Love Bites

Unexpected Serendipity (5)

A week had passed since the day they had gone to the old - age home, and they had followed the same routine of having their breakfast & dinner together, and talking about each others' day before going to bed. 

Neil took in a long drag of his cigarette as he leaned against the railing of his balcony. He closed his eyelids in frustration as he exhaled the smoke in a long puff. 

He didn't know anymore! He didn't know how to stop all those things that he was feeling towards Avni. Had it been a mere attraction, he'd have shoved it down, but he knew for a fact that it was much more! Just as he knew that it was reciprocated! And that scared him even more. 

It felt like he was on a war with himself, a huge part of him, the stubborn & selfish part, screamed that he wanted her, for all his life. He wanted her to stay with him, forever! He had even asked his PA to halt the search for hostels, & had very graciously lied to Avni that they were still looking into it when she had inquired him about the same. While the smaller part of his stupid brain which was still thinking rationally, kept reminding him that it was wrong of him to think like that, to want her like that, to feel for her like that! However, his heart didn't feel so! In fact, the only time it felt right was when he was with her! 

He didn't realise when he threw the stub of his cigarette in the dustbin & lighted another one as his thoughts went back to the girl who was probably sleeping soundly in the room next to his. He took in another long drag from his cigarette as he looked up at the night sky. He had strangely grown fond of moon these days! Not the only strange thing that was happening! 

Avni was going back to her room to sleep after refilling her water bottle when she found the lights of Neil's room turned on through the small gap between the floor & his door. 

A - Why is he awake till now? Subah bhi itni jaldi uth jaate hain! - she frowned as she pushed the door open.

Avni stepped inside the room as she held her water bottle close to her chest. She had never been inside his room before, her eyes looked around as she took the interior in. The room was just as minimalist as the rest of the house was. Avni noticed that the bed was still neatly made as if Neil had not even lied there for once, the walls were painted the lightest shade of grey, one could even mistake them for white if they didn't look closely. He had cool lights instead of the warm ones & Avni noticed that he had a stick-board against the wall in front of his small but neatly kept study table. She walked up to it as she noticed that he had pinned some photographs on it. Placing her bottle on the table, she looked at the photographs, there were some with his parents when he was a kid - he had always looked so mesmerizing! Then Avni noticed that there was a photo of her parents that she remembered Neil had clicked when he visited their home during the summer vacation, she recalled he was around eighteen back then, while she was eleven. Then she found a photograph of herself hiding behind her mother as she held onto her saree as she peeked at Neil. A shy grin broke out on her face as she observed the picture closely. She never knew he had clicked her! Her eyes then moved to another picture where she found her fourteen year old self looking at Neil as she instructed him to smile at the camera. Her father had clicked that picture, she remembered the day clearly, she recalled he had been very sad that day. She had tried to lift his mood up by giving him the chocolates that she had gotten from her pocket money. Though he hadn't taken all the chocolates from her but she remembered he had shared one with her, and Ashish then had them get clicked. A small smile graced her mouth as she remembered her innocent crush on him which had now developed into full fledged love. She knew that she loved him, there were no two ways about it & she was willing to wait for him, there were no two ways about that too! 

But where was he? Avni looked around the room but then frowned when she couldn't find Neil anywhere. And then she noticed that the sliding door to his balcony was open. Shaking her head in disbelief, she moved towards the balcony.