All Strings Attached

Chapter Twenty Four

"Em cheppaali?" I retort, growing annoyed by his insistence on me answering his questions. "Neeku teliyada? Nenu eppudaina oddu annaana?" [What do you want me to say? Do you not know? Have I ever said no?]

I notice his posture relaxing, his tight lips turning up into the slightest of smiles before he bites it down. "Ippude oddu annav kada." [You just did.]

"Po bey." I quickly turn and walk away, pacing up just a few steps to reach the living room, where Mahendra Mamayya and his friends are waiting. I glance back at Dhushyanth to see him shaking his head, a smile lightening his tired features.

Oof. What just got into him anyway?

~.~.~.~.~.~

When I retire to the bedroom that night, it's after everything has been cleaned and done away with. Kavitha and Sasi leave after eating, and I walk up the stairs to go to bed.

The cold air of the AC welcomes me when I open the door to the dimly lit room. I notice Dhushyanth's sleeping form, half-covered in a blanket, his phone is next to him, instead of being left to charge, like every night.

I wonder if he fell asleep while he was on his phone.

Maybe waiting for me?

I close the door before I let out all the cold air, and try to open the cupboard without any noise so that I don't wake Dhushyanth up.

I look over my shoulder to ensure that he is still asleep before I walk into the bathroom with my pajama shorts and t-shirt.

I notice Dhushyanth's white shirt and brown pants hanging in the bathroom as I go through my nighttime routine, and wonder how I got here; sharing my life with a politician; a breed of people I was certain I was averse to. Rather, a breed of people I certainly wanted to be averse to.

Sometimes, it feels like God puts you in face with the things you sincerely do not want, just to show you that you can survive this too.

I might be far from surviving this, though.

Dare I say, I may be thriving.

Grinning at myself in the mirror at that thought, I pull my hair into a braid and walk of the bathroom and switch the light off, only to see Dhushyanth on his phone.

"Did I wake you up?" I ask him, climbing onto the bed.

"No," he answers, setting his phone down on the bedside table. "I didn't realise when I went to sleep, waiting for you."

"You must've been tired," I sympathise with him, pulling the covers over myself and turning to face Dhushyanth, who's already looking at me.

"I am," he agrees, leaning in to press his lips against mine. "Thank you so much for everything you're doing around the house."

I find myself chuckling as I pull away. "That's very interesting," I comment, looking up at him. "Being thanked for doing things in the house."

"Good interesting or bad interesting?" He asks, indulgently, pushing my bangs off my face.

"Good interesting, I think," I admit, "I wasn't expecting it, but maybe in a few days when it gets to me, I might've been mad that nobody even thanks me for doing what I do."

"If you weren't expecting it why would it matter?"

"I don't know," I shrug, moving closer to him to wrap an arm around his waist. "I've seen my mother get mad for a lack of gratitude, but she also brushes us off when we thank her for something."

"Are you brushing me off?" Dhushyanth asks.

"No, I appreciate that you've noticed."

"This might be the least volatile conversation we've ever had," he acknowledges.