They Don't Know about Us

Chapter 37 - Echoes of a broken heart

The orthopaedic department was always loud at this hour, clattering trolleys, interns rushing with films, nurses calling out vitals but the moment Armaan walked in, it felt like every sound grated against his skull.

His hand was killing him. Not the dull ache he'd been living with all night. Not the throbbing pulse that shot up his wrist every time his fingers twitched.

This was sharp. Hot. Nerve-deep agony that made him want to sink his teeth into his other hand just to distract himself. But whatever, this physical pain was manageable.

What wasn't manageable was the empty space beside him where Riddhima should have been. Her words kept replaying in his head, over and over, like a recorded cassette engraved his brain.

He pushed open Abhimanyu's cabin door without knocking. Abhi looked up from a chart, eyebrows immediately shooting into his hairline, giving him a look from top to bottom, eyeing his disheveled state.

"Wow." He set the file down. "I didn't realize the ortho department now took patients who are emotionally unstable on priority." Armaan shut the door harder than necessary.

"Just write an X-ray," he muttered, pointing towards his hand.

Abhi leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. A slow, unsympathetic smile spread across his face. "Oh." He nodded dramatically. "So the rumors were true." News about the chaos that had occurred at Anjali's wedding had spread like wildfire. Other than Atul and Anjali's friends, some nurses were also invited to the wedding.

Abhi who had attended the bachelor party had skipped the wedding and offered his excuse to Atul due to complicated cases at the hospital that required immediate attention. Now, he was glad he wasn't there to attend the chaotic mess.

Armaan clenched his jaw, "I swear to god, Abhi—"

"It's true!" Abhi slapped the table lightly. "You did punch the décor at your sister's wedding."

"It was a pillar." Armaan clarified, rolling his eyes. The rumours kept getting ridiculous and he didn't want to hear even half of it.

"Even better," Abhi deadpanned. "You assaulted an inanimate object. Truly, a high point in neurosurgery."

"Can you shut up and JUST. WRITE. THE. X-RAY?" Armaan, who had had enough of Abhi's sarcastic taunts, yelled.

Abhimanyu stood slowly. "Okay, but before that—" He walked around the table and stopped right in front of Armaan."let me check if you still have a brain."

"Dr. Modi" Armaan glared at him. "I am really not in the mood." Abhi's taunts added field to his suffering. The sense of tremors shooting up his arm, combined with the grief of a broken relationship, Armaan was in no headspace to hear sarcastic taunts.

"Since when are you ever in the mood?" Abhi muttered, grabbing Armaan's wrist without warning. The scream that shot up Armaan's arm wasn't audible, but his jaw tightened so violently the muscle carved deep into his cheek.

Abhi froze. The sarcasm melted instantly.

"...Shit." He looked closer. "What the hell, Armaan?" Armaan tried to pull his hand back. Abhi didn't let go, inspecting the swollen hand.

"You idiot," Abhi snapped. "You complete, ridiculous, untrained chimpanzee, why didn't you get this checked yesterday?"

Armaan's voice was flat, "I had bigger things to worry about."

Abhi's eyes flicked up sharply. A beat of silence passed between them. Something almost concerned, almost soft crossed through his expression, then he buried it under attitude.