Part 20
Nikki unlocked her main door and walked in with her bags, feeling a sense of freedom and relief at having reached home finally. A glance at her watch told her it was 7:30 pm.
She was dead tired, and even though she refused to admit to Riddhima or Akash, she was ravenous.
Wearily setting her bags down on the floor and leaving them there, she walked into the washroom to freshen herself. Coming out after a long bath, feeling nice and clean, she blow dried her shampooed hair and changed into her clothes for the night.
It was 8:30 already and she could fall asleep on her feet. She dragged her feet to the kitchen and made some two minute noodles for herself, not having the energy to cook.
She took her bowl of noodles and sat on the couch, switching on the TV, enjoying the comfort of being at home.
Suddenly remembering something, she picked up her phone and called Abhi.
She swallowed the last bit of her dinner just as he picked up.
"Hello?"
"Abhi…" she said, a feeling of happiness washing over her, as she knew that she would see him again tomorrow. "I'm back home."
"Yeah, Shehnaz told me you're coming back today", his quiet voice replied back.
She couldn't quite put her finger on his tone. It was well disguised, she decided. She didn't know why he was talking like that. From what she could make out, he sounded hurt, miserable, angry, or…almost disinterested.
The labour it took in deciding what he was actually feeling gave her a headache.
"Abhi, I'm really tired…" she sighed.
"Then go to sleep", he cut off.
Offended at his interruption, she scowled. "Yeah, I should do that", she told him matter-of-factly, knowing it would irk him.
"Okay, goodnight."
"Yeah, goodnight", she replied, but didn't cut the call. Her instinct told her he was not done yet.
True to her thoughts, after a slight pause, his distinctly gentler voice whispered, "Sweet dreams."
Smiling, she wished him the same and went to bed. Climbing into her well known comfortable mattress, she glanced at the framed picture of Abhi on the bedside table. It was taken during their trip to Paligaon in March.
Picture Abhi smirked, looking at her through his red rimless glasses, clad in a white shirt. He was leaning back onto the bed, obviously enjoying having made a snide remark at her. She knew that self-satisfied smirk only too well.
Giving one last fond smile at the picture, she lay down on the bed, giving herself in to sleep, letting her dreams and fantasies over take her and take her to a place where she could be with Abhi without any fights, any regrets…where it was just them.
***
Abhi set the phone down and leant back on his couch, reducing the volume of the cricket match re-run he was watching.
Sighting, he twirled the phone in his hands, wondering why he had reacted in that way. She had come back after two weeks…he was supposed to be happy about it.
But something held him back from exploding with joy. She had hardly called him, and except for that one chat on the phone, they hadn't really talked much. He had mostly shouted at her in his frustration, and she had listened meekly.
Their behaviour was contrary to what he had expected it would be. In normal circumstances it would have been impossible for them to stay away from each other, even when fighting. What had happened?
Had he become too preoccupied with the titanic task of realising his feelings and gathering the courage to confess that he had actually ignored her and overreacted when she had decided to talk?
He buried his head in both his hands, feeling confused as to what to do. He had merely acted on instinct without thinking once if she had to say something.
He had just been so angry at her for not even informing that she was coming back. He'd come to know of it from Shehnaz, he fumed. They had a major communication gap, and he needed to fix it as soon as possible.
Shaking his head sorrowfully, he switched off the TV and went to bed. Perhaps a good night's sleep would do him good.
*****
His loud and irritating alarm rung, announcing that it was 7 in the morning. Groaning and mumbling incoherently, he fumbled for the clock with his hand, and finding it, smashed his hand on to the button.
Silence once more prevailed. His sleep completely destroyed, Abhi opened the crack of an eye to see rays of sunlight streaming through the parting between the curtains. His whole room was bathed in light.
Wondering how he had managed to sleep through such brightness, he got up and walked to the bathroom.
After a shower, he walked to his dresser and put on a pair of faded blue jeans with a white shirt, carefully leaving the first 3 buttons undone. No harm in keeping her distracted to ward off her anger.
As he was about to leave, he received a call from Dr. Shashank, who informed him about three board meetings that had been rescheduled from the afternoon to the morning. Scowling at the prospect of having to attend four boring and extremely tiresome meetings, he did up one more button of his shirt to look more formal.
Grabbing the car keys off the bedside table, he walked off.
***
Nikki joined the interns at the lunch table after a hectic round of back-to-back duties. Dr. Keerti seemed relentless and equally merciless despite the fact that both she and Riddhima had been to the medical camp.
She hadn't even caught a glimpse of Abhi in the whole day. Her heart ached to see him. She twirled a few noodles around her fork, lost in thought.
"Oye Nikki", Muskaan broke her reverie. "What're you thinking?"
"Hmm? Oh, nothing", she answered, smiling.
"Haan Nikki, you seem very quiet today", Anjali said.
"Are you still tired after the trip?" Armaan asked, putting a brotherly arm around her shoulder.
Finding an excuse, she nodded. "Yeah, just a bit tired. The trip was hectic."
"Are you feeling alright?" Atul asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine", she gave them a smile, which seemed to reassure them.
After lunch, she finally had some time free. They had already had a very late lunch, at 4 pm. All of them had tons of work to do, and so they couldn't manage to eat of time.
Looking around for any signs of Abhi and not finding any, she walked up to her favourite destination, the basketball court. Sitting on her usual position on the stands, her eyes fixed on the horizon, she let her mind wander to all her fights with Abhi.
He had sounded so angry and hurt. His detached behaviour the previous night when she had called him told her everything about what he felt.
She needed to sort things out with him. Life without Abhi in it was hard to lead. She was used to having him around, always knowing that she could lean back on him, go to him for everything. He was always there for her. His distant attitude was beginning to hurt.
And here she was, finally back in Mumbai after two whole torturous weeks, and he was ignoring her. Something snapped inside her. He hadn't even said hello, and he knew very well she would be here. Irritation built up inside her, bringing all her frustrations and fears to the fore.
She pondered over the fact while the September sky slowly turned from blue to pinkish orange.
She didn't even notice when Abhi came up to the court and sat beside her on the stands. It was the smell of his aftershave, which wafted to her nose in the light breeze that shook her from her deep thought.
Startled, she turned to look at him, and her long hair hit his face as she turned her head. The smell of her shampoo filling his senses, he closed his eyes and took it in. Opening his eyes, he observed her quietly.
Her eyes were staring back at him in confusion and reclusiveness. He could distinctly tell that she was hiding something from him, and also feeling guilty, most probably for the former.
Seeing her after such a long gap had its effect on him, as he once more drank in every detail of her appearance. Her big dark eyes continued to gaze at him unblinkingly, like that of a child. His raised his hand and brushed a lock of her hair aside. She still looked at him in the same way.
She had taken off her shoes and hugged her knees to her chest and half her face was hidden behind her arms which rested upon her knees, gathering them to her. He could only see her eyes and her nose. He couldn't deny she looked adorable like that.
He smiled at her, an endearing fond smile that melted her. There was a calm, relaxed air about his face. He looked completely at ease with himself.
"Nikki…" he called out to her, feeling slightly bad about behaving the way he had last night.
She relaxed her position, and let her legs dangle off the stands. He was amused to see they didn't even reach the ground.
"I…" he proceeded to explain his rude behaviour, his heart melting at the mere sight of her. But she suddenly stood up, wore her shoes and walked away from him to the parapet, her back facing him.
So she's angry at me. He thought amusedly. He didn't know why, but he couldn't bring himself to feel bad or angry about anything, after seeing her.
He got up, and pushing his hands in his jeans pockets, walked up to where she stood. He had taken care to undo the third button of his shirt before coming up here after his very late lunch.
"I'm sorry", he apologised very uncharacteristically. She crossed her arms over her chest, refusing to say anything.
Assuming she was still hurt, he slid his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder, pulling her close. Hugs were good damage control.
She still remained stiff. Unable to see her expression from his position, he softly apologised again.
"I didn't mean to shout at you, Nikki."
She took a deep breath, feeling herself melting into his embrace. It felt so good to have him hold her. She'd known that he'd react in this way if she moved away.
The truth was, she was still feeling bad about hugging Akash. It somehow made her feel guilty, even though she knew very well that it hadn't been her fault. She knew Akash felt something for her, and if she wasn't mistaken, it was love.
And that hurt the most.
She closed her eyes, leaning back onto his chest, but not relaxing her position completely. He, in turn, held her even closer, his hands moving from her waist and going to her arms, unlocking them from where she had crossed them over her chest.
He entwined his fingers with hers, and proceeded to hold her around her waist once more, her hands in his.
It was a feeling she had missed, and she liked the fact that he was being more affectionate than he normally was.
"Didn't you miss me?" he asked, his voice a low whisper, his breath tickling her neck.
She turned her head around slightly, to see him looking at her tenderly. She couldn't bear to look into those soulful chocolate eyes and not feel guilty.
"Abhi please", she tried to sound firm and failed miserably. Extracting herself from his embrace and ignoring the fact that it suddenly felt very cold, she moved away.
He stared at her, confusion lurking in his eyes alongside hurt.
"Nikki, why're you being so difficult?" he asked her in a slightly irritated voice. And she knew she was testing his patience. She knew only too well what a short fuse his temper had, and he was already beginning to lose his grip on it.
"Abhi, I…" she stopped, not knowing what to say. Or rather, how to say it.
"Listen, Nikki", he came up behind her. "I know we've had fights and we both acted unreasonably, but I just want to make it okay…" he trailed away.
When she didn't say anything, he finished softly, "I don't want to fight anymore." He echoed her thoughts.
She turned to him, hardness in her eyes. "Neither do I, Abhi."
Mistaking the reclusiveness in her eyes for defiance, Abhi put his hands on his hips and glared at her. "What's your problem?"
She looked at him, bewildered at his sudden change in attitude.
"Why can't you just tell me what's bothering you?" he asked, softening his tone.
"You won't like it", she fidgeted.
"There're many things that you've said to me and I've not liked", he replied. "So there's no reason you shouldn't say this."
"Abhi, just leave it", she sighed and turned to go while he gaped at her sudden withdrawal from the building up argument.
The sun had set, and darkness had crept in, replacing the orange hues with darker and greyer shades. In the dim light, as she walked towards the exit, her heel somehow twisted, and she fell down hard on the floor, letting out a yelp as she did.
Running to her on seeing her fall, he crouched beside her and tried to pull her up to a sitting position.
"Oh, Nikki!", he exclaimed, wide-eyed. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned, all irritation forgotten.
She clutched her foot, face contorted in pain, moaning slightly and slapping his hand away when he tried to touch it.
"Wait, let me see", he reasoned, but she bit her lip hard and shook her head.
"Uff, you stubborn girl", he admonished her. "You might have sprained your ankle."
"Not might, I think I have", she replied through gritted teeth, smacking his hand away for the second time as it reached for her foot.
"Wear sky scraper heels, okay?" he told her sarcastically. "Why stick to these small pencil heels? Wear six inch heels!" he mocked.
"Oh would you shut up!" she almost cried.
Shaking her head disapprovingly at her, he took her foot as she yelped and tried to stop him from touching it.
"Quiet!" he snapped at her, and she immediately obeyed with a pout.
Muttering under his breath, he carefully extracted the shoe from her foot as she looked on wondrously. He pulled the other shoe off as well, and before she could say anything, lifted her up bridal-style.
Gasping as he did that, she held on to his neck for support. She still gazed at him amazed as he swiftly walked out of the basketball court, and through the corridors.
Her face gradually turned deeper shades of red as the ward boys, nurses, doctors, patients, and other passers-by stared at them. Her face was so hot she could have fried an egg on it.
"What about my shoes?" she questioned quietly.
He stopped suddenly without a word, and instructed a passing ward boy to pick up her pair of shoes from the basketball court and deliver them to his cabin. Then, he called a nurse and asked her to bring a crepe bandage to his cabin.
Her amazement knew no bounds. Even in his frustrated stubbornness, he still cared.
He carried her into his cabin, pushing the already unlocked door with his foot. Once inside, he turned around and instructed her to close the door since his arms were too busy holding her up.
At his remark, she puckered her nose at him. "Why should I close the door?"
"Just close it, will you? And stop arguing."
Pouting cutely, she did as he asked by extracting her right hand from her grip on his neck and pulling the door shut.
Within the safe haven of his cabin, her embarrassment and shyness seemed to disappear, bringing her spunk back.
"Why did you do that?" she asked.
"Do what?" he looked at her puzzled, rooted to the spot.
"Carry me all the way here?" she asked, sounding almost offended.
"Well, you should have told me that you're perfectly capable of walking even with an injured ankle!" he shot at her sarcastically.
"Do you always have to talk like that?"
"It's called sarcasm", he answered nonchalantly.
"It's also called rudeness", she told him.
"Well, that seems to be the only language you understand", he gave her a saccharine smile.
"You have a major attitude problem", she said, looking daggers at him.
"So do you…you should have thanked me", he said and started walking towards the couch.
"I never understand you!" she pouted. "First you act all concerned and then you blow up on me and after that you're sarcastic!"
"Would. You. Shut. Up." He glared at her, having reached the sofa.
"No, what will you do?" she challenged.
"I'll drop you", he threatened.
"No you won't!"
"Yes I will."
"Won't!"
"Will", he confirmed, and acted as if he would let go.
"Oh no you won't!"
"And how can you say that?" he asked her, challenge written all over his face. She seemed to have forgotten her pain for the time being.
"I know it!"
"Ooh, over confidence, my Pehelwan!"
"Not confidence…just trust", she replied back. Almost immediately she bit her lip, blushing at her sudden thoughtless outburst. She was glad she said that, though.
Abhi quietened down, consciousness creeping into his eyes. His dark angry eyes softened, changing from black to the chocolate brown she knew.
He set her down on the couch just as a ward boy entered with Nikki's high-heeled shoes, followed by a nurse who handed a roll of crepe bandage to Abhi.
After they left, he slowly bandaged her foot, and she watched in silence. Bandaging done, he stuck the clips on it and looked up at her with a satisfied smile on his face, one that didn't properly hide the amazement in his expression.
The soft smile playing on her lips as she gazed at him slowly disintegrated the smile of satisfaction, only to be replaced by an understanding in his eyes.
They looked at each other in silence, speaking through their eyes. His hand rested on her injured foot, which lay on his lap. Neither of them broke the stare, willing the other to speak first.
"Nikki…" his voice cut through the silence, and her bubble burst. The earlier thoughts came rushing back, almost attacking her mind, driving away the sense of happiness that had filled her every being on being near him.
"Abhi", she gulped nervously, and he took her hand, squeezing it with reassurance.
Encouraged by his gesture, she continued, "Abhi, I need to tell you something."
Taking care not to hurt her foot, he pulled her closer. "Say it."
Taking a deep breath, she proceeded to tell him everything that had happened in Paligaon. Her confusion, the work, the tiredness which had caught up on her and…Akash.
Keeping her eyes down in fear of meeting his and finding something she would hate to see, she narrated the tale. Abhi listened quietly, squeezing her hand now and then when she got stuck.
She didn't look up once, as she continued to how she had hugged Akash in her fear.
She told him everything, not leaving a single detail. And he listened. It was unlike him to simply hear her out without any interruption, but she was glad that he did so.
As she finished speaking, she finally dared to look into his eyes. A tear slipped from her eye as she did so, and his thumb immediately wiped it away, even before it could make its way down her cheek.
What she saw in his eyes surprised her. There was neither anger, nor jealousy. There was plain understanding, and she stared back in awe, unable to draw her eyes away from his.
"Abhi…you're not angry?" she asked disbelievingly.
A small amused smile graced his dashing face.
"No, of course not!" he took her other hand in his. "I know you don't feel anything for Akash."
"So…you forgive me?" she asked expectantly.
"I was never angry with you in the first place, Nikki…so the question of forgiving you doesn't even arise."
Puzzled at his behaviour, she questioned, "But how can you not be angry? Are you sure you…" she trailed off.
"It's hard for you to believe that I'd give in without a fight, right?" he spoke, and she nodded vigorously.
"Nikki, we've already had enough misunderstandings and fights", he said tenderly. "And while you were gone, I…figured some things out", a slight blush appeared on his cheeks. "And right now I know better than to argue with you over Akash."
"Since when did you start understanding things so much?" she asked him suspiciously.
"Since you left me alone here for two weeks", he answered, a twinkle in his eyes.
"I never thought I'd say this to you", she admitted sheepishly. "But, I really missed you Abhi", she smiled.
"Same here", he replied tongue-in-cheek. "I never thought you'd miss me."
When she hit him lightly on the chest, he grinned at her. "Actually, I missed you too."
She laughed at him, and he half lifted her onto his lap and hugged her.
Resting her head against his chest, his arms wrapped protectively around her, she felt safer than she had done in many days. She had truly missed him, and texting it was one thing, but saying it to him in person was a wholly different thing.
Hearing his rhythmic heartbeat as he held her close had a soothing effect on her, and she tightened her arms around him in happiness.
Being apart for such a long time had taken its toll. She didn't want to let go. And it seemed that he was in no mood for it either. He slipped his chin onto her shoulder, his nose in her hair. She could feel his breath tickling her neck.
Sitting there, warmly enfolded in his strong embrace a feeling of completeness washed over her. He meant more than the world to her. She really loved him.
Her face still hidden in his chest, she spoke the words she had been running from ever since they'd hugged for the first time…"I love you Abhi."
His grip on her instantly loosening, he pulled away from her hair and looked into her eyes with a tenderness that touched the very core of her heart.
"What did you say?" he sounded almost as if asking for confirmation.
"I love you", she repeated, her eyes boring into his, willing him to see the honesty in them.
His palm caressed her cheek, and she leant into his touch, looking fondly into his eyes.
"I love you, Nikki", he said, his voice a low whisper, sounding almost musical to her ears.
She knew he meant it. She needed no more assurance, as his eyes said it all. He had very expressive eyes, ones that spoke more about his feelings than he could ever put into words.
Overwhelmed with emotion, they both looked at each other, willing to freeze the moment in time. His eyes were burning with passion, but there was tenderness in them she had never seen before. He had never looked at her like that. Something had always been guarding his true feelings. But what she saw now were raw emotions…love, longing, trust…all directed at her.
As he leant in for a kiss, she closed her eyes in surrender, waiting for his lips to touch hers, to tell her that it was all really happening, that it was all indeed true.
And his lips met hers, kissing her softly. Her arms moved to his neck, snaking them around it and her fingers entwining themselves in his soft hair as she pulled him closer, intensifying the kiss.
He was holding her around the waist, and pulled her closer, giving in to the kiss, to a moment he had been waiting for.
Resurfacing for air, they touched their foreheads to each other's, eyes reflecting what they felt, loving smiles etched on their faces.
He pulled her into another hug, holding her tightly than ever before. He placed his chin on her shoulder and buried his face once more into her hair, inhaling deeply.
She adjusted her head to a more comfortable position on his chest before sighing happily and closing her eyes, savouring the moment.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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