It pained Shivaay to see Anika this way.
He inched closer to her, making sure he made no noise. Even though he knew she was unconscious, he didn’t dare make a noise.
He pulled the blinds and allowed the fresh morning air to wipe his face. The sun entered the room and the birds chirped. It was a chilly day. It was still early in morning.
Shivaay dragged the chair from the window side and it made a little scraping noise. He settled himself beside Anika and almost instantly the tears came.
There was one thing when it came to Anika. He was wreck when it came to her. Like a mess. Whenever it was about her, he over reacted. He felt much more protective about her than his brothers-OmRu.
He wrapped his fingers around her wrist tentatively, uncertain that if he held too tight she would break. The warmth that always surrounded her had left and now he sat in an eerie silence.
It was weird.
Silence with her hadalways felt comfortable.
But little did he know that this was just the beginning of change.
It was like a feeling of dejá vú. Only this time it wasn’t Om on the hospital bed.
The face which always had a smile on it, was now pale. It had a tale to itself. A tale for another time.
Almost every part of her body had bandages.
But it wasn’t what made his heart stop. It was the look on her face. Like she just wanted to give up…just leave this world.
Had she tried to harm herself? Was she the one who was responsible for this?
No. She is stronger than that, Shivaay thought whilst he rebutted the fact that she could harm herself. That she was suicidal.
He looked down at her hand and traced the scars with his thumb pad softly. The more he looked at her, the more he felt guilty. What kind of husband was he? A husband who could protect his wife?
He sat there. Minutes passed by… hours and yet he hadn’t moved an inch. He just sat there, drinking her site. Trying to assure himself that she was back and back for good. She wasn’t going anywhere. He wouldn’t let her.
As time ticked by, Shivaay’s eyelids began to droop. He tried hard to keep them open but failed. Slowly, sleep took over his thoughts.
—
“It’s okay Shivaay” Shivaay mumbled to himself, wiping the sweat beads off his forehead. “It’s just a nightmare”
Shivaay needed to clear his mind. He got up from the chair. A run was what he needed right now.
Even though it was 3 in the morning, he couldn’t care less.
He pulled up the zipper of his jacket and grasped his cell phone. He plugged in the ear phones, the music blaring in his ears and walked out of the hospital. He checked his phone and saw 2 messages from Om,1 from Gauri and 1 more from Rudra but what caught his eye was an anonymous number.
He quickly opened up the message.
Anonymous, 2:13; Be strong for her because she has been strong for long enough. It’s eventually breaking her.
Who was this anonymous? And what did he know about Anika? Why was sending these encouraging messages.
Brushing these thoughts away, he checked the rest of the messages.
Om, 1:34; Landing by 4 in the morning. Sorry couldn’t make it earlier 🙁 I got stuck in something.
Om,1:34; Take care of yourself and bhabhi -xx
Gauri, 1:42; Sorry bhaiya… We will be there around 4 in the morning. Take care till then…
Rudy boy, 11:21; I’ll handle the media. Don’t worry.
Media. It had taken every power of his to shut their mouth to not report Anika being missing from past six months. The last he wanted was people sympathizing with him when they couldn’t care less.
His life was so meddled. People pried into his business.
But it was least of his concern now. All he cared was about Anika. His life.
Once out the light breeze fanned his face and he felt instantly refreshed. His stress slowly slipping away.
The only sound that followed was his feet hitting the hard pavement and occasional cars. The hospital area wasn’t much crowded and that was one of the best parts about the run. He could peacefully think about whatever has happened in his life recently.
A lot of questions whirled around his head but no answers.
He hated when he didn’t knew things. It irked him that he couldn’t do anything to help the situation right now. It was beyond his control.
He came to halt, right in front of the hospital. He hadn’t realized that he had completed the run and jogged back here. His feet automatically carried him back here.
A run at 3 in the morning, did help him calm his nerves.
Taking a deep breath, he unplugged the earphones whilst running a hand through his sweaty hair. The sweat trickled down his face.
He made his way towards Anika’s ward but stopped in his tracks when head thrashing noises from inside and screams of Anika.
What the hell was going on?
—-
So yeah. I’m back with the next chapter. If you like it, please vote and comment.