She Can Be Toxic Too (Completed) √

"I am hungry."

Aashi felt her heartbeats race as she walked up to his room. She was sure she was hyperventilating at the sudden realisation. "You can be wrong too", she mumbled to herself before knocking on the door. She stood still for almost a minute and when she got no response, she pushed against the door, hoping it wasn't bolted from inside. As the door swayed inwards, she quickly stepped inside and scanned the room, worried if Abhinav had passed out again. Just as she looked through the empty room, she heard the washroom door open.

Abhinav felt tired, his mind completely exhausted at the turn of events. Aashi had finally seen his ugly self and glimpses of his past. The past that he had tried to hide all these days from the outer world had finally been revealed. Turning on the shower, he slid down to the floor crying, the warm water calming his hurt soul. He sat there for what felt like ages, until he felt himself getting worn out. Slowly rising up, he shut the shower and dried himself before getting into a fresh par of sweatpants and a warm sweat shirt. He sighed sadly as he saw his reflection in the mirror. The swollen, bloodshot eyes, red nose and pale skin made him look tottered. Feeling the heaviness in his head from all the crying, he decided to sleep early.

He opened the door only to find Aashi standing near the door, searching for something. He stood still as her eyes wandered and finally landed on him. He saw her concerned look get replaced by a sigh of relief once she noticed him. The thought of her being concerned made him tear up again. Noticing the change in his expressions, Aashi spoke casually, not wanting to embarrass him further.

"I know you are tired and angry, but please eat something before you sleep. You need to have your medicines too."

Abhinav simply nodded and followed her to the table, not knowing what to say. Just when he was about to start eating, Aashi asked him to wait and hurried into the kitchen. He waited for her, his mind wavering back to the incidents of the evening. He knew he had been rude to her. He was shaken from his thoughts as he felt her nudge his shoulders. He looked at her and following her gaze found a bowl of hot soup in front of him. Before he could question her, Aashi spoke calmly, fixing her eyes on her plate.

"My mom used to make this soup whenever I was ill. So I thought it might help you as well" she paused and looked up to find him staring at her before continuing, "Am sorry Abhi. I really am. I didn't do it on purpose. Heck, I didn't even know about it. Am really sorry for interfering your private space but please, dont get back to what you were before. I promise I won't bother you again, but let's remain friends like before."

Abhinav immediately looked down to the bowl and shut his eyes, fearing that his tears might spill. He took deep breaths before looking up only to find her eyes hooked on his face, expectantly. He sighed and asked her softly,

"Why are you so nice to me, Aashi? I have been so rude to you all these days. I have treated you like trash even when you don't deserve such treatment. You are not to be blamed for anything that has happened to me and still I never respected you or this relationship. And yet you are understanding and want to be friends with me. Why are you so nice? I don't deserve it at all, Aashi" his shoulders slumped and he felt a few tears graze his cheeks as he spoke.

"Shh... There's nothing like that. You deserve all the goodness in the world. Never ever say that again. I know you have been rude to me all these days, but I also understand that there must be some reason behind it. I understand your pain, Abhi. And I want you to know that I'm here to stay. Yes, I'll stay by you forever, no matter what. Just don't shut me out, please" she almost pleaded, holding his palm with her own.

"Why do you want to be with a guy like me? Aashi, I'm not what you think. I am a tarnished, ugly soul covered with scars and bruises. I am as good as the dead. Today, you saw me completely. You saw my ugly side. Why do you still want to be with me?" he almost cried as he shut his eyes to mask his pain.

"I want to stay because I love you."

Abhinav gasped as his eyes snapped wide open in surprise. He stared at her dumbfounded, trying to find traces of lies or mockery on her face. Aashi smiled at his expression and continued, tightening her hold on him.

"Yeah, I want to stay because I love you. And no, it is not because of sympathy. Looking back to all the memories we've shared, I realise that I've always loved you. I loved you when you helped me with homework, I loved you when you protected me from those bullies at school, I loved you when you convinced my parents to let me study design and not engineering, I loved you when we went on our first road trip to Manali before college started. I loved you all along, Abhi. I just didn't happen to realise it. But when I saw you today, so vulnerable, that's when I knew I could never see you in pain. It hurts me to see you like this. I had been so upset when I came to know of your sudden marriage, but then pushed it off thinking it was only because I couldn't make it to my best friend's wedding. And when Papaji later asked my hand for marriage with you, I felt like it was the only right thing to do. My heart had probably imagined us together all these years. Am so sorry it took me so long to realise, but now I promise am never going to let go of you. I'll stay by your side and we'll fight it all together. Please, Abhi."

Aashi stopped as she felt herself choke on her tears. Finally, she had said it all out. She looked at him nervously, trying to gauge his reaction as she held his hands in a tight grip. Abhinav squirmed in his chair, feeling uneasy at her sudden confession. She sounded so pure and truthful that he couldn't mistake her love for pity. He cleared his throat and spoke in a soft tone, trying not to disappoint her.

"Umm... Can we talk after eating?" he slowly raised his eyes and looked at her, putting up an innocent look, "I am hungry."

"Yeah, sure" she mumbled, embarrassed at her own behaviour. They restricted themselves only to eating, the silence growing uncomfortable as the clock ticked. Once they were done, Aashi walked into the kitchen to do the dishes while Abhinav walked to the balcony to clear his head. His wife's sudden confession had definitely not gone easy on him. He sat on the large wooden swing, swaying about slightly, trying to sort out the mess in his head.

Aashi walked out after cleaning up for the night to see him sitting in the balcony, his back facing her. She immediately rushed to her room and taking a thick comforter, walked back to the balcony. She sat on the other edge of the swing, her movement causing him to snap out of his thoughts. She silently stretched out one side of the comforter to his side and he gladly accepted it, settling under the warmth of the fur material. They sat quietly in the silence of the night, hoping for the other one to initiate some conversation. When it had been quiet for some time hearing only the squeaks of the swaying swing, Aashi decided to start casually.

"Have you had your medicines?"

She was awarded with a positive nod of his head for a response. Understanding that they needed to talk to settle things between them, she decided to ask him directly.

"Are you not going to say anything?"

Abhinav looked at her with an expression she couldn't decipher before he spoke, "Don't you want to ask me anything? I'm sure you have a hundred questions in your mind about me right now."

Aashi noticed the pain his voice carried as he spoke. She could feel his vulnerable self, his distressed soul speak through his voices. She felt like she was talking to a young child trapped in a dark room. Hearing to the tone of his voice, she felt her mind tell her that her instincts were right. As much as she didn't want it to be true, something about this conversation made her believe that her prediction was true.

"I know you want to ask me about how I got those scars, don't you?"

"And what if I tell you that I already know?" she questioned back calmly, her mind trusting her instincts.

"You... You... You know?" Abhinav stuttered, his eyes widening at the sudden revelation.

"Yes, I do. And I am not going to judge you for it. I don't judge you now and I won't judge you after you share it all too. We have to talk about it, Abhi. Can you please let it all out now?"