• Eternal Night •

28

"What's that bag for?" asked Shivaay. 

Annika shrugged. "My nighttime clothes and a few toiletries." 

He didn't get it and frowned. "Why?" 

"What do you mean why?" she kept the bag beside the couch. "I will need them at night."

Om narrowed his eyes at her. "So, you are staying the night here?" 

She nodded. "I want to." 

Om and Shivaay looked at each other. Om then spoke, "I hope you know that Shivaay needs help with everything. Even going to the washroom." 

Annika's expression didn't change. "Your point is?" 

Shivaay smiled. "It's okay, Om. Go home and take some rest tonight. You haven't slept well for three days now."

Om knew that he needed to leave them alone and he mutely nodded. How else could they resolve their issues? Not that he cared much for Annika but he had to be okay with this for Shivaay's sake. He shook his head and leaned in for a quick hug with Shivaay. "If I have to leave at night, I might as well leave right now." 

Shivaay had to chuckle. Om held him a little longer than usual. Placing a hand on the side of Shivaay's face, he questioned, "Are you really okay?"

 "Yeah, I am really okay..." Shivaay whispered and gave him a soft, assuring smile. 

"You have my new local number saved, right?" Om asked again. 

"Yes, I do..." Shivaay nodded. 

"Don't hesitate to call me if you have any trouble. I will tell Paul too. He will be around as well. And you better behave and eat well..." Om instructed as he gathered his things. 

"Anything else, Dad?" Shivaay asked impishly. 

Om smiled. He looked at Annika and said, "Take care." 

She assuringly nodded, "Yes." 

"Okay bye, Shivaay!" Om waved at him and walked out. 

When he left, silence enveloped the room. Shivaay almost smiled. If anything, this hadn't changed. He and Annika never had much to talk about. And like always, he cleared his throat and broke the uncomfortable silence. 

"So you just hopped onto a plane and came here?" 

She averted her gaze. "Yes. I had the visa. So..." 

"Ah..." Shivaay hummed. He fell silent for a while not knowing what to talk about. He was thankful that the monitors were rhythmically beeping in the background or else the silence would have been deafening. For a brief second, he regretted letting Annika in his life again. The same cycle of self doubt, anger, of regrets was going to start again. Lord knew that he had been through enough. What was the need of going through it all again? His eyes moistened and he closed his eyes. 

But before he could dwell too much on that, he felt a hand on his cheek. Shivaay's eyes flew open and he looked up to see Annika sitting inches away from him. 

From this close, he could see how terrible she looked. She had eye bags and she had lost a considerable amount of weight. Her eyes looked dull. 

"How are you?" she asked, her eyes misty. 

Shivaay blinked. Was she really concerned for him? He was seeing some emotion on her face for the first time. A little dumbfounded, he stared at her without answering. 

She seemed to panic a little. She pressed her palm harder on his cheek. "Are you okay?" 

It brought Shivaay back. He sighed. "Yeah. I am fine."