Chapter 8

Sindhu woke up to traffic noise. She dozed off 5 minutes into the ride. Seeing that Sindhu had finally woken up, Gautham asked her, "Where do you want to eat??"

Sindhu thought about it for a minute and asked, "You like Maggie??"

Gautham said, "Yea"

Then Sindhu directed him to an apartment building. It was on the outskirts of the city. They still had half an hour ride to reach home.

Gautham gave Sindhu a confused look. "Where is this exactly??"

"Oh, this... This is my apartment of sorts I guess. My parents don't know about this place. Come on. Let's go." Sindhu said in a matter of fact voice.

"Well, that explained everything. Thanks for nothing." Gautham said sarcastically following Sindhu inside the building.

The strong stench of paint and thinner hit his nostrils as soon as he stepped inside. Now that explains everything I guess, Gautham thought to himself.

"I just come here whenever I need to get away. When things become too much.", Sindhu explained walking straight towards what he hoped is the kitchen. Because in no time Gautham's stomach is going to start making noise for food and that would be peaks of embarrassment.

Gautham's train of thoughts was interrupted by music blasting all around him. Thankfully it was not over the top loud. Gautham looked up and noticed that there were speakers all around the living room.

After that, he looked at the apartment itself. The living room was devoid of any sort of furniture except for three bean bags lying around. There was a TV wall mounted. And there were a couple of paint bottles scattered around in the corner with a mug full of brushes and canvas rolls. That explains the stench.

To the left there was an open kitchen and kitchen seemed to be well equipped and to his right was a door which he suppose should lead to a bedroom where Sindhu went into. Gautham went in that direction. He first knocked but he had no hope of being heard with the music all around. So he tried the handle and it was not locked. He first peeked in, seeing as Sindhu was nowhere to be seen he entered the room. It was dead dark inside. Gautham searched around and finally flipped the switch.

Gautham was instantly amazed by seeing what Sindhu did with her room. There were only two pieces of furniture there. One cupboard which seemed built-in. There was no bed- just the mattress was laid in the corner. And a small table was there besides the mattress.

But that was not that was peculiar. The whole room was painted Dark Red. Or rather three sides were painted Red while the wall near the bed was splashed with all sorts of different color and for some reason, it looked breathtaking. Somehow it was splashed in a way that one color merged with others in a perfect sink and the wall itself was white. Gautham guessed it to be Sindhu's handy work.

His inspection was interrupted by Sindhu coming out of what he suppose it the attached bathroom. She seemed to have washed her face.

"Oh sorry... I just wanted to wash up a bit. You can use it if you want. I will go start at our dinner. You must be hungry." Sindhu said while drying her face.

"Starving.",Gautham replied but took up on her offer to tidy himself a bit.

.................................................

Silence surrounded them except for them noisily slurping the noodles. Thankfully it was not awkward since Gautham was wolfing his as if he had starved for days. And an amused smile spread on Sindhu's face. She was ready to tease him but then she liked him like this. She liked him comfortable around her. She would hate it if he starts getting self-conscious.

When Gautham finally burped, Sindhu couldn't control herself and let off a delightful laugh and asked amused, "You do realize nobody is trying to steal your food right??"

"Ha ha ha. Very funny", Gautham said dryly. "You did not even let me have my lunch properly remember??" Gautham asked raising his eyebrows.

Gautham couldn't help but laugh at her expression but also rubbed his hands over her head as a form of comfort which Sindhu promptly swatted saying," I am not a child" but it felt like she was trying to convince herself rather than Gautham because she liked it when Gautham rubbed her head like that. It was oddly comforting.

Once Sindhu was done with eating she started to take the empty vessels to the kitchen to wash. Gautham followed her every move quietly but asked after a while, "Why do you have this place when you are living with your parents?? Apart from the obvious of course." gesturing Sindhu's art supply.

Sindhu remained silent for a while lost in thought but then replied," I... I was staying here after the accident. I wanted to get away from Bangalore. I was afraid I will go back to... to drinking. But the state I was in I couldn't really go back home. It was hard enough on them when I did not contact them but if they had seen the state I was in... I just didn't want anyone I love to see me at my worst. I didn't want to humiliate them. So I bought this place. I was holed up here for almost 6 months." By the time Sindhu was done talking it was almost a whisper. She had her head hung down. She took a deep breath and started washing the vessels.

Gautham went into the kitchen and stood beside her. He could see the guilt and regret eating her up. He could feel her barely holding on. He felt as if one wrong move from him and she will break to pieces.

Gautham carefully rubbed her head first and he tucked her hairs behind her ears. He took the vessels from her hand and closed the taps. He gently pulled her so that she would face him. What he saw tugged at his hearts. For once Sindhu seemed vulnerable. It seemed like she was showing her true self to him. The person she had hidden behind cold stares and cheeky grins.

"Hey... look at me," Gautham said softly.

When their eyes met, her eyes told them all -her pain, her despair, her guilt, her regret, and her insecurities. Gautham knew he cannot be careless so he chose his words carefully.

"I am not going to stand here and trivialize your mistakes to make you feel better because frankly, I don't really know half of it. But I can tell that you are strong enough to overcome it. And it's going to be such pleasure watching you do it. So stop beating yourself up so much. Okay???" Gautham asked softly still looking at Sindhu intently.

Sindhu simply nodded. Gautham's words tugged at her heart in all the right places. If Gautham had said something typical to console her like 'it's going to be alright' or promised something like 'I will be there for you and you don't have to be alone' - she would have just scoffed at his ignorance.

But what he said made her feel warm for some reason.

The fact that he had such conviction on her strength did something fuzzy to her. The trust he had in her when she herself is struggling with it made her think, "Maybe the future with him won't be soo bad after all".

Television was running very softly. The mattress that was in the bedroom was now in the living room. Gautham was sitting on it with his legs stretched and Sindhu was sleeping soundly snuggling into his laps. And now he was struggling to get Sindhu off of him without waking her up. But man! She was not making it easy. She was holding his hands with a death grip. After some time he gave up. Gautham knew he had to wake her up. But seeing her sleep so peacefully, he couldn't make himself. So he let her be for now and stared at her face running her hands through her hair. Sindhu leaned into his hands and snuggled closer to him.

Gautham was baffled with himself. He was not exactly known for his patience. He was not proud of it but he was in fact very short tempered. But everything he did today screamed otherwise. And he knew the reason was the person sleeping on his lap right now. He couldn't reason it or explain why. This actually scared him to a degree. He never got attached to a person this deeply at such a short period of time. He was not an impulsive person but everything he did today was out of impulse. Even now he can't reason as to why he said "yes" to marriage and why he was so disappointed when Sindhu didn't accept it readily.

Gautham came out of his thoughts when Sindhu started struggling in her sleep. And next second Sindhu sat up with a start. Sindhu didn't talk anything. She kept blinking for a while and seemed a bit disoriented.

"Hey... you okay??", Gautham asked softly. He made her face him and tidied her messed up hair. Sindhu nodded lightly but her eyes were barely open. She was sleeping again in a sitting position. Gautham let out a chuckle and said to her, "Hey... I need to leave. It's getting late."

Sindhu suddenly woke again, though barely, and said," Even I need to go home. I didn't inform mum and dad." Right after saying that, her head started to sway. Sindhu looked absolutely adorable. Gautham barely resisted the urge to let her sleep there. He quickly dragged Sindhu out of the house and onto his bike.

When Gautham stopped outside Sindhu's house, to his surprise, Sindhu was actually awake. She got down and stood in front of him.

"I see the sleeping beauty is finally awake", Gautham teased. Sindhu blushed slightly in embarrassment and said, "Sorry. I don't know how I fell asleep. I know it was I who asked to watch the movie."

"Hey... It's okay I was just pulling your legs", Gautham said gently, while ruffling Sindhu's hairs. There was a hint of indulgence in his voice that Gautham himself didn't realize. It was as if he would do anything in his power if Sindhu was the one asking.

Gautham's gentle voice and gesture eradicated the sense of guilt and Sindhu flashed Gautham a bright cheeky grin that left him slightly dazed and breathless.

"Thank you for today. It's been long since I last went out and was not lost in my head", Sindhu said bringing Gautham out of his daze.

"It's okay. Go on inside and get some sleep", Gautham replied and before he can stop himself his hands were already tugging some loose strands of hair behind her ears.

Sindhu simple nodded and went inside her house.

Once he was sure Sindhu was inside, Gautham swatted his own hand and murmured to himself, "Keep your hands to yourself idiot". He was baffled by his urges to touch Sindhu. It was as if suddenly his hands had a mind of its own and they just kept creeping towards Sindhu. Gautham let out an exasperated sign by his own antics and drove back home.