Falling for You

Chapter 17 - The Realization

The next day, was weird to say the least. Akshara was not present at the dining table for breakfast. Which was rather strange but Abhimanyu chose to ignore the nagging feeling that something was off and just brushed the tension in the air off as Akshara getting ready for college.

However, the nagging feeling came back in full force when he called out to Akshara just before heading out to college when his mother came up to him.

"Why are you yelling Akshara's name at the top of your lungs, beta?" Manjiri asked him. "You are going to turn the entire house deaf at this point."

"Sorry Maa! I was just looking for Akshara. We have to leave for college and I guess she's still in her room getting ready." But she wasn't. He had walked past her room and her door was wide open with the maid in there doing her early morning cleanup.

"Oh, don't you know? She already left." Manjiri mentioned casually.

"Left?" Abhimanyu felt stunned. How?! With whom? Why didn't she inform him she was leaving?

"Yeah. Neil had to go early to talk to his professor and Akshara asked him if he could give her a ride. So they left together."

Akshara had left to go to college with Neil? Why would she do that? That was their thing.

"Oh," was all he could muster, trying to hide his disappointment.

"Yeah. I thought she would have told you, but I guess she was in such a rush that she must have forgotten." Manjiri added, trying to make him feel better.

"Hmm. I guess so." Abhimanyu wondered, trying to shake off the ugly feeling that something was wrong. "Guess I'll get going too now. Bye, Maa." Abhimanyu waved goodbye to his mother before he headed out towards his car, to go to college.

Alone.

~*~

As he entered the classroom, he came across Akshara sitting there, all alone in the center of the classroom, at her usual seat. And just seeing her, made everything feel right in the world. It was as if he'd located a piece of himself that he hadn't even known he was missing.

Just shut up, you idiot. You're supposed to be pushing her away, his brain reminded him.

Abhimanyu went ahead and took a seat beside Akshara. He counted to 10 first before he asked her the one question he swore himself he wouldn't ask her. "Why didn't you wait for me this morning?"

Akshara raised her eyebrows at him as she shifted nervously in her seat. "I was awake already while Neil was leaving so I just asked him for a ride. No big deal."

No big deal?

No big deal? It was a hell of a big deal for him!

Calm down, Abhimanyu!, his brain reprimanded him. It was just a car ride. "Oh, okay." He tried to maintain his cool, his nonchalant attitude.

"Yeah. And I was thinking of taking the cab or Uber to school and home every day."

His heart sank. "Why?"

"Umm, because it's good to be independent, I guess. And soon I am hoping to learn how to drive a car or ride a scooter so I don't have to be a trouble to you or Neil."

"You are not a trouble!" Abhimanyu added quickly, making sure Akshara knew she was not a trouble to him at all.

She smiled at him, but her smile didn't reach her eyes like it used to. Her smile...her eyes...they were distant. Vacant almost. "Thanks. But I wanted to learn how to drive a car and ride a scooter anyway. So I guess it's time. And plus, with all the tests and assignments piling up, I am going to be spending a lot of time in the library to study, so it just makes more sense for me to make my own ride arrangements."