Chapter 118 - 117

Shreya blinked her eyes open the next morning when she felt her throat completely dry up… or at least she tried to blink. Her eyes were extremely heavy and ached… thanks to the excellent water show that happened yesterday night.

She put some effort and tried to sit up but she found that she was not in her bed.

"Look who's up!!" Charan said helping her sit up. He was sure both of his legs should have turned into rocks by now. So he just used his hands to rub on her eyes a bit and tided her hairs.

Shreya opened her eyes at last and gestured for some water.

Charan reached out for the bottle of water that the maid had kept for them in the table beside him and fed her a few sips. Shreya gulped it down gratefully. Her hands must have gone numb when she slept with them sandwiched between the two bodies. She started flinging her hand around vigorously trying to get some blood flow back into her arms.

Charan rolled her eyes and took her hands into his and massaged them gently.

"Why am I here??" Shreya asked. Her voice was still raspy from sleep.

"You kept crying in your sleep. When I didn't know what to do, one of your maids suggested to bring you here… And it worked for some reason. You stopped crying… something about here calmed you down…" Charan replied softly running his hands over her head.

"This is my dad's study. I used to spend most of my time here… reading. This is my chair. I rarely went to my own room. My dad will work from there and I used to sit here and read. It was just something about this place and the way it smelt… It was comforting… And most of the time I will end up falling asleep here itself. My dad will bring me to my room." Shreya said with a slight smile.

Charan looked around. It smelt of books and old furniture here. There were huge shelves filled completely with books on all sides of the room. In the middle, there was a huge table and a chair. And the rocking chair was set up a few feet away in a corner. And a sofa set was placed in the center of the room.

Shreya shifted from her place and got up from on top of Charan. But then she stumbled when she realized that even her legs had gone numb.

"Careful there…" Charan said holding on to her hands and steadying her.

Shreya kept her hands with Charan and twitched and stretched her legs for a few minutes before standing on her own two feet.

Once making sure she was not going to fall back down, Charan started stretching his own legs. It took a good 5 minutes to move his legs and stand straight. And when he stood up, he saw Shreya staring at the desk lost in her head. He went near her and put his arms around her shoulders and asked, "Are you okay now??"

Shreya stayed quiet but then she leaned into his embrace. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his chests and nodded her head. Charan couldn't resist but hug her back tightly.

"You scared me yesterday… you know..?? You had me worried shit." He whispered against her ears. His concern and relief seeped in his voice making it shake a little.

"I'm sorry…" Shreya mumbled. Now that was something Charan did not want to hear from her again. He had heard the term so many times from her last night that it was enough to last a lifetime.

When Charan pulled away from the hug, Shreya hung her head down and refused to see him in the eyes.

Charan pecked on her temples and hugged her all over again, "You don't have to be sorry about anything. I was just worried."

Shreya did not really reply. She kept quiet. After a while, Charan pulled away and led her back to her room. Shreya went ahead and sat on the bed fiddling with her fingers.

Charan looked at her for a second and then sat down in front of her on his knees and took her hands in his and asked, "You do know that everything that woman said yesterday was not true right?? She was just trying to get under your skin…"

Shreya did not reply. She stayed absolutely silent. But that silence spoke volumes.

"Your parents loved you right?? Do you believe that your parents loved you??" Charan asked again.

Shreya nodded her head this time around. But her lips were still sealed shut.

"Then trust me when I say this… you doing this to yourself… blaming yourself… it's not helping anyone. Especially not your parents. So if not for us, at least do it for them. They loved you… and you are hurting them by being like this… Is that what you want??" Charan asked softly.

Shreya stayed quiet but a lone tear stumbled out of her eyes and tumbled down her cheeks. She then shook her head quite desperately.

Charan wiped her tears and made her look at him and said, "Hey, you can miss them all you want but you have to stop beating yourself about their death. It's not healthy. It's eating you up… Okay??"

Shreya nodded her head solemnly.

"Now come on… let's get you cleaned up. You look like a zombie…" Charan said and led her to the bath.

Shreya went and sat on the counter beside the basin and smiled at Charan.

Charan just shook his head but then went and washed her brush and filled it paste before handing it over to her. He then gave her a cup of water. He then got a brush for himself and brushed his own teeth.

Once she finished brushing her teeth, he brought a wet towel and cleaned up her face, and tided her hair as best as he could. And all the while, Shreya had a smug smile on his face. But Charan did not mind… not one single bit.

Compared to last night's weeping, he would take a smug smile any day… even if it meant he had to baby her every single day for the rest of his life… he would take it happily.

"Now come one… let's get you something to eat." Charan said extending his hands for her to take.

Shreya did not take his hands. She shook her head and whined, "I want a piggyback ride."

Charan complied once again. Just as they reached the living room, the golden retriever from yesterday surrounded his legs. And like yesterday, Shreya hopped down and started playing with it.

When Charan looked up, Akash came by and said, "That's Lucy… Supposed to be my dog but she always takes Shreya's side. So…"

Charan nodded and greeted him with a hug.

"How is she??" Akash asked.

"She is better now… She is getting there at least." Charan answered looking at her wrestle with a dog so happily.

"Hey, enough already. You need to eat…" Charan called out after a while. Shreya reluctantly let go of Lucy and got up sulking.

Charan left to get her food while Akash pulled her into a hug. He ruffled the back of her head and said, "You got us worried brat!!!"

"I know… I'm sorry. But I am okay now. So, stop worrying…" Shreya said returning the hug.

And just as the aroma of food hit her nostrils, Shreya's stomach growled. And she instantly set on the mission to appease her stomach quite gladly.