22 - The Story of Love [Completed]

18. It's Okay

The air in the room was tense. There was silence but it was loud enough to make Hoorain feel at unease. It wasn't that she was uneasy with his presence, deep down she was very happy to see him recovering but the distance that had come between them over the past few months was still fresh in her mind. Acting as if nothing had happened was not easy for her. The accident that Daniel got into was something that swayed her, she forgot for the moment everything that happened but now that he was fine, she knew it was the moment they needed to talk about a lot of things to fully reconcile and fill the gaps that still needed filling.

Daniel on the other hand, was just watching her sit still without saying or expressing anything. It was her silence and the unease on her face that was bothering him. He had hoped she would talk to him as soon as he would wake up, but she wasn't even looking towards him. It was almost as if she was present but not present at the same time. But he knew why she was being like this. He wasn't oblivious to the tension they had before she came to Pakistan and when they had recently met, she was still keeping her guard up. He had come to her to sort out the things that went wrong and even this tension between them wasn't going to stop him. Hoorain would come around. Eventually. He knew.

Turning to his side, he looked for the glass of water, but it was empty. The jug placed nearby was half full so attempting to reach it, he shifted his position but ended up hurting his wound and groaned. That's when Hoorain had reacted and had rushed his side to help him pouring the water in the glass.

"Can't you see me here? Why are you doing it yourself when you know it's going to hurt?"

She said complaining. He had carefully gone back to his original seating position and stared at her. A small smile appeared on his face.

"So, you are here."

"You are not funny."

"I didn't joke though. Thanks to the empty glass, at least you noticed you are with an ailing person who needs care."

This comment had earned him a glare from her which only made his grin deeper. She passed him the glass of water and was turning to leave when he had held her hand making her stop in her steps.

"Don't avoid me, Hoorain. Even you know, you can't."

Pulling her closer with his firm grip on her hand, he made her sit next to him. It left Hoorain with no choice but to face him directly. He could see many questions, complaints, and even regrets in her eyes while his eyes were offering all the answers and explanations she needed at that time.

"Ask whatever you want. Say all that you have been meaning to say. I am here, right in front of you. Be it anything, just talk to me. I can tolerate you screaming at me, complaining but I can't bear your silence and avoidance."

Tears began to make way to her eyes and one by one they left her eyes. His warm hold was all she needed all this time but for God knows how long she had to wait for it and now that he was so close, she couldn't gather words to say to him.

"I am sorry. I am so sorry."

Hoorain felt that even by saying these three words even while she heavily sobbed, her heart felt some relief from the burden that was destroying her from within. Daniel thought of speaking but chose to remain silent, it felt as if she was going to continue talking and he wanted to listen to her today. He could see she longed for the moment when someone would listen to her and today, he was going to be that listener for her.