Kanika's POV
"Aarav?" I extended my hand towards him, but he caught it mid-air and looked at me as he straightened up in his seat.
"Kanika, I am sorry. I crossed my limits." His gaze fell to the car floor, his voice sounding sad.
"Why are you apologizing, Aarav?" I don't remember him doing anything to offend me today.
"If I hadn't brought up the topic of a breakup, then you wouldn't have been upset like this, right?"
I couldn't reply to it. He wasn't entirely wrong. At my lack of response, he held my hand tighter and brought it close to his lips. He didn't kiss them, just touched them with his lips.
'It is nothing, just a mere touch,' is what I tried to tell myself, but my heartbeat quickened; even such a little gesture felt way too intimate.
He has never done anything like this before. We have been working together for quite some time now and have gotten close enough to call each other good friends, but he still maintained a respectful distance with me, so experiencing this, of course, caught me off guard.
"It- It's alright, you see," I pulled away my hand in embarrassment. "You didn't know anything about it, so you were just curious. I am sure if you were aware, you wouldn't have brought it up." It is true that Aarav was aware of his surroundings and other people's emotions, and if he knew a specific topic would upset someone, he made sure to never bring it up.
"I insisted on dropping you myself cause I knew you wanted to be alone, but I felt guilty of my doing and didn't want you to rack your brain over a topic like this. I am sorry." He rested his forehead on the steering wheel again with a tired sigh.
"Stop apologizing so much, Aarav. It's fine, you were just unaware," he peeked up at me from the steering wheel. "Now that you know how it makes me feel, don't repeat it. Simple." I patted his back to comfort him, and he nodded with a soft smile.
I was about to get out of the car when his phone rang up and Anant's name flashed on the screen, but the voice from the other side wasn't his.
"What happened?" I asked as he hung up the call.
"He drank more than necessary." His tone was laced with irritation.
"All the best," I said in a teasing and sarcastic tone, aware of how handful Anant can be after drinking, giving him a thumbs up, and getting out of the car.
"Good night, have a safe trip." I wished through the open window of the passenger seat.
"Good night." He wished back with a smile and drove off.
Aarav's POV
"Argh," I groaned as I finally laid Anant on the bed and removed his shoes.
I sat on the sofa, and a long, tired sigh escaped from my mouth. I looked over at Anant, who was out cold on the bed.
"Such a small world, huh?" I whispered to myself in a mocking tone.
I still remember our college days as clear as yesterday. I thought he had grown up after all these years, but it seems he is still that kid from the past.
A few days back, Anant had called me asking to crash at my place for a day or two while he attended a wedding of a friend, and I didn't see any reason to refuse and agreed.
Anant was actually my junior back in college, even though he was from B.Tech., he wanted to join the drama club and write scripts and enact them. It was rare and an interesting sight.
He was a real extrovert and fun, though a little immature, but it wasn't much of a problem. Always thought he would understand with age, but turns out he was a total idiot who thought the world revolved around him, but at the same time, he was insecure because he was aware of the reality.
With time, we got close, and he opened up more with me. He had a vast imagination, but his way of expressing lacked polish. He would come to me and talk about random stuff, and sometimes boasted about his girlfriend, about how he met a girl he randomly met on Instagram and somehow ended up becoming his reason to live. He would tell me how even the realisation of her existence makes him lighten up, and even the smallest gesture of hers seemed cute.
But that didn't last the forever he used to talk about so dreamily.
-Flashback-
One peaceful afternoon, I was in a workshop for authorship and editorials, an event attended by authors and editors renowned for their work all over the world. I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket; it was a call from Anant. I hung up, but he called again and again, and after three calls, I finally got up from my seat and left the auditorium, went out in the garden, and called back to see what was so important that made him so impatient. He doesn't call back if I hang up once and wait for me to call back when I am free.
Anant picked up the call after one ring only.
"Ana-" I got cut off with his sniffles. My eyes widen in confusion and shock.
"Anant? You are crying?" I couldn't believe it. It was my first time witnessing him like this.
"Anant, kya hua? Kaha hai tu? Kuch bol toh sahi." The only responses I was getting were his endless sniffles and whimpers like the world had ended.
(Anant, what happened? Where are you? Say something.)
"Wo… woh chale gayi bhai."
(Sh… She is gone, brother.)