CHAPTER 8
Ashok was in deep sleep but he heard the cries. The first time he heard them he thought he was having a nightmare until he realized it was the guest. It worried him the first couple of times but since then, he knew the drill.
He reached for his t-shirt and slipped it over his head.
Unlike the first time when he rushed to her in just his sleep bottoms, he didn’t want her to be woken by a bare-chested man in the middle of the night.
The look she had given him the first time she had a nightmare and he shook her out of it, she was scared and when he turned on the light, he noticed her visibly shut down like she felt threatened.
She didn’t need another worry and he didn’t want to be one.
He felt a small tug in his chest as he got closer as he heard sobs instead of cries or low-key screams. The sobs were silent and he wondered how he even heard her from his room.
Ashok slowly turned up the light on the bed side before tapping on her shoulder. He noticed tears on her cheeks and he felt a twist form in his chest.
“Isha,” he said, sitting on the mattress next to her, tapping on her cheek when she didn’t wake up.
Her eyes flew open, still filled with tears and her sobs intensified when she saw him.
“Hey,” he said softly, feeling rather helpless. “It’s all good.”
As if in response to his words, she sat up in bed, her arms wrapping around him as her face crashed into his chest, as she sobbed uncontrollably.
“This is so unfair.”
Her voice was barely a whisper so he could not tell if she was still in her sleep or awake. The sobs continued and she held on to him. Moments passed and he sat on the edge of the mattress, one arm gently around her.
Minutes later, her sobs subsided and were replaced by a soft snore.
Did she fall back asleep?
Her grip around him loosened and he took the opportunity to slowly lay her back on the bed. He was about to sit up and she moved, tightening her hold on him.
“I’m scared. Don’t go.” Her breath was warm on his cheek.
Mixed emotions ran through him. “I’ll be right here.”
He managed to wiggle himself away from her hold and sat up looking at her sleeping form. The woman who had looked indestructible even as she set eyes on her brother’s lifeless body, was in shambles on the inside.
Ashok dimmed the light and settled into the chair to one side of the room. As his eyes adjusted, he could see her face as she slept, somewhat at peace.
Ashok had formed a certain image of his best friend’s sister from what he shared back in college and when he met her for the first time, she definitely lived up to his impression of an uptight woman who didn’t show much emotion.
Even the joy of her brother getting married didn’t seem to excite her. He had only observed her and had not interacted with her at all. And now they were forced to interact, heck even live under the same roof.
A short while later, he got off the chair to go back to sleep. He only wished her nightmares didn’t reoccur but even as he went back to bed, he knew it would take time. Especially after the years of trauma she sustained, he didn’t know when she would recover from it all.