Chapter: Chapter 45 here
Argh, guys I have no way to apologise for leaving you guys hanging! And I really wish I had a way to tell you guys when I’m posting a chapter. I’ve been falling behind on schoolwork and this is the most important part of my semester, so I had to get my head in the game again. Also, when I write in a hurry, or with a deadline, I feel like my writing becomes more ‘mechanical’.
Nevertheless, this chapter’s got a couple more happy moments for you guys.
*****
Baby treaded down the hallway, her gaze falling on all the family portraits and wall hangings in sight. She found herself cringing when she saw the really happy ones.
There was one in which Yuvani had her arms wrapped playfully around Yuvaan’s neck, and another in which the whole family stood around a table. There was a chocolate cake on the table and matching frosting on Suhani’s face. It was a candid picture, and everyone looked so…happy.
She felt sick.
She glanced closer at the photo though, her senses tingling, and found a familiar set of cheekbones, and dark hair.
Sayyam.
And he was standing towards the corner of the room. So much towards the corner infact, that if the camera had been shifted even a little bit to the left, he wouldn’t have been captured in the photo.
There was a soft expression in his eyes. Something between loneliness and contentment, as he stared at…Suhani.
It was almost as if seeing her so happy had lifted his spirits the tiniest bit.
And then it clicked.
Suhani was his mother.
Sayyam had- somehow- found his birthmother.
Wow.
Tiny details, occurrences, and events came rushing back at her; the pieces fitting together and locking in place.
Yes, she was sure now.
She just had to talk to Krishna.
_____
Sayyam drove in silence, his eyes trained on the road. It was pretty cold this time of year, and the sun had already started it’s descent, thin golden rays filtering through across the horizon.
He sighed, his breath warm in the chilly air of the car, but it didn’t matter. He had this hope; this warm feeling, that Anjali would be alright. That everything would turn out okay. Things were starting to fix themselves, and he was grateful for that.
Sayyam leaned back in the seat, his mind wandering, when his phone began to ring, interrupting his thoughts.
“Yuvani?” He voiced, staring at the screen, before picking it up.
“Mmm?” Sayyam answered.
“You driving bro?” He heard Yuvani’s ‘I-called-to-say-something-stupid’ voice.
“Umm, yeah, why?”
“Apparently you’ve got to be home for dinner a bit earlier; Yuvaan’s girl is gonna have her little cooking-after-marriage thing today.”
“It’s Baby,” Sayyam found himself replying quietly, “her name’s Baby.” He shook his head, “and besides it’s called a ‘rasam’, not a ‘cooking-after-marriage thing’.” Sayyam grinned, he could almost hear her roll her eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” she huffed, but Sayyam could hear the smile in her voice.
“Well, I’m on my way, I’ll see ya there, ok?”
“Yup sure, drive carefully.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Sayyam laughed quietly, ending the call. He turned to the seat next to him, setting the phone down, when he saw Krishna in the passenger seat.
His mouth dropped open, staring at her, before he heard a loud noise in front of him and swerved the car to the left, swearing under his breath.
He glanced back at the passenger seat.
She wasn’t there anymore.
Then he heard her quiet laughter from the backseat, and he could’ve sworn she winked at him through the rear view mirror.
“What the fu-”
“Sayyam.” He again found her in the seat next to him, pouting disappovingly.
“Fudge.” Sayyam corrected himself, his eyes shifting between the road and the rearview mirror now. “What the fudge.”
‘Krishna’ (Sayyam still refused to believe his eyes) chuckled softly, tucking a loose curl behind her ear.
“So how is Anjali?” She spoke quietly, her voice almost impossibly blending with the warm, honey rays of the setting sun.
“Uhh,” he opened his mouth to respond. But quickly shut it again, just taking in her delicate form.
“Well? Don’t leave me hanging Mr.Khadoos,” she giggled, and Sayyam fell in love with her laughter just that much more.
“Krishna,” he whispered, reaching back for her arm, his visage now loosely focused on the road. But just as his fingers were about to come in contact with her pale skin, she disappeared, quickly fading from sight; and all that was left behind was the soft tinkling of her laugh, and his hand went to rest on the rough leather surface of the seat.
“It’s official.” He muttered, concentrating more on the road than before. “I’m going crazy.”
_____
Baby stopped right outside Sayyam’s room. It was now or never. She raised her hand to knock, before realising that the door was open. She gently pushed it open, pulling on her best “I’m-sorry-I-stole-your-guy” face.
“Krishna?” Baby called out, finding Krishna leaning against a cupboard, her face pale. “You okay?”
She saw Krishna jerk, pushing herself away from the surface she was leaning against. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Krishna frowned, her eyes slightly glassy. “Did you need something?”
“No I just wanted to talk…” Baby began, suddenly losing the confidence she’d walked in with.
“About Yuvaan?” Krishna scoffed, and Baby frowned in confusion.
“About Sayyam.”
“What do you want to know?” Krishna snapped, her eyes narrowing at Baby; and Baby felt irritation rise up in her.
“I don’t want to know anything,” she emphasized, “I already know everything about him.”
“What?” She saw Krishna tilt her head, clearly not understanding, and Baby faked a smirk, stepping forward.
Showtime.
“Oh, he didn’t tell you?” Her lips twisted up, “he and I were really close, since childhood. We’ve been through a lot together.”
She watched Krishna’s eyebrows draw together and continued speaking.
“I don’t suppose he told you that we both met earlier today, did he?”
“Of course he did.” Krishna retorted, her voice unsteady.
“Oh sure,” Baby replied, unfazed.
“I get it now,” Krishna grinned back at Baby, “you’re just jealous that Sayyam chose me.”
Baby froze; the temperature in the room seemed to drastically drop. She shifted her weight from her right leg to the left and back again, the words feeling heavier now.
Was that true?
“No,” everything in her protested at the thought, but the doubt had already taken hold.
“We were always there for each other,” Baby’s voice came out deceptively quiet. “We had this bond, it’s something you won’t understand.” She looked up at Krishna, studying her face for a moment. She couldn’t guess the whole story, but she was sure about one thing…
Her thoughts were interrupted as heavy footsteps sounded from the room’s entrance. Baby let loose a curse and spun around, pulling her most innocent face on.
‘You idiot’, she internally smacked herself. ‘He knows you better than that- stupid move.’
And she was right. Sayyam barely glanced at her and she knew he’d seen through the mask.
“What are you doing here?” He pulled his phone and wallet out of his pocket and Baby found that her eyes remained on his face, unlike reflexively shifting to the items he was setting on table beside him.
His head tilted to the right, a movement Baby had grown to miss. It really had been a while. “Baby, what are you doing?” his voice was hard, but she could tell he was in a good mood.
‘Something good must’ve just happened, good news, probably about Anjali,’ she rationalized in her mind, smirking. She still knew him well…why did that matter though?
Sayyam frowned slightly, grabbing Baby’s arm to shake her out of her thoughts.
“We were just talking, Sayyam,” Krishna smiled sweetly, pulling Baby away from Sayyam. But to Baby’s surprise, there was no jealousy in her tone.
She saw Sayyam frown as well, and felt alarms ring in her mind. Something was off.
“It was just girl-talk, one woman to another, right?” Krishna glared back at Baby, her hair shielding the expression on her face from Sayyam.
“Yeah…” Baby drawled, “we were just talking about-”
“About how me and you met and everything she’s missed, there’s so much to tell her!” Krishna interjected, looking up at Sayyam sheepishly, her hand now resting subtly on his arm.
“Well yeah,” Baby noticed that Sayyam was visibly smirking in amusement now, but there was a hint of confusion in his eyes. “Anyway, I’ve gotta go,” she pointed in the general direction if the kitchen, almost knocking over a lamp near her.
Why was she this restless?
She huffed quietly, gathering her thoughts and taking one more quick look at Krishna, before leaving the room.
_____
Sayyam held back a smile as Baby walked out of their room. Either Krishna was getting possessive, or it something else entirely.
He found himself hoping it was the former.
“Uh well,” he ruffled his hair, turning to glance at Krishna, who looked a bit flustered. “You wanted to know about Anjali, right?”
Krishna’s eyes snapped to his, all attention on him, and she pulled her hand away from his arm. “Yeah?” She nodded formally, waiting.
“She’s doing much better now, actually. Apparently she’s responding to the treatment and her nurse is sure she’ll pull through.”
A small smile graced Krishna’s features, “That’s great!” She nodded more enthusiastically, seeming to allow herself a small moment of happiness, before pulling away from Sayyam, and he bit his lip, already missing the warmth she was radiating.
“Well I have to go,” she said curtly, a drastic change in her tone from before. “I’ve got to help in the kitchen.”
“But isn’t that task for Baby?” Sayyam frowned, sensing that something was off. Krishna mood usually didn’t falter this often; not that he spent time noticing of course.
“I’ve just got to be there, help clean up,” Krishna offered, unconvincingly.
“Okay,” Sayyam nodded, not willing to question her further.
And just like that she was out of the door, and Sayyam couldn’t help but wonder:
Was she avoiding him?
*****
So guys, sorry again for the sudden disappearance, but I will be finishing this ff and could never think of discontinuing it.
I’m starting to drop a lot of hints, let’s see if you can guess what’s gonna happen 😉
My tests are currently going on, and I’m really busy at the moment, so the next chapter will be coming next Thursday for sure:)
Love you all!
– Shreya <3