Chapter 30 Tanisha
TANISHA
“Drag racing on the highway.” Aakash’s voice was pure ice as his fiery gaze swept their little huddle. “What fun!”
“Maybe next time they could invite us,” Karam said, entering the room on the heels of that comment. “We could show them how it’s done.”
Rehan dropped his head into his hands with a pained groan. “It was me. It was all me.”
“Of course it was,” Karam said mildly, leaning against the wall and studying his son. “We didn’t need you to tell us that.”
“It wasn’t just him, Dad,” Tani interjected. “Sure, he organised it because he thought it would be fun. But,” she leaned forward in her chair, “I participated in the race. You want to be mad, be mad at me. I’m the oldest.”
“Tani didn’t know anything,” Advik muttered, avoiding his mother’s angry glare. “We planned it and set it up as a surprise for her. She’s just covering for us.”
“How sweet of her,” Shikha said softly, her voice grim.
Tani winced. If her father’s fury was ice, her mother was a dormant volcano. She erupted once in a while but when she did…well, it was best to run for cover.
“A police station.” Yash said now, another explosion just waiting to happen. “You were at a police station, all night, and not one of you thought to call us. Any of us.”
“We were hoping you wouldn’t find out,” Rehan muttered.
“Fuck Reh!” Vikram groaned. “Shut up.”
“There is nothing you do or say that we are not going to find out,” Shikha said, levelling a glare at her son.
“What are you going to do? Bug my butt so you can keep track of me twenty four by seven?”
“Talk to your mother like that again and I’ll do a lot more than just bug your butt.” Karam growled.
“We’re sorry.” Vedika’s quiet voice broke through the angry silence. “This was a bad idea. We should have known better. Especially after what happened to you, to all of you.”
This time the silence echoed with ghosts from the past. Tani swallowed.
Shit. They’d really fucked up. Their parents had been involved in a bad car accident in their past, one that had imploded their lives and had repercussions that seemed to haunt their lives forever.
And their kids had just managed to rub that nightmare in their faces again.
“How is it,” Maya said now, making an effort to lighten her tone, “that Kanak ended up with the sensible kid?”
“This one’s genes are strong,” Kanak answered, jabbing her thumb towards Aakash. But her brow furrowed as she watched her son who was staring at the ground, not raising his head to meet their eyes.
There was a knock on the door and Aakash’s PA peeped around the door. “Sir, we’re getting calls from the press. They know that,” the man cleared his throat, “the children were arrested last night.”
“We were not arrested,” Vikram said, still looking at the ground.
“Only I was,” Tani said hastily. “The Thakkar kids were not.”
Aakash’s jaw flexed, a muscle working in it. “Tell the press to fuck off.”
“He means no comment,” Yash said before that bomb detonated. The PA nodded and disappeared, looking relieved to not be part of the drama.
“The Thakkar kids,” Vikram laughed, a soft sound, an edge to it that had Tani glancing at him. “We don’t even have names anymore. We’re just the Thakkar kids.”
“You’ve got something to say?” Aakash asked his son, his voice sharpening. “You have a problem being a Thakkar kid?”
“No.” Vikram’s lips twisted as he got to his feet and met his father’s gaze. “That is what I am, isn’t it? The Thakkar kid. Some days, it seems that’s all I am.”
Before anyone could say anything to that, Vikram turned and walked out leaving his furious father to glare at his retreating back.
“Why don’t you all get some sleep,” Ved said finally from where he stood beside the window. “We can discuss this later.”
Tani started to rise from her seat but there was another knock on the door. The PA swallowed uncomfortably as he opened the door a crack.
“Jay Sir is here.”
Oh shit. Tani sank back into her seat. She could feel Kabir’s gaze burning into her face like a brand but she didn’t look at him. When she did look up, her eyes clashed with her father’s who was also watching her closely.
But when Karam spoke, all he said was, “You can have the room.”
The rest of them filed out, Kabir going last. He didn’t look back at her but she saw his fist clench as Jay brushed past him and hurried into the room.
“Baby!” he exclaimed. “What happened? Are you okay?”
In the open doorway, Kabir turned, meeting her gaze.
Her heart clenched and she rose, instinctively moving towards him but before she could take a step, Jay reached her, his arms going around her, holding her tight.
Over his shoulder, she met Kabir’s eyes as he reached for the door and shut it tight.
“Jay,” she said, pulling out of his embrace. “We need to talk.”
“Yeah.” His mouth tightened. “Getting arrested before the wedding wasn’t part of your plan, was it?”
She shook her head. “Of course not. Jay-“
“This was Kabir’s idea, wasn’t it?” Jay sneered. “That fucker thinks he’s so cool that he doesn’t need to think about consequences. Plays some bloody songs that sound more like noise than anything and thinks that makes him above the law.”
“His fans would disagree,” Tani said automatically, a pulsing pain beginning in her head. “Jay, listen-“
“Fans.” Jay spat the word. “All he’s got are the groupies he fucks like a bunny on steroids.”
Tani blinked. “Alright. Can we just get back on track? I need to talk to you.”
“And I need to talk to you.” Jay crossed his hands over his chest. “Tani, you need to know. This behaviour will not be acceptable after we’re married. It has to stop.”
“This behaviour?” she repeated slowly, her mind slowly churning over his words and the shift in his tone.
“Yes, I’ve tolerated your relationship with this guy until now. But I won’t anymore. I’m putting my foot down. He’s a bad influence. You can have nothing to do with him ever again. I don’t even want to hear his name mentioned in my house.”
“No man, not even me, should be telling you how to live your life, or whom to have in it.”
Her father’s words echoed in her head as she stared at the man she was supposed to marry in two days.
“Did you hear me?” he asked, his voice hard and his eyes cold. “I am putting my foot down.”
“Well,” she said, her brain fog falling away as she looked at him. “You’re going to have to pick it up and put it down somewhere else.”
Jay went white with fury. “Have you lost your mind?”
“I kissed him.” A strange calm descended over her as she spoke her truth, the confusion and anguish of the past few months dropping away.
“I kissed Kabir.”