DESTINED TOGETHER

Chapter 24 - Fear of losing her

Abhimanyu made his way out of the showers, freshly changed in his casual clothes. It was evening 4pm and he was drained after assisting his senior Dr.Roy in the OT, in a critical cardiovascular surgery.

Gathering his stuff from his locker, he headed out to the cafeteria. His system desperately needed an expresso to function correctly. He sat on his usual window seat away from the chaos, and placed his arms on the table before dropping his head on them with a tired sigh.

The past three days took a toll on him, physically and emotionally. He's busied himself with the workload and work out whenever he was free, be it a a half day or half an hour. Although, he came up with many excuses for his extra workaholic attitude, he knew the undeniable truth in his heart.

He was avoiding Akshara. He was badly trying to distance himself from her and that was not possible with their current situation as they were living under the same roof, sleeping five feet apart from each other.

But the truth was the more he tried to distance himself from her, the more he found himself missing her. He missed her silly fights, sassy counters, random rambles but most importantly, her twinkling laugh and the way her eyes light up each time he said a joke.

He knew she needed space. He needed space. They both needed it to come terms with their feelings after what happened that night. Their dynamic changed unexpectedly and they couldn't brush it off and go back to being normal as if nothing happened, at least he couldn't. He was first of all, guilty for kissing her-not because he regretted it but because he didn't respect her feelings while kissing her. She was shook that night, which was understandable and as a friend, he should've been her shoulder to rely on, rather than kissing her out of nowhere when she wasn't in her right state of mind to think clearly.

He currently was not ready to face her as the guilt was eating him up from inside. However, he also knew that he can't be a coward and run forever. That he should muster up his courage and face her angry and hurt self, even if she slapped him right away before ending their friendship. And THAT'S what was scaring him, his whole reason of avoiding the confrontation.

What if she ended their friendship they built together? The crazy, weird, sometimes irritating bonding they had was too precious to be changed...He has never liked changes anyway.

He shook his wandering thoughts that were taking a darker turn, away as his coffee was placed in front of him. He glanced up and was surprised to find Dr.Vedha, a psychologist working in the hospital and one of his closest person here, mainly because she reminded him of his mother.

"Hello, Mr.Cardiologist! How's my boy doing today?" She greeted as she took her seat in front of him, a soft drink in her hands.

He groaned in response as he brought his cup up to his mouth, sipping it before answering. "I want to sleep for days." She chuckled in response as she pat his back.

"Rough day?" He nodded wordlessly.

"You're overworking yourself for the past two-three days Abhimanyu..." He glanced at her before averting his attention back to his coffee. "And don't deny it. I'm bored of seeing your grumpy self 24/7 wandering in the corridors like a lost soul. Do you even go home?" She asked exasperated, shaking her head at him.

He sighed. Dr.Vedha was obviously a good observer and emotions' reader, it was her profession. But more than her profession or a colleague, she cared for him the way a mother would for her son, she considered him as her son. She's once shared her past with him : her only son died in an accident five years ago and post that accident, she moved to Mumbai two years ago. She's further confessed that seeing him felt like seeing her son. Till that day, Abhimanyu stared caring for her personally. He definitely respected her as his Senior before but after that she held a special place in his heart. It was easy for him to share things about his personal life with her as he knew she wouldn't judge him and try her best to guide him in the right path if needed.