Separated Love

Chapter 13: Kartik Gets Medical Help

    I wake up before the alarm goes off. My stress kept me awake nearly the entire night. I decide to get up and start researching some physicians who can help with Kartik's alcohol addiction. After looking at numerous doctors, one stands out to me. I decide to make an appointment with him for today after Kartik is done teaching classes. As I get off the phone, Kartik hugs me from behind.
    "Good morning Naira," he says sounding super sleepy.
    I turn around to look at him. Putting my hand on his face I ask, "How are you feeling now?"
    "Better. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here." I smile at him. "So how are you up so early? Are you nervous for your exam?"
    "Yeah I was stressed about the exam so it forced me awake." I lie. I woke up from the stress of seeing Kartik in that condition last night. "But since I was up, I decided to find a doctor that can help you."
    "Come on Naira, you should have been studying instead of worrying about me." He sounds hurt.
    "Kartik, think about it like this. If the roles were reversed, and I was in the same condition you were in last night, what would you have done?" He looks as if he's trying to register what I just said.
    "You're right. I would have done the same thing if I was in your position." I smile. He actually understands. "So who did you end up finding?"
    "His name is Dr. Malhotra. He specializes in substance abuse. The ratings for him online seemed great so I took an appointment for today at 3pm after you finish teaching, and I finish my exam."
    "Okay, we'll go." He sounds happy. "But now, get ready so you can look over last minute stuff for the exam."
    "Kartik, this is the first time everyone's gonna see us at the college as husband and wife. We should probably keep our distance at school." Kartik makes a weird face.
    "WHAT!" It makes me want to laugh out loud, but I decide to tease him a little. "Was 2 years not enough that now you want to put distance in the classroom too?! Absolutely not. Sorry Naira not happening." He sounds so genuinely worried it's making it hard to control my laughter.
    "Look Kartik, you can try all you want. I'm keeping my distance from you." This is a challenge I know he's gonna be more than willing to accept.
    "Game on Naira."

***

Kartik is driving us to school, while I sit in passenger looking over last minute stuff. I feel pretty ready for this exam so I decide to just enjoy the ride now. Kartik holds my hand. "Yeah hold it all you want right now because as soon as we get to school, you're not touching me." He puts my hand up to his lips and kisses it. While still holding my hand there I feel him develop a smirk on his face. I look over at him. Oh no what is his plan?
"Naira, today's gonna be fun." We arrive at school and park the car. Kartik and I walk towards class. I make sure to keep some distance between us, but the further I move to the side away from him, the more he keeps moving in. The worst part is he keeps looking at me. He's not even looking at where he's going. Just. Keeps. Staring.
"Kartik stop." He moves a little bit away but continues to look at me with utmost love written all over his face. "Oh my god stop it Kartik everyone is going to notice."
"What? You told me not to touch you and to stay away from you. That's what I'm doing." So this is why he was so confident in the car. We pass by a couple of students who are clearly noticing what Kartik is doing, but he simply doesn't care. Thankfully we arrive at the classroom and he stops. I walk in and see everyone that said terrible things about us at the fresher's dance. I decide to sit all the way in the front away from them. As soon as Kabir walks in, I see Kartik visibly get angrier. Kabir looks from me and then to Kartik and scoffs. Kartik has made a fist, and I realize I have to do something. I quickly grab my phone and send Kartik a text.
I love you Kartik. Aren't you going to wish me good luck for the exam? He looks up at me and smiles a bit. I love you too Naira, and you don't need luck for this. You worked really hard so I know you'll do well. With that I know his mood is better. Distracting Kartik with romance is the easiest way to make his mood better, I think to myself. It makes me smile. He's just so pure and innocent.
"Okay class, you will have one hour to complete this exam. There are 50 multiple choice questions. When you finish, give your exam to me and you can leave. Since break starts this week, I decided not to assign any chapter to look over. We will pick up where we left off when you all return. Best of luck everyone. I'm sure you will all do well." Jai Ganga Maiya! Let's do this.
As I'm going through the exam, I feel pretty good. Everything has been easy so far. I get to a question, and I'm a bit confused. I look up while I'm thinking about the question and notice that Kartik is looking at me. As soon as I catch him staring he quickly looks away. He's such a romantic. After 40 minutes pass, I am done with the exam. No one else has finished yet. If I turn in my exam first, will everyone think that I finished early because Kartik helped me cheat or will they say he gives me special attention? Screw it. They're gonna say something anyways. Who cares what they think? I get up to go turn in my exam. I see the girl to the right of me roll her eyes. I stop where I am and look at her and make my anger visible. She gets scared and looks away. Yeah that's right. I go up to Kartik and give him my exam. He makes sure to touch my hand as he takes the exam. I quickly move my hand away. This guy is going to get us kicked out of college for sure.
"Naira, if you keep making those sherni looks to students in this class, I'm not gonna have any students left to teach. They'll all get afraid from you and run away." Oh so he saw me stare that girl down. She had it coming.
"Mendak, if you keep pulling the stuff you're doing today, you're not going to have any job left as a teacher." I whisper back to him. He smiles and I tell him I'll be in the café on campus. I head out. Now that this exam is over, and we are on break, I can focus on Kartik.

***

Kartik and I are in the car now, driving to the doctor's office. I'm so nervous that I keep fidgeting with my hands in my lap. Kartik clearly notices this because he takes one of my hands and holds them. He doesn't say anything because he's probably nervous as well. When we get there, I make sure to tell Kartik I'm going to help in every way possible. We walk inside and fill out the new patient information. Soon enough, Dr. Malhotra calls us inside.
"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Goenka. It's so nice to meet you both." We shake hands. "So please tell me why are you here?" Kartik seems nervous so I put my hand on his arm to comfort him.
"I have a really bad drinking issue. I keep having cravings and when I try to resist them, I get really bad headaches. Sometimes I'll feel really nauseous too. My heart begins to race. It feels like I'm having a panic attack." Kartik says all of this unable to look at the doctor. He keeps looking down. I think he's ashamed.
"Okay, well don't worry we will definitely help you with that. Before I come up with a treatment plan, I want to hear more about why you started drinking." Kartik begins to explain to him how everything happened. I learn that Kartik drank for the very first time when he really wanted to talk to me one night but didn't have it in him to call. "I see, so now you both are together and how does that make you feel?"
"It makes me want to quit this drinking habit. I don't want to be like this anymore. I want to be the way I used to be." The doctor is jotting stuff down.
"Kartik, when you have these cravings, are you often thinking about the past right before?" Kartik takes some time to answer this question. I think he's trying to figure out the answer himself.
"I guess I do. Last night when I had my craving, I was thinking about how I wasn't there for Naira when she got hurt. She was waiting for me and fell off the terrace. She had to go through everything alone." I'm shocked. I had no idea that all of this was going on in Kartik's mind.
"Okay, I had a feeling. Looking at your case, it seems to me a lot of times when you have these cravings, it's because you're stuck thinking about the past. It gets you worried again and again, making you want to drink to drown out those feelings. For this reason, I want to start you on cognitive behavioral therapy. You'll meet with a CBT therapist that will actively help you in replacing those negative thoughts in the past with positive realistic thoughts. I want you to meet with this person once a week. I also want to get you started on naltrexone. This medication will help with reducing the cravings that you have. It's a great sign that you want to get better and that your wife is a great support system too. For that reason, we will continue with just these two things. I'm very positive you will have a steady recovery." Hearing this makes me so happy. Kartik finally has a genuine smile on his face too.
"Thank you Dr. Malhotra!" We both say together. The doctor laughs. He gives Kartik a pat on the back telling him that he'll be alright. When we leave the office, Kartik and I hug each other.
"Naira, I'm going to get better!" His statement makes me want to cry. He's been suffering for so long. I hug him tighter. Just then Kartik phone rings. He reaches into his back pocket and grabs his phone.
"Ma?" He picks up the phone. Before he can say anything I hear Ma yelling.
"Kartik! Kartik come home! I need you Kartik!"
"Ma, what happened? Is everything alright?" We're both so worried.
"Kartik, please just come. I'll explain once you're here. Please Kartik."
"Okay Ma, I'll leave right now!" Kartik gets super worried and gets into the car. I quickly get inside too. "Naira, I don't know what's wrong with Ma but she seems so worried! I have to see her." I don't know if he wants me to come along. Ma never reacts well when she sees me. I don't even know how to ask since he's so worried. He probably doesn't want me to go. I decide to get out of the car. "What are you doing?" Kartik asks confused.
"Kartik, you go to Udaipur and keep me updated! I'll stay here."
"You're not coming?"
"You want me to come? Ma hates me so much. How will she react when she sees me?" Kartik seems lost in thought. Please take me with you Kartik. I want to be with you. I wait for him to respond.

"Naira, I..."

***

Author's Notes

Will Kartik take Naira along with him to Udaipur or keep the fact that he's living with her a secret from Swarna? Why is Swarna calling him back? What toll will this take on Kaira's relationship? You'll find out next chapter!