A light in the flame

Chapter 15 : It's Time - Part I

" Docman is my mommy's husband ??"

Abhimanyu and Akshara froze and immediately looked at each other. Akshara was petrified while Abhimanyu looked hopeful.

Kiara took this opportunity to create more distance between her and Sid. With her quick thinking she took the ball and quickly distracted Abhir and Kairi with it, giving time to Akshara and Abhimanyu to think of the best way to deal with this situation.

Abhimanyu sat next to Akshara and glared at Sid. Understanding that they needed some privacy, Sid politely smiled at them and started walking with his dog back to his home. He felt at peace knowing that Akshara will link him back to Kiara.

"I was thinking we should tell Abhir the truth together." Akshara stated.

"The truth ?" He asked.

"Is that a problem ?"

Akshara started to wonder if she was making a mistake.

"No, I'm just wondering what the truth means to you."

Akshara's brow furrows as he stares up at her.

"What ? "

"You said you want to tell him the truth," he says. "All of it ? "

She was not sure how to answer. How much do I want to tell him ? How much does he need to prepare for ? I wonder how much he's even faced himself...

"I don't know," She admitted.

It grows quiet between them. After a moment, he lets out a deep sigh.

"Shall we do it tomorrow rather than today ? " He said knowing that she was panicking and needed time to prepare. He will give her some space.

Only till tomorrow he promised himself.

" Sure."

" What time ?"

She took 30 seconds to think and replay,

"In the afternoon, anytime that suit you."

- The next day -

The sun was shining outside, with light streaming through the open house windows, warming it with a soft glow. Abhir and Kairi were dancing around the living room. Kairi was wearing a ballerina pink dress, while Abhir was dressed like some sort of rambunctious little superhero, with a fuzzy purple blanket flung around him like a cape. They are all over the place, a ball of energy this morning, while Akshra and Kiara were... well... a mess.

Akshara's eyes burn. She didn't get much sleep, staring at the ceiling in the darkness, conjuring up hypothetical conversations, playing out years worth of what if's, not knowing that Kiara had been through the same and had the exact same thoughts last night.

Kiara still didn't recover from their encounter with Sid. She wanted to share her thoughts and feelings with her bestie but Akshu already had enough on her plate... After breakfast she took her baby girl and went to chill in her room, trying to figure out what she should do next.

On the other hand, Akshara's hands were shaking as she busy herself with cleaning, trying to distract herself from reality, but it didn't work. No matter how much she sweeps and mops and scrubs, she keeps thinking about how big of a disaster this could become.

The song on the radio changes... a ballad this time... as a soft knock sounds from the apartment door.

"I got it ! "Abhir shouts, heading for the door. She tenses, in the middle of wiping down the kitchen counters for the third time. Kiara and Kairi were already in their room.

"No, wait, hold on a second," she says, but Abhir isn't paying her any attention.

The clock on the wall reads 12:01. She told him to come by anytime in the afternoon, and it's afternoon now, which means...

"Docman !!" Abhir announces, flinging the door open, excitedly spinning around to look for her.

"Mommy, look, it's—"

"Abhi..." She says, stepping out of the kitchen, nervously rubbing her palms on the thighs of her jeans.

"Abhimanyu," she repeats, standing in the doorway in front of him.

He stares down at her, smiling. "Akshara."

"Come in !" Abhir says, grabbing his arm to tug him into the house. He didn't resist being more than happy to reunite with his family, but his smile wavered when his eyes met hers.

Sighing, she closed the door behind them, her back pressing against it. Abhir's rambling away—about what, she doesn't know. She feels like she is slipping underwater, her heart racing, but Abhimanyu seems to understand.

He's smiling at his son again, listening, as he gives him a quick tour of the whole house.

He pauses near the small hallway that leads to the bedrooms, his gaze meeting Akshara's eyes again. I know what he's thinking...

I'm not sure how, or even why, but the moment our eyes connect, it's like being shoved back in time, to another place, a different room, a different house, a bigger one.

It was our home for a while ...

To be continued ...

As this FF is my first one ever, feedbacks are always welcome guys ;)

I will try to post part 2 this week hopefully !

A+