Rekindled | ✓

Chapter 40. Parting Ways

🎶 Ek Tukda Dhoop

Published on 10.03.2023

❝ tere hi toh the hum pe haaye
jitne bhi rang the
bekhayali mein bhi hum haaye
tere hi toh sang the. ❞

🥀

Inaaya and Ayansh came back from the police station and it was then when they were informed that Anita had gained consciousness and Nikita and Alisha were beside her.

"Did you see my brother?" Inaaya asks the nurse.

She shakes her head. "He just asked you to meet her when you'll be back and went away."

Inaaya and Ayansh share a look amongst themselves.

"You go and find him," he tells her softly. "I'll be with your Mom."

Inaaya sighs and nods before leaving.

She didn't want to leave her Mom when she had just woken up but she had hardly talked to her brother since the time they've been in the hospital. It was an awful situation to be in. It took her a while but she found Kartik in a small room at the corner of the passage on the second floor where they stored expired medicines and non functioning machines, etc.

Kartik sat on the floor, leaning against the wall near the door, his knees pulled up, his arms circled around it and his head hung upon it. Inaaya could hear the soft sobs that escaped his body. She closed the door behind her and slid beside him.

"I'm sorry," he whispers after a moment without looking up. "I'm so sorry, Inu."

"I almost toured the entire hospital in search for you," she says instead, her tone light. "Remember when I broke up with Ayansh and asked you to pick me up from the beach? You must have had to search for me a lot." She chuckles.

Kartik slowly turns to her, his gaze perplexed and unsettled. "Why are you talking about that now?"

Inaaya shrugs nonchalantly. "You didn't meet Mom."

"You did?"

She shakes her head. "We'll go together."

Kartik sighs defeatedly. "I can't."

She waits for him to continue.

Exasperated, he let's out a low whine. "I failed you. I failed her. I don't even know why are you still talking to me. I— I can't," he moves his gaze to the floor. "I should've known. I— I should've been there with you. I should've insisted to go with you when Dad said he's taking you to Nashik. I'm your elder brother and I couldn't even protect you," a sob rakes his body, "and— and whenever you showed your distaste towards Dad," he pauses and his face scrunches in disgust, "he doesn't deserve to be called Dad. I— I always felt you disliked him because of his bias towards me. I— I didn't— ," he couldn't even complete his sentence, his whole demeanor was trembling like a little kid.

Inaaya just stares at him gloomily and gently tucks her arm under his, interlinking their hands. "It's alright," she mumbles in a soft voice. "You didn't know because I didn't want you to know. It's not your fault. I never held anything against you and I never will. You'll always be the best brother that any girl could ask for and I'll forever feel lucky to have you."

He sniffs, his audible sobs converting into silent cries. "I'm sorry, Inu. I'm sorry for— for what he did to you. I can't— can't even imagine how you've been dealing with this for years. I can't even bring myself to look at you without feeling ashamed," he admits, his shoulders slumping. "I don't even know how to make it better. I'm so sorry," he bites his lip to contain the painful whimper.