Sonakshi walked into the room and placed her phone on the side table when she heard a yelp, followed by loud swearing.
Walking towards the bathroom she saw Rohit standing with his head bowed in front of the mirror, palms on either side of the sink. He was breathing hard and his eyes were tightly shut.
“Rohit?” He stiffened. It’s been three days since they stopped talking to one another. In front of everyone else, the two tried to act as normal as possible. However, when alone in their bedroom there was always awkward silence and simmering tension in the air.
“Rohit, theek ho?” She cared. So much. Her heart broke when she learnt of his lie and she wasn’t going to forgive easy. But in this very moment, she felt a little scared at his silence.
Stepping forward, she placed her hand on his shoulder. He turned to face her and she gasped. There was a large cut on his jaw. She looked in the sink to see a razor lying there.
“I don’t know how. I must have not been paying attention. I’m usually not this careless. I’m really careful. Is it bad?” She could sense the rising panic in his voice. Sonakshi winced as she looked at the cut, blood was starting to ooze out.
“Rohit... calm down. Yes, it’s a pretty deep cut and as a doctor you know it’s going to hurt. But you’ll be okay. Here let me help.” She tried to keep her voice soothing but firm.
He started to protest when she reached out. Sonakshi was startled to find his skin warm... really warm.
“Rohit, tumhe bukhaar hain!”
“You sound like my mom.” He grumbled and Sonakshi smiled (internally of course). Ever the Drama Queen.
Rohit swayed a little and Sonakshi immediately reached out. No wonder he sounded so distressed. Dr. Surgeon thought it wise to shave when his fever was making him so disoriented. Sonakshi held her head with one hand and glared at him.
“What were you thinking? You should be in bed! Not getting yourself a French beard.”
“I don’t want people to think I have a grief beard. And I wasn’t going for a French beard anyway.” There goes that sass again.
Sonakshi sighed and led him by the arm to their bedroom as he grumbled and complained like a 5 year old.
Sonakshi grabbed his aftershave and a wet washcloth. After wiping the cut clean, she took a little aftershave on her fingertips and pressed it to his cut. Rohit winced and flinched. “Sorry!” She leaned closer and gently blew on it.
Sonakshi looked up to find that Rohit had shut his eyes. She stared at his perfectly shaped faced. No matter how angry she was, she could never deny that he was indeed a very handsome man.
Suddenly, she noticed a single tear that escaped his lashes and was running down his cheek. Sonakshi had the urge to wipe it but refrained from doing so.
“Done.” Rohit opened his eyes and stared at her. His red glassy eyes made her uneasy and she tried to clear her head (and steady her heart). He has a fever, it’s normal for his eyes to be red. With that, she reassured herself and went to get the medicine.
Handing Rohit the pills and a glass of water, she watched as he slowly drank it. His hands were shaking just a little.
“Get some sleep. You don’t look very well.”
“Great, thanks for the compliment.”
Sona shook her head at his attitude. Dr. Surgeon and his nakhre. As she stood up to leave, she felt a grip on her wrist.
“It hurts too much.” She turned to face him again. He was blinking away tears and a part of her wished that they didn’t affect her as much as they did.
“It’s a fresh cut. Those wounds take time to heal. It’s best you accept it.” His pained expression made it clear that he understood the hidden meaning in her words.
With that Sonakshi pulled herself away and left the room before her resolve broke. Perhaps both of them were destined to spend more dark and silent nights, crying themselves to sleep.
Writer : Rain Goddess
