Discordance

Chapter Forty-Four

"I feel like I have lost everything again" the words had been ringing in his head ever since she had said it in that eerie tone. How had he become the source of her unhappiness when all he wanted to do was give her peace and contentment. He hadn't slept in days and now that she was in his arms he felt like he couldn't afford to sleep a wink, what if he slept and all of this ended up being a dream? He couldn't miss a single second of it if she was going to ask him to leave in the morning.

Every sigh she took or every time she rubbed her nose in his neck and mumbled something unintelligible, he clutched her tighter. It had felt like they had been apart for years and he was deadly serious when he told her that he felt each second away from her. He had been like a zombie the past couple of days, working on autopilot and staring at the ceiling every time he wasn't with a patient. Nothing his family said to him could permeate through his brain, all of it didn't matter because she wasn't here. No relationship of his was as important to him as Akshara and now that his anchor wasn't around, what was the point of it all?

Maybe it was the sheer agony he was in that finally got Anisha out of whatever bitchy fit she was in because a couple of nights back she came to his room with his mother and apologized profusely for whatever part she had played in Akshara leaving and ideally this would have brought him joy but he simply could not bring himself to care. Fuck all of it.

When his phone rang flashing her name his heart had fallen through his stomach, she wouldn't have called him to chitchat, she hated him. His surprise was incomparable when she asked him to come over, something had to be wrong with Diksha but all words left his body when she hugged him and he didn't want to blink and miss even a second of it so he kept holding her to him even as dawn broke in the sky.

His alarm rang early in the morning, and he groaned as he hastily patted his pocket to turn it off, irritated at himself when Akshara squirmed.

"Turn it off monster or I will beat you up" she grumbled into his neck and by the time he got a hold of his phone she was back to breathing deeply and evenly. She had not called him monster in so long that his heart soared, but he quickly shut the hope down, she was probably sleepy and did not realize what she had said however at least she was thinking of him in her subconscious mind.

Abhimanyu couldn't feel his body from Akshara sleeping on top of him for so long but like hell would he complain. She was perfect and safe just like this. Knowing she would be up soon, he kissed her hair once and whispered an I love you, his heart and mind in a turmoil in anticipation of what the morning would bring.

She was up, he knew she was but since she didn't say anything, he couldn't bring himself to say anything and spoil her mood first thing in the morning.

"You didn't sleep, did you?" she asked into his neck, and he stilled. She was talking to him even in daylight and it wasn't just a night thing!

"Umm no" he whispered hoarsely trying to clear the melancholy from his throat.

She began to move away and his heart hurt knowing their time together had come to an end, but she surprised him once again when she sat on his thigh playing with the hem of his sweatshirt, at least she looked well rested and beautifully sleep mussed. He had missed waking up to her beautiful face so much and he wanted to soak every second of this.

Carefully and slowly not wanting to spook his skittish wife, he eased himself up, resting his back on the arm of the couch, he wanted to touch her but wanted to take cues from Akshara and see what she wanted to do.

"Akshara" he began stopping in his tracks when her startled eyes met his before they filled with tears and a sob tore out of her mouth. He was going to hug her but she got up and ran to the kitchen before he could even blink. It took him a second to get over the whiplash before he trudged up from the couch and walked up behind her.