A Flight of Love

Chapter 22 - "She's Safe With Me"

All the elders surrounded Akshara once they started realizing she hadn't moved after scoring the winning run. Abhimanyu bent down beside Akshara and helped to gently flip over onto her back and help her sit up against Reem's lap. Abhimanyu's mind went numb and his vision started to blur when he saw Akshara clutching her rib cage and her ankle in pain.

He felt his palms growing sweaty and all his training as a medical doctor be thrown out the window as Akshara closed her eyes and withered in pain.

"Akshara..." His voice we raspy, panicked.

"Hurts...it hurts..." Akshara responded, barely being able to put letters together to form words. The pain was excruciating. Tears began to roll down her eyes as she dug her head deeper into Reem's chest. 

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bump into her. It was an accident." Neil explained, remorsefully.

"Neil, not now!" Abhimanyu turned around to glare at Neil before turning his attention back towards Akshara. His heart felt like it had been ripped apart from his chest seeing Akshara trying to take deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Akshara, where does it hurt? Does it hurt here?" He asked, touching Akshara's bruised ankle gently, applying as little weight as he could.

She nodded her head. "Yes. And here." She answered his next question, pointing to her rib cage.

"Okay, okay. I just need you to take deep breaths for me? Okay?" Abhimanyu asked Akshara as if he werr talking to a toddler. Abhimanyu took a deep breath, inhaled and then exhaled. Inhale, exhale. He nodded his head to Akshara to follow his lead. Inhale, exhale.

He needed to keep himself calm and not let his emotions get the best out of him. Not now. Not here. "Can you do that for me Akshara? Deep breaths? Inhale..." Akshara took a deep breath. "Exhale." He said, as Akshara let go of the breath she was holding.

Akshara nodded her head as she copied Abhimanyu's method of taking deep breaths. "Good, that's my..." he caught himself before he raised any eyebrows, "...a good girl. Very good girl. Keep breathing like I showed you."

"Let's take her to her room." Swarna spoke next.

"She'll feel better there. And we can treat her there too." Manjiri added in agreement.

"Abhimanyu?" Parth interrupted Abhimanyu who was too busy being focused on Akshara and her breathing that he had zoned the rest of the Birlas and Goenka's out. His focus was Akshara. Only Akshara. He hoped the deep breathing helped to lessen her pain somewhat.

"Haan." He nodded his head. "Let's go." Abhimanyu replied, looking at Akshara again with concern and despair in his eyes.

"Here, we'll take her." Kairav announced, moving forward to gather Akshara in his arms alongside Vansh.

"No. I got her." Abhimanyu responded. His voice hard, firm, making sure to leave no room for arguments. He didn't care what anyone else thought but he was not going to let anyone else touch her. He didn't trust them to touch her.

Without waiting for any response, Abhimanyu bent down and layered Akshara's arms over his shoulders and placed one arm beneath her legs and one around her shoulders. He then scooped her up into his arms and stood up and began walking behind Swarna and Saanj towards Akshara's room.

Akshara laid her head against Abhimanyu's chest and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Home. Abhimanyu felt like home. She wanted to cry. He was worried for her. He was concerned for her. Akshara closed her eyes and let tears roll down her eyes. The physical pain she felt in her ankle and rib cage was nothing compared to the emotional pain she felt in her heart.