||Shubman||

The sharp sunlight falling directly on my face woke me up from the deep sleep I was in. I realised I didn't go home last night and slept on the bonnet itself.

Shit! Mom and dad must've freaked out. I haven't even taken their calls. My phone was inside the car so I rushed to get it. I realised I've been sleeping for over fifteen hours as the clock in my phone said it's noon now.

My eyes literally popped out when I saw over 200 missed calls and 100 messages in my phone. What the hell happened? They will never call me so many times. I unlocked my phone and saw missed calls from multiple people.

Mom - 37 missed calls
Dad - 40 missed calls
Anya - 35 missed calls
Abhay - 55 missed calls
Riya - 52 missed calls

The frequency of the calls scared me. Something has definitely happened. I checked the time and Anya's call was the first one at around 10pm. And the other calls were after 10:15pm.

I didn't want to call Anya. I'm still upset over her. I didn't want to get scolded from my parents so I didn't call mom and dad either. Abhay was the safest person to call right now so I dialled his number.

"Shubman?" he answered the call. His voice sounds choked.

"Hey Abhay I just saw your call" I replied.

"Where are you?" He asked furiously. He sounds​ really​ mad. Abhay never gets angry at me, even if I run away somewhere and not call him for two days. Then why is he behaving like this?

"What happened Abhay?" I asked him.

"Answer my question first" he asked angrily.

"Let me talk" I heard Riya's voice near him.

"Shubman, we were calling you since hours" Riya said taking the phone from Abhay. She sounds really upset and her voice is really heavy.

"Is everything​ alright Riya?" I asked her.

"No Shubman. Nothing is alright" she answered.

"Will you guys tell me what happened?" I asked losing patience. They're behaving weird and moreover Riya's words have scared me.

"Shubman, Raj uncle passed away last night" she said breaking down.

"Wha-" my voice choked.

What did I just hear? Raj uncle- But how's this possible? I met him few days ago and he looked absolutely fine. And the doctor said he still has time then how? I couldn't speak anything. I just couldn't believe what I heard right now.

"Are you there Shubman?" Riya asked.

"Yeah I'm. Riya I don't know what to say" I replied.

"We're at Anya's house. Please come as soon as possible" she said still crying.

"I'm coming right now" I said and hung up.

I instantly started my car's engine and started driving like crazy. Small droplets of tears started trickling down my cheeks when I was driving. I still can't imagine Raj uncle is no more and that I wasn't there for him and his family last night when all this happened. How could I be such a jerk?

I saw Abhay and my father's car when I reached outside Anya's house. I'm assuming most of her relatives have left because I didn't see any cars outside.

I slowly started moving towards the door. I couldn't muster up the courage to go inside, I couldn't face anyone after not picking up their calls when they needed me. There was all silence outside her house.

"Shubman" Abhay came to me when he saw me. Riya was just behind me.

"How did this happen Abhay?" I asked him, still not believing what happened.

"Anya called me last night when you didn't pick her calls. She said Raj uncle was in ICU and was critical. Riya and I immediately rushed to the hospital, and we even tried calling you several times but you didn't pick up. I talked to the doctors and they said his condition became worse all of a sudden and the chances of his survival are minimal. They tried everything they could but his body wasn't responding​. After an hour his heartbeat stopped" he explained in an extremely sad voice.

"His last rites were performed this morning. Anya's mom is in depression, she wasn't ready for this. Aryan has been crying too and Anya.." Riya paused.

"What happened to her?" I asked in concern.

"She isn't talking to anyone. She has turned numb. She hasn't come out of her room after her relatives took away Raj uncle's body. I can't see her like this" Riya cried.

I was about to say something when I saw mom and dad coming out of the house. Dad had a blank expression on his face and mom looks really angry after they saw me.

"Where were you?" Mom asked angrily coming close to me. I just looked down as I couldn't answer her question.

Mom's face was close to me and she sniffed the smell of alcohol coming from my mouth.

"Did you drink?" She asked me.

"I'm sorry Mom" I replied looking down. The next moment I felt a sharp pain on my left cheek. Mom gave me a tight slap with an extremely disappointed and furious look on her face. I couldn't look up at her after this.

"I can't believe you" she said angrily and left. Dad didn't say anything to me. He left along with mom.

"Let's go inside Shub" Abhay said after my parents left and I nodded.

I walked inside their house and I saw Shivani aunty (Anya's mother) crying heavily and Aryan was trying to console her. All of them were in whites and were sitting beside Raj uncle's picture which had a garland hung on it.

"She's upstairs" Riya whispered in my ear.

"But her mom-"

"We'll take care of her. You go and see Anya first" Abhay cuts me off.

"Alright" I replied and went upstairs.

I went to Anya's room and found her standing near the window with her back facing me. She was in a white kurti, leggings and dupatta. Her hairs done in a high pony tail.

I walked to her and stood beside her. I placed my hand on one of her shoulders and called her, "Anya"

She instantly turned towards me and didn't speak for the first few days. She kept looking at me. Her puffed eyes imply that she's been crying a lot since last night, even her nose has turned red because if excessive crying.

"Shubman" she muttered after few seconds.

"Anya I'm sorry-" I was saying when she buried her face on my chest, hugging me tightly and started crying again. I hugged her back and caressed the back of her head.

"He left us Shub" she said amidst her loud sobs.

"Don't cry Anya" I try consoling her.

"I miss him so much" she said still crying.

"Sshhhh.. please don't cry baby girl" I try to calm her down but I couldn't control my own tears. A drop of tear slipped down my right cheek when I saw her crying so badly.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you and your family when you needed me" I apologised to her.

"Where were you Shub?" She asked me after breaking the hug.

"I'll tell you later" I said wiping away her tears. She nodded and I made her sit on the bed. I handed her a glass of water but she refused to take it. I somehow managed to make her drink it and sat down beside her.

"Did you eat something?" I asked her. She shook her head implying no.

"I'll get you something to eat from downstairs" I said getting up but she stopped me by holding my wrist.

"I'm not hungry Shub. I don't want anything" she said.

"But-"

"Can you just sit here with me? Please?" She said with pleading eyes.

"Sure" I said sitting back.

She rested her head on my shoulder and wrapped her arms around my waist. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and rested my head over hers. Thankfully her sobs have died down.

"Shub" she called me after few seconds, still resting her head on my shoulder.

"Hmm?" I asked.

"Please stay here for tonight" She asked in a whisper.

"As you wish" I replied tightening my grip.

"Thanks​" she replied.

"I think you should sleep for while. Your eyes look tired, you've been crying all night" I said lifting her head from my shoulder.

"Alright" she replied. I laid her head on a pillow and covered her with a bedsheet.

I was leaving but again I felt a grip on my wrist. I turned and Anya was holding it and looking into my eyes.

"You ain't leaving right?" She asked.

"I ain't leaving. Ever" I replied and placed a soft peck on forehead.

"Now close your eyes and sleep" I said caressing her forehead. She nodded and closed her eyes. Within minutes she was in deep sleep.

I went to the other side of the bed and sat beside a sleeping Anya. I kept watching her innocent face and thought how much this girl has been through lately. Yesterday she lost the most precious person of her life. Life has been harsh on her.

Also, I've been such a jerk. No matter what I shouldn't have drunk last night. I disappointed everyone; my parents, my friends, Anya and her family, but above all I disappointed myself.

Does Anya deserve someone like me to spend the rest of her life with? I highly doubt that. I wasn't with her when she needed me the most.

Another question popped in my mind. Our marriage was our parents' choice. Now that Raj uncle isn't with us anymore, it's not even a compulsion for her to get married to me. Will she still stay with me?