Addiction - Avneil

The pillow..

The comments were just brilliant guys! Thanks for the positive re-affirmation :) Also I cut Shabana relatively quickly from the story as its meant to be a character to bring an arc or twist to the story. Her work here is largely over for now.

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Avni woke up sometime middle of the night. She was disoriented as to what the time it was. It was seeming to her as if she was sleeping after a long, long time comfortably. So much had happened in last two days!

She looked at Neil sleeping in a sitting position on the couch with a coffee mug balanced precariously between his legs! She smiled with a little irritation. This guy really needed to correct his posture!

Avni got up and covered Neil with a thin quilt and settled a pillow under his neck. She also straightened him a bit to the extent she could without waking him up and removed the mug from his person. In between she was afraid that Neil had said something but he was just talking in sleep. She couldn't make out what it was. But he went quiet as she readjusted his neck.

Avni took  a glass of water and walked up to the window of this small apartment and opened it. She found it very cosy in this room. It was a reflection of what Neil truly liked. Outside the window she could see the night lights still on and an odd car passing by the road. The apartment was on quite some height and was situated very close to the sea so she was getting excellent breeze there. In this comforting condition, Avni started thinking about her past.

When Neela and Shabana were her two supports, all of them were bound by pain and love.. When she would plot everyday of how to get back at Dayawanti. When she would dream hoping to have her own loving family in the future. When the dreams would turn into nightmares related with her father's family members. Life seemed a disappointment then..Versus now. She had Neil now. And to some extent maybe his family as well. His father definitely seemed to her, like her own father, actually much more than that. She often thought Neil was so so lucky to have a father who would give his life up for Neil, and not try to take his child's life instead ..

Each of us want what we don't have and Avni craved only love. She was a good girl who had been made to face bad circumstances.

The breeze increased a bit in intensity and Avni hugged herself with her hands to keep warm. She had closed her eyes and had been standing like this for about two minutes when two strong arms enveloped her from the back. It was Neil who was up now, possibly from the cold breeze in the room.

Neil (his voice husky with sleep) -"are you okay Avni?"

Avni enjoyed the warmth of his hug from the back and was not letting to want this moment pass. It seemed as if in this place and after facing so much, they understood each other better. Avni still didn't know if she loved Neil or if she was capable of loving anyone romantically. But she decided to shrug off her doubts and just go ahead with the flow. For once she would do what she likes without any agenda, without any doubts.

Avni turned around in the same spot which suddenly made her realise that Neil was standing really close to her. The tip of her nose almost touched his chest while he still held her by the shoulders. She craned her neck back and looked up to see his face better . Neil was groggy and still half in sleep. He had probably just walked over half asleep, worried about seeing her standing by the window.

Avni smiled to see his eyelids half closed.

Avni -"Neil main thik hoon. Let me take you towards the bed first. You need to sleep. "(I'm OK)

Avni put her hand around Neil's waist and they slowly walked up till the bed. He was still holding her sideways with his arms, sleepy. She then made him sit and took off his shoes as she smiled, Neil was truly acting like a child! But Avni could understand where his tiredness was coming from, even she was half delirious with sleep in the car. Although she did remember  in bits and pieces Neil taking care of her and bringing her here.

After removing the shoes Avni held his legs up on the bed and gave his chest a little push so that he lies down, which Neil did obediently and with a small groggy, half-sleepy smile. She opened the first two buttons of his shirt and covered him with the same sheet.

After that Avni finished her glass of water and walked around to the other side of the bed. It was a smaller bed compared to the one in Khanna house. But Avni was comfortable right now and that's all that mattered to her. She had seen how fragile life was, having had two close brushes with death in last two days. She didn't want to think about unnecessary things.

Avni took off her sandals and slipped in to the other side of the bed. She kept a comfortable distance between herself and Neil and then just took his hand as a pillow and held it. She then lied down there thinking. She thought of all the good moments they had together. All the close calls they faced together. She felt as if it was enough excitement for a lifetime!

Avni's eyes were heavy with sleep now. In the same position facing Neil, she drifted off to sleep and that night both Neil and Avni slept carefree like babies.