Jeeth was standing infront of the car with a camera in his hands. A victorious smile was painted on his face. Maya looked over to Adhi. He was clutching the steering wheel hard. His jaw was clenched nostrils flared. He was beyond pissed off. Maya put her hand on his forearm but Adhi released it

"Stay in the car" he growled. Adhi began to open his door.

"Adhi." Maya's eyes were welled up in tears.

"Baby im just gonna talk to him okay. I'll be fine. Dont worry." He stroked mayas cheeks. "Just stay in the car okay" he smiled at her. But it didnt really reach his eyes.

Maya nodded. He patted her cheeks and ripped open the car door and got out. Maya couldn't hear what the guys were talking about. But it wasn't pretty. Adhi was angry. Of all the time she spent with him she had never seen him this angry.

Jeeth was a whole another story. His smirk never left his face. The way he was talking was almost playful, triggering. Like a cat playing with a mouse. Adhi grabbed the camera from jeeth's hands and crushed it under his feet and kicked it to the ocean.

Jeeth said something close to adhi's ear and then all hell broke loose. Adhi lost it and started punching jeeth. His one hand were clutched his jeeth's collar and the other was punching him repeatedly in the jaw. Maya cupped her mouth in shock and jumped out of the car. Jeeth was also fighting back . His face was covered in blood. Jeeth pulled his arm back and hit him sharp across his jaw.

Adhi spitted blooded on to the sand. Maya was trembling. She ran towards them and began to pull adhi away from Jeeth. A few of jeeth's friends pulled him back too.

"You son of a bitch" Jeeth again jumped towards Adhi. But his friends pulled him back. Maya was sobbing into adhi's chest and pulled him away from the fight.

"Adhi please stop" maya pleaded. She clutched his shirt in his hands.

Adhi looked down at her. Maya saw adhi's nose and lips bleeding. He had a black eye.

"Lets go please lets just goo" Maya pleaded as she saw jeeth was coming back to our direction. Adhi swiped his thumb over maya's tear streaked cheeks.

"Lets go. I'll drop you at the hostel" adhi pulled maya towards the car.

"No. Take me home." If he drove her to the hostel he would definitely comeback and fight again. Maya knew it.

"Look at you adhi you're bleeding we need to dress this." Maya protested.

"Maya its almost 6. I need to take you back to the hostel by 7. My house is a 2 hour drive from here" He pushed maya to the seat and walked around the car and sat on the driving seat. Maya immediately took some tissue from her purse and handed over it to adhi.

"Here press it to your nose. It looks really bad." Adhi pressed it to his nose and winced in pain.

"Adhi take me home. We have to take care of that wound. Or just go to a hospital."

"Maya..." Adhi protested.

"Dont 'maya' me or lets just call your mom. She can look at it right?" Maya looked at him with wide eyes.

"No. No I'll take you home. Dont call mom. She'll get worried." Adhi agreed hesitatingly.

The drive to adhi's home was filled with maya's complaints. She was frantically changing the tissues and wiping blood from his face and hands. Adhi's eyes widened as she started cursing jeeth and telling him what an asshole he is.

"What did he say to you? Why did you get so angry?" She asked him

"Why shouldn't i be angry? He has no right to even look at my girl and he was clicking pictures of us kissing. I should have broke his face"

'My girl' those words kept repeating in her head. He really cared about her. After the long drive they pulled into a small residential colony.

Adhi's house wasnt that extravangant. It was small and compact. A lot of plants in the front lawn.Adhi got down from the car and opened the gate and asked maya to park the car.Adhi opened the door and invited her in. It was a small 2 bhk house. The hall was small with a tv and a ragged couch. Adhi went inside the kitchen and brought 2 glasses of water for them. Maya pushed adhi down to the couch.

"Where is the first aid box"? Maya ordered.

A small grin played on adhi's lips when he pointed towards the cabinet in the kitchen. Maya took down the first aid box and she could tell it hadnt been used in a while. A fine line of dust was on the lid. She opened it and grabbed the cotton, bandage and the betadin ointment. When she was about to close the lid something caught her eyes.

A sealed box of condoms.

Maya's eyes widened and she immediately closed the box and put it back in its place. She grabbed the supplies and also a small bowl of water. She sat beside adhi and clutched his face in her arms. She dipped the cotton in water and cleaned his wounds first.

Adhi was smiling through it all. His eyes never left her face. But she didnt dare to look back as she knew she would get distracted. She could feel his eyes drifting towards her lips from time to time. She took a fresh patch of cotton and dipped in the betadin ointment.

"This is gonna sting" maya made a face while saying that which made adhi laugh. But that laugh immediately turned into a cry of pain as the cotton pinch touched his face. Adhi hissed in pain and Maya immediately removed her hands. But adhi pulled her hands and encouraged her to do it.

She cleaned and applied medicine to all his wounds and bandaged it. There were cuts on his nose bridge, cheeks and lower lip. And his hands were slowly swelling up too.

"Does your arm hurt?" Maya inspected his hand.

"Kind of why? Is it bad?"

"Its swelling up adhi. I think you broke it" maya's eyes were laced with concern.

"Ohh perfect." Adhi shook his arm but winced in pain.

The grandfather clock in the hall struck 9 pm.

"Maya its late i should take you back" adhi started to get up.

"Why isnt your mom back yet? I'll leave once she comes home. I cant leave you like this." She pointed towards his hands which was now swollen even more.

"Adhi we should go to a hospital. We need to get your hand checked out. Its getting worse."

"Baby i promise I'll go tomorow. Okay? Now let me take you back"

"No. Call your mom. Then I'll leave." Maya crossed her arms and stood like a stubborn child.

"Also you cant drive with that hand adhi. I'll take a cab after"

"Mom...... uhm... mom wont come back probably. She.. uhhh..." Adhi scratched his head. He was fidgeting for words.

"She works as uhhh as a home nurse at night. I dont know if she'll comeback tonight. It depends on the... patient" He said the word patient with a kind of disgust which confused maya.

"And.. you won't take a cab at this hour okay? Dont you read the news." He let out a loud breath.

"Take my car and I'll take it back tomorrow."

Maya looked petrified. "I cant drive that long. Im not a good driver Adhi"

Adhi chuckled. He sat down on the couch again. "Then what are we gonna do? Do you wanna stay here tonight?"

She froze. She hadnt thought that through. It wasnt like she was scared of adhi or of he might do something. She was afraid of the situation.

"I.... i.. dont.. I dont know about that" maya stuttered.

Adhi patted the spot next to him and gestured her to sit down.

"Maya. Im not letting you go alone. Im not letting you take a cab. And you are not letting me drive you either. So that leaves us with 2 options. Either someone come and gets you or you stay here."Maya swallowed.

"I dont think preethy or taniya coming here at this hour is not safe either. Soo" He looked up at maya. His eyes darkened a bit. Maya immediately sat a tad away from him. His chuckle filled her ears.

"Maya why are you scared? I would never touch you without your permission". He looked hurt.

"I know that. Its just..."

"I know. Soo you take my room. I'll sleep here. In the couch."

"You wont sleep in your mom's room?" Maya's eyebrows knitted in confusion.

"No... i dont like... i dont like her room" Adhi hesitated again.

Maya understood that his mom was a sensitive subject to him and didnt pry further.

"Do you wanna change?" Adhi asked maya. His cheeks were tinted in red.

"Yeah i would like that."

Adhi gave maya a hoodie and sweatpants. It was straight out of laundry so it smelled like fabric conditioner. Maya was kind of dissapointed that it didnt smell like him.

She changed in adhi's room. It was exactly like she pictured. Walls filled with football players and books. Romance books. She didnt take him for a chick flick reader but he continued to surprise her. She spotted a picture in the night stand. It was adhi, his brother and his parents. Adhi looked a lot like his father. They had the same eyes, the cut of his jaw it was so alike. His brother looked more like his mother.

Maya came out of the room and found adhi in the kitchen. Cooking. If Maggy counts as cooking. He was struggling to open the maggy packet with his one good hand. A chuckle left maya involuntarily and Adhi turned around. His eyes scanned her from head to toe. And a smile that could power up an entire city appeared on his face.

"Is it wrong that i enjoy seeing you in my clothes this much?" Adhi asked with a hushed voice. It sent shivers up her spine. Maya shyly walked towards adhi and took the packet out of his hands.

"Not at all" she said without looking at him.

"I hope you dont mind I dont know how to cook anything else.Do you?" Maya shook her head.

"Okay maggy it is then" adhi huffed.

"Maggy is the best food in the world it is just fine." She gave him an awkward shrug of her shoulders.

His chuckle filled her ears. "Okay then. Lets get cooking "

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