet? Oh wait...a decade ago!" I turned my face away.

"Are you sulking right now?" His cute chuckles were the sweet melody that my ears have been craving all this while.

'Get yourself together Suhana' My mind sent warnings vigorously every second.

"Shut up and Get out" I pointed my hand towards the door.

"Oh wait...you can leave the way you had entered...through the balcony" He stood still with his mouth wide open, eyes tired.

"You're hurting my feelings" He clutched his heart, as he dramatically sat on the chair next to my table.

"Oh my God! Why are you talking to me like...that" I was really shook.

Did he hit his head in the woods?"

Or did he go mad after witnessing my incident?

"Oh come on, stop asking questions and get some sleep"

"I'll sleep after you...leave?" I raised it as a question as he tilted his head, stirring anticipation.

"But I'm not leaving" My brain stopped working as my jaw was cleaning the floor.

"Huh?"

"So where am I going to sleep?" He stood up from his chair, as I started losing my brain cells.

"Definitely not on the bed" I immediately sat on my small single bed claiming my boundary.