One Shot - The Ghost of You

I have written an OS about Arnav finding Khushi and Shyam on the roof and its aftermath. It is not very long, and pretty fast paced, but I got lot's of people asking for something to help with the weekend, so I wrote this.

I wanted to share this VM with you made by Awesome.Sauce I fell in love with the song and the video and I found it fitting for this story, please do give it a watch (Below)!

OS - The Ghost of You

Arnav sat on the floor of the poolside, watching the ice blue water gleam in the lights from within.

He remembered her. Pieces of her.

He remembered her magnificent eyes, her illuminating beauty, her feisty courage and her childlike innocence. He remembered how she would stand against him, stand for him, and stand by him. He remembered the way she looked at him, admiration and love so intense, shining through her bright eyes, giving him all the trust she could muster in her being.

He remembered everything.

Everything that he had reduced to dust.

FLASHBACK

Arnav felt his throat restrict as he turned around, and that is when Khushi's voice cut through the electrifying air again.

"You are crazy" she almost shouted "Stay the hell away from me"

Arnav let his heart take in the words, wanting her to say more, yet wanting to hear no more of it. He had never been so unsure in his life. What he felt for her was beyond words, but it was words that was tearing away all that he felt. What she had said to his Jeeju, asking him to leave his wife, his Di. How could she do such a thing?

He couldn't string it all together, but he had to do something.

He was not used to feeling helpless. He felt like one of those love struck idiots who let their feelings get in the way of everything. If Khushi had been involved with his brother in law, maybe he had been too involved in her to notice.

He heard a gasping form approach him and he backed up against the wall, out of sight. Watching as she ran past him, too absorbed in wiping away the tears that hazed her vision, marks of the beasts ferocity against her pale skin. They made his jaws clench, leaving his mouth as a strict grim line.

The heart wrenching sobs escaping from her shaking body made him reach out for her, but he stopped as Shyam followed a second later, turning in the opposite direction to her at the bottom of the stairs.

His hand held in mid air froze, what the hell was going on?

He took a few steps forward towards the stairs, contemplating his next move.

Fate had brought him to a crossroads, and he had to make a decision.

Khushi had given him a reason to trust her, but his Jeeju had never given him a reason to not trust him.

He shook his head, no. He had heard his Jeeju's words, he couldnt let what he wanted to be true cloud his better judgement. As much as he wanted happiness for his Di, he had to accept that it would not come from her husband.

Their encounter ran through his mind as he descended the stairs. How Shyam had confessed his feelings, how Khushi had pushed him away. How Khushi had looked angry at the thought of Shyam and Anjali's marriage, how she had told him to leave her alone, how she had run away, upset.

By the time he had reached the foot of the steps, he had made his decision. He knew that whatever the circumstances, he would always choose the same thing. It wasn't just about Khushi, and it was definitely not always about Shyam.

He turned to chase after the path his prey had taken. Shaking from fury as the gravity of the whole situation set in, he felt his heart shut off and his mind gear up.

It was about his sister.

***

When he saw Shyam he bounded down the stairs, unable to keep the rage inside him from exploding out he grabbed him by the collar roughly and shook him. Shyam found himself confused, but the look in Arnav's eyes told him that he definitely knew something was up. How much of the truth, he didn't know, but he wasn't planning on staying until he found out.

"You filthy son of a.."

"Sale Sahaab, what happened?" he asked innocently, trying to play it off like he didn't have a clue.

"Don't you dare act like you DONT KNOW!" he yelled, almost choking his brother in law now, he remembered how he had gripped Khushi so tightly, making her cry out from the pain.

Shyams eyes darted towards an approaching figure, bringing Arnav out of his fit. It was his sister, making Arnav shake even more, unable to control his anger.

He was going to fix this all, for her. But right now, he couldn't even stand to be in the same room as this man without wanting to rip his head off, so he pulled him in closer for just a moment, with a chillingly quiet voice he threatened.

"You will pay for this" before throwing him away like dirt on his palm and walking away. His sister had missed the encounter, and Arnav couldn't stay, not right now, not when Shyam was standing right there. He needed to get away.

He needed to clear his mind, sort out his thoughts.

He thundered away up the steps into his room.

***

She was there. If he hasn't of been so absorbed in his own fury, he would have felt her there before even entering the room.

She stood clutching at her arms, trying desperately to wipe away at her tear stained cheeks, to calm her breathing.

He couldn't confront Shyam, and that made him all the more angry. But she was here, alone and he stepped out of his room, slamming the sliding door shut behind him, making her jump up, the image of her with his Jeeju blinding him with wrath so deep, he couldn't even see the disaster he was about to spawn.

"When are these fake tears of yours going to end?" he said, no hint of emotion in his voice.

The way he said it sent a cold wave hitting Khushi square in the chest, taking over her. She wiped away at her tears, smiling as though nothing was wrong.

"I, I wasn't crying I just.." she stopped, not knowing what to say. She had been wrong to hide it from him. She realised now that Shyam was never going to change. She made a mistake, and now it was time to make up for that. She would tell him the truth, no matter where it left them. He deserved the truth.

"Arnav ji.."

"Shut up"

Khushi froze. What had happened to him?

"What, why do you look so shocked?" he sneered, feeling his heart cut off his mind.

"You.."

"I what?" he asked, walking close to her, all traces of his sneer disappearing, replaced by a face that showed nothing but anger "Why am I talking to you like this? Maybe because that is how you deserve to be spoken to, Khushi Kumari Gupta" he spat, like her name was burning his tongue.

"Girls like you" he looked her up and down, loathing what she made him feel"you make me sick, how you could stoop so low, everything, just for a little bit of money"

The tears Khushi had tried to urgently to hide now fell freely down her skin, she was more shocked than anything.

"Wait, what are you, I thought you.." she started, feeling her heart start to crack.

"What, that I loved you?" he mocked "I have told you before Khushi, a girl like you, means nothing to me. Why are you crying? Because you think you loved me? No Khushi, you love money, that is all girls like you are after. A rich man. Let me make one thing very clear, I could never, ever, love anyone as low as you, you are not good enough" he lied, making it all the more painful.

He didn't care how much he hurt himself, He didn't care how much he hurt her. Because this girl was in the way of his sisters happiness.

The look in her eyes sent his anger fleeing for the tiniest of moments. And that second was when he realised, staring into the eyes that bore into her soul, that she was innocent.

But he was too angry to act on it. He couldn't deal with it all. She needed to leave.

Khushi let the ice cold wind engulfing her take over her heart, capturing it in a layer so rigid and icy, that she couldn't feel it anymore. She didn't want to feel it, it all hurt too much. What had happened with Shyam didn't even register anymore. She only felt the cold.

"Get out" he said, closing his eyes, wanting to be rid of her for a moment so he could think clearly. It was coming to him now, the feeling that he had made a misjudgement. He should hear what she had to say, but not when he felt so enraged. She had to get out, before he did something he would regret.

"Why?" she asked, voice indifferent.

"Leave NOW" he yelled.

She stood still, no emotion breaking on her face aside from the countless tears still running down her face. She had loved him so much, why didn't he love her back, she cried.

When she didn't move, only shuddering at the cold around her, he grabbed her harshly.

"Because you are a filthy, lower class girl, that jumps from man to man when she pleases, is that what you want to hear? Because you came into my life and ruined everything! Because you are running around behind everyone's backs with a married man, Di has done so much for you, and this is how you bloody repay her? You make me sick, when I look at you, all I see is a girl hell bent on selling any part of her just for money." He yelled out, watching her lost expression, every word he uttered lit a fresh set of tears down her cheeks, the image was heart breaking. She didn't defend herself, she just looked disbelieving that he could even say such a thing.

"So get the hell out of here Khushi, get the hell out of my life, I don't want to see your filthy face around me or any of my family anymore! You want a rich man, go find someone else. I don't care what you do with your life, where you end up, I just want you gone and DON'T even think about coming back. I never want to hear from you again"

A little whimper escaped Khushi's lips as he let go of her. She saw him turn around, not even being able to bear watching her for a moment longer. All she could do, was willingly let the freezing cold ice up her heart all the way through. Just so she could feel nothing. The numbness was her bliss.

She retreated from his turned back, taking in the image of him, because she knew that one day her heart would thaw over, and she never wanted to forget him.

Arnav kept his eyes clenched.

He felt the hot tear tracks marking his skin. The different ways Shyam and Khushi had reacted, even though mostly silent, spoke volumes. She hadn't hid anything, she just took his anger straight on. She wasn't afraid of the truth, Shyam on the other hand, had tried to act like nothing had happened. The mist of uncertainty that had trapped him since earlier on in the night began to clear over. He knew the truth, maybe not the whole truth, but he knew now that she wasn't in the wrong. The thought of that, seeming like the light at the end of an endless tunnel. He took a few deep breaths to calm down. 

"Khushi, Just leave for now okay, I can't do this, not right now, I didn't mean what I...I'll talk to you after this wedding blows over, you.." he turned around, surprised to see the space where she stood empty.

She had already left.

END OF FLASHBACK

That was the last time he had seen her for weeks.

He had thought she would be back, he had meant for her to be back, so he could ask her to explain her side. So she could tell her story and lighten his heart. But she never came, she had gone away, he couldn't find her.

He had been wrong, and that mistake had lost him her, it had lost him his life.

He clutched at his horribly hollow chest in pain.

He missed her. Pieces of her.

He missed her magnificent eyes, her illuminating beauty, her feisty courage and her childlike innocence. He missed how she would stand against him, stand for him, and stand by him. He missed the way she looked at him, admiration and love so intense, shining through her bright eyes, giving him all the trust she could muster in her being.

He missed everything.

He missed all of her. The memory of it all never leaving him, etched in both his mind and heart, because that was all that remained. The Ghost of Her.

Sad, I know! And a bit depressing but I wanted to write a piece where Anjali comes between Arnav and Khushi, don't get me wrong, I love Anjali and Arnav's relationship, but sometimes I feel like they could handle it a bit better. It bothers me how Anjali acts like an 8 year old that constantly needs help. After her accident, the way she cried, frustrated me more than it made me feel for her (just my personal opinion, I know many of you feel differently) it was just too helpless and weak for my liking and also how when either of them disappear for a second, they start to hyperventilate, like guys chill out.

So yes, venting my frustrations !

I hope you liked the OS ! Do leave likes and comments, Love Hayley x