Chapter 157 - 156 As if blinking can magically make the person disappear

Shreya woke up to a white ceiling and a strong scent of antiseptic hit her instantly making her groan in exasperation. She knew that smell too well. She was in a hospital.

An unconscious groan escaped her lips.

She sat up on the bed. Her throat felt dry and parched. She looked around for water, that's when her eyes landed on Charan dozing off on the couch. The events of the day flashed by in a second making her cold all over again. She got up from the bed and went near him hurriedly. She extended her hands towards him but then pulled back just before she could touch him as if she was afraid he would disappear the minute she touched him.

She felt really scared all of a sudden when images of Charan kneeling on his knees with Dharsh aiming it point-blank at his head filled her head. She quickly went back to the bed and laid down curled up into a ball. But her eyes kept staring at Charan without even daring to blink.

She was so out of it that she did not even realize Preethi entering the room and staring at her.

"I don't know what happened but Charan kinda had the same look on his face when he brought you in passed out of exhaustion… he was also looking at you as if blinking is going to magically make you disappear or something…" Preethi said amused.

Shreya sat up startled and looked at Preethi wide-eyed.

"And of course, there is also Adam who had been sticking to our house like a freaking glue for 12 hours straight now… And yea, you have been sleeping for 12 hours now!!" She continued taking her hands to feel her pulse.

"Adam… that's on me. Just bear with it for a few days… He will be out of your hair!!" Shreya mumbled sitting up properly in a really hoarse voice.

Preethi quietly went and fetched her a glass of water and stuffed it to her hands. Shreya did not protest and sipped on it gratefully as she listened to her reply.

"Hey, I am not complaining. Akil likes having him around and so does my mom!" Preethi said shrugging her shoulders.

"Things are going good between you two then??" Shreya asked looking up at her.

"You can say that…" Preethi gave her the classic noncommittal answer. After all, she is not someone who goes around talking about her private life, and more than that Shreya and Preethi were not that close yet. So she was not comfortable opening up her heart and soul just yet. Even though there is no animosity between them.

Shreya maybe comfortable around Preethi to point where she ends up blabbering anything and everything. But it takes time for Preethi to get that comfortable around people. Especially with the same gender. Maybe because she grew up having two brothers and a dad, she kinda got better with guys than girls. Moreover, they hadn't had that many interactions yet.

"I'm glad. Adam… I mean I know he might not say much but he… he…" Shreya tried to describe but did not have the right words.

"He warms your heart without saying a word…" Preethi completed it for her with a smile.

"Yup… Exactly," Shreya replied smiled back.

By then Charan woke up with a yawn but he rushed to Shreya seeing her awake.

"Don't worry. She is okay… She mostly fainted from exhaustion and excessive bleeding. She should be okay now…" Preethi said to his brother and walked away.

Charan rushed forward and hugged her relieved. "Thank god you woke up at last!! You had me worried!"

Shreya leaned into the hug. There was just that one second of bliss when she felt his heartbeat against her ears. But once again the peace was shattered by the image of when she almost lost him. Suddenly all her fear came back. And with fear, all sorts of worst-case scenarios started going around in her head like a damn television series.

"We should stop seeing each other for a while!!" Shreya uttered even before she could think through it. But somehow it also felt right. It felt safe somehow. And with that came a sense of calm.

"What?? What do you mean??" Charan pulled away and asked looking into her eyes. The calmness in her made him uneasy in a way he couldn't really explain.

"Exactly what I said. We should stop meeting or seeing each other for a while!!" Shreya said with the same tranquility.

Charan did not understand what was going on. His mind stopped working for a while. Nothing came to his mind for a very long time.

"It's too dangerous for you and Akira to be around me Charan. So we should stop seei…." Shreya explained but was suddenly interrupted by Charan, "I don't want to… I don't care why… I don't want to stop seeing you." He said hugging her all over again.

"Charan…" Shreya started. But Charan just shook his head. "I don't want to hear anything. You just rest now. I will go get something for you to eat, okay??" he said and left the room without really giving her a chance to reply.

Shreya stayed quiet when he came back. Charan diligently served her the food he got. Shreya sighed but still lifted her injured hand and picked up the spoon shakily.

"Don't bother. I will feed you…" Charan said and took the spoon from her hand and scooped a spoon full of rice and extended it to her lips. Shreya stayed still for one extended minute but then she opened her mouth and ate silently without protest. After scooping several spoons full of rice, Charan fed her some water.

This went on until Shreya couldn't eat anymore. Charan cleared the plate and went out to dispose of the trash. Shreya could clearly see that he was avoiding her deliberately so that she doesn't get a chance to continue their talk. She waited patiently for him to come back.

When he came back, he straight away tucked her into bed and said, "You should rest some more. You bled a lot. Thank god the wound did not get infected. Or else you would have been in a whole lot of trouble." He fuzzed and nagged for no reason.