• Eternal Night •

42

"What do you think?" asked Annika.

Shivaay nodded in approval. "It is really good."

"I told you so!" she smiled softly and went back to her scoop of ice cream. As promised, Annika had taken him out. Shivaay's tests had turned out to be better than what they all had anticipated. Hence Annika's desperate pleading had worked on Paul. He had allowed Shivaay to go out for a few hours. She was so glad about that. 

Shivaay was looked so frustrated and exhausted from his hospital stay that Annika's heart hurt for him. She resisted her urge to cackle. She cared for his feelings? Ha. But she always did. She was just admitting it now and getting comfortable with channelling her feelings into action. 

She sighed. She looked at the smile playing on Shivaay's face and almost grinned out of delight. It had been a while since she had seen it. It was a great decision to come out and come out alone. As much as she appreciated the family's help, both she and Shivaay needed some private time to contemplate their future. They truly needed to spend some time together in the quiet. 

She stared at him. His eyes looked more alive in the sun and she couldn't tear her eyes from his face. She had never really fully appreciated just how good-looking he was. He was a beautiful man; even with the puffy eyes and tired face. 

"Ow..." he groaned as he pulled his sleeve back.

Annika blinked out of her thoughts. She looked at him trying to pull the sleeve back so it didn't touch his IV cannula and immediately helped him. 

Lightly caressing the skin around the cannula, she posed, "Does it hurt a lot?"

Shivaay pursed his lips in a line. His fingers tentatively touched the back of Annika's palm. She stilled. She looked at him with her big eyes that were lined with concern. 

His heart calmed down. She was not repelled by him. She didn't hate him. Then again, did she ever hate him? He knew the answer. The touch deepened. He was happy that she was not being shy of her feelings. So happy. 

"It does not hurt now..." he whispered. 

Annika's expression turned from concerned to amused and then coy. She looked down and nodded. 

She had heard what he had said. She knew what he meant. She couldn't be happier for taking the leap of faith. She silently pushed his sleeve back. "Here."  

"Thanks." Shivaay patted her hand. "And thank you for this date too."

"You are always welcome!" Annika replied. But she didn't remove her hand. Nor did he. Their hands remained intertwined. She slyly gazed at their hands and felt something she had never felt before. She remembered what her Dad had said to her. Love was a beautiful thing. It was. It truly was. If it wasn't, she wouldn't be sitting here, staring at Shivaay's face.

Her fingers curled. Her eyes stared at Shivaay again. She had always loved him. He had always been the one. 

She opened her mouth to tell him that. He deserved to know that. Right?

But she intently watched as his expressions shifted. She stopped. She leaned a little towards him. She watched him for a few minutes as he dissolved into contemplative silence before speaking, "I know what you are thinking."

Shivaay's head turned, his eyes narrowing further. "What?"

Her voice was quiet and sad, even to her own ears. "You are thinking, if you will ever get to experience the world, these beautiful places without feeling sad and melancholy. If you would feel just joy and nothing else." 

He took a sharp breath. His eyes dimmed further. His face melted into an expression she couldn't quite explain. Whatever it was, it hurt her heart. 

"How do you know that?" he questioned solemnly but his eyes were searching, yearning even.