Akhil was looking over files in his room when the door was slammed open. Looking up in shock, he was surprised at seeing Mr Taran standing there looking livid. “Uncle,” he said in confusion as he stood up from his chair and crossed his arms over himself. The man didn’t say anything as he grabbed Akhil’s arm and roughly dragged him out of the room.
Wincing when he was dragged, Akhil stumbled along behind the older man before sending his brother a scared look as he was forced past the room. His feet almost slipped as he couldn’t hold the bannister to steady himself. Eventually, he ended up in the living room where everyone was gathered and Amir had wrenched his arm free before forcing Taran away.
He pushed Akhil behind himself and glared at Taran but was cut off from speaking when Mr Malik cleared his throat and softly said,” Mr Taran, I apologize for everything that’s come to light. I’m asking you to let me handle this because it is a family matter. I shall call you in a few days and we can talk about where to go from here.” Everyone in the house was surprised at how disappointed and lost the man sounded except for Mr Taran who looked at Akhil and grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt.
Gasping, Akhil was surprised by the roughness the older man was displaying and froze when he saw the anger in the man’s eyes. Amir forced the man’s hands off before pushing him away which resulted in Mr Malik yelling,” Amir, Akhil, enough.” Taran stormed out of the house and Akhil was shaking as he tried to get his bearings back about him.
“Abu, what is going on? How could Taran Uncle put his hands on Akhil and you just let him,” Amir was outraged as he turned on his Father but their Father surprised all of them by yelling,” Enough.” Akhil flinched alongside everyone else before stepping forward and releasing a deep breath.
“Abu,” he was cut off when Mr Malik shot a hand out and smacked him across the face. Not prepared, Akhil lost his balance and fell on the floor as he winced and tears formed in his eyes. They all gasped and Mrs Malik was about to say something when Amir held her back. This was not a good time to say anything out of turn to their Father.
“How dare you,” Mr Malik said as Akhil turned on his back so that he could face his Father but stayed on the floor. The older man moved forward again but Akhil flinched and covered himself with his arm and somewhat curled upon himself. “Malik Ji, what is this about,” Mrs Malik asked as she couldn’t hold herself back and the man angrily pointed to Akhil before hissing,” This is about him. This is about him completely embarrassing everyone in this family.” Once he finished, he pulled a few photos from his pocket and threw them at Akhil.
“These photos prove everything,” he whispered and Akhil gathered them up in his hands before gasping. His hands shook as he sorted through all the pictures of him and Laila. Expect, they only showed his face not Laila’s, the one thing he was grateful for. He stood up and handed them over to Amir who almost cursed right there. “Abu,” Amir said but the man held up his hand before turning to look at Akhil who stared at the floor in front of him.
Akhil winced when the back of his neck was held in a tight grip by his Father as his one hand came to rest on top of his and tried to pull himself free. “AHHH,” Akhil yelled in pain when Mr Malik tightened his grip before hissing out,” Who is she?” Akhil shook his head and closed his eyes before whispering,” I don't know.” Not buying the complete lie his son told him, Mr Malik tightened his grip even more which made Akhil almost stand on his toes as he screwed his eyes shut from the pain.
“Abu, please you’re hurting him. Let him go. Abu,” Amir begged as he had tears in his eyes that he desperately tried not to let fall. Reluctantly, the older man let Akhil go who immediately stumbled back as he succumbed to the pain and let his body drift to the floor. “If I find out anyone else knew about this,” the threat was left unfinished and they all held their breath as they waited for someone else to make the first move. Amir opened his mouth to say something but Mr Malik started talking as he none too gently glared at Akhil. “He’s confined to this house and until I find out who that girl is, he will not be leaving to go see anyone. Understood,” though his tone was calm they could all hear the rising frustration and anger of it.
Amir opened his mouth again to protest and sway their Father to decide something else but Akhil looked up at him with tears in his eyes and shook his head. Slowly he mouthed,” Don't, please.” Amir nodded but they all jumped when Mr, Malik yelled,” UNDERSTOOD?” Nodding, they waited until the older man left before Amir and Rahul rushed over to Akhil who was shaking on the floor.
“I’m fine. I’m fine. Excuse me,” Akhil muttered as he gently pushed his brothers away and slowly walked to his room. As Akhil finally made his way inside to the safety of his room, he closed the door behind him and turned on the old CD player in his room. As space was filled with the sound of violins and classical instruments, Akhil let himself slip to the floor and crash without much thought of what was happening around him. He ran his hands through his hair a few times as he tipped his head back in the effort not to let his tears drop but it was useless. Muffling his sounds of distress with his sleeve, Akhil cried until even his body was too tired to cope with everything that was happening to it and he slipped into a fitful sleep.
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