Chapter 2 - Hazel Orbs

I’m going to try and keep my long little comments at the top and the bottom to a low this time as this is supposed to be sort of a thriller and I tend to give way too much away :P. So enjoy.

Arnav lay back on the bed, his arms behind his head. Sleep didn’t come to him easily whenever he started a new mission, so he knew tonight would be yet another late night. Living on the edge of danger this was yet another welcome challenge but today had shaken him. He closed his eyes for a second only for her hazel orbs to flash through his mind, the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen, their presence still vivid in his mind. He kept his eyes closed, revelling in the vibrancy of them, hazel, almost golden, with tiny speckles of brown and green, large shimmering spheres. He sat up suddenly, hands on either side of him as he clenched his fists around the bed cover. What was wrong with him? He couldn’t seem to keep her away from his mind, he scrunched his eyes shut again only for them to reappear in his mind along with her innocent, baffled face. Ever since that first glimpse of her, clad in red, in the middle of chaos his mind yearned to see her again, he felt this burning need for her, a feeling that he himself could not comprehend, it was like nothing he had ever felt before.

His mind flashed back to those last few seconds, her unblinking large dove like eyes staring back at him as another girl pulled her away, her questioning gaze, the tiny pout of her lips. “Snap out of it Arnav!” He instructed himself as he leaned over and poured himself a glass of water and bringing it to his lips downed it all in the one go.

****

“Khushi bitiya! Come inside! It’s really dark and don’t you need to wake up early tomorrow?!” Garima called out from inside the house.

“Yes maa! I’m coming!” She dismissed shouting back. Resting her hands on the back edge of the chair she leaned back, letting the late night swift breeze blow through strands of her hair. She felt an unusual sort of peace. She didn’t know what it was but there was something about the man she had met today; his pure chocolate brown eyes nothing like the mystery that seemed to pour out of him. She could still envision his fixed gaze in her mind, his grip tight on her wrist, tight enough to leave a mark. Bringing her arm in front of her she looked at the pink bruises, his fingers imprinted on her skin and smiled softly, not quite able to understand exactly what was making her feel so happy.

“Khushi? Khushi!” Payal shook Khushi out of her trance like state. “Khushi are you okay? I mean what happened today, I mean,” she gulped, the fact that her sister had seen all of that leaving her completely stricken, “I mean the bullets,” she spoke in a whisper, looking around, not wanting her mother to overhear, “are you okay?”

“Huh?” She blinked several times, Payals words not quite reaching her just yet.

“Khushi?” Payal shook her by the shoulders once more, the irritation clear on her face, “are you okay?” And fear made bile rise up her throat as she witnessed a sudden horrified expression on Khushi’s face.

Khushi had been too lost in thoughts of his perfect face, his penetrating gaze for the events of only a few hours ago to have hit her completely. “The bullets,” Payals words suddenly brought it all forward and she felt fear grip her completely, her hands clenched onto the side of the bench of their own accord as her face contorted to that of deep fear, her eyes widening, her lower lip quivering as tears brimmed in her large eyes. The whole scene flashed before her eyes suddenly. The screams, the bullets, the speed of them as they flew past her, the sudden burst of bodies as people ran in several directions and then the woman she saw collapse to the ground, blood spurting out from the centre of her chest, creating a pool of red on her yellow dress, her horrified bloodshot eyes. Khushi tightened her eyes closed, willing the images to go away as the tears spilled down her cheeks. But they wouldn’t go, they became more vivid, everything happened in slow motion, the screams echoed through her ears, the sounds became unbearable. She tried to close them out by bringing her hands to her ears as her whole body shook from mind-numbing fear.

“KHUSHI! KHUSHI!” Payal suddenly screamed, grabbing onto her as Khushi placed her head on her knees, screaming a heart-wrenching scream. “KHUSHI!” She screamed as Garima ran out of the house, “what what’s wrong with Khushi Payaliya? Payaliya! Khushi! KHUSHI! Payal why is she screaming?!” She yelled trying to bring Khushi up but she continued to scream, her hands still closing off her ears, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Jiji! Jiji stop it jiji please!” She begged as Payal tried to comfort her. Khushi felt her limbs go weak, her whole body felt like it would give way. She opened her eyes, feeling her head spin, a dull throbbing at the back of her head, the fairy lights in the tree in front of her came through to her in sparks, blurring with each blink. She heard Payal and amma from a sort of a distance, quiet and muffled when everything began to dim and then it was darkness as she finally fell.

****

“Sir can I get you anything?” Aakash questioned, popping his head into Shyam’s office. It wasn’t like his boss to spend this late in his office, in fact he had been all too quiet since the parties horrific ending. But the strange thing about it all was that instead of enquiring as to who had been behind it, what had happened, he’d instead retreated into the office, shutting himself off from everything. There was something off, this was not normal. Shyam was a man that was accustomed to spilling blood, not someone who would sit lost in deep thought like this. “Sir?” Aakash tried again.

“Leave me be for now Aakash,” Shyam waved him off as his finger grazed over the picture frame in hand, his eyes distant. He let his eyes move over her face, an oval face framed in dark brown tendrils of curly hair, falling around her in such a way that it made her appear like an enchanting doll, her perfect pink lips, like rose buds covered in dew, her cute button nose and finally her large dove eyes, bright, dazzling dark hazel spheres that sometimes appeared a shade of olive. He closed his eyes, the pain coursing through him finally breaking through his tightly held boundaries.Throwing the picture frame on the table he swivelled around in his chair suddenly, his fingers gripping tightly onto the handles of his chair, the muscles of his face twitching with fury. No! This could not be possible! He took his glass of scotch off of the table and immediately threw it to the ground letting it chatter, shards of it flying in all directions. This could not be possible!

****

“Aman?”

“Yes boss!” Amans jovial voice came through the phone, “what’s up?”

Arnav rolled his eyes, how were people able to stay so happy despite everything that went around them, despite everything that they did on a daily basis? “Aman I was wondering if you would be able to do me a favour,” he spoke quietly as he stood in the darkness amidst trees heavy with leaves, rustling against a soft wind. He couldn’t trust speaking inside the lodgings they had been allocated. Shyam was a dangerous man and Arnav didn’t need any trouble.

“A favour,” he pondered, “as in a personal one?” Aman questioned not really making any effort to hide the surprise in his voice.

“No Aman not a personal one!” He exclaimed, raising his voice ever so slightly, although he would be able to check out something that was bothering him too.

“Oookay boss! Woah! Was just wondering,” Aman chuckled, “anyway whaddaya want?”

“Aman I’ve sent you a list of the guest list, I want you to run a trace through everyone that attended and send me information on each and every single one of them,” he instructed. “And for god sake Aman stop calling me boss!” He exclaimed into the phone in annoyance.

“Okay okay Arnav calm down dude! Was just pulling your leg man,” he laughed back, quite enjoying playing with Arnavs quick temper, “I’ll get that done right away,” he then stated reassuringly.

“Thanks Aman.”

****

Khushi was running, she could hear their footsteps behind her, rapidly nearing her but she knew she had to run. She tried to run faster but she couldn’t! Why couldn’t she run faster? She heard someone scream from behind her, a blood-curdling scream that sent her heart galloping as she tried to speed up but only in vain. They were getting nearer now, she felt a rough calloused hand fall only inches away, grazing her skin ever so slightly and then someone’s hot breath on her back. “Aaaaahhh,” she screamed when suddenly someone’s arm went around her waist, his fingers against her exposed skin, his other hand cupped around her mouth. Her chest heaved with fear as her eyes snapped open to melting pools of dark chocolate.

Khushi sat up in bed suddenly, gasping for air, her whole body soaked in sweat. She couldn’t escape the screams, the blood, the chaos and yet she couldn’t escape his beautiful soulful eyes either.

****

Arnav brought the steaming mug of coffee to his lips, letting sips of it scald down his throat. His fingers tapped away on his laptop as he paused, rewinded and zoomed in on the footage, whizzing through several images and faces. He placed his mug down momentarily, bringing a pen onto a notepad and scribbled several things down rapidly then lifted his mug back up. He was looking for an edge on to what had happened tonight and if that by any chance meant a new development they would have to work on. He scrolled through the images that appeared, a woman in an emerald green dress, large ebony black eyes, a dimpled smile; a tall, slender man, fully shaven, his bright brown eyes foreboding and his face scrunched up as he pondered something, his hand in another woman’s, leading her in. She was smiling brightly, in a vivid purple sari, she smiled gently watching him, her body was more curvy, her hair layered around her face, he observed all the faces quietly, making a mental note of each one when his fingers suddenly stilled of their own accord, his breath hitching in his throat as she appeared before him once again. Her soft confused face, her slightly arched eyebrows, her tender pink petal lips and finally those beautiful hazel orbs....

So there ya go. I know I know, those of you that read A Sprinkle of Stardust will know that this is not the sort of long updates i put up. But this is the longest the chapters of this will be for the time being ;). 

But but but... Another Arshi meeting? Next chapter ;) xx