The Life She Wants

Thirteen

"Fuck, I'm tired," Tanay flopped on the floor. Their mattress and other stuff were yet to be delivered.

"Careful!" Aadya gasped as he fell down.

"Chill, baby," he yawned.

She brought out the bedsheets and old pillows and laid them down for him.

"Sleep on it, the floor must be cold," she told him. "I'm going to change."

"Thank you, Aadya," Tanay mumbled and rolled himself over the bedsheet.

When she returned, she was in his t-shirt and the shorts they had bought today. She felt like her legs could finally breathe.

"Tanay," she called him out. "Look at me."

Tanay opened his eyes and looked at her, squinting them a little bit. He then chuckled.

"Cute." He stretched his arm out, "come here." She took his hand and laid down beside him.

"Last day of sleeping on the floor, how are you feeling?" she asked, laughing.

He softly chuckled and grabbed her bare leg, throwing it over his hip and pulling her close. "Fucking fantastic."

She threw her arm over him as well and pecked his lips before tucking her head under his chin. He was out cold and soon, so was she.

A few hours later, Tanay woke up to Aadya softly calling out his name.

"They need your signature," she softly said.

"Who?" he sleepily mumbled and rubbed his eyes, sitting up.

"Our delivery is here," she said.

Tanay looked around him and saw all their stuff.

He then signed the papers and watched the men go.

"Sorry about that," he yawned.

"It's alright, you haven't slept a lot in the last few weeks."

"I'll go freshen up."

"I'll make you tea?" she offered.

"Yes, thank you."

When he came back, he looked much more alive than before. He saw her at the kitchen island. She was now in the cotton pant.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the crook of her neck. "You changed again? You looked good."

She was pouring the tea into the cups.

"I threw it on in a hurry when the doorbell rang," she said. "I didn't feel comfortable with... you know?"

"Mhmm." He pecked her lips and grabbed the cup from her. They did a small 'cheers' and drank the tea.

"I saw a GALA boutique on our way here," she told him. "It's on a fifteen-minute walking distance, I googled."

"Pretty cool. When are you applying?" he asked, sipping his tea.

"My certificates and documents are at my home." Her gaze saddened. "I'll have to ask them to courier it."

"Ask them." He said. "Or I can ask them for you." He added when he saw her saddened face.

"I'll call them." She assured him.

For dinner, they ordered from a restaurant and ate while watching a movie.

Tanay still had about three weeks before joining the office.

They arranged the mattress in their bedroom and laid down like always: her head on his chest and arms around each other.

"When I was four, one day I saw my father hitting my mother with his belt," she mumbled, staring into blank space. "I wasn't supposed to see that. I don't remember what happened after that but the next day, my mother acted completely normal. As if nothing had happened.

"Soon after, as I grew up and started to understand things, I found out my entire family hated my mother for giving birth to me. They had found out I was a girl when in her womb but the doctor had advised not to abort because it was too late.

"They married off my older sister when she was 19. Her husband used to hit her because of not getting enough dowry. She was ill-treated by his family too. I remember seeing her bruised face when he would dump her at our house. My father would then force her to go back to her in-laws because he didn't want his reputation tainted." She took a deep breath in, feeling Tanay wipe her tears. "The only reason I could continue my studies after 12th was because I got scholarship so my father didn't have to pay a penny. I have only seen abusive marriages all around me. I was really scared when they told me my marriage was fixed."

"I'm sorry you had to live like that," he kissed her hair. "You didn't deserve any of it."

"W-When we l-lost our baby," her voice started to crack, "I called my mom and told her... How hurt I was... How much pain I was in. She said... S-She said, 'you had one job, now how will we show our faces to the Mehras.' She didn't care about me, Tanay. No one did."

"I'm sorry, baby. I'm really, really sorry."

"No..." she whispered, smiling through her tears, "I'm not blaming you. You've always been nice to me, and I can't thank you enough."

"I should've been there with you from the start." Tanay looked at her in guilt.

"I was low-key happy you weren't interested in talking to me and were avoiding me." She chuckled.

"I'm taking offense to that," he joked; she laughed.

"I love you." She pressed her lips to his.

"I love you too." He kissed her back, rubbing away her tears.