Besotted
Chapter 20

You being so close to me, yet so far affects me. Deeply and madly.

Sangavi Pov

*******

"You are grinning like a Cheshire cat. It's creepy" he said and instantly my smile faded away from my face and the next moment I glared at him to which he just shrugged his shoulders. "Truth hurts" he muttered looking out of the window.

I was happy because today I got discharged from the hospital, that means I got to go home and I can eat whatever I want. "Pizza," I thought and grinned again.

"I don't have any information about your family and your parents. Where are they?" he asked and immediately for the second time my smile faded away from my face and I turned my face away from his direction not wanting him to see my expression. "I don't know," I said and literally felt my eyes stinging.

"Don't know? What do you mean by you don't know?" he asked.

"I got lost when I was a little. I was separated from my parents and family and as I was a kid I didn't remember much" I told him and looked back at him to replace him already staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"No nothing!" he said and looked out of the window while I looked at my hands feeling a little low.

"Hey! Where are we going? We just crossed the road to my house" I said looking out of the window and then back at Caleb.

"To my house," he said and took his phone out typing something in it.

"What?" I asked.

"Wait! But I never agreed to go to your house nor did you ever ask me if I wanted to go there or not" I said.

"Are you serious? Your house is still sealed. I will just go to the police station later and I will do the formalities but for now you are going to stay with me" he said and the fact that my apartment was still sealed by the police sink me. "Oh yeah!" I said leaning back against the seat.

"But wait!" I jerked up again from my seat.

"What now?" he asked bored.

"I don't need to stay in your house. I can just go to my friend's house o-"

"Nonsense!" he said.

"You are staying with me," he said which made me little confused on why he was so keen on keeping me with him.

I couldn't help but ask.

"Why?" I asked.

"What why?" he asked looking my way.

"Why are you so keen on making me stay with you?" I asked.

"We are not even together nor in any relationship" I wanted to say but I didn't.

"Isn't it obvious? You are weak now and since no one is there to take care for you" he cleared his throat and looked the other way avoiding my gaze.

"I will take care of you until you are alright" he finished.

"Oh!" I said but his answer was not convincing to me.

A smile made up to my face when I saw him rubbing his face.

He looked clearly confused. I guess he himself didn't have any idea why he was taking me home.

"I am hungry," I told him when I sat on his couch in his penthouse.

"Wait! let me tell Jenny to make you something" he told me and I just nodded.

He came after few minutes and helped me to my room which was his guest room. I wanted to have a good shower before eating the food. I haven't taken a bath from last few days and now am feeling grossed even thinking about it. As soon as Caleb left the room, I sniffed myself whether I was stinking or not. It would be totally embarrassing if I stink before him.

I was stinking.

I groaned feeling embarrassed. Though I wasn't stinking that badly still the smell of the hospital, and medicines was faint from me, but I was stinking. "Damn! He didn't even complain" I muttered to myself and felt my cheeks stinging for the blood rushing up to my cheek.

Hurriedly, I went inside the bathroom and threw my dress away and went inside the bath tub.

The water was warm and I moaned feeling my sore muscles relaxing. I took the shampoo and read the label. It wasn't for female use but who cared.

I took some amount of it in my palm and applied it to my scalp and massaged my scalp for a quite good minute, before rinsing it off from my hair. I was just brushing my skin with the loofah when I heard the knock on the bathroom door. "Sang!" It was Caleb.

"Uh Yeah?" I asked.

"I have your clothes," he said.

Damn! How did I forget to bring the clothes with me?

"Um, can you please keep it on the counter?" I asked and heard him saying yes.

I pulled the bath tub's curtain and heard the door opening. I peeped a little pushing the curtain aside and saw him entering the bathroom. He kept the clothes on the counter under the mirror and got out of the room. What made me smile was that he didn't even glance my way towards the bath tub.

"Well someone is shy," I thought.

After I was done, I wore the clothes that he provided me. It was his gray t-shirt and his loose pants. I wrapped the towel on my hair and kept my previous clothes in that laundry basket before getting out of the bathroom. I went to the dressing table and saw a blow dryer. So, I blow dried my hair and flinched seeing the faint bruises on my face.

"They will pass with time," I jumped a little hearing his voice from the door.

"Oh, you scared me!" I exclaimed.

"Sorry," he said which made me raise an eyebrow at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," I said.

He said sorry to me.

"Come let's eat. The food is ready" he said and I jumped a little-excited hearing the word food. My stomach growled and before I could get embarrassed by that, I push passed him and went towards the dining table. "Hello! How are you now?" Jenny asked as she took in my appear.

"I am good now but hungry," I told her and she smiled patting the chair asking me to sit down.

I took my seat and soon Caleb came out of the room and took a seat before me.

Jenny brought the plates and served us our food.

"What is this?" I asked horrified looking at Caleb.

"Porridge," he said.

"I can see that but why porridge for eating?" I asked like a kid.

"Because you are still unwell," he said and ate the porridge.

"No!" I cried slouching on my seat crying like a mad woman.

"Enough of porridge already," I sobbed.

He just continued eating his food without being affected by me or the food. But he did glance my way. He shrugged his shoulders and continued eating.

Finally, I had to eat it too. My stomach growled out of hunger and finally, I had to eat it more like gulp it down.

"I am full now," I told him.

"Good! Now take your meds," he said and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, dad!" I told him sarcastically and took the meds out of the paper bag before gulping it down.

"Wait! Where is my phone?" I thought.

"Oh no! It must be in my house" I thought.

Eden must have called.

"What happened?" Caleb asked from behind as he took in my distressed expression.

"My phone!" I said and he nodded.

"I have already brought it from the police station," he said.

"What? Really?" I asked excitedly.

He nodded and went inside his room and came out holding a plastic bag which had my cell phone, my purse and even my keys.

I took the bag from him and took the phone out.

"Oh no! It's dead" I said.

"There's the charger," he pointed towards the switch board which had a charger plugged into it. I thanked him and went towards the board and plugged in the charger.

I waited for some minutes and switched on my mobile.

To my astonishment, there were so many missed calls and even text messages.

112 missed calls from Eden, 78 missed calls from all Margaret, 12 from Jade, 20 from Bailey, 132 from Caleb himself.

I looked towards him to replace him sitting on the couch already staring at me.

I gazed back at my phone and saw the text messages.

Eden: "Good Morning :)"

"You busy?"

"Good Night. Message me when you are free!"

"Good morning"

"Sangavi is everything alright?"

"Why are you not picking up my call?"

"I am in Japan right now. When I come back I want to meet you."

"I am worried now. Sangavi! Damn it!"

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Forgive me Sang! Please!"

I shook my head feeling guilty about not informing him. He must be worried.

I texted him back "Hey! Eden. I'm really sorry. My phone was not working so I gave it to a nearby repair shop. I am fine. Really :)" I lied to him.

I read the other messages from Bailey asking me where I was and Caleb was asking for me and Margaret was worried why I wasn't coming to the office.

I replied everyone and then only my phone rang and I saw the caller Id to replace the name displaying Eden.

I picked it up in the third ring.

"Sangavi! Oh my gosh! You scared the shit out of me. I thought something might have happened to you" he sounded restless.

"No, I am perfectly fine Eden" hearing the name Eden, Caleb turned towards me with a jerk.

"I am still in Japan. It's a relief to hear that you are alright. I was thinking to catch the next flight and come back to check on you" he told me and I shook my head no but then I remembered he couldn't see me. "No! You don't need to do that Eden. I'm perfectly fine," I said and from my peripheral vision, I saw Caleb walking towards me.

"Thank God" he exclaimed.

"Sangavi?" he said.

"Uh yes?" my whole attention was on Caleb now because he just came and stood so close to me that I could literally smell his cologne. I didn't look up at me because all of a sudden I was cautious and nervous. "I wanted to tell you something," he finished but my attention was fully on Caleb now.

"Yeah?" I said.

"Not like this. When I come back I want to take yo-" the phone was snatched away from me by Caleb.

He disconnected the call and I saw him typing something.

"W-Why did you do that?" I asked little nervous because of our close proximity.

"Are you two together?" he asked all of a sudden which made me give him an incredulous look.

"No" I replied.

"Good!" he said and inched forward.

"W-What are you doing?" I asked as I took a step back intimidated by his action.

He caged me between the wall and himself and kept both of his hands beside me caging me.

"Remember I told you that I have something to tell you when I come back and how I asked you to wait for me?" he asked and I nodded recalling the day when he gave me a lift back home and when he left for California.

I felt him cupping my cheek and raising my face up for him until I could look straight into his eyes.

Then he told me what I never expected to hear from his mouth ever. A gasp escaped from my mouth as soon as he said: "Be mine."00000000