The Entwined Fates

Chapter 19: The Aftermath

Silence embedded the room. No one knew what to say. How to react. I could hear occasional sniffs from the others. Nothing else. It wasn't until Dhruva asked us to stop crying, I noticed that tears had made their way soaking my top. I hurriedly wiped my wet cheeks. So did the others.

"Oh my god!"

"I cannot believe this."

“So much has happened.”

"And we did not know anything about this.”

"Oh my god!"

All of us huddled around him, taking turns to hug him. Our best friend had gone through so much. Alone. That too at such a young age. Aaru spoke my thoughts.

“Oh, God! Dhruva, I cannot believe you have gone through so much. I am sorry, yaar!”

“Yes, all of us are sorry, Dhruva. We weren’t there for you when you needed us the most.” Added Priyank.

The rest of us nodded our heads. The guilt was too much to handle.

Dhruva stopped us. “Guys, it was not your fault. You did not know. I am sure if you did, you wouldn’t have left my side. Please stop apologising.”

“Tell us in detail, please.”

Dhruva nodded and started speaking, “Well, Atharva was coming home early, I guess. No one knew. While he was driving back from work, a car suddenly tunnelled into his. Obviously, the man in the other car had broken the red light while doing so. He was injured too. But I have no clue what happened to him after that. Since the car hit Atharva’s side, the impact was horrible. I still get chills even thinking about it. He was in a coma for six months or so. Yea, I don’t know. Don’t really want to think about that. The three of us were pretty devastated. Restarting our life after shifting to Delhi was pretty rough, not going to lie. My day consisted of visiting the hospital, taking care of my parents and studying. I did not have time for anything else. Not even myself. This started to take a toll on my health soon. But like I said, we did not realise that until after Atharva pointed it out. My parents obviously felt guilty as they thought they had ignored their son. But it wasn't their fault. None of us noticed. Things really started to get better after Atharva recovered and my therapy sessions started. Well, this taught me that we shouldn’t ignore our mental health like we often do. But anyway, now I am doing great. So is Atharva.”

It sufficed to say my eyes began watering again. I asked him while sniffing, “Are you ok now? The doctor cleared you for depression?”

“Yes. I am fine now.” He jokingly added while pointing to his fracture, “mentally at least.”

“Pakka?”

“Han pakka. Promise. I am fine! I don’t want you guys to worry.”

"Don't want to worry us? You don't want to...?" Priyank stated with disbelief.

Zia continued, "It's a bit too late for that Dhruva. Don’t you think?"

Realising what she meant, he bowed his head in shame.

Ved started speaking, "Please do not think we are trying to make you feel guilty or anything. What you went through was horrible. I cannot even imagine what I would have done if I were in your shoes. I am proud of you for staying strong and overcoming it.”

All of us piped in. “Yes! So proud of you.”

Aaru added, “But we really need some answers. We know you were not in the condition to call us that day. But why didn’t you pick up our calls? We literally blasted your phone with calls and messages. Why go MIA? We would have been there for you.”

“I really have no answer to that. I cannot defend my actions.”

I continued, “We were a family, weren’t we? Then why Dhruva? Atharva was like our elder brother too. Didn’t we deserve to know all of this? Why go through all this alone? We would have been there for you, you know that! Or did you not trust us?”

“No, Arya! Obviously, I know you all would have been by my side in a heartbeat.”

“Then why?”

“I don’t know. I was in no shape to talk to anyone. Like I said, I was in shock. So were my parents. All we could focus on was Atharva. I know I should have told you. I am really sorry, guys. Please forgive me.”

“Okay.”

“Just one last question.” Ved inquired.
“Would you have told us all this if Atharva hadn't slipped up?”

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Author's Note:
Hello guys!
Such an emotional chapter.
I hope you liked it. Stay tuned for more.
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Thanks for reading!
- Mitali