An Inconvenient Flame

Chapter 36

Abhiraj's pov

Ivaan is sitting in the living room drawing something on his notebook.

"Kiddo, come sleep with me today, we'll video call Ishika as well since you're done with your work." I offer, settling near him.

"Don't want to," he mumbled.

"What happened Ivaan?"

"I don't want to!" Ivaan raises his voice.

" Do not raise your voice Ivaan. We don't yell." I say sternly,

" But I don't want to talk to her and I don't wanna sleep with you." He has a permanent frown on his face, he crosses his arms across his small chest.

"And I don't wanna talk to anybody. Mumma is always busy, you're always busy and never with me!" Ivaan starts sobbing out of frustration.

I sigh, I think I have to deal this delicately. I did I not notice this before?

"Let's Calm down first, okay? There's no reason for you to yell. I'm right here and we talk without yelling, yeah?" He nods, rubbing his eyes.

I pull him closer to me.

" You fine now?"

" Yes."

" Why didn't you to talk to your mother when she called you?"

" I didn't want to."

" You know she might me hurt listening to you."

Ivaan's lower lip trembles, and he finally look up at me. His emerald eyes brimming with tears.

" I know, Mr.big, but I miss her so much." he whispers. " Is this how it's gonna be the whole time?"

" No it won't kiddo. And if we're feeling that way you should have talked to her right."

" Can I hug you?"

" Offcourse bub." I pull him to my chest, rubbing his back to calm him down.

" I thought," he continues, his words muffled into my chest, " if I don't talk to her, maybe she'll miss me too. And then...maybe she'll come back to us."

" Mumma misses you every single day. But not talking to her will not make her come faster, bud. It'll make her even sadder. All we can do is to talk to her and show her how much we lover her. Does that make sense?"

Ivaan nods slowly, wiping his nose with the back of his hand.
I pull him close again, running my hand through his hair.

" And about me, I'm sorry Ivaan. I'll make sure to play with you.I promise."

" That's okay. I'm sorry for yelling at you." He looks at me.

I smile, kissing his forehead.

I look at Ivaan, his eyes still shining with tears, and decide it's time to share some good news.

"Hey, buddy," I say, gently squeezing his shoulder.

" How would you like to go see Mumma?"Ivaan's eyes widen, a mix of disbelief and hope crossing his face.

"Really?" he whispers.I nod, smiling.

"Really. We're going to visit Mumma, and we can stay with her as long as you want. How does that sound?" The change in Ivaan is instantaneous. His face lights up, a broad smile replacing the frown he's been wearing.

He jumps up, throwing his arms around my neck.

"When? When are we going?" he asks excitedly, his words tumbling out in a rush. I laugh, hugging him back.