Shadows Of The Stumps

113

Meera sat on her bed, her arms crossed tightly, her jaw clenched in frustration. She had locked herself in her room after the morning's events, unable to process the mixture of emotions swirling within her. Her mind raced, replaying the confrontation with Kabir and Arjun, and the revelation that they had deactivated her access IDs without telling her.

Athiya, having heard about the commotion from one of the staff members, stormed into Arjun and Kabir's room, her anger barely contained.

"What the hell were you guys thinking?" she demanded, her voice sharp with disbelief. "Didn't find any better way to tell her?"

Arjun rubbed the back of his neck, guilt evident on his face. "We didn't, Athiya. Maithili blurted it out—"

Athiya cut him off with a sharp wave of her hand. "Really? Blurted it out? She's a security officer, Arjun! For God's sake, what were you thinking? Fix this. I don't care how, but fix it!"

Kabir, standing silently by the window, handed her a bottle of water. "Athiya," he said gently, his calm tone a stark contrast to her fury, "stress isn't good for you right now." His eyes flicked to her visibly pregnant form.

Athiya took the bottle but didn't let go of her anger. She drank a sip and continued, her voice quieter but no less firm. "We agreed on keeping her off work, but we never agreed on doing it this way. She would've understood. Give her the benefit of the doubt. Why does one of you always have to pull something like this under the pretext of 'protecting' her?"

Arjun looked down at the floor, unable to meet her gaze. "I'll go talk to Maithili," he muttered. "And maybe inform Rahul once practice is over."

Athiya immediately shook her head. "No, don't tell him yet. He'll overthink, and we don't need that right now. Let him finish practice first. Until then, we'll take care of her. Where is she?"

Kabir looked at the closed door down the hall. "In her room, I think."

Without another word, Athiya and Kabir walked to Meera's door. They knocked, calling her name softly at first, but there was no response. After a few moments of silence, Kabir sighed and leaned against the door.

"Meera," he said firmly, "Athiya is tired, and she's not going to leave until you open this door. You know she shouldn't be standing for too long, right?"

Inside, Meera froze. After a beat, the lock clicked, and the door opened just enough for her to peek out. She looked at Athiya, concern etched across her face.

"Athu, you shouldn't be doing this," she mumbled, stepping aside to let them in. She gestured to the bed. "Please, just sit down."

Athiya sat but shot Meera a pointed look. "Yeah, and you're allowed to scare me like this?"

Meera dropped her gaze, guilt softening her features. "Sorry," she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Kabir followed Athiya into the room, his expression unreadable. Meera immediately tensed up, retreating to the corner of the bed. "I don't want to talk to anyone," she muttered.

Athiya reached out to her. "Alright, don't talk," she said gently, glancing at Kabir.

Kabir sighed and knelt in front of Meera, his voice calm and steady. "Fine, you don't have to talk. But let me take care of your arm first. Please?"

Meera hesitated, then reluctantly extended her arm. As Kabir tended to the sprain, she winced but stayed quiet. Once he was done, he stood and took a step back.

"Done," he said softly. "But if it hurts more, you need to let someone know."

Athiya leaned forward. "Do you want us to leave you alone for a while?"