Chapter 15

unicornwriter

@unicornwriter

PART 14 : LONG DRIVES

" Hello Saree Ka Dukaan" Raghav spoke in a chirpy voice hanging one arm out of the window like a kid.

Pallavi decided to ignore him first as she looked around for another vehicle.

"Ooh attitutde. Not bad. By the way tum idhar kya kar raha hai?" he smirked trying to continue the conversation.

"Andheri sadko par tehelne aai hoon. Woh kya hai na aadhi raat ko saree pehenkar roads par walk karna meri favourite hobby hai" she gave him a sarcastic remark walking a bit away from the car.

"Yeh saree ka dukaan aur iska attitude agar seedha seedha jawaab dega toh kya iska baal jhaddh jayega" raghav murmured getting around and walking closer to her.

"Achcha mera galti hai main galat sawaal pucha ab chalo gadi main baitho main tumko ghar le chalta hai." Raghav pointed at her.

"No thank you aur waise bhi maine tumse help mangi bhi nahin hai. So please leave. I'll manage" Pallavi replied turning her face away.

"Pallavi dekho mera baat maano bahut raat ho rahi hai aur yeh area kaafi sunsaan hai , tumhara yahan akela rehna theek nahin hai." he tried to reason with her.

"Dekho Raghav-" Pallavi tried to reject his offer but he stopped her midway.

"main jaanta hai tum mana karega lekin main tumko yaad dila deta hai ki last night jab tum mera offer reject kara tha tab kya hua tha. Yaad hai woh Mansi ka sangeet wala raat, tum mereko attitude dikhakar unn galat ladka logon ka gaadi main baith gaya tha. Phir main hi tumko bachane aaya tha isliye main bol raha hai mera mehnat kamm karo aur chalo mera saath. I promise main koi baat nahin karega tumse."  Raghav surrendered taking a few steps back.

Pallavi was indecisive, her heart suggested her to refuse and stay atleast a 100m away from his radius but her mind explained her how this stupid guy definitely made a point. She remembered what happened last time and how scared she has gotten. As she looked around she realised that accepting his offer was the wise choice to do since it was already 10 pm and the road looked deserted with just a few streetlights flickering.

"Theek hai lekin tumhe mujhse baat karni ki koi zarurat nahin hai" she warned him moving past towards the passenger door. Raghav smiled at her attempt of threat. Such roads always reminded him of the first time they met or that one time he threatened her. He was such an idiot back then but nonethless the only good thng that came out of his was HER.

" Oh hello ab khade kya ho. Tumhare paas kaafi faltu time hoga lekin mujhe late ho raha hai." came her voice as she moved her head out of the window to scream at him.

Raghav ran back to the driver's seat and sat down igniting the engine roaring towards their home.

10 minutes into the ride and Pallavi had successfully ignored him looking out of the window. Raghav cursed himself for making such a promise cause the proximity between them was killing him. He soo wanted to grab her hand and interwhining their fingers as he had gotten a habit of back then in Hyderabad when he used to pick up from her shop as they travelled back home together.

Pallavi could feel his eyes as her skin burned whenever his gaze touched her. Even though the Ac was at a normal degree she could still feel goosebums arised remembering the old times. Raghav had enough of the silent treatment and well he was The Raghav Rao, if his dear love was stubborn then he was too her principal in that skill.

Pallavi felt a sudden jerk as she covered her ears to save them from the high notes of a telugu song. She gave an annoyed look to the speaker and then the DJ of the supposed car who drove as if it was nothing, singing along with the tunes.

"Tumne kaha tha tum chup rahoge" she turned the volume down, her focus now on him.

"Wrong. Steering wheel, tell her that i said that i won't talk to her. Main yeh thori bola tha ki gaane nahin bajayega." he shrugged talking to her in an indirect way.

"lekin mujhe yeh loud telugu music nahin sunna" she crossed her arms.

"Bola na mirror, mera gaadi mera marzi" he increased the volume again.

"Nahin" she turned it down again.

"han" Raghav turned it loud again. This went on for a while until they both grabbed the volume button at the same time. Some new sort of electricity flying through their veins. Raghav felt like intervining their fingers but he knew it wasn't the correct time. Pallavi could literally feel her heart pumping so loud as if it might explode. She feared that he might hear it so she pulled back her heart in order to calm the stupid organ down, as she looked outside. Raghav could sense the slight blush on her face that she was trying to hide making him smile.

Pallavi looked anywhere apart from him concerned for her facade when she heard a known tune, a tune that made her smile.

Tum aa gaye ho, nur aa gaya hai

Nahin to charaagon se lau ja rahi thi

Jine ki tumase wajah mil gayi hai

Badi bewajah jindagi ja rahi thi

Raghav felt the sides of her mouth move up in a smile which made his heart flutter. He knew she was too remembering those good old days when he sang this for her to pacify her. Pallavi giggled remembering how badly yet adorably he had sang it to her even though he had heard this song for the first time. Her giggle felt like an addition to the music for him and without realising his actions, he ended up complimenting her.

"Tumhara hasi ko bahut miss kiya main." he spoke in a soft voice making her stop. Pallavi looked at him wide eyed to make sure if it was true as the environment became awkward. She looked at him and then changed the song.

Sheesha ho ya dil ho

Aakhir (toot jaata hai)

Lab tak aate aate haathon se

Sagar (choot jaata hai)

Sheesha ho ya dil ho

Aakhir toot jaata hai

Raghav was an alien to hindi songs but when Pallavi played this one even though he had never heard it, the lyrics were definitely understood by his heart. He felt like pulling the car on one side and just hug her tight, ask her every damn question that he has had in his mind since these 3 months but Pallavi looked away not wanting to meet his gaze. She wanted to shout it out, all out from inside of her. She was hurt but for her there was no point ripping off the bandage now. A lone tear escaped her eye as he changed the song.

Kuch na kaho kuch bhi na kaho
Kuch na kaho kuch bhi na kaho
Kya kehna hai kya sun-na hai
Mujhko pata hai, tumko pata hai
Samay ka yeh pal, tham sa gaya hai
Aur is pal mein koi nahi hai

Bas ek main hoon bas ek tum ho

Kuch na kaho kuch bhi na kaho

He had done this before and he was doing it again. The last time he had sang this song infront of the whole world on live tv, she had felt this sudden rush of happiness inside her but today it felt like another arrow to her heart. So much for understandings and trusts. Raghav wanted to say soo many things but maybe God wasn't ready to unload his pain because they had reached their destination. Without sparing him a glance, Pallavi streamed out of the car and ran inside the house. raghav sighed as he parked the car and followed.

As soon as Pallavi entered the house, she could see the huge crowd ready to pounce on her with their questions. Aaji and kaku were the first to run and engulf her in a hug making sure that she was fine. Kaka scolded her for keeping a discharged phone.

"Pata hai kitna darr gayi thi main?" Aaji scolded her.

"Sorry Aaji phone kab band ho gaya pata hi nahin chala aur phir scooty ka petrol bhi khatam ho gaya." Pallavi gave an apologetic smile.

"Agli baar kara na toh main tujhe bahut marungi." Kaku scolded her lightly patting her cheek making her chuckle. Raghav walked in and in seconds Farhad was by his side.

"Woh toh achcha hua Farhad ne hame bataya ki tu Raghav ke saath hai aur woh tujhe ghar laa raha hai warna hum toh bahut darr gaye the. Thank you raghav." Kaka thanked him to which he gave back a smile. He was glad that Pallavi had a family who cared so much about her but the next second the smile turned down into a frown over the sight of the most devious sight.

Shiva had gotten back home after searching for her around the colony area when he saw Pallavi inside the house and without wastign anymore second he ran upto her and engulfed her in a warm hug.

"Kidhar chali gayi thi tu? Pagal hai kya? Mujhe call krdeti toh main lene aa jata na lekin nahin tujhe toh Jhansi ki rani banna hai na." he scolded her not leaving her for a second.

Pallavi too reciprocated the hug rubbing his back, extremely guilty for scaring everyone and specially Shiva.

"I am sorry" she murmured against his shoulder as she saw the fury in Raghav's eyes. Only if she knew the fury inside his heart.

I loved writing this chapter way too much. Brought back so many memories.

Also i know all of you wanna know the real reason why Pallavi left and yes people your prayers have been answered, in the next 2-3 chapters, you'll get all your answers.