What If? (An AbhiRa FF)

Chapter 4 : Two Steps Back

Abhimanyu and Akshara were seated comfortably on the floor with Abhimanyu's back against the wall and Akshara's back against his chest. Akshara's head lay against his shoulder as her face glowed in serenity and he peppered her temple with a soft kiss.

"Ek baat puchu tumse?" Abhimanyu asked and Akshara just bobbed her head in reply, too occupied with the happiness racing through her veins. Being near Abhimanyu gave her a sense of tranquility only her music could provide. She had never thought that someone like Abhimanyu would come into her life and give her something she had only heard of in fairytales. Abhimanyu smiled a little at her lack of words, his heart swelling with immeasurable ecstasy at the way Akshara felt completely at peace with him. She was the calm his stormy heart was in need of and he had not known that until he became acquainted with her. And with her around, that squishy ball of muscles could finally take the beats it required for proper functioning. Abhimanyu was brought out of his thoughts when Akshara nudged him.

"Pucho," she prodded, now sitting a little upright so she could see his face. Abhimanyu immediately missed the warmth and pulled her back in position, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Tumhe woh panic attack kyu aaya tha?" He asked, the question burning in his mind for a while now. Akshara's entire body went rigid at his enquiry. This was the last thing that Akshara had thought would be the topic of their conversation today and she was hoping that all of the afternoon's events as well as questions were thrown out the window of his memories. But once again, Abhimanyu had proved her wrong. The sudden change in Akshara's posture and the heavy silence that had engulfed him did not go unnoticed by Abhimanyu. And he knew exactly what the silence meant. "Ek aur jhooth mat bolna Akshu," he warned even before Akshara could think about lying, referring to the time when she had lied about her love for him. "Tum jaanti ho mujhe sab kuch bardaasht hai par jhooth nahi," he reminded her and Akshara gulped audibly. She didn't intend on lying to him anymore but this heart-to-heart could prove to have a lethal blow to their newborn, still-fragile relationship. And Akshara wasn't prepared for the downhill. She never would be. But she also knew that it was only a matter of time before Abhimanyu would know the truth behind her attacks, her decisions and her lies. And Abhimanyu deserved the truth. But that didn't mean that she couldn't beat around the bush until she could gather the courage to be honest. It had been a full minute but Akshara still hadn't reacted to his words. He wanted the answers but the silence was killing him. But before he could say something, Akshara removed his hands from around her waist and turned so that she could face him. The serious expressions on Akshara's face worried Abhimanyu but it was the face that said that he'd have answers to every question swirling in his mind. All he didn't know yet was he could be asking all the right questions but things would still go drastically wrong.

"Kyunki mei tumhe khona nahi chati hu Abhi," she murmured fearfully as uneasiness settled in her stomach. Abhimanyu stared at her in absolute confusion, unable to grasp the hidden meaning behind her words.

"Mei yahi hu Akshu. Kahi nahi jaa raha hu," he assured as he cupped her cheeks but he wasn't aware of the storm that Akshara was anticipating or the one that was going to blow each of them to pieces. A stream of tears rolled down her eyes as dread filled every drop of blood in her body and Abhimanyu's perplexity only heightened. His heart squeezed at the sight of her tears but he didn't know what he could do or say to pull that god-awful thought out of her brain. So, he just wiped them off. He wasn't going anywhere and Akshara should know that. He was still here, with her, even after everything that had gone down between them. And why would he leave her unless he wanted to say goodbye to Earth? There was nothing that had ever hurt him more than their separation and he did not intend to go through that anymore. While new questions emerged in his already filled mind, Akshara was bracing herself for the truth.