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Neel had never been more relieved in his life. She was safe. Injured but safe and alive . He glanced at her foot again. It was all blue and black and swollen and was swelling up more. He had seen her wince when he had shifted her a bit to adjust her weight in his arm. Seriously, did this woman ever eat? She was light. And smelt of jasmine even when she was covered in mud!
Her chin was resting on his shoulder blade and her arms were around his neck. He tried to keep his wayward thoughts to himself as he kept up a steady pace to reach the emergency wing as soon as possible. On reaching the emergency wing, she was put on a wheelchair and taken for an X-ray. It was what he had suspected. She had twisted her ankle. And bruised her left side badly. She was to keep her foot elevated and was given some pain medications to keep the pain down. Her next check-up was in two weeks. After buying her medicine, he booked an Uber and took her home. On reaching home, he got her settled on the couch and went to get her a glass of water so that she could take her medicine.
"Here", he said, dropping a few pills in her palm.He laughed when she saw her scrunch her face at the medicines."Go on, take them. This will help with the pain", he said as he went back into the kitchen to get her something to eat.
He was grateful for the fact that he had made sandwiches in the morning. He poured a glass of juice and arranged the sandwiches on a plate. When he came to the living room, he stopped in his track. Manjari was no longer on the couch. He put the food on the table and made his way to her bedroom.
He knocked at her bedroom door and heard a muffled, "Come in".Neel entered her bedroom and found her sitting on the edge of her bed. "How did you come here?", he asked, his hands folded across his chest. She looked at him and did not reply. Neel rubbed his hands across his face. He had seen her wince in pain and his heart went out to her. Stubborn, stubborn woman. She was ok with bearing the pain but not taking the help. He walked across the room and sat down next to her and took her hand in his hand. She had small hands and her fingers- long and shapely. He noticed her nails were perfectly cut and filed though full of dirt now. How her hand fit his perfectly! He rubbed his hand over the back of her hand and felt her resistance building as she gently pried her away from his.
" I will get you something to eat", he said.
" I am not hungry", Manjari replied in a soft voice. "I just need to rest. Thanks for you help. But you can leave now".
" You need to eat to heal. You can rest after you have eaten. Wait here. I will be right back".
Neel walked to the living room and grabbed the food tray. When he came back, he was relieved to see her sitting in the same spot. He put the food tray gently in her lap. "Eat", he said.
He looked at her and explained as if speaking to a child, "You are hurt. It's ok to accept help", guessing rightly that she hated being a burden on anyone.
" I do not want help", she said, pushing the food around on the tray.
Neel took hold of her hand again and said, "I am sure that you can handle everything by yourself, but will like to help."
He resisted a sigh of despair as she withdrew her had again. He stood up and facing her tried again, "Your body needs to recuperate and I am not hearing no for an answer. This service comes at no cost." He even added a bow to sweeten the deal.
She lifted her head to look at him at him and asked, "Why?" Why, he wondered. Why, indeed. Now was not the time and the truth would only scare her as he sat on his haunches in front of her, but her not knowing was killing him. He took a deep breath and said, "because you are special to me . So special. Seeing you like this is killing me. Please let me help. Please." The last please came out almost a whisper.
Manjari closed her eyes rubbed her temples with her free hand. Today had been a roller coaster ride of emotions and she was still reeling under them. She closed her eyes, feeling a headache building. She was so confused. The trip to the ER in Neel's arms had given her a lot to think about. She was sure that she had not imagined Neel's concern. Her entire body had felt it. And she did not know what to do about it.
Manjari opened her eyes and groaned in pain, closed her eyes again, and thought of her life so far. She had spent so many years being alone, doing things by herself that accepting help seemed unnatural to her. Hell, even someone's kind touch felt unnatural. She rubbed her hands over her face and her eyes flew open when she felt Neel gently touch her shoulder only to find those hazel eyes staring at her intently. Too intensely.
She needed to escape his stare- the stare that seemed to look deep into her soul. She stood up suddenly, dropping the food tray in the process, took a step forward, completely forgetting her twisted ankle and immediately let out a shriek of pain. She would have hit her head if not for Neel who broke her fall. He gathered her in his arms again and sat her gently on the bed, avoiding the mess on the floor. He lifted her twisted ankle into his lap and slightly massaged it.
Manjari shivered under his feather light touch and blood rushed to her head. From a distance she hear Neel say, "let me help...please " and all she could do was suck to her breath and say nothing. Neel being Neel took her silence as a yes. She felt his smile as he said said, "Thanks, babe".
Manjari could only shake her head and just smile.
Neel gently put down the injured ankle on a pillow, stood up and looking at her said, "Stay put. I am going to clear the mess on the floor". Manjari just nodded again. Neel went outside and came back with a broom and a mop to pick up the sandwiches and mop the juice of the floor.
Manjari looked at his bent head as he cleaned her mess. And she felt tears welling up in her eyes again. Her heart was full of so many emotions and she could not control it anymore, the events of the day and the last few hours finally taking a toll. She heard Neel come back and she bowed her head and tried to stop her tears but to no avail.
"So, what can I help you with?", she heard Neel ask. She choked back a sob but Neel had heard it. He bent his head and his voice rang with concern, "hey, what's up? What is the matter?"
"Nothing", Manjari managed to say between her sobs that were refusing to stop.
Neel panicked when he saw Manjari literally crumble in front of her. He put the fresh food tray on the side table and sat down besides her gathering her in his arms, saying nothing. After some time, when her sobs subsided, he looked at her again and asked her again, "What is it?"
"Nothing."
"Oh! come on what is it? "
Manjari was beyond embarrassed. He had seen her at her lowest and all she could say was, " I just wanted to shower and get the mud off my hair and body".
Neel was sure it was something else but one look at Manjari's tear stricken face and he decided to dop the matter for now. Instead he said, "Understandable. But how are you planning to do that when you can barely stand on your feet?"
Manjari chewed on her lips and the realty of her situation hit her again. "All I wanted was a shower", she said pitifully. "There is dirt everywhere...even in my hair., my nails. I stink" .
Neel took another look at her woebegone face and squaring his shoulders offered his help. "I will help you shower". Even if it killed him, he would. "Let's get you out of these clothes first..."
."y-y-you c-c-can't", Manjari said, visibly shrinking and her eyes growing round in shock.
"Do you want that shower or not? And I will gladly give this responsibility to someone else...if there was someone else to help you".
"I am fine. I will manage it", Manjari insisted stubbornly. Also she wanted Neel out of her room...desperately.
Neel tried to reason with her again, "Look, it took you 15 minutes to reach your bedroom and you cannot even stand on your feet. Now let me help".
Manjari just shook her head a tear flowed down her cheeks. She was not stripping in front of him or letting him remove her clothes. She looked up to find him staring at her, his mouth drawn in a thin line. The idea of taking help from him was making Manjari feel sorrier for herself. She turned her head around and stared at the floor.
Neel knew that expression very well. She was not going to budge at all and she would shower even if she injured herself more in the process. Suddenly he had an idea. He rushed to his room and stated rummaging through his stuff for it. After finding it, he rushed again to her room and offered it to her, "Here. Wear this."
Manjari raised her head to look at what Neel was holding. It was his oversized indigo kurta. "What do you want me to do with it", she asked, puzzled.
"Put it on while you shower".
"What??", she said shocked at his suggestion.
Neel took a deep breath and explained , "This is loose on me, it will definitely be loose on you. It will allow you to protect your modesty. I promise, I won't look at you at all . Let me help. Please".
It was the please that finally convinced her and also the fact that she couldn't stand being not clean for even one more second. The moment she nodded her head in assent, Neel kissed her on the head and picked her up like she weighed nothing and carried her to the bathroom. After settling her on the stool, he started the water, turning it hot. He went to the kitchen and got he foldable stool, Manjari used when she needed to take something out of the top drawers and placed it inside the tub. "I will have to remove your clothes. I will not look. I promise".
She nodded and let him help her out of her muddied track pants and t-shirt and into Neel's kurta. Every movement was painful despite the painkillers she had taken earlier.
Neel tried to keep his mind from imaging how she looked under all those layers of clothes. He heard her wince and her body tense when he removed her bottoms from the pain. He held out his hand, eyes still closed. Manjari took his hand hesitantly and got into the tub and turned her back to him. She had noted that his eyes were still closed, and he was rolling up his sleeves. The showerhead had already been adjusted and he had kept everything that he would need in the tub. She handed him the towel and sat down on the step-stool. "So, tell me exactly how you twisted your ankle?", Neel asked striking up a conversation. Anything to keep his mind off Manajri's body.
Manjari stiffened a bit and then began talking. She told him about how the conversation light had been on her mind, how she needed to clear her thoughts. She had gone for walk in the wood. She did not notice a hole in the ground and her foot went right into it. There was nothing to help her maintain her balance and she fell on some broken branches extremely hard. She somehow managed to crawl to a fallen tree trunk. She tried to stand on her feet but there was shooting pain and she sat down again. Since she did not have her phone, she could not call anyone. Hurt and a bit scared, she had been crying and cursing when he found her.
Neel listened to her in silence. Manjari had expected him to question her on what had made her so uncomfortable about last night's conversation, but he did not say a word. His hands were gentle as they washed her long hair and he waited patiently as she washed parts of her body she could. Manjari checked a few times but his eyes were always closed. She had kept her back to him the entire time which made it less awkward, but it was still an uncomfortable position for both. It was an odd sensation to have someone care for you like this. It was relaxing to have someone else wash your hair. When he was done, he turned off the water, picked her up and sat her on the stool to help her out of the indigo kurta, making sure that his fingers never strayed. He gave her her bathrobe and and then carried her to her bedroom after depositing her muddy clothes in the tub for a nice soak.
"Where is your hairbrush?", he asked.
"In the top drawer".
He found the brush and started to brush her hair for her. The soothing motions and the gentleness of it made her chock back a few sobs. It was sad really; how little acts of kindness could make her fall apart. And Neel had been nothing but kind to her. She went back to their last few encounters and realized that she had been quick to judge him. Maybe they could be friends after all.
"I am sorry if my words gave you so much pain. I only wished to clear the air. We are sharing a space and I did not want you to feel uncomfortable at all. I wanted everything to be cordial".
Manjari only nodded her head in acceptance, her eyes closed and shoulders sagging from the day's event. After he was done brushing her hair, he blows dried her hair and put it in a braid.
"Where did you learn to do that?"
"I have three sisters and a lot of nieces. They would sometimes ask me to apply oil and braid their hair".
"I did not know."
"Well, there are a lot of things you do not know about me. So what clothes are you planning to wear?"
"You are not touching my clothes!", Manjari said loudly, every part of her body blushing at the thought.
"Isn't it a bit late for that? I just put all your muddy clothes in the laundry. And I saw what were you wearimg underneath. Quite tasteful I must say..."Neel said mischievously.
Manjari blushed from the roots of her hair to her tippy toes at the thought of anyone looking at her lingerie. "I can manage from here", she muttered under her breath. He did not pay any attention to her and opened her closet. He was not surprised to see it was perfectly organized, not a thing out of place. He grabbed the first pair of undergarments he saw. He would have liked to tease her about the number of lacey undergarments she had, but not today. He walked up to her and placed them beside her. She refused to meet his eyes and her cheeks turned as red as tomatoes. He went to his bedroom grabbed one of his T-shirt. He gave it to her saying, "Wear this. It's large and given how small you are, it should work as a nightdress."
She looked at him aghast and said, "Are you mad? I am not wearing just a T-shirt. Plus, I have my own clothes."
Neel was so relieved to see Manjari somewhat back to her normal self and coudn't help teasing her a bit more.
"I know you do. But your leg needs to be bandaged again and it would be difficult with bottoms". After a moment he said mischievously, "if just wearing at-shirt is bothering you that much, I can get you my boxers too!"
Manjari gave him a furious look that quelled his laughter. There was no way that she was just wearing a T-shirt to bed and that too, his T-shirt. Suddenly she remembered her night dress. It was long, but not too long. It had been her last purchase and she never got around to wear it because of the unexpected houseguest a.k.a Neel.It was black in color an made of cotton, her favorite fabric in the world. It would cover enough and still make it easy to bandage her foot. She returned his T-shirt and hobbled to her own closet. She dug around till she found it and waved it triumphantly.
"As you wish", said Neel faking a despondent voice. Manjari was not fooled by it at all. And she was right. Seconds later, he said, "you would have looked sexier in my clothes. Its ok babes! Their is always a next time. Change and I will be back soon."
Manjari could only shake her head. After wearing her nightdress, she got into her bed slowly and covered her bare legs with her blanket. She had just made herself comfortable when Neel knocked again and asked, "Can I come in? "
"Yes."
"Here. Finish this", he said grabbing the food off her side table.
Suddenly Manjari was not feeling hungry at all. A wave of exhaustion had swept over her and all she wanted to do was sleep.
"Can't I eat later"? she asked.
"No". He looked at her and said, "Here. Open your mouth. I will feed you".He made her finish half of her sandwiches and the entire glass of juice. "Now sleep. I will check on you later".
Manjari had a tough time falling asleep. No matter which position she tried, she could not get comfortable and that coupled with her recent memories of Neel bathing her and going through her closet made sleep almost impossible. She wondered if she would have been able to do what Neel had done for her, if he was the one who was injured.
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The next morning, Manjari slowly got out of the bed. She needed her painkillers because not just her leg, but also her ribs and head were throbbing. She was slowly making her way to the restroom when she heard a knock.
"Come in", she said.
"I came to help you and don't say that you are fine and you can manage."
Manjari promptly closed her mouth because that is what she was about to say. He was carrying the step stool with him. She took a deep breath and said, "I am feeling better than tomorrow. If I need your help, I will let you know".
He sat on her bed and looked at her intently. "Alright. I am around. If you need any help, holler for me", he said.
After he was gone, Manjari sagged in relief. She hadn't realized that she had been so tense. She opened her closet and decided on what to wear. She made her way to the shower when she realized that she would need help getting in and getting out. Maybe she would just not shower today. The embarrassment of yesterday was still fresh in her eyes. But she always showered in the morning. She scratched her head wondering what to do. Finally, she changed into her bathrobe and called for Neel. He entered her room in a second. She looked at him questioningly and asked, "were you outside my bedroom all this time?"
"Of course. What if you fell and couldn't cry for help. I was not taking any chances because you wished to prove that you can handle anything by yourself."
Manjari pinched the bridge of her nose and reminded herself to not loose it. He was only trying to help. She turned to him and said, "I need your help".
"Your knight at your service, my lady!"