April 2015 A to Z Blogging Challenge- Chapter 17- Quiet before the storm

I'll Be There Beside You

Chapter 17

Today’s Idiom – Quiet before the storm

Meaning- When you know that something is about to go horribly wrong, but hasn't just yet, then you are in the quiet before the storm.

It was a very subdued goodbye for Lalitha and me as I dropped her and Asha aunty near their bus station. What I didn’t know then, was that the silence between us was the quiet before the storm.

Lalitha noticed that I was upset and hurt but she didn’t comment or try to make an excuse for her outburst in the afternoon. Although there were a couple of apartments to check, Lalitha had said that she was not in a mood to go anywhere, so I had dropped her home.

My mind was reeling with questions and I knew that if I didn’t find any answers soon, I would have to confront Lalitha. But I needed some evidence, any information about Monica that would help to connect her with Lalitha. I decided to hit the most popular nightclubs in Bangalore. If I could find Roy or Monica, then maybe I could solve this mystery. Of course, I had not much hopes of receiving help or cooperation from Roy after our confrontation yesterday. But anything was better than sitting idle at home, alone with my disturbing thoughts.

After my fourth unsuccessful attempt at finding Roy or Monica, I was about to give up when I remembered Santhosh mentioning a very popular club, called Skyye Lounge in UB City. I decided that I’d head home after this last try.

So I was overjoyed when I asked for Roy with the bartender of Skyye Lounge and he pointed in the direction of the open air deck where there was loud music played by the in-house DJ. I recognized the burly figure sitting along with his cronies and smoking a joint.

“Hey”, I shouted and Roy looked at me. His face turned menacing and I heard him mutter expletives as he marched towards me.

I put up my hands indicating that I wasn’t there for a fight.

“Look I don’t want to fight or create a scene. I just want to know more about Monica.” I explained but clearly Roy wasn’t in a mood to listen.

As his fist came twisting hard on the side of my face, I could hear an odd ringing in my ears. Another punch to my stomach made me reel with pain and I fell down on both my knees.

Roy’s friends tried to stop him.

“Why are you fighting for a girl who treats you like her bodyguard? You’ve hardly met her couple of times and there’s nothing serious between you two.”

Roy’s sickening grin came into focus as he stared hard at me.

“This is not for Monica. The son of a bitch here should know that he cannot hit Roy and then walk away freely. It’s payback time.”

And as Roy’s feet came crashing down on my face, I lost my consciousness. 

You can read the previous chapters here-

Chapter 1                                     Chapter 8                             Chapter 15

Chapter 2                                     Chapter 9                             Chapter 16

Chapter 3                                     Chapter 10

Chapter 4                                     Chapter 11

Chapter 5                                     Chapter 12

Chapter 6                                     Chapter 13

Chapter 7                                     Chapter 14