BROKEN STEVE

I wake up as the brightly shining sun rays fall on my face. I tap the place next to me in search of Krish. I open my eyes and find him nowhere in the room. I try to get up from the baby bump was making it damn difficult for me. I finally got up in 5 minutes which seemed like an hour. I walk lethargically to the kitchen in search of my husband. A single thought of him was enough to make me smile ear to ear. God! This man has cast some spell on me. He is more like the most addictive drug to me. The kitchen was filled with the aroma of butter which is making me drool. I stood at the entrance admiring my husband's hotness and skills as he worked his way through the dosa on the pan. Both the men in this house cook the finest food which you can find in the top-rated hotels but nothing compared to the tastiest dishes I get from the roadside shop on the parallel road. Cheap and best.

I snake my hands around his waist from the back and move it up and down caressing his torso.

"Good morning, sweetheart", he said, turned around, and kissed my forehead.

"Good morning", I said and yawned

"Still sleepy, huh?", he pinched my nose, making it red, and kissed the tip of my nose.

"Yes and hungry also", I said pouting

He laughed at my action. That very sound of his laughter made its way through my ears to my body, flowed in my veins, and at last settled in my stomach as butterflies. His voice is the only thing in this world that can make me feel boneless. He lifts me effortlessly and made me sit on the kitchen slab. He filled a plate with dosas and chutney while humming a romantic song. He settled between my legs, rested his elbows on either of my thighs, and started to feed me. He should probably quit his job and apply for a job as a chef.

"Enough", I said as he fed me the last bite of the third dosa. He cleaned the plate, washed his hand, and then rubbed his thumb on my lips in order to clean it. His fingertips felt like flower petals on my lips.

"Was it good?", he asked me

"Yes, very soft+, I replied immediately

"I am talking about my cooking, not my touch"

"It was good," I said setting my gaze on the floor in embarrassment.

Krish's hand made its way to my cheeks and I leaned more into his touch. His thumb was caressing my cheeks while our eyes meet each other and he mouthed 'beautiful'.

"For god's sake, other people are living in this house", it was Mathew interrupting our romance. What epic timings? I seriously don't know how does this man manage to interrupt our romantic time now and then.

"Eww, you both give me chills" he added.

Catherine smacked his head and Akash was laughing at Mathew who was wincing in pain.

Krish helped me get down from the slab as we heard the doorbell ring. We walked to the living room to see who the visitor was. And it was STEVE. He was still in the blue shirt that he had worn to the police station yesterday. His face looked pale and his lips were cracked. His eyes looked sleep deprived and had bags under them. His hair was messy unlike his usual always properly set hair. His shirt was wrinkled and the first three buttons were undone. The skin on the back of his right hand just below his index finger was slit open.

Steve was nothing but a completely broken mess. He hugged his brother and started to cry his heart out. I asked Krish to bring the first aid box, then went near the emotional twins and pulled them apart. I held Steve's wrist, pulled him near the couch, and forcefully made him sit on it.

"What happened to your hand, Steve?", I asked him out of concern.

"I don't know", he said on the verge of breaking down

"Steve"

Megha, please", he pleaded.

His adam apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed the lump in his throat. Neither of us uttered a word to him because none of us wanted him to cry again. Krish placed the first aid kit on the table in front of me, tapped Steve's shoulder, and walked near Mathew.

I drenched a cotton ball with tincture and started to clean up his blood-dried wound. He grunted a little as the chemical made its contact with the flesh. I cleaned it as fast as possible and covered it with a bandage.

"Why?", his voice cracked.

"Just let it out, Steve", Mathew said and sat next to him.

"Why did he leave me, Jones? I loved him more than anything and anyone. Why did he break his promise that he will never leave me alone."

"It will be fine soon"

"HE IS ARRESTED, nothing is going to be fine. He promised he would marry me and now he left me. I love him so much. Every corner of that house reminds me of him. I can still hear him calling me 'baby', his smell lingers in my nose, his memories keep playing in my head and his face is flashing in front of me always. Jones, I lost him. He was my everything."

"Cool down"

"Jones"

"He killed people he deserves to be punished"

"NO, DON'T YOU DARE SAY A WORD AGAINST HIM, JONES. STOP LOOKING AT HIM LIKE THAT. HE DESERVES EVERYTHING BUT BEING PUNISHED. I NEED TO GO. I WANT TO STAY ALONE", he yelled and walked out of the house.

"Mathew, get him back. I want him to stay here", I ordered Mathew

"But..", he started

"No buts, just do as she said", Catherine told him and he let out a long, deep sigh.

Mathew also followed Steve and brought him back home after a few minutes. Steve just silently went to the room assigned for him and locked the door.

He is going to be fine soon I hope.