That sudden throwaway remark from her had caught him offguard. So much so that it had triggered a stronger than expected reaction.
Desire.
It was getting his blood pumping, boiling even as he looked at her.
The way her dress framed her backside. The way it curved inwards from her neckline just below her shoulder blades and settled neatly on her hips, widening a bit more there.
Riveting.
He gagged as he tried to think of something else and turned away. His senses were way more sensitive now. Shooting all over his mindspace and threatening a spillover.
What is this nasty feeling I have inside me for this girl?
He closed his eyes, exhaling rapidly and wiping away sweat from his brow. Willing it to just go away.
What the hell was that? Why did she say that and why did I have that abysmal reaction to it?
He was certain he didn't want to harm her. This wasn't a lust for blood. It was a base emotion he had in himself for years, pushed down and built up in regret.
Did I have such a strong feeling for her?
"Um...Piya, are we friends?" he asked as he watched her walk around her room, cleaning up her stuff.
"Sort of." She said casually before thinking deeply.
"No wait, not really. I mean you were the one who talked to me first, so do you consider me as a friend?" she asked him as she pushed several of her items inside her cupboard.
If only I remembered doing that.
"Did you hit your head somewhere, Sanit? Get a concussion from a fight? Although I never saw you as a rowdy, that would definitely make things interesting."
She had this smile on her face that gave a sense that she was either partly joking about it or mocking him and that made him break into a smile of his own.
He found it soothing to be with her in this moment, the smile helping him reflect it.
Whatever that feeling was, seemed to have receded.
"Was I-sorry...am I usually a very calm guy?"
"Calm?" she said that as if he had said something incredibly daft. "You are a chatterbox. And you make me one too at times."
He didn't know for sure what she meant by that but it certainly painted a different picture of himself.
He glanced at the open balcony and walked to it, the setting sun grabbing his eye.
Piya watched him go, wanting to stop him from exposing his presence to her annoying neighbors but relented when she saw the faraway look on his face.
When she was satisfied with her room, she walked to the attached stairs outside her room which led to the terrace.
"Hey come on up. Its more breathy."
Sanit followed her, her bare feet like a beacon to him as he exited the doorway and walked out and into the terrace.
The evening wind gushing past both their hair, affecting Piya the most as she struggled to gain a grip on her loose strands and turned to him with a beaming smile.
When they were at the parapet wall, she finally asked, "so what happened?"
Sanit sighed inwards, struggling to find a meaningful answer to her question.
"It's difficult to say. I don't even know if I should say."
Piya waited hoping he would go further but folded her hands when he didn't, "that's too bad."
Sanit shook his head, bending his head down as he stretched his arms on the walls, "look I need some context."
"Context?" she had her eyebrows raised.
"Yeah like how many days or how long have I known you?"
She wanted to question him further but seeing him in this state she just said, "we spoke for like one day before you disappeared and I never saw you in college since, thinking you had dropped out after you weren't able to get the money for the fees."
"And how long has it been since you last saw me?"
"Mmm...probably a week."
"Ok," he nodded, getting a vague idea of the time passed here, "and what was that about me saving you?"
She flushed a little and played with her hair, "its as I said. I was walking home, with my ears plugged in like you saw today and out of nowhere you grabbed me to prevent a monster from pouncing on me. Very heroic by the way."
Sanit gave a weak smile, "and then?"
"There was another one, you told me to wave my arms to distract the limping one while you punched one square in the jaw. And then we fled to my place."
It didn't give him much except the fact that monsters were rampant here too and he was somehow embroiled with people that dealt with them.
People like Bassi and his goons.
A sudden thought invaded his mind and he held Piya by her shoulders, "wait, I...I had a friend, um...he was hurt I think, I don't know..."
"Uh first, let me loose and second...." she relaxed as Sanit's grip on her eased, "yeah I remember. He's in the hospital."
Suddenly her eyes widened, "oh my god, is that what happened to you both?" she had her hand on her mouth, her eyes wide.
"What, what happened?" He asked a little concerned about her change in tone.
"Dude, it's definitely a concussion...we need to go to the hospital."
She took him downstairs, where she asked him to wear her father's clothes and took him on a bus to the hospital.
Despite his protests, she insisted on having him checked out first before he could see his 'friend'.
When he was given the go-ahead and cleared of any conditions, he made Piya lead her to where Akhil was admitted in the same building.
Through the glass he saw a bandaged and battered boy, tubes sticking out of his mouth, his hands as he lay on the hospital bed completely motionless.
So that's him. Akhil.
He had fully expected to have a very strong reaction but when he didn't, he just stood there feeling empty.
Maybe it's not as strong as I thought. Maybe he's not that important as this girl.
According to what Piya told him, Akhil had been targeted by some goons when they were unable to get to Sanit, in the process torturing him to extract his whereabouts.
Sanit had very little doubt now that Bassi and his gang were responsible for his friend's current state.
Remembering who Akhil was partly jolted him at a faint loss and also at the vague memories he had of him.
Sanit had met him as a hostel mate when he had shifted for his studies here.
It was his suggestion to make quick money with Bassi's gang and that choice, had brought such events to unfold.
"He isn't even powered and look at the state of him," Piya said then looked at a middle-aged couple seated nearby, "his parents are devastated."
Sanit didn't turn but noted the pair of them. Clearly distraught.
Sanit pointed to Akhil and asked, "How do you know him?"
"I don't actually," she confessed, "but when you stopped coming to college, some friends of yours stopped by to inquire about you. That's how I got here. Even made some small talk with his parents over time."
She seemed proud of herself and looked at them, "do you want to maybe talk to them?"
Sanit almost wanted to run away at the mere thought of that. But Piya was insistent.
"What do I even say? Do they blame me?" He eyed them nervously from where he was standing.
Piya shrugged her shoulders, "at this point they'll blame anyone so think nothing of it. Just go." She pushed him gently.
Neelam and Raghu, were Akhil's distraught parents, with the mother resting her head on her husband's shoulder.
Upon Sanit closing the distance, Raghu tapped his wife's head who immediately shifted her blank gaze towards him.
"Hi, I am Sanit. A friend of Akhil."
Neelam's pupils darted to and fro, before something seemed to register and she sat straight, "I remember. He used to talk about you on the phone constantly."
"Oh, I see."
He turned to see Piya who had her hands folded and was staying away at a respectful distance but watching closely.
"Um what have the doctor people said... about his condition." He asked without having anything else to talk about.
The mother sighed, obviously tired. "He's retreated into a coma. That's all they've been saying."
Sanit clocked the father's silence and apart from the initial nod how he had made no effort to talk to him.
Do my parents still care about me?
Strangely I don't even remember having parents.
A shooting pain made him wince and he excused himself. Finding the nearest staircase he began to climb and climb till he reached the top.
Yes, there it is. Back again.
That numbing ache could mean many things. That he had a fractured home. Or some bad memory of it.
And that this was more compelling than seeing a friend injured was very much telling of his present condition.
That he had something he didn't relate well with regards to his parents or his caregivers.
Unlike Akhil.
Is this envy then? Do I want this when I don't have it?
A huge wave of loneliness overcame him. Making him once again doubt his decision to ever return.
"Hey are you ok? I'm sorry if I pushed you into something you weren't ready for."
Piya's voice floated from behind and he shook his head.
He didn't even realize when he had let himself walk into the roof where the sky was getting darker as night approached.
He felt like resting his arms on the wall of the roof as he looked down and around at the city.
"I'm fine. Just a bit overwhelmed."
She came close to him and gently placed a hand on his, her eyes soft and caring.
It felt very strange for him to get so close and personal with this girl he had just met some hours ago. It almost felt like he didn't deserve it.
"You're a very good friend," he said finally.
She broke into a short giggle, "I know I am."
When a minute of silence passed, Sanit finally decided on something he had been contemplating ever since he had met her.
"I was in an otherworldly realm for a few hundreds of years, Piya."