Chapter 38

“May I speak with Mrs. Verma, please?” A female voice asked once Priya answered the phone.

“This is she.” Priya answered.

“Ma’am your husband was in a car accident this afternoon.  I’m Nurse Jones.  Could you come down to the hospital?” The nurse said.

“What?” Priya couldn’t comprehend the words.

“You husband, Aman Verma, was in an accident.” The nurse repeated.

“Is he alright?” Priya felt tears forming in her eyes.

“He’s in critical condition.” The nurse answered.  “It would really be best if you came down.”

“Okay,” Priya said quietly before hanging up.

Priya suddenly paled as she tried to steady herself.  Aman was hurt. He was in the hospital in critical condition.  She tightly clutched the countertop, trying to regain her composure.  Her hand hit a nearby vase, and it came crashing to the floor breaking into many tiny pieces.

“Ma’am, are you alright?” Kamla said, urgently coming to Priya’s side.  She led Priya to a chair and sat her down.

“I-I’m fine. I need to go to the hospital.” Priya stammered.

“The hospital? Why?” Kamla asked, concerned.

“Aman...he was in a car accident. I need to go.” Priya said.

“I’ll call for the driver straight away.” Kamla hurried away.

Once at the hospital, Priya requested to speak with Nurse Jones, who immediately took her to Aman’s room.  Priya entered slowly, afraid of what she’d see.  Aman’s body laid limp on a hospital bed.  He was attached to several different machines, monitoring different parts of his body.  Priya stepped closer.  There were several scratches and bruises all over him.  His arm was in a cast, and one of his legs was wrapped in bandages.  He’s looked so weak.

“Please, be okay.” Priya heard herself whisper to no one in particular.  She and Aman were the only ones in the room, and Aman was unconscious.

“Please,” Priya said again as she stepped closer.  She bit her lip as she tried to control her tears from falling.  She sat down beside Aman’s mangled form.  She placed a hand on his cheek.  She heard a low grunt come from Aman and quickly retracted her hand. He moved  a little but didn’t open his eyes.

“Bhabhi,” Hiten stood in the doorway, looking like he was holding back tears himself.

“Will he be okay?” Priya asked him.

“The doctors won’t say.” Hiten answered sadly.  “They said I’m not family.”

Priya looked at Hiten, whose eyes were  glued to the floor.

“You should’ve told them that you were his brother.  You know Aman thinks of you as one.” Priya said, letting some tears fall.

Hiten looked up at her with a goofy grin that still showed traces of sadness.  It was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to him.  Priya stood to go find out what the doctors had to say.

“He’s in very critical condition.  He’ll have to stay hospitalized for a while.  Outpatient care, afterwards is very tricky.  He’ll have to be monitors 24/7.  As of now, he’s suffering from a few broken ribs and a broken arm.  There was some internal bleeding, but we took care of that.  His ankle is sprained pretty badly.  He’ll have some difficulty walking, and he’s suffering from a concussion.  We’ll have to wake him up in a few minutes, so nothing more serious happens.  I’m confident he’ll make a full albeit slow recovery.”  The doctor explained.

Priya’s eyes flickered between Aman and the doctor as he gave his explanation.  She wanted him to open his eyes and smile at her and tell her that he’s okay.  She wanted him to comfort her, but she knew she was the one who needed to comfort him.  She was determined to take care her husband in the best way possible.  The doctor and Priya took a seat next to Aman once again.  She was told that she’d have to wake Aman up in a few minutes because of his concussion.  Priya took a deep breath.

“Aman,” she whispered.  “Aman,” she tried again, more loudly.

She put her hand on his shoulder, making sure she wouldn’t cause him any pain.

“Aman, wake up.” Priya said, shaking his shoulder.

“Priya,” She heard Aman whisper.  His brows furrowed, but his eyes didn’t open.

Priya placed her hand on top of Aman’s.  His fingers curled around hers.  He eyes finally opened.  He looked confused for a moment, and then it all came flooding back.  He had been in a car accident, and now he was in a hospital, and sitting beside him was Priya.

“Aman, are you alright?” Priya stood up quickly, anxious that Aman was awake.

“I’m fine.” Aman said in a barely audible voice.

He could see more tears well up in Priya’s eyes.

“Aman, you’re hurt.” Priya said sadly.

“Priya, I’ll be okay.” Aman said.

Priya didn’t say anything.  More tears fell onto her cheek.  She wasn’t hysterical, just sad.  Aman understood that his being in the hospital was causing her a lot of grief, and to be honest, he didn’t feel so hot either.

“Damn, I must look like shit.” Aman tried to grin.  “Everything hurts.” He said more seriously.

Priya suddenly looked even more concerned.

“Is there anything I can do?” Priya asked, not sure if she could do anything to make his pain stop.

“Nothing would make me feel better like a kiss.” Aman said innocently.

Priya blushed.  She quickly wiped away some tears.

“Aman, seriously.  You’re hurt and you’re making a joke.” Priya said.

“Who’s joking?  A kiss would honestly make me feel better.” Aman replied.

Priya leaned down and kissed Aman.  His lips felt stiff against hers for a moment before be shifted to get to a better angle.  The kiss was slow and passionate.  It lasted longer than Priya had intended.  Aman felt his mind focusing on his wife rather than the pain that resonated throughout his body.  He lifted his good arm and placed a hand on Priya’s waist, bringing her closer to him.  He felt Priya pulling away and nipped at her lips.  She leaned in and gave him another soft kiss before backing away.

“Damn, who the hell needs a doctor when you have a wife?” Aman commented after the kiss.

Priya blushed.

“I hope you feel better.” Priya said.

“Oh much better!” Aman answered with a smirk.

Over the next couple of weeks, Priya visited at the hospital everyday.  Payal and Rajiv had also paid visits, and Hiten showed up more often than anybody.  Nikhil and Neha had just stopped by to check up on Aman, when Priya paid her daily visit.

“Priya, darling! How are you holding up?” Neha asked as soon as she saw Priya.

“Fine. I’m fine. Aman is recovering quickly.” Priya answered, a little distracted.

“Nikhil found out all the dirt on the accident.” Neha said.

“Dirt?” Priya questioned.

“Yeah, the car the hit Aman’s had these drunk burglars behind the wheel.  They’d just robbed some big estate and were on the run.  The guy driving was too drunk to control his car and slammed into Aman’s.”  Neha said.

“Oh my god! How do you know all this?” Priya asked, surprised.

“Nikhil found out through the police reports.  The truck drive that also hit Aman saw the whole thing happen before his truck hit Aman’s car.  He was driving behind the drunk fools.” Neha replied.

“Well, now what happens?” Priya asked.

“Well, they’re going to jail and Aman and the truck driver are going to get a lot of money.  Technically speaking, Aman helped catch those thieves.” Neha reasoned.

“Yeah, by getting into a car accident with them.” Priya said dismally.  “Is the truck driver alright?”

“Yeah he’s fine. His big truck hitting Aman’s little sport’s car...think about it.  He barely got injured.  He’s probably going to file for claims because he needs money and won’t feel guilty about getting it from criminals.” Neha explained.

“So Aman was the only one who got hurt?” Priya asked, a little angrily.

“Aman’s injuries were by far the worst. Yes.” Neha confirmed.

“This isn’t fair.” Priya said quietly.

“Maybe it was karma.” Neha said without thinking.

Priya gave her a sharp look.

“Aman doesn’t deserve this no matter what he did to me.” Priya defended.  She walked back into Aman’s room.

“Good news, Mrs. Verma, your husband can go home.” The doctor announced as soon as Priya stepped into the room.

“Really?” Priya asked in disbelief.

“Yes, he agreed to a full-time nurse to monitor his progress.” The doctor said.

“A nurse?” Priya asked, confused.

“Yes, to monitor him and make sure he’s well taken care of.” the doctor replied.

Priya thanked the doctor and was left alone in the room with Aman.  She walked over to his bed.

“Why do you need a nurse?” Priya asked.

“The doctor said I could only go home if someone looked after me all day and all night.” Aman said.

“But why a nurse?” Priya asked.

“I don’t understand.” Aman said.

“Why don’t you want me to take care of you?” Priya asked.

Aman smiled at her.

“Priya, I didn’t want to make your life hell.  Think about it. Taking care of me no matter what even in the middle of the night if something were to go wrong.” Aman said.

“I don’t mind. I’m your wife. It’s my job to take care of you.” Priya countered.

“Okay, what about this?” Aman had a challenging look on his face.  “Who’s going to give me a sponge bath?”

Priya blushed.  The thought of giving Aman a sponge bath, wiping down his naked body with a wet cloth, made her anxious.  However, the thought of someone else doing it in their house made her angry.

“I’m kidding, Priya. I don’t need sponge baths. I’m not immobile.” Aman said.  “I just don’t want to be a burden on you.”

“That’s not possible.” Priya said quickly.  She’d never think that way of Aman.   “You don’t need a nurse.”

“But Priya,” Aman started.

“No nurse.” Priya repeated sternly.

Aman smirked.  Priya was being so feisty, and it was sexy.

“Yes ma’am.” he said obediently.

When they reached Aman’s mansion, Hiten helped him up to his room.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Hiten asked, concerned.

“I’m fine. I’m just going to take a nap or something.” Aman replied.

“Okay, and then after your nap…” Hiten said, slowly backing out of the room, “Maybe you can conference call India about that business deal I was supposed to confirm a week ago.”

“Hiten!” Aman exclaimed.  Before Aman could chuck a pillow at him, Hiten dashed out the door.

“What was that about?” Priya asked, entering the room.

“That useless idiot didn’t finalize a deal!” Aman said angriliy.

“Aman, be nice.” Priya said halfheartedly.

“I am nice.” Aman pouted.

“I need to change your bandages.” Priya said, pulling out a first aid box.

“Can’t it wait?” Aman asked.

“Stop being a child.” Priya chastised.

Aman pouted.  Changing his bandages took a long time and it bored him to death. Priya unwrapped the bandages around his head.  He bruise had healed so that it was no longer as apparent.  Aman cringed as Priya rewrapped with his head with fresh bandages.  She moved to his ankle next, this time applying antiseptic spray.

“Shit! That stings!” Aman exclaimed.

“Sorry,” Priya gave him a mischievous smile.

Aman watched her intensely.  She was so focused on taking care of him that she didn’t notice his eyes on here.  After she rewrapped his ankle, she changed the smaller bandages that covered different bruises on his arm.  She reached his his shoulder but stopped, hesitating slightly.

“What’s the matter?” Aman asked.

“I...I need to take your shirt off.” Priya said.

“Then take it off.” Aman smirked.

Priya hesitantly unbuttoned Aman’s shirt and peeled it off his body.  She changed the bandage on his shoulder.  She motioned for him to lean forward.  He obeyed, leaning onto her as she unwrapped the bandages around his abdomen.

“You know, you’re going to have to do this every day: get his close to me, take my shirt off.” Aman whispered in Priya’s ear.

“Aman,” Priya started moving away.

“You haven’t finished yet.” Aman said, stopping her.

Priya finished wrapping bandages around Aman’s abdomen and stood up.

“Maybe Kamla should change your bandages.” Priya suggested.

“But you’re my wife. You’re supposed to take care of me.” Aman countered.

“I am taking care of you.” Priya defended.

“Priya, I’m in pain.” Aman said sadly.

“It’s not going to work a second time.” Priya said, referring to the kiss they shared in the hospital the last time Aman complained about pain.

“Fine then.” Aman pouted.

Priya stifled a laugh. He was such a child.

“You need to take your medicine.” Priya said.

“But it’s gross.” Aman whined.

“Aman, you have to otherwise you won’t get better.” Priya reasoned.

“I don’t want it.” Aman said.

“You’re so childish.” Priya commented.

“You said that already.” Aman said.

“I’ll make a deal with you.” Priya said.

Aman’s interest peaked.

“What kind of deal?” he asked.

“I’ll change your bandages every day, getting as close to you as I need to without hesitating if you take your medicine like a champ, meaning no complaints and no whining.” Priya suggested.

Aman smirked.  He could have a lot of fun with this.

“Okay, deal.” Aman said.

Priya gave Aman his medicine and he took it willingly, only making a face once.

“Good boy.” teased Priya as she stood up to leave.

“Priya,” Aman said.

Priya turned around, waiting for Aman to continue.

“Are you still angry with me?” Aman asked unexpectedly.

Exams are killing me! I need to move out too WHILE studying for exams and I have no car.  Going to school out-of-state is sooooo problematic! Ugh!! Okay, I’ll be back home in the second week of May, so I won’t update before then. Please don’t ask me to because it’s not happening.

What did you guys think of this chapter??! Priya is taking SUCH good care of Aman. So sweet!!  Do you think she’s still mad or has she forgiven him?

Comment and VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!