Chapter 4

-Rehanna-

@-Rehanna-

●Four● I Climbed Mount Everest For You

"Urgh" Hailey massaged her scalp, head in her hands and a bottle of aspirin by her elbow. "I have the hangover from hell!"

"That's what you get from drinking with the Devils" her friend rolled her lips to swallow her laugh.

"Well I'm sorry we can't all be kept busy by cohorting with Abhimanyu Birla, I saw you in his arms last night, something you wanna say, Akshu? Hm?"

Dropping the bottle from her hand, she screeched when it hit her toes. "You, you saw that?"

"Oh" she laughed, "Everyone did, honey, we all saw you dancing circles around him" sipping her water, she looked at her over the glass, "Literally".

Kneeling on the ground with the bottle in her lap, she slid onto her bottom and rested her back against the wall.

"Ah, a demonstration of last night's happenings, I assume his chest is comfier than the wall?" She spoke coyly.

"Shut it, you" Akshara warned. "All I know is we were talking, then he was mad, then we were dancing and then you came and so did uh, what's her name?"

"Aarohi? She's the daughter of a Sinner, they're hoping for an alliance, so if Abhi marries her then there'll be no more balcony dances at midnight, at least, not for you...unlessssss" she dropped her head to the side.

"Unless what, Hailey?" She crossed her arms in annoyance.

"Well, they could form an alliance with a Saint instead?"

"Are you trying to say what I think you're trying to say?"

"That depends on what you think I'm trying to say" she coughed.

"I'm not marrying him!"

"Okay, okay" Hailey held her hands up. "Clearly I rushed it" she whispered to herself.

"What was that?" Akshara eyed her, chin jutted forward.

"Oh nothing, I'm just saying, the spark is there, do you know how much trouble would stop if an alliance was formed? The Sinners would be wiped out and this town would be calmer under the control of the Devils and the Saints, there'd be something to appease everyone. Look, I'm of course not saying marry him right now, but you both clearly have something, what's the problem with seeing if the something there could be something more?"

"Other than the fact I don't want to marry anyone and the fact I don't believe in romantic love?"

"Yes, other than that?" She almost growled.

"My brother hates him".

"Oh yeah, I forgot that part" Hailey offered her an awkward smile.

~~~

Kairav paced back and forth across the living room, hands in fists by his side and his eyes almost manic.

"Bhaiya, talk to me at least?" Akshara took a seat on the couch, concern causing her fingers to grip her dress and pull at the thread holding it all together, which funnily enough seemed very symbolic of her life right now- slowly falling apart.

"Those Devils are nothing but evil, you hear me? It's in the name, Akshu, evil is right there". Kneeling before her, he cupped her face "I need you to be honest with me right now, okay?"

Nodding, she held his hands in her lap.

"Did you attend Abhimanyu's welcome home party the other night?"

"Yes".

Forcing himself up hurriedly, he smashed his hand into the wall. "Goddamnit, Akshu, do you know how bad that makes me look? I was told you were there, but I didn't believe it, I said my sister would never betray me like that, she'd never betray our bloodline, but then I saw a picture of you entering a cab from right outside and still I thought there had to be some mistake, for hours I've been waiting for you to tell me they're wrong, that the picture's false, Akshu even if I had seen it with my own eyes, I'd still believe whatever you said!"

Inwardly releasing a breath of relief at him only knowing that, she stood up to comfort him. "Bhaiya, I'm sorry". She hated to break his trust, especially when in a world like his, trusting the wrong person often got you killed, she never meant to hurt him by going there, all she really wanted was an end to the fued that reigned her entire life. "I just went with Hailey and-".

"And nothing!" He scowled. "I don't want you hanging with that girl anymore".

"You can't tell me who to befriend" she reached for his arm, trying to keep her tone calm. "Hailey is the only friend I have in this town, do you know how difficult it is to find someone with no gang affiliations? Near impossible but I found one person, she's also a colleague at a job I adore and she makes me laugh and if all of that wasn't enough, she sees me as Akshara, not just a" grimacing at the horrid taste now in her mouth, she spat the word out, "Saint".

"I'm sorry, you're right" he calmed a little. "I don't want to take away something that makes you happy" pinching the brim of his nose, Kairav huffed, "But no more attending anything Devil, is that understood?"

"I know I messed up and it'll never happen again, but at least hear me out?" She begged.

"Fine" he slunk into the chair, "Why did you go?"

"Just for a fun night out, Hailey is close with Abhi" her eyes widened, "Uh Abhimanyu" she hastily corrected. "But I found out when I got there that he was the man that saved my life, after we got off the phone I was almost attacked and he came and saved me".

"WHAT?" He jumped up. "Why didn't you tell me? God, Akshu, are we that far apart now that you hide this much from me? First that you nearly got hurt, then that you attended my enemy's party" Kairav shook his head, tears filling his eyes. Had he been so busy that he neglected the only person in this world he had left? Where had he gone wrong if she felt she couldn't come to him when she needed him?

"No, no" she wiped away a tear rolling down his cheek. "I just didn't want to worry you, that's all, I swear, you know I love you more than anyone".

"He saved your life, you say?"

"Yes".

"And he knows you're a Saint?"

Grimacing once again at the label, Akshara shook her head. If she had it her way, he'd never find out, she neither wanted to be a part of it, nor did she like that her Brother was.

"Well, proper etiquette is to deliver a gift but since you haven't told him, let's not make matters more complicated, bake him a cake or something, that way at least if it ever gets found out, something was given, it's not enough, nothing ever would be for what he has done" he cupped her cheek, "But it will do for now, unless of course you want to tell him who you are?"

"No!" She spoke far too fast, causing his eyes to widen. "No, no, let's not make things complicated, like, like you said" she smiled, grateful for the fact that her Brother had settled down and that Abhi would see her for who she really was rather than a woman tainted with Saint blood she didn't even want to pollute her bloodstream.

"You just remember" he hung by the doorway, "When we bleed, we bleed Saint blood, you'll be a Saint till you bleed dry".

Waiting for him to leave, she collapsed into a beanbag. "Can't I just get a blood transfusion?"

~~~

"Uh, hello" Akshara wiggled her fingers in a wave, "Is Abhi here?"

Harshvardhan's brows narrowed "And who are you?"

"Akshara" she smiled politely.

"No, who are-".

"No?" She interrupted, voice at far too high an octave. "What do you mean, no? Akshara IS my name".

Rolling his eyes, he continued "Who are you to him?"

"Oh uh, I'm his, well I don't actually know if I'm his anything, so maybe I'm nothing, to him that is, not like I'm nothing at all, you know" she blew her cheeks out, why did he have to ask something she was trying not to ask herself? "Actually, that's a very invasive question to ask" she paused to catch her breath.

"He's upstairs" he muttered, leaving the door ajar and wandering away with a shake of his head.

"Oh you're not gonna call him down or I don't know, DIRECT ME THE RIGHT WAY? No? No? Fine but if I get lost in this maze and die of hunger, IT'S ON YOU" she shouted aloud knowing he either didn't hear or did and didn't care enough to listen. "Right, upstairs, here we go, so many goddamn stairs in this place it's like climbing a mountain".

"Abhi? Abhi?" Poking her foot against a door, she bent her head around it, "No Abhi in here, next room". Reaching the end of the hallway, she jolted the door with her hip "Abhi, are you-" the sight before her caused her tongue to tie around the words she meant to say.

Pushing his torso into the ground, Abhimanyu lifted himself up slowly then continued the same pattern he'd been at for several hours now, finally flipping over to a standing position, he grabbed the towel on the hook and swiped at his chest. "Cat got your tongue?"

"Uh, no" she looked down. "Please, have some decency and put a shirt on" tapping her foot, she hummed quietly.

Sliding on a black vest, he reached forward to tip her chin up "Why are you here, Akshu?"

"I bought cupcakes" shoving the box into his chest, Akshara stepped back, "They have little Devils on them, with horns and everything".

"Horns?"

"Yes, horns, w-why? Is that offensive?" Way to go, now she'd offended a guy she actually liked to hang with.

"No" he stepped closer, "It's just" watching her back away even more, he smirked, "Do you know what horns sound like?"

"N-no" she spluttered, jumping as her back hit the door.

Pinching her nose, he chuckled "Beep beep".

Swatting his hand away, she giggled "Stop it".

"Thank you" he gestured to the box, "Though I'm not sure what I did to deserve them" he pondered aloud.

"You saved my life and ensured I didn't fall over while we danced, if that doesn't deserve cupcakes then I don't know what does".

"So, you don't know what does then?" He prodded her with his elbow.

"Hey!" She flicked his cheek. "They've got vanilla icing on and are mini velvet cakes" quickly changing the subject, she patted her sides. "Anyway, I should be going".

"You should or you must?" He sat down, taking a bite out of a cake, nodding and humming at the taste, "They're great, you make them?"

"Uh huh, anyway I better" turning to open the door, she gasped at his hand beside her head holding the door shut.

"You're acting different".

Beads of sweat from his chest dripped onto her back, making her shudder as she turned to face him. Frowning at the sadness on his face, she looked away "Not different, just tired".

"Tired? From what?"

"I" she pouted, "I CLIMBED MOUNT EVEREST FOR YOU!"

"You, you did what?" Spluttering out a laugh, he grabbed her face, turning her to face him again.

"The, the stairs, it uh, there was a lot" she gulped uncomfortably. God, she hated how this man enforced eye contact like her Brother enforced rules, it knocked her off guard having to stare into eyes with far too much depth and a multitude of shades that merged together to make a pool she found herself drowning in wayyy too often.

"Hm" Abhimanyu stepped back, unsatisfied with her answer but aware he couldn't force her to stay. Deep down he knew this day would come, he'd just hoped it wouldn't be this soon.

Opening the door, Akshara took one step out before feeling her shoulders sag at having to leave him like this, she knew why she had to but that didn't mean he deserved it. Digging her nails into her palm to prevent herself from turning back, she quickly made her exit.

"I guess this is goodbye then?" He spoke, knowing she couldn't hear him to respond, yet somehow that made it a little better, no goodye from her meant the door was still open to them seeing eachother again; perhaps not by choice, but maybe by fate.