Falling for You

Chapter 47 - Normal

Abhimanyu turned on the shower, checking the temperature to see it was not blistering hot, but just the right about of hot. He then turned to look back at Akshara who was sitting on the bathroom vanity, gazing at him affectionately.

He removed her glasses from her face and set them aside on the counter. He then picked her up and brought her to the shower, standing in the middle of the hot water cascading off the clothes they wore.

His hands cupped her face, pressing his lips gently to hers, caressing her cheeks. His hands then went to the corners of her lips, which were a bit torn, swollen –and he knew it wasn't just from his kissing them.

Abhimanyu felt daggers being plunged into his heart repeatedly as his eyes went to the finger marks over her mouth. They were faint, but he could see how Siddharth had suffocated her mouth so his Akshara would be unable to scream.

He leaned own and pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of her mouth. The one she must have bit on repeatedly out of fear.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, just as Akshara shook her head in response, too overwhelmed to answer.

His hands then went to the hem of her shirt, peeling it off her body, gently, slowly and flinging it onto the ground. His hands then went to her jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping them before pushing it down her creamy thighs and having her step out of them.

As soon as Akshara was bare to his naked eyes, he ran his hands down her bare arms until they reached her wrists. He held her hands up –and that is when he saw them.

The marks.

Almost like burn marks –red, irritated skin caused by the repeated applied forced pressure. His heart shattered into a million pieces and suddenly, he felt sick.

Akshara's lips trembled as Abhimanyu caressed the marks on her wrists. Tears rolled down her eyes, and she suddenly went very overwhelmed.

"I'm so sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry."

Akshara shook her head, letting her tears flow down mixed in the droplets of water as Abhimanyu peppered kisses all along her wrist. Trying to rid her of the bad memories and trying his hardest to replace them with new ones.

"I'm so sorry, baby. So terribly sorry. I should have been there." His voice broke, hoarse as he tried to keep his emotions in check.

Akshara began crying, letting her tears flow, crying her heart out. Abhimanyu looked up at her eyes, and pulled her in his embrace. Kissing her eye lids, affectionately.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too." He said reassuringly just as she gripped the thin material of his shirt, resting her head against his beating heart.

~*~

After helping her dry off, Abhimanyu carried her to her bed, sitting her down. Abhimanyu returned to her carrying a bottle of moisturizer. He leaned down on his knees in front of her, and held her hands out.

He then plopped a dollop of moisturizer on his hand, rubbed them thoroughly before he began gently massaging the moisturizer onto her wrists.

His eyes stayed focused on the darkened marks on her skin whilst her eyes stayed focused on him.

"Is this okay?" He asked her, looking up to search her eyes for answers.

She nodded her head. "Yes." She whispered.

"You should have let me fucking kill that guy." Somewhere he blamed himself for not being able to protect Akshara.

"No. No. Don't say that. Please." Akshara leaned down and pressed her finger to his lips. "I need you here, with me. Not far away from me, in jail somewhere –where you would have ended up if you killed him." She pouted.