Running From The Truth (by Emma)

Chapter 22 - Coveting

Chapter 22 - Coveting

Khushi's eyes fluttered open with a jerk. The room was still very dark so she had assumed it was still the middle of the night. She tried moving but realized her hand was trapped...by something warm? She squinted in the dark and realized someone was holding her hand. There was a face right beside her. Had it been anyone else, she would have screamed, but he was not hard to recognize. The same smell, the same touch. She would never forget. Arnav.

She got up immediately realizing that he was sleeping in a terribly uncomfortable position on the floor. He held her hand tightly in his, so she could not move it. She slowly shook him with her other hand and his eyes opened but closed again.

"Arnav..."

"Mmm?" He managed to say.

"You're sleeping on the floor. Come up here." She whispered.

His eyes were still closed but he somehow managed to get up and moved in the space she had provided for him beside her. He fell into a deep sleep as soon as his face touched the pillow.

Slowly, she sat up and took off his shoes, making sure their hands didn't separate in the process. She then covered him with the blanket and slept back beside him.

She felt a tear stream down her face. How long had she waited to be with him? Her whole life, she had yearned for him, and then they were separated. Yet, after so long, here they were again. She couldn't believe this was reality.

The feeling of separation had become a daily habit of hers, she had lost hope. She trained herself not to think of Arnav, the boy that her young world had once revolved around. The boy that gave her these uncontrollable feelings, sensations that made her feel something she had never felt before.

And here they were, all grown up. Their separation had given her leverage, matured her even. She was forced to grow up fast after the death of her parents, and she learned from the process. She knew to think wisely and make the proper decisions this time around.

She shifted her gaze to his face which she could slightly see from the moonlight. His face looked different as he slept. Much younger in a sense. She smoothed her hand over his forehead, where he usually sported a frown, feeling the smooth skin. She let her hand move to his cheek, feeling the rough stubble there.

His eyes were still closed shut, as his long lashes touched his cheek. He was beautiful, he always had been. And he would always be. Especially to her.

She looked at their joined hands and kissed his fingers. She then closed her eyes, already knowing that sleep would not come anytime soon, but insisting on it anyways.

**************

Shyam looked at the bedside clock that read 9 in the morning. Anjali had cried all night while Shyam held her close. She had always been sensitive, so he expected it. Her brothers and her best friend's life was so painfully messed up that even he felt like shedding a few tears.

"I should go check on them." Anjali murmured into Shyam's chest.

"I can go. You stay here and rest. You didn't sleep properly all night." He muttered.

"But I want to talk to them. NK and Khushi. Even Chotey, no one is realizing how hurt he must be too."

"Okay." Shyam smiled as she pulled away from him and left the room, he did not want to argue and make her more upset than she already was.

Anjali walked down the halls of her house. A house full of smiles and happiness for her. The house that had given her life again. But suddenly, the gloomy halls gave her a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Why were they all being punished so?