Preet moved closer to the bed, closer to her. He gingerly reached for her hand, feeling her warm skin against his; it sent tingles rippling through his body. She looked so peaceful, as though caught in a serene world of dreams – a world so much better than the one they were forced to live in. the one that they had chosen to live.
He sat in a chair, pulling it closer to the bed. His heart constricted painfully in his chest, it felt as though someone held it tight in their fist, not allowing it to beat. "Why is this happening?" he whispered under his breath, trying not to disturb her. Ironically, this was the reason he'd ventured into the room in the first place.
He sighed, running a hand through his messy black hair. He looked around him, his surroundings becoming ever more familiar with every day that passed. Numerous cards were propped up on various surfaces, each one with the same words written across them in colours that rivalled a five-year-old's birthday party.
He turned away from them, focusing on her. Always on her. He clutched her small hand in his, instantly reminded of only just a few minutes ago. Tears brimmed his eyelids, threatening to fall, but he wiped them away viciously. "Don't do this!" He told himself, mentally beating himself up for being so weak.
Preet gently pushed her fringe out of her eyes, letting the black waves fall back onto the white linen that encased the bed. "This wasn't meant to happen, was it?" He said to her, putting her fingers to his mouth and kissing them lightly. "That's why you wouldn't say anything, isn't it? This is the reason, right? And nobody knew. We were all so wrapped up in our own damn lives we couldn't see." The pain she had gone through, all this time.
I hope you can hear me, I remember it clearly
He looked out of the open door, his eyes resting on PB and bhabhi. Harman and Maya had obviously left then. "I told her, told her to leave. The minute I found out you were here, I knew. I knew I couldn't be with her, not when I love you." Preet remembered the look on Ash's face when he'd told her he wanted to end it. There was such resentment and anger in her eyes, tears even, but not the raw pain that was always present in Meher's.
Ash had looked at him, as though he'd just crushed her favourite toy. Repeating the same question. "Why?" And he'd just stared at her, could she really be that oblivious? That blind? Did she not notice the way he would look at Meher, every single day? A way that no friend would ever look at his best friend. And so he'd told her. "I don't love you, I never have. We were just meant to be a bit of fun. You knew that from the start."
His words had been so callous and unfeeling, but it was the only way he'd keep from truly falling apart. If he allowed himself to explain, there would be no way he'd be able to pick himself up and walk back into her room. He'd just lie there, broken and alone. Without his Meher.
Just like a star across my sky
Just like an angel off the page
So Ash had left. But that didn't change the fact they couldn't be together, Ash had made sure that if she didn't have him as her own then Meher wouldn't have him as well and she planned the whole plan to get her out of his life and she had succeeded but not anymore.
"Come on, darling'," Preet whispered, making tiny circular motions on the back of her hand. "It's been a week now." Tears slipped from his eyes, falling down his cheeks and resting on his lips so that he could taste the saltiness. "Where's that fighting Juneja attitude, eh? Where's that gone? Meher, come on, you can't let this beat you. Fight," he pleaded with her, squeezing her hand slightly, trying to awaken her. "Don't let Ash get the satisfaction that she had won… don't make me go back to her" he cried as he wiped his tears from her face that had fallen from his eyes.
His breaths came in gasps as he looked around him once again. The white walls glared at him, as though he was an intruder. The incessant beeps of the many machines sliced through his thoughts, making his head ache, but the sound was comforting. They told him she was okay. Or as okay as she could be but if not in few hours then even those machine would leave her alone…. And him without nothing.
He traced the outline of her face with a finger. She was like a toy on a birthday, only it was the night before and he couldn't have her. "Wait until tomorrow," they'd say. But tomorrow never came. The doctors came in and saw her, checked her pulse which was showing no signs and looked at him before leaving. He watched the stare they had given him like he was fighting a battle that was already lost and he was wasting his time…. But he wasn't… she was going to be okay
Her black hair was fanned around her, splaying out onto the white pillow. She was like a porcelain doll, so fragile. You had to be careful with her, so so careful – in case you broke her. And he'd done that. Over and over again. And then she'd had to piece herself back together, fix herself, until one day she couldn't. This time it wasn't his fault. It was hers.
But how could you blame a newborn?
"Meher, honey. Please, wake up. We need you. Dad and Mum, they're waiting outside. Just open your eyes, sweetheart. And Sapna, she needs you too. She needs her mum. So please, please baby, wake up. We all need you so much. What am I meant to do without you? I love you, so so much. I need you. Please, baby, just open your eyes. I know I've hurt you darlin', but I promise that's not gonna happen anymore. I'm gonna make you happy, and you're never gonna cry another tear over me, you hear that? No more crying. I love you, Meher."
He bent his head so that it rested against her body, his tears creating a damp patch on the crme blanket. His head jerked up when he felt her hand twitch. "Meher? Meher, darling?" His voice was panicked with hope, he stood up immediately, scrutinising her face. He watched as her eyes flickered open, blinking a few times before focusing on him.
"Preet?" Her voice was soft and rough from not being used for so long.
"I'm here, darling. I'm here."
"I want to see our baby."
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