Virat: Are woh song hai na.. bas uske lyrics yad kar raha tha..

Saying so he started singing.

Virat (singing): Ishaaro Ishaaro me Dil Dene Wale.. Bata yeh hunar tune sikha kaha se..

Athiya quickly got up and went to keep her plate whereas Rahul went from there to his room..

As they both almost ran from there, all chuckled.

Rohit: Isse bolte hai Rabbit style teasing

All laughed at his comment.

Rahul was feeling a rush of emotions inside him. His eyes were getting moist but he composed himself. He took some deep breaths. He took out his cricket kit and changed to his practice clothes. He went to indoor practice arena.

All were in hall.

Mahi: Where is Rah? Kab se dikha hi nahi

Athiya: Unki kit nahi thi to shayad practice karne ke liye gaye hai

Virat: Main aata hoon.

He went to practice arena and found Rahul was practicing the shots but was failing in guessing the balls properly. He stopped the bowling machine and went to Rahul.

Rahul took off the helmet and gloves.

Virat: Kya hua?

Rahul: I.. I was getting emotional to mind ko distract karne ke liye aa gaya

Virat: Baat kya hai Rah?

Rahul: Kuchh nahi Bhaiya.. Jo sab ho raha hai bas usko sink in karne ki koshish kar raha hoon

Virat: Calm down Rah.

Rahul nodded in yes.

Rahul: Cricket hai na Bhaiya. I am better

Virat: To phir bhaiya se Bhai pe shift kyu nahi hua

Rahul: I said I am better not absolutely fine

Virat: Koi baat hai jo pareshan kar rahi hai?

Rahul: Bhaiya.. aaj tak kabhi kisi ka sab kuchh nahi bana Mom Dad ke alawa. Thoda.. thoda..

He couldn't voice out what he was feeling.

Virat: It happens Rah.

Rahul: Apke sath bhi hua tha kya?

Virat: Haan.. lekin woh baad me discuss karenge. Abhi iss feeling ko leke stress mat le. Have some water and come okay..

Rahul nodded in yes. Virat came in the hall followed by Rahul.

Shubhi: Rah bhai bolna tha na hum bhi aate practice karne ke liye

Rahul: Agli baat tujhe bhi leke chalunga khush

Shubhi: Done

Ishu: Are sab chalenge

And with this the day passed normally.

Virat, Rohit and Mahi were at the terrace basically Virat has called them there.

Mahi: Kya baat hai Cheeku?

Virat: Bhai.. Shayad.. Shayad Rah se ab apne emotions control nahi ho rahe

Rohit: To uske paas raho na Vi. Woh apne aap bolega sab

Virat: It's not easy Ro. He is stopping himself a lot. I don't know the reason yet but he is not sharing either.

Mahi: Have you noticed anything?

Virat: Aaj jab maine puchha to bolta hai emotional ho raha tha to cricket khelne aa gaya.

Rohit: Vi your this kiddo is seriously a complicated one

Virat: He is not able to cope with everything Ro. I guess.. I guess he was not ready for the marriage

Rohit: To woh to Athiya bhi kaha thi Vi

Virat: Not like that Ro. I am saying he was not ready for getting married to anyone. Aur uper se itna kuchh.. it's overwhelming as well as stressing him.

Mahi: Cheeku.. he is comfortable with you the most. Try to make him feel he was not alone in all this okay

Virat nodded in yes and they all went to their respective rooms.

In the Next few days, Virat was making sure that he made Rahul feel that he was with him and he was not alone but have found him lost in his thoughts manier times. Also has seen him with Athiya and was getting more and more sure about the success of their marriage.

On the other side, Rahul was making sure that He spent some quality time with Athiya and talk about the day.. How she is doing.. making her feel that he was there with her even if as a friend but he was there. On the other side for Athiya, She was getting more and more attached with Rahul. It was getting difficult for her to friendzone him. But she was still fulfilling her promise to stay in her limits and not trying to persuade him in even doing a smallest thing as a life partner.

It was early morning when Rahul's sleep broke. He was not feeling sleepy so he got ready to go for the practice at the ground. When he came downstairs he found Shubhi was already there and was filling his water bottle.

Rahul: Good morning Shubhi

Shubhi: Good morning bhaiya.. aap bhi ground ja rahe ho?

Rahul: Haan.. chal sath me chalte hai

Shubhi: Okay ek minute yeh bhar ke aaya

Shubhi came there and they both were about to go when Athiya called them

Athiya: Aap log kaha ja rahe ho?

Shubhi: Bhabhi ground pe practice karne ke liye

Athiya: Iss waqt??

Shubhi: Are bhabhi.. abhi jayenge to 8 baje tak ground pahunch jayenge na

Athiya: Haan to thodi der bethiye main abhi nasta bana deti hoon

Rahul: Hum log waha kar lenge.

Athiya: Main bana deti hoon na?

Rahul noticed she was fidgeting with her fingers. He frowned.

Rahul: Shubhi yeh meri aur apni kit rakh de. Tab tak main aur tumhari bhabhi sandwich bana lete hai

Shubhi: Okay..

Shubhi first went to put his kit bag. Athiya went into kitchen and started preparing sandwich. Rahul came there.

Rahul: Kya hua?

Athiya: Kuc.. kuchh nahi

Rahul: Batao bhi Tia kya hua?

Athiya: Woh Aap kyu ja rahe ho?

Rahul: Practice karne ke liye

Athiya: Jaana zaroori hai kya? Yaha pe practice kar lo na

Rahul: Tia.. you yourself is a cricketer. Ground pe ki gayi practice in house practice arena se kafi different hoti hai you know right

Athiya nodded in yes

Rahul: Phir?

Her face fell.

Athiya: Main sandwich bana deti hoon apki

Rahul: Tia yaar kya hai?

Athiya: Woh.. kuchh nahi..

Her heart was beating faster than usual. She got tears in her eyes but composed herself and prepared sandwiches. She served them to Rahul and Shubhi. They ate it and were now again ready to go.

Rahul: Shubhi.. car nikalwao.. And remember I said car nikalwao and not nikalo

Shubhi made a face but nodded in yes and went from there.

Rahul: Practice karne aise bhejogi apne pati ko kya? Sada hua muh bana ke..

He tried to joke to which she tried to smile but was unable to.

Rahul: Ab sach sach batao kya hua hai?

Athiya: Aaj Tak kabhi aapke bina nahi rahi na iss ghar me to.. ajeeb lagega

Rahul: Sab bhabhi hai na yaha. Unke sath rehna tumhara time nikal jayega okay. Comfortable ho na unke sath?

Athiya nodded in yes.

Rahul: Cool. Main jaake aaya okay

Athiya nodded in yes and Rahul went from there. She went to the main door and saw their car was pulling out of the drive way and they both were going away.

It was breakfast time when everyone was chit chatting except Athiya. She was missing Rahul. It's not like they used to spend the entire day together but having him in the same place as her was enough for her to feel like HOME.

Ritz: Athiya tum chup kyu ho?

Ishu: Lagta hai bhabhi Bhaiya ko miss kar rahi hai kyu bhabhi?

Rishu: Sach bhabhi??

Athiya looked down without saying anything but slight blush on her cheeks made everyone knows what was going on in her mind. But at the same time her heart wanted him to be at home ASAP.

Ritz: Waise Rah aur Shubhi ho gaye? Aap logo ko practice nahi karni kya?

Rohit: Main kal jaunga

Virat: Main bhi

And then the table again filled with their voices and banters but Athiya's mind was running in full speed reminding her about the constant absence of Rahul in the house. She didn't eat anything and went from there.

Sakshi: She is missing Rah a lot

Anu: Woh abhi bhi ussi ke sath comfortable hai. Aur woh pagal hai ki sab jante hue chala gaya ground pe

Mahi: Lekin he has her responsibility too. Mushkil se comeback hua tha uska, ab woh afford nahi kar sakta at least for a while to loose his form. Itne emotional stress ke baad even he would need time to come to the terms of whatever is going on. It's not easy for him too.

Harry: Boys.. let's go to Athiya.. are him dever hai uske. It's our responsibility to make sure ki usko Rah ki yaad na aye. Let's divert her mind

The boys went from there except seniors and ladies.

Rohit: Harry kafi samajdaar ho gaya hai

Virat: True..

Harry and company diverted Athiya's mind with their antics and made sure that her mind got diverted. It was lunch time when Shubhi cameback.

Athiya: Shubhi akele aaye?

Shubhi: Haan bhabhi woh mujhe hath me ball lag gayi thi to bhaiya ne bhej diya. Bhaiya ko abhi practice karni thi to Unhone bola ki woh sham ko ayenge. Lunch waha canteen me kar lenge woh

Athiya: Call hi kar dete ek baar..

She said to herself and went to her room. She was not able to keep calm.
Now she didn't allow her devers too to entertain her or distract her.

It's 4 PM and she has still not come out of her room. The ladies decided to talk to her when she came downstairs running and just stood in front of temple praying. Ladies went to her.

Anu: Athiya.. kya hua?

Ritz: Kya hua kiddo?

Athiya: Bhabhi.. bhabhi mera man bahut ghabra Raha hai.. yeh phone bhi nahi utha rahe. Aap.. aap bolo na bhaiya ko ki woh.. woh phone kare shayad unka utha le

Sakshi: Athiya relax. Shayad phone bag me hoga aur Rah practice me busy hoga iss liye nahi sunai Diya hoga okay

MahiRoRat too listened to it. Virat quickly called Rahul but his phone was switched off.

Virat: Switched off aa raha hai

Rohit: Main waha ke ground manager ko call karta hoon

He went to a side to talk whereas Athiya was again praying.

Anu: Athiya.. bachcha chalo thoda sa kuchh kha lo chalo.

Athiya: Nahi bhabhi.. mujhe bhukh nahi

She again started praying. Rohit came there and his expressions were tensed.

Virat: Kya hua?

Rohit: Unhone bola ki Rah 2 baje hi nikal gaya tha.

Mahi: Lekin abhi to 4:30 hone ko aa gaye

Sakshi: Ground se yaha aane me itna time to nahi lagega traffic hoga to bhi

Mahi: Hum ek kam karte hai usko lene chalte hain. Shayad traffic ho aur woh fas gaya ho. Main bike le raha hoon tum dono car me jao and make sure to have your phones charged and with you

Anu: Vi.. Rah ka last location dekho na

Virat: Woh aaj watch pahen ke nahi gaya hain. Ghar pe hi hai uski watch and phone switched off aa raha hai

Athiya was still praying to God.

Ritz: Aap log please jaldi Jake Rah ko leke aao. Mujhe Athiya ki fikar ho rahi hai ab

Anu: Haan Vi.. please jaldi..

Virat nodded in yes and MahiRoRat left in search of Rahul.

Harry: Main aas paas me dekh ke aata hoon. Shayad yahi kahi pahunch gaya ho

All were now getting tensed for him. It's been 2 hours since MahiRoRat left and still they were not able to find Rahul. Harry has checked nearby beaches too but he was not there.

They all have come home with dejected faces.

Virat: Bhai.. Rah will be fine hai na..

Mahi: Haan Cheeku.. he will be fine okay..

Virat nodded in yes while rubbing his palms. Rohit was handling Harry who was now all silent.

Athiya: Yeh mil gaye na aapko bhaiya? Kidhar hai? Room me hai? Main inke liye coffee bana leti hoon. Thak gaye honge na

Anu: Athiya.. Rah ka kuchh pata nahi chala

Athiya stumbled hearing this but Sakshi and Ritz hold her. She again went to temple praying for him.

Athiya's phone rang startling everyone. She ran to take the Phone thinking it would be from Rahul but it was from Rajeshwari. She took a deep breath and picked up the call.

Athiya: Hello..

---

Athiya: Ji Maa.. sab theek..  hai

---

Athiya: Ji yeh bhi theek hai

---

Athiya: Nahi abhi.. abhi bahar gaye hai. Jaise hi aate hai main baat karne ko bolti hoon

---

Athiya: Nahi Maa.. kuchh.. kuchh nahi hua. Woh aaj practice ki na to thak gayi thi thodi bas iss liye apko aisi awaaz lag rahi

---

Athiya: Ji.. Aap bhi apna aur Papa ka dhyan rakhna. Achchha main rakhti hoon. Bye..

She disconnected the call. She gulped down and again went to the temple. Tears collected in her eyes but she stood strong. She was worried for him but she still stood strong.

Harry: Hum kab tak wait karenge?

Mahi: We have to. Police bhi complaint nahi legi jab tak 24 hours nahi ho jate

Ash (in low voice): We should start checking other places

Rohit: Jaise ki??

Ash (whispering): Hospital..

The boys' heart skipped a beat hearing this but he was right. They should start checking other places now. They were not able to contact him since hours now.

Mahi: I guess we should go to police station and unko Sara case explain karte hai. Unse koi unofficial help mil hi jayegi. Kam se kam they can tell us hume kon kon si jagah Jana chahiye dekhne ke liye except the places where Rahul could have gone.

Virat: Let's go

Athiya: Main bhi aaungi

Rohit: Athiya tum..

Athiya: Bhaiya please.. mera man bahut ghabra Raha hai

Mahi: Achchha theek hai tum bhi chalo. Let's go.

Virat opened the main door and was relieved to see Rahul there. He hugged him tightly.

Virat: Pagal.. kidhar the? Dar gaye the hum pata hai..

Rahul: Bhai woh main..

Rohit: Rah you idiot.. you scared us..

He took joined the hug. One by one the entire team joined and hugged him tightly. They broke the hug and the ladies hugged him tightly.

Anu whacked him.

Anu: Idiot. Tumhara contact hi nahi ho pa raha tha.. Pata hai hum sab kitna dar gaye the. Aur sab se zyada Athiya..

Rahul looked at Athiya who was standing at her place just looking at him. He went to her.

Rahul: Tia..

Athiya: Aap.. aap sach me ho?

The sole question broke everyone's heart.

Rahul: Tia I am fine. I am so sorry for scaring you all like that.

Athiya: Ra.. Rahul..

She forwarded her hand to touch his cheek to check whether he was indeed there or not. But before her hand reached to his cheek, she felt dizzy and was about to fall but Rahul held her.

Rahul (scared): Tia..

She tried to touch his cheek with her other hand but fell unconscious in Rahul's arms.

......................................................................

So that's it for this chapter. Hope you guys like this

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