2.
Riddhima’s POV:
3 Months Later…
It has been three months since I started the tuitions of Aahan. He is an amazing boy and I have grown very fond of him. We had communication troubles in the beginning. He was a bit insecure and lost when I first met him. I came to learn with time that he was abandoned by his birth mother when he was six months old and that had left a deep impact in his life. The bullying that he suffered at the hands of his classmates resulted in his low self confidence and it took much effort from me to make him realize his actual strength. Now though he is a very different boy. He is happy and knows how to shield himself from the negativities around him.
Surprisingly, my time with Mr. Raisinghania was also not that difficult. He is a man of few words is what I have come to believe. He is helping though and puts his input into the assignment from time to time. He has a very vast knowledge of the actual functioning of the business world and it leaves me surprised every time when he throws in a different angle of the view to our situation. Our pairing was not going down the drain as I had assumed which taught me not to have prejudices against anyone.
“Miss”, I was pulled out of my reverie by the reverberating voice of my student in the empty library. It was the time of the day where there were few to none customers. I chose this time so I could give my full attention to Aahan. Even Tom, the shop owner, left the shop to me and went home to get some rest. He was a fifty year old man and working in this age was just wearing him off.
“Here in the back Aahan” I called out with a small voice. Soon after I heard the hasty footsteps and Aahan’s head appeared from behind the book case.
“I have completed the work you gave me Miss. May I go now?” He asked and I nodded. He was very excited to go home today. One of his friends was coming over for a night stay. He could barely sit through the two hours without jumping from his seat at the prospect of what fun activities the two of them were going to do.
I sighed as I arranged the last of the books in the case and made my way to the front desk. As I was reaching the desk, I saw something that made by heart stop. The driver that usually drives Aahan to and fro for the tuitions was lying on the ground. A small pool of blood had formed near his head. I saw two men trying to forcefully drag Aahan and he was putting up a good fight for his age.
I immediately fished out my phone from my pocket and dialed the number that was given to me for emergencies by Mr. Ben Williams when he had come to discuss the final terms of my new job.
“Hello. Aahan is being kidnapped. Track the location of this number.” I cut the call without listening to the other side. I hide the phone in my bra and ran after the two men who had somehow managed to stuff Aahan into the black car. They saw me coming and tried to get inside the car but I caught up with one of them. I started to hit him with my fists and legs. I was so immersed in attacking him that I did not notice the other man sneak up behind me. He yanked my hairs hard which made me scream. He then pulled me inside along with him.
*****
Darkness.
I blinked twice to make sure I was not imagining things but all I could see was nothing. Total darkness.
I was hearing some sounds.
Sounds of laughter.
Demonic laughter that sent a wave of dread down my spine.
I felt something poking me constantly. I tried to move but I could not. My hands were tied and so were my legs.
My eyes then focused on the dull ray of light slipping past the closed curtains. I could make sense of my surrounding now. I was on the floor which was very dirty and it had an unpleasant smell.
The poking still continued. I tried getting away from it but it followed me. Fear rooted deep inside me and as I was about to scream I heard one small whisper.
“Miss.”
It all came back to me in a rush. Aahan was kidnapped and so was I now. I turned my head and found him close to me. He was in the same position as me and his lips trembled as he kept his tears at bay. My own fear forgotten, I went close to him to give him some kind of support.
“Shh. It will all be okay. I called someone for help before. They will be here shortly.” I said in a soothing tone not a notch higher than whisper.
“Are we going to die?” He asked with so much vulnerability that my emotions clogged my throat making it impossible to speak. All I could do was shake my head in response. I had tears in my eyes as well but I was not supposed to show him that I was scared. It would make him panic further.
“We need to free ourselves of these binds for now, okay?” I instructed him quietly and he nodded.
Looking around, I found a piece of glass from a shattered old window near the wall adjacent to the one we were leaning onto. I crawled to the piece and took it quietly. I reached Aahan sans any noises that would gain the attention of our kidnappers.
In the dim light with whatever I could see, I began to cut the ropes that held his hands together careful not to hurt him. I cut myself two times in the process and blood was oozing out of it but I could care less in the moment. After freeing Aahan of his binds, he freed mine and before we could even share a glance, the door of the room in which we were kept, opened and the men who kidnapped us came inside with two other men.
“Ah I see the two of you have freed yourself of the binds.” Said a man with blonde hairs. I pushed Aahan behind me on impulse. He clutched the sides of my top tightly and hid his head in my back.
“Trying to protect the kid huh?” One with brown hairs mocked me. I stared at them but did not say anything and neither did I move from my place.
“Get out of the way or else there will be hell to pay, you girl.” The blonde man threatened me. I shook my head as I could not find my voice. He stepped forward and came close till he was inches from me. I held back the shiver of fear and instead averted my eyes to the floor.
“Get away.” He said in very intimidating way. I took a deep breath and answered in a voice that I myself could not recognize.
“No.”
“What did you just say?”
“No.” I shouted as I stared at him in the face.
Silence.
No one spoke for the next five minutes. I stared at the man whose face was now contorted in anger. I could feel Aahan still clutched to me. His ragged breathing and small sniffs the only voice in the deathly silent room.
Clap.
I felt it hard. In a blink, I was sprawled on the floor. My left check hurt too much and I could taste my blood on the lip that was busted. I heard Aahan scream at the top of his voice.
“You little b*t*h. No one shouts at me. Do you get that?” He shouted in a deafening voice.
“You want to save that little piece of shit? Then you pay!” He kicked me in the stomach with his foot, knocking the breath out of me. I gasped as I made an attempt to breath through the pain.
“No. Don’t hurt my Miss.” I could hear Aahan screaming and running towards the blonde man that hit me. He bit the man on his leg and in return, the man screamed. He picked Aahan up by his hairs and threw him to a far away corner. I could see that Aahan’s head hit a wooden table and he was knocked cold.
I screamed despite of my problems with the breathing. The blonde man turned towards me and pulled me up by my hairs. All I could think was that the person I had called before running after Aahan would come on time and rescue us. I could not live longer if his torture was to continue. He grabbed my forearms so harshly I was sure that he had left some purple bruises.
Dizziness threatened to overtake me. Just as he was about to punch me square in the jaw, the door burst open and the man’s hold on me loosened. I fell to the floor as my legs could no longer hold my weight. Before the darkness consumed me fully, I could make the silhouette of the person who had come to our rescue.
He was Vansh Raisinghania.
**********
Hello Everyone,
Hope you all like it!