A Padisarah Amongst the Roses

Chapter 6: A Recovery

Kaveh POV

By the time we reached the small, cozy home, it was probably almost one in the morning. Alhaitham laid on his bed, while I dragged my tired legs to his bathroom. The bathroom mirror gave me a sight to cringe at. My hair, which was usually put back neatly with small red hair clips, looked like something out of a horror story. There was one strand of hair sticking up in the middle of my head, and a few sticking out of the sides of my usually tidy hair. It was frizzy and the occasional stick/leaf was found in the blond mess. Also my eyeliner was smeared- my tears for Alhaitham (and water from the river) caused the orange pigment to drip down my cheeks pathetically. There was muddy water in my pants. I felt like dirt. Although I looked like a beggar, there really wasn't any time to fix myself up now, so I rinsed my teary face and ran out to the front door. "I'll be right back, Haitham!"

The front door slammed open and I bolted out in a mad craze. Anything for Alhaitham, right? That's how I found myself at Tighnari's door. I pounded on the door until I swore I heard the wood crying.

"Ah- hold on! Cyno, get off! I'm coming!" Tighnari's frantic voice slowly made it to the door, and surely, he was at the doorway, with a forced smile plastered on his reddening face. "Hey Kaveh- um- what happened to you?" Tighnari's smile faded into a grimace when he began to examine me. By the time his eyes reached my face, he looked like he saw a corpse.

"No time to explain," I answered. "Alhaitham broke his leg trying to save me from falling of a cliff- and we need a doctor." I watched as his face melted into horror as I talked.

"What? Okay, Cyno! Come here!" He paused. "NOW!"

There was the sound of pattering coming from the back of the room, presumably from Cyno. "What, what? What happened, I was cooking!" Tighnari looked genuinely unimpressed. He deadpanned. "That was not cooking, that was setting the table on fire and letting me try to put it out while you run in circles. Also, Alhaitham broke his leg." Apparently, Cyno was not a good helper. "He what?" Cyno yelled. "I'll put out the fire, you guys go take care of him." He did exactly what he said, and Tighnari joined me in a short walk back to Alhaitham's house.

There, Alhaitham was holding on to a chair, limping, trying to walk. Even after I had told him he couldn't walk? He was certainly persistent.

"Alhaitham?! What are you doing?! Didn't I tell you to lay down?"

I came to support him and drag him back to bed when I saw a wide-eyed Tighnari staring at us. "You guys finally accepted each other?!" He had noticed my hand on Alhaitham's waist, also the way Alhaitham wasn't yelling anymore. I don't know how he came to that conclusion, but he hit the nail right on the head. My cheeks were red for sure now.

"Uhh..." Alhaitham saved my ass, and answered with 'we called a truce.' I don't believe Tighnari bought it, though. He just kept staring with those huge glittering eyes.

Right then, the door slammed open and Cyno flew in screaming 'emergency' with a first aid box in his hand.

Looking over to Alhaitham, whose arms were crossed and eyebrows raised, he didn't look interested in the slightest. "What happened?" Cyno asked. I watched as Alhaitham deadpanned the whole story while the rest of us stared in dead silence. No one dared to speak. After that story, I don't think anyone would want to. I was watching Alhaitham until I felt a tap on my shoulder. Tighnari had placed his hand on my right shoulder, and his face grew solemn. "Kaveh, I need to talk to you. Come with me." Then he led me to another room.

There, I sat down on a wooden chair that had visibly suffered many sittings. Tighnari sat on a couch adjacent to the chair and grabbed hold of my hands. "Kaveh, why did Alhaitham have to jump off a cliff to save you? Why were you at a cliff, anyway?" Tighnari seemed serious about this. With my hands in his, I felt like I had no choice but to tell him. I stuttered a couple times before managing to spit out the answer in a short small breath. "I...don't know..." Suddenly I felt hot tears rolling down my face. "I... just wanted to...end the pain, I guess." I didn't even realize I was crying. "What? Why would you try that Kaveh?" Tighnari whispered. He was tearing up, as well. "I felt alone," I began to explain.

"I felt like there was no one there for me, and Alhaitham used to yell at me all the time, and one day I just... I just... had enough."

By the end of the sentence, my voice was barely a whisper. Tighnari looked like he was about to burst into tears. "...Look. Kaveh, you have people who care for you. Cyno and I do. Alhaitham even loves you. He has for a long time- he told me one day back in our college days." When he mentioned that fact, I nearly fell out of my chair. If he loved me for so long, why did he yell at me almost every day? My sadness quickly morphed into anger. Luckily, Tighnari seemed to know everything I was thinking. "I know he yelled at you, but it's because he cares. Like when you stay out long nights to go drinking, he always comes to drink your last glass because he doesn't want you drinking anymore. It's a very unhealthy lifestyle. Listen, Kaveh. It's because he cares." At that, I got off the chair and embraced Tighnari.

"...Are you sure?"

"I'm more sure than ever, Kaveh."