Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head

Bookworms, Part 1

Note: I know the last 3 chapters have been quite emotionally heavy. So, to make up for that, I have something very wholesome for you all. I hope you guys enjoy it. 

7:30 am. Ram was walking down the stairs slowly, carefully rotating his right shoulder. It was a bit sore from the previous night, as Pihu had cuddled up to him in her sleep at some point. A slight but shooting pain in his shoulder had woken him up at 6:00 am, and he turned to look as best as he could, only to see Pihu holding onto his arm, her head resting gently on his shoulder. The sight made Ram's heart melt, and carefully he lowered Pihu's head back onto her pillow before getting up, stretching, and carrying Pihu back to her room without waking her. 

As he walked down the stairs now, he recalled her small, sleeping face again with a smile. She looked so soft, he thought to himself. And sweet. He wondered if she would be awake now, as he was hoping to greet her before leaving for work. Pihu was awake, and she was sitting at the dining table with Priya and, to Ram's displeasure, Krish. They were chatting about something casually when Krish caught sight of Ram. 

"Ah, hello Ram," said Krish with a smile. "Krish," said Ram curtly. Why did Tarun let you into the house? he wanted to ask, but he stopped himself as he caught sight of Pihu. "Good morning cutie," he said to her with a smile. Pihu grinned up at him. "Did you sleep well?" he asked. "I did," she replied. "Good, good-ow." Ram winced again, and went back to rotating his shoulder. "Are you ok?" asked Krish. I won't be if you keep speaking, was the retort Ram wanted to use but ultimately bit back. 

There was no use in being petty for no reason, and anyways he'd stopped really caring about Krish a few years back. The only reason his annoyance flared up again was because Krish and Pihu were close. Ram knew why Pihu liked Krish so much, and he honestly didn't mind it. She had every right to like whoever she wanted to, and Krish had been a part of her childhood. He would never disregard that. It wasn't parental jealousy either, or anything even close to that. Pihu had told him herself that Krish wasn't her father and...well, he didn't really want to think about it much. It wasn't important right now. 

What was important, what Ram thought best to focus on, were the facts in front of him. He didn't trust Krish. At all. Krish had never been fully honest with him, not about his motivations nor about information that Ram should have known first. The truth about his father's death was one thing, but Shivina's death was the final nail in the coffin. What made it worse was that Ram didn't think Krish really cared about the gravity of the situation, not then and not even now. To be fair, he had no reason to really think about it. He was little more than a stranger to Ram. 

Still, the lack of honesty really bothered Ram, even years later. He wondered why Priya wasn't concerned about this, but then he remembered. Priya had known Krish since college, and she probably spent more time with him in these past 5 years. If Krish was more honest with her, naturally she'd be ok with Pihu being around him. Which was also fine. Priya was Pihu's mother, and she had full rights to make those decisions for her daughter. 

Even so, Ram's trepidation about Krish remained. But there was nothing he could do, nothing he had the right to do really. Ram wasn't an actual part of the Priya-Pihu-Krish equation. He was just someone they knew, and now he was also Pihu's friend for a matter of days. Then, it would be over. The thought aggrieved him a bit. He wasn't ready to let go of Pihu so soon. But, his feelings were his own and he wasn't going to cause any useless issues because of them. So, he merely mumbled a quick "Yeah, I'm fine" in response to Krish's question before calling out "Tarun!" 

Tarun entered the room quickly. "Yes, Ram sir?" he asked. "Can you get my..." began Ram before wincing again and attempting to massage his shoulder. "Your orthopedic back pillow?" finished Tarun. "Again?" he said in a slightly exasperated tone. "Hey. What do you mean again?" asked Ram. "This is the third time this month that you've had muscle pain, sir," said Tarun. "Oh," said Ram sheepishly. "You need to stop sleeping on your arms weirdly," replied Tarun. "Well, I didn't sleep on my arm weirdly this time," said Ram. "I was just a bit tense. I had a long day yesterday."