Chapter 29

"That's my hoodie." Gautham said pointing at the sweats Sindhu was wearing. She had on a black legging and a grey hoodie that was clearly too big for her. He could not see her hands at all.

"Of course I will steal your sweats. Who brings such a glittery dress to sleep in?? So I went through the cupboards to find this." Sindhu said pointing at the salwar suit Gautham had brought in for her to change into. But right after that, she reached out and grabbed her food and went in.

"Why did you go out to buy food?? Was there no food in the pantry??" Sindhu asked confused taking a bite into her burger.

"The dining hall is still crowded. There is no way I am going to get out of there in one piece with food anytime soon. So I bought it from outside." Gautham said taking his own burger.

After that, the whole room was creepy quiet except for the sound of hurried munching of two hungry people. And despite being so hungry, Gautham still finished his food before Sindhu. Then he went to freshen up. When he came back, he saw Sindhu lying on the bed half asleep.

"Come on, get up. Let's get you back to your home. Mom said they are going to be late and seeing your state, you're going to nod off in two minutes straight. Up up up!!" Gautham said tapping on her shoulders.

But Sindhu did not move an inch. She just sulked and turned away from Gautham and covered herself wholly with blanket. Gautham let out a sign and walked across to the other side of the bed and sat beside Sindhu.

"Babe." Gautham called out.

"Hmm" Sindhu mumbled from under the blanket.

"Let's get you home okay?? Then you can sleep for as long as you want." Gautham coaxed her as if he was coaxing a 10 year old kid.

"I will just sleep in here and go back home in the morning. You go away." Sindhu said slightly annoyed.

"This room is actually borrowed. This room was booked for a relative of mine for staying the night. They will be back any minute now. So be good and get up. I will drop you home in no time. Then you can sleep for as long as you want okay??" Gautham answered patiently.

Sindhu sat up with her eyes still tightly closed. After a while, her lids slightly parted to spot Gautham. Thankfully she did not fall back asleep. Instead she extended both her arms towards Gautham and said "Carry me."

Gautham chuckled slightly but squatted in front of her and Sindhu did not waste a second. She straight up hopped on his back and wrapped her hands and legs around him securely.

"Click!" Gautham closed the doors and walked through the long corridor carrying Sindhu.

"You behave so spoilt sometimes you know??" Gautham said but there was no trace of irritation or annoyance in his voice rather his voice had a sense of indulgence like he adored this spoilt side of her. But Sindhu's face dropped hearing this. She felt guilty all of a sudden. Even Gautham must be tired. Even he had been busy from the morning. When she thought of this, she tried to get down but Gautham held her in place.

"Let go. You must be tired too. I can walk." Sindhu said.

"Just stay" Gautham said firmly and held on to her.

Sindhu gave up and just rested her head over his shoulders.

When they were waiting for the elevator Sindhu asked, "You are going to end up spoiling me rotten."

"Can't I do that??" Gautham asked confused.

"Aren't you sick of all the tantrums yet??" Sindhu asked back in a meek voice. There was a gloominess in her voice that felt almost like she is about to end up crying.

"Are you throwing tantrums in order to make me sick of you??" Gautham asked back.

Sindhu did not reply but he could feel like shake her head over his shoulders. But the shaking turned into a nod after a while. But Sindhu did not speak anything more.

"Are you waiting for me to get sick of you??" Gautham asked again but Sindhu remained silent.

By then they had reached Gautham's car. Gautham did not let her go but instead made her sit on his car's hood. Sindhu had her head hung low while fidgeting with her sweatshirt sleeves. Gautham stood there in front of her slightly hunched down on his knees and back to bring his face in par with hers and he rested both of his hands on either of her sides straddling her. Gautham looked at her intently and asked her once again, "Are you waiting for me to get sick of you???"

"I... I... I don't know." Sindhu stammered without facing him.

"Hey... You can give it your best shot but I am not going to get sick of you. Ever." Gautham said in a soft voice but with such conviction that it felt as if he was swearing loyalty rather than just saying a sentence in passing.

"Don't make promises Gautham." Sindhu said and suddenly her voice turned sharp and her eyes piercing.

"Why??" Gautham asked confused.

"I won't be able to believe in a promise no matter how much you try." Sindhu said. Her voice was cold while her face remained expressionless.

"Even that seemed to be a promise to me. A promise to never believe in a promise. If you ended up believing in it, then maybe one day you will be able to believe in mine." Gautham replied with equal sass and an amused glint in his eyes.

Sindhu blinked and looked dumbly at Gautham. She did not have a comeback for what he said. She never before thought of it that way.