Am always with you.....

Chapter 40

BEN

"Here, have it slowly. Don't rush.", I gave Zach the sliced fruit. He ate it slowly. I gave him some water and he drank it with gratitude. Yash stood near the bed, monitoring him. I couldn't say anything, but I wasn't getting good vibes.

"Ben, tell me now. What are you doing here?"

"I came to meet and spend some time with you. I promised you, didn't I?"

"I am so sorry. You had to see me like this."

"Shut that mouth. Just get well soon." I patted his hand, which I held in mine. Even though he didn't say anything, I saw that Yash had brought a bag of clothes for Zach, which he kept near the bed. All this made me boil with jealousy.

I should be the one to do all this!

I had to witness this quietly; because I was genuinely worried for Zach. I felt guilty for not being able to take care of him. I pushed aside my feelings and seriously tended to him. He got better, but the doctor did mention to take extra care even after discharge.

"Just how many times have you fainted that even the doctor know you both? Zach, care to tell me?", I asked him when we were returning back to his place the next day.

He smiled, "Um.....I think 4 times, excluding this one."

Speechless, I just wished I could hit him.

"6 times, to be precise.", Yash retorted, looking at Zach through the rear mirror. Zach argued, "Not 6 times, 4 times."

"I am the one to bring you here every time, Zach. Don't try to argue with me."

"I am the one who fainted, you don't try to fight with me."

"Why don't we have a bet? Since we will be back for check up after 3 days, we will check the medical records."

"Sure!"

Two people kept arguing whether it was four or six, while I pushed myself out of the car, brought his things to his flat, somewhat bitter.

Even when I was there, these two sometimes whispered and murmured some things. I started feeling disgusted, cursing myself to come here and witness this. Still, gulping down this poison of suspicion, I held back and behaved normal, pretending to turn a blind eye towards all this.

Yash left after some time, "I'll leave you two now. Thank God Zach! God sent me a saviour, getting one trouble off my back!"

Zach pretended to hit him, while Yash laughed and bid us a bye. With a fake smile on my lips, darts in my eyes, anger in my veins and poison of suspicion in my heart, I started off, "When did you two get so close Zach?"

He answered with a smile, "It's nothing. He does visit me whenever I am here. And I insist on meeting him, since I need a pigeon to deliver my messages to my loved one." he clung to my arm.

"Really? Is that why he keeps on babbling things about you and eats my head questioning me?"

"You got it right!", and then, he coughed. Looking little breathless, he took deep breaths, and continued, "I am so happy you came here Ben."

And then, he got up and pulled me weakly, "Come with me. I'll show around."

With lots of enthusiasm, he showed me his small flat, well-furnished hall, adequately equipped kitchen, warm and cozy bedroom with attached washroom; it was a decent one BHK. His room was filled with photos, pictures hanging to a thread tied across the wall behind the bed; pictures pinned to wardrobe door; pictures stuck to his dressing table. Beautiful pictures of birds, animals, innocent kids, happy people. Every photo was telling a story- story behind that picture. The bird sitting on the branch taking a break; dogs playing around garbage unknown to humanly etiquettes; Innocent women smiling away at the camera, happy to be known at least as a part of an image. For a few moments, I forgot how angry I was with him and admired the person he had become. Mesmerized by his photos, I didn't notice that he had pulled out something from his drawer and waited for me to look at him. When I did look at him, he came forward and handed me a box. Just when I was about to open it, my phone rang. I gave it back to him and pulled out my phone. It was Geetha Ma'am.