ANISHA'S POV
The door creaked open and in came Carter. Why him, of all the people?
"Why are you angry? Are you in pain?" he sounded concerned but I did not care.
"Carter, I am well. I needed to tell you this; I truly appreciate the support you gave me when I was hit by that car. But to be honest, I am not happy with the way you talk, especially when my boyfriend is around. Why do you need to make it appear as if you and I have a strong bond? You keep repeating that you know me better than anyone else…do you? Carter? Besides teaching me to play the piano and the violin, what else do you know about me?"
"Come on Anisha," he smiled.
"No Carter, I cannot let you go on talking as if you and I have something special going on. The way you know me is the same way you know Valentina and any other person who grew up at Olga. But when you talk, you want to make it sound as if you and I were tied by a very close bond." I told him.
"Oh! Did I do something wrong by just mentioning the truth that you and I come a long way?" he sounded surprised...or hurt…or both; I did not care!
"You know exactly what you did."
Carter let out a mocking laugh and pulled a chair closer to the bed before planting himself on it.
"Trouble in paradise? Already? He's not worthy of you! You need someone like me."
"Carter please, do not ruin my happiness for me. I beg you."
"Well Anisha, I also need my happiness. And in case you're not yet aware; I can only find my happiness in you! Give me a chance, Anisha." He tried to hold my hand but I snatched it away before he even touched me.
"I have already given my heart to Dylan. I truly love him, Carter don't ruin it for me please."
"You don't love him, believe me. He's a rich guy, so many ladies would believe that they're in love with him, when they're not!"
"I am not many ladies. I am Anisha and I know what I need."
Carter had to go on and on saying the most irritating things I had ever heard anyone say. He went on and on about how he was never going to give up on me; confessing his undying love for me. Part of my heart truly wanted to slap him but I just had to control myself. He left after a while, promising to visit me again the next day.
***.
7PM; Dylan had still not visited me. He had left earlier on at around 10AM, and I really wanted him to come back. When he left, he mentioned that he had a very busy day ahead of him, but I was failing to wait any longer. The door continued to open, and each time I looked up in anticipation; only to see one nurse after the other. I continued to be disappointed. Where was he? The door opened again, and in came Pete and Arianna.
"Who were you expecting?" Arianna laughed.
"No-one, why?" I forced a smile.
"Your face says it all. When we entered, I could tell that you were looking forward to seeing someone else and not us." She sat on a chair.
"Don't worry, Dylan will come," Pete smiled at me. "He has loads of work to attend to."
I was really happy to see the two. Arianna was talking a lot, and Pete did not say much, but occasionally laughed at what Arianna was saying. They stayed much longer than I had expected, and when they finally left, I was exhausted. Not that I had been working, but entertaining the guests seemed exhausting enough.
9PM; he was still not there. 9.30PM. Oh I was failing to take it anymore! Where was he? Was he that busy? Was he ever coming to see me?
"Dylan where are you" I spoke to the walls in distress.
Sleep refused to come, and I just sat there in the bed. I forced myself to read a book, yet even after I flipped page after page, I had no idea what the book was about. Who was I fooling? He was not coming!! He was probably angry with how Carter was always hanging around me, and yet I had done nothing to show Carter that he needed to distance himself. And I was not too sure about calling my boyfriend at that time. How was I supposed to handle such a case? Was he even angry at me; or I was just imagining things? I wished Valentina was around; she probably could give me tips on how to find out whether or not one's boyfriend is angry with them. Was I supposed to call him; or to wait for him to call me?
What if I called and the call went unanswered? What if he actually answered it, only to tell me that he never wanted to see me again; all because of Carter? Oh Carter; why did you and I bump into each other in Hallowcave? I checked the wall clock for the umpteenth time. 22.17hrs. Where was he? How do relationships work? If he is angry, shouldn't he at least let me know instead of just disappearing?
My heart was in it with its entirety. I had fallen for the men head to toe, and he was beginning to drive me crazy. OK, so all the movies that I had watched about people falling madly in love were not just acting, was it? It happened in real life. Why was I itching all over; failing to sit or do anything? I could not play a game on my phone; neither could I read anything nor listen to some music. All I wanted was my man. Where was he? Was it because of Carter that he chose to just walk out on me?
I threw the book away and it landed on the floor with a thud. In great frustration I buried my head in the pillow and cried, "Dylan where are you? Why haven't you come to see me? I want to explain everything to you, Dylan please! There is nothing between Carter and I! He's just ruining my life! Dylan please, come and hear me out! I'm sorry I didn't explain well. I love you, Dylan please come…I love you a lot Dylan please…."
"I love you too", a very familiar voice called from the doorway.
Stunned, I slowly raised my head and turned slowly. Was he there? Was I dreaming? He was there, wasn't he? I wiped off the tears and faced in the direction of the door. He smiled and started walking towards me.
"Why are you crying?", he gently wiped off my tears and sat near me.
"I thought you….you were not coming to see me." My voice trailed off.
"I told you I was coming. I'm here now. I just had a busy day. I just left my office and headed straight here." He ran his fingers through my hair, sending shivers right through my whole body.
"You're beautiful even when you cry," he teased. I just smiled and allowed him to wipe off my tears.
"I thought you were angry at me because of Carter," I told him.
"What about him?"
"Well, he always talks about him and I having a strong bond."
Dylan was silent for a while, and then he sat down on the chair next to mine.
"Anisha, I was also going to ask you something about him. I have many questions. Why can't you be open with me, and tell me your relationship with Carter? Even if he is your ex, you might as well let me know. From what I can tell, if he is your ex, he is clearly not over you. I hate to be petty; I cannot be seen playing cat and mouse with him. Please clarify to me who he is. I don't want to ask him, I don't want to talk to him. Let's be open with each other; I think trust is very essential in a relationship. I love you and I hate seeing some man buzzing around you the way Carter does. I am in love with you, Anisha, and if you feel the same, then let's start by being open with each other."
Oh my goodness! What on earth was my man thinking? Had Carter driven him that mad? My eyes widened in great shock! So Dylan was angry! Was he angry with me? What in the world had Carter said to him? Knowing Carter, it was possible that he had said a lot of annoying things; most of them untrue.
At first I laughed, for I could help not to. It was not a laughter of joy, but rather shock at the extent to which Carter was willing to go. It had never crossed my mind that Carter was going to try and ruin things between me and Dylan.
"Dylan, I want to explain. There is nothing between me and Carter. I understand that you may have many questions…for example you spoke about him knowing my favourite colours…flowers. The way I grew up, Dylan, is way different from how you grew up. While you probably spent your evenings watching a movie with your family, or dining out, or whatever it is that you did as a child, we did not have any of that. As such, we used to sit outside; right in front of the hall that you know so well. On cool nights, Ms Meyerton always had the men make a fire and we sat around it. We did a lot of things there; sometimes we told each other stories. Sometimes we spoke about ourselves. Everyone was given a chance to talk, and the many times that I stood up to speak about myself, I told everyone about my favorite colours…all shades of blue, and my favourite flower...the blue colour lilies. Everyone knew about it, Dylan. We used to tell each other everything about the foods that we liked; our dreams, our wishes and all that. If Carter made it appear like him and I had something special, he was lying! I did not sit alone with him to tell him about my favourite colours and flowers. We used to share that information. Everyone knew it; as much as I also knew such details about many other kids at the home! That was how we grew up, Dylan. Carter taught me to play the piano and violin yes, but he was nothing more than a fellow child at the home…." when I was ending the sentence, my voice trailed as if I was going to choke on my words.
I was hurt to know that carter, who I considered as a brother, was really going all out to try and ruin me when I had found my true love.
"Don't be sad, Anisha. I am sorry. I did not mean to hurt you. I am sorry. I love you, the last thing I want is to make you cry."
"No don't be sorry, Dylan. It's my fault. I should have explained earlier. Knowing Carter, I know that he probably made it appear like him and I had some intimate conversations where I told him all my likes and dislikes."
"I understand." He held and lightly kissed me.
I could see from his eyes that he was really feeling bad for what had just happened, but I was happy that I had explained the truth to him.
"That space in front of the hall was special to all the children at Olga." I continued to tell him more about my childhood. "We would sing and talk a lot while sitting there. And sometimes we would have farewell evenings there…they were very painful."
"What were the farewell evenings about?" Dylan asked with a lot of care in his voice.
"A farewell evening was held when one of the children got adopted. We would sit there and say our farewell messages to the one who would be leaving Olga…We had welcome evenings too; to welcome the new children joining the home." I smiled to myself as I reminisced about those old days. I told him more…
"It was always painful to see other children leaving the home. I always dreamt of the day when I too would be adopted; yet it never happened. I guess what I feared more was the day that Valentina was going to be adopted; leaving me there alone. She also had the same fear. We both could not imagine life without the other."
"I'm sorry that you never got your wish fulfilled. I'm sure you would have really loved to stay with parents and siblings, like any other normal family."
"I would have loved that", I smiled.
Dylan held me very close to me and whispered in my ear, "don't worry, you will have your own family one day."