The Entwined Fates

Chapter 16: The Recovery

Yesterday was very hectic. As I could not attend the office the day before yesterday due to Dhruva's accident, I had a lot of work pending. It took a whole day to catch up with my work. Hence, I was unable to visit Dhruva at the hospital.

Last night, after our group call, we found out that only Zia could visit him, whereas the others were stuck at work. She informed us that he was awake when she went and was doing a lot better. All of us decided to make time to visit him today.

All five of us went to visit Dhruva at the hospital after work in the evening. When I reached, I saw that they were waiting for me at the reception.

"Hey guys," I greeted them. "Ready?"

"Yes. Let's go."

As we were about to enter his room, Priyank stopped us.

"Hey! I don't think Dhruva knows that Atharva slipped up something. So, we should behave as if nothing happened. Now is not the time to confront him."

"Yes. I agree," I quickly replied. "Let's not touch that topic now. Badme dekhte hai."

The others murmured their agreement.

"Ha. Chalo, let's go inside now."

With that, we stepped inside the room. Dhruva was awake. He smiled as soon as he saw us.

"Hey, guys!"

"Hi, Dhruva. How are you?" Aaru questioned.

"I am doing better. Thanks for coming, yaaro."

"That's great! When are you getting discharged?" Ved enquired.

"Maybe this weekend? They will run a few tests and then decide."

"Acha. Cool."

"Arya?" Dhruva called.

"Yea?"

"Thanks a lot. I have no idea what would have happened if you didn't rush me to the hospital."

"Are! Don't say that. But you are welcome anyways. I am just glad you aren't majorly injured."

"Still. Thanks!"

I replied with a smile. With that, we started to divert our minds, chatting about nonsensical topics. We came to visit to make Dhruva feel better. And that's what we did. The next half an hour was filled with happiness and laughter.

Suddenly, Dhruva got solemn.

"I am not going to beat around the bush. I know Atharva told you something. And I also know you have a lot to ask. But you are respecting my condition and keeping mum. Thanks for that. But I should just come clean now."

Before he could go any further, we interrupted him.

"Dhruva! Now is not the time. You need to focus on recovery now. This can wait."

Ved added, "We can talk about this later after you are discharged."

We could see that Dhruva was not going to back down.

"No! just drop it," Priyank said firmly.

For now, just his acknowledgement was enough.

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It has been a few days since Dhruva was discharged from the hospital. Even though we all were a bit apprehensive about the situation, we decided to let it go for the time being and be there for him.

Trust me, it was very tough. Knowing the half-truth is worse than knowing nothing at all. The topic did come out in our conversations but never in front of Dhruva.

But we could tell that the truth would be out soon.It wasn't until the following week when it became true.

We were to visit Dhruva at his house. The second time we dropped by the hospital, his parents were present in the room. Let me tell you, it was very awkward. We were baffled as it was never this way before with his family. So it sufficed to say we were a bit anxious.

As soon as our car reached his place, Ved turned back.

"I did not want to say this, but I think today he will tell us what happened that day."

Priyank added, "I just hope we are prepared enough to deal with it."

I replied, "Yea, I feel so too."

"We have each other to rely on. We will get through whatever it is." Added Aaru.

Zia piped in, "Yes. Let us go and get this over with."

With that, we rang the doorbell.
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Author's Note:
Hello guys!
I hope you liked it.
Finally, we would come to know Dhruva's side of the story. What do you think happened?
Stay tuned to know.
Thanks for reading!
- Mitali