Chapter 15

AADHI

Before I entered the house, I saw Harsha nearby. He was standing under the shade of a tree. He hid behind the tree when he saw us passing in the car.

I wanted to go and say hi to him, but I felt weird when I saw him hide. I didn't know if my husband saw him.

After our conversation at the entrance, I tried to go straight to bed. I know everyone was asleep, and we already had dinner on the way.

But I was greeted by Bharathi, who was going to her room from outside but stopped when she saw us. Weird... I wondered what she was doing outside at this time.

"Hey, Aadhi. Hey, Brother. How are you two?" she asked us while hugging.

"We are fine. How are you?" I asked her.

"I am wonderful as always," she said playfully.

I chuckled and he snorted.

"Okay, Bharathi. We are so tired. So shall we talk in the morning?"

"Okay, Aadhi. Good night."

"Good night," we both said in unison and went to our room.

I wanted to ask her what she was doing outside at this hour because I was sure that she was entering the house just before we entered. But I just shrugged it off. I could ask her tomorrow.

The next day morning when I woke up it was quite a fuss already. His dad and mom are going on a tour of all the sacred places and temples in India.

They would be gone for months. They didn't say exactly when they would be back.

They said, and I quote, "We need some peace in our last days. We know Abhi will take care of Aadhi and you will take care of him. So our duty here is fulfilled, and we need some time to ourselves."

I was sad because, without Mom and Dad, I wouldn't last a day here. I would die of boredom. He would be going to work and Bharathi to college.

So, from now on, I am going to be alone, and God knows how I will spend my time.

My husband was not going to work that day because he wanted to drop off his parents at the station.

After that, he volunteered to take Bharathi to her college, which was a wonderful thing for her because he never volunteered like this before.

As the only person who didn't have anything to do, I helped everyone a little with their work.

After an hour or so, our house was empty. No one was there except me. I felt strange because I had never been alone in a big house like this in my life. It was kind of scary.

My annoying mind decided to scare me now.What if someone entered your house? What if you get robbed? What if they kill you?

"Shut up," I said to myself. I needed to distract my mind or be the only person in this world who was to be killed by her thoughts alone.

Crazy, right? I know. That is how crazy my mind was, throwing thoughts like that at me.

Anyway, I needed to prepare lunch for two. I decided to distract myself by cooking. Even though I was doing something, the silence in this house was so annoying.

It was like living in a horror movie. So, I plugged my earphones into my iPod and started listening to songs while cooking.

I know I am not good at singing so I kept my voice as low as possible while singing along. I started swaying my hips to the rhythm while singing.

I didn't know how long I had been acting crazy, singing and dancing... More like swaying. I turned to take some ingredients, and I squealed.

There he was in the doorway, lazily supporting himself on his shoulder, standing with one leg crossed over another, and grazing his lips with his thumb. He looked amused.

"You...you startled me. How long have you been standing there like a creep?" I stuttered a little. My heart was still pounding.

"Not long," he said, still amused.

I felt embarrassed.I am an idiot. What will he think of me dancing like that?

I had decided to change the topic before he started teasing me about it.

"So your parents, did you send them off safely?"

"Hmhm." That was all the answer he gave, still looking at me intently.

"What about Bharathi? Is she going to be here tonight?"

"Nope." Another one-word answer.

"Why not?"

He sighed and moved near the kitchen counter. He sat near me so that I could look at him and started playing with a tomato.

"She is going to stay inside the campus until my parents arrive. But she will be here every weekend."

"Why? What is wrong? She could have stayed with us." I questioned him.

He moved closer than necessary. Our faces are an inch apart. I could feel his breath. I tried to move backwards, but he held me by my hips and made me stand where I was.

His touch and his proximity were making me feel different. It didn't feel like some stranger touching me. His touch felt so familiar, yet it caused my body to tingle.

"So that we can have some privacy." He winked at me saying this and moved away, immediately causing me to jerk a little.

I gaped at his answer.What the...?

He chuckled at my response and started walking out of the kitchen.

"By the way that thing you did before"—he swayed his hips like I had done—"that was exotic," he said dramatically. And then he left.

I chuckled to see him sway his hips and start cooking again.

He was watching TV when I finished cooking. I served the food and joined him. He was watching a basketball match.Ugh, I hate the sports channel.

I hated it when boys were watching some sports instead of conversing with the people around them. But what could I do? I just finished my meal in silence.

After that, I started reading a book I had brought from home. I was annoyed. He didn't even flinch while the game was on. He didn't even eat.

I tried to distract him by saying, "Finish your lunch before it gets cold," but he just nodded. That is how intently he was watching the game. Only after it ended did he turn to look at me.

"You finished your lunch?" he asked.

I just nodded.

"What book are you reading?" he asked.

I just showed him the cover page and pretended to start reading. I could see his confused look from the corner of my eyes.

That is how it feels, dude,my mind wanted to shout.

"Okay, what is wrong?" he asked.

I just shrugged.

He grabbed my book and held it up above his head.

"Hey!" I squealed.

"Now, look at me when I am talking to you," he said in a stern voice.

"Oh, now you want me to look at the person who is talking. So, tell me what you were doing a while ago?"

"Oh, that is what this is about," he said, amused.

"Okay, I am sorry. I was just... Never mind. I am sorry. It won't happen again." He apologized.

"Fine. Now give me my book." I reached out to his hands to get my book.

"Come and get it," he said playfully and stood up holding his hands above his head.

I tried to reach out. I even jumped to reach it, but I couldn't. He started laughing at me.

"You are so small," he said, laughing.

I knew that. But I was not going to admit it to him.

"I am not small. You are just abnormally tall," I retorted.

He laughed at my response. He looks so good when he is laughing, and the sound of his laughter makes me relaxed.

I gave up and sat on the couch, pouting.

"Okay, fine. Here you go, your book." He left it on my lap.

"Now, stop pouting. You look so cute, I want to kiss those lips."

I was surprised to hear that. I raised my head to look at him. He must have realized what he said, so he went away immediately to our room.

I blushed, thinking about what he said. After a minute or two, I decided to go and look for him but before I could, he came out and sat beside me switching on the TV.

He didn't say anything. I didn't like this awkward silence between us, so I decided to start the conversation.

"So, why didn't you go to work today?"

He turned to look at me questioningly.

"I mean you could have taken a half-day. You could have been there after lunch."

"I didn't go because of you. You will be all alone here, that is why," he said without looking at me.

It felt nice to think that he cared about me.

"Anyway, I am going to be alone tomorrow and the day after and the day after that."

"I will be here tomorrow and the day after and the day after that," he said, mimicking me.

"But what about the work?" I asked him, confused.

"Aadhi, it is my business and my office. I can go whenever I want unless there is important work. Otherwise, I can do my work here.

Moreover, Harsha and Nija are there. They will look after it. They are partners in my business."

"Oh." That is all I said. And then something suddenly came to mind.

"So, you are saying all this time you could have worked here and gone whenever you wanted to but you chose to get up early and run there?"

He chuckled and said, "Yes."

"Why?" I asked him with a weird look. "I mean if I were you, I wouldn't sacrifice my sleep in the morning to go to work when I can go whenever I want." I shrugged.

He laughed again and didn't say anything.

While we were speaking, his phone rang. He went out to attend the call and came back with a sad look.

"Aadhi, I need to go to the office now. It is urgent. I will be back for dinner," he said apologetically.

I just nodded an okay.

He hurriedly got ready and went out.

I sighed in exasperation. Here I was getting used to his presence and then—poof!—he was gone.