The Distance Between Us

Track Thirty Five - Stitches

After Riddhima went inside, Armaan went back to gazing at the stars and replaying his conversation with her. It felt really good to have said all that. He knew that all these conversations should have actually happened between them long back. He should have apologized to her earlier. No, actually, he never should have behaved with her that way in the first place.

But, better late than never, as they say. It felt really good to have said those things. A weight had lifted off his chest. He would always feel guilty about how he'd behaved with Riddhima in the past, but now, it was slightly more bearable, knowing that she forgave him. She always forgave him, he thought. A little too quickly for his liking at times. Just like now. Granted, he was apologizing for things that happened in a past that may be a little blurry for them now, it had been almost a decade after all, but she'd still forgiven him a little too quickly. Or so he believed.

Of course, it was absolutely great that she had, he couldn't thank her enough for it, but he couldn't help himself. If he'd been in her position, he may not have been so understanding or forgiving. But, she had been. She'd been sweet and understanding and she'd forgiven him so easily for the horrendous things he'd done and Armaan couldn't help but admire her.

She had always been this way. So forgiving. To everyone. Be it her mother for being absent for almost all of her life, or her father for lying to her about so many things, or her sister for always taking her for granted, or her friends for using her for their own benefit. He was still mad at what Abhi had done. Sure, Armaan had entertained the thought that Abhi might have delegated the project to Riddhima to get back at him, but he'd dismissed that line of thinking almost immediately. Riddhima had been their most dedicated and promising intern, and it made sense that Abhi would have wanted someone with Riddhima's dedication to be working on the project alongside him. That's what Armaan had thought had been the reason for Riddhima's allocation to the project, which of course, was one of Sanjeevani's biggest expansions, so quickly after their financial crisis and instead of being proud of his girl for bagging the chance, he'd behaved like a petty, jealous bas***d and ruined the entire thing for her. Yet, she forgave him. He didn't know whether to be grateful or horrified that she was so kind and forgiving.

He was still contemplating all this when Rahul sat down beside him with a thud. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you!" Rahul exclaimed.

"I've been sitting here for the past god knows how many hours," Armaan replied. "It's been a long day."

"Thank god it's about to end," Rahul muttered. "I can't bear this day anymore. It's done too much damage already."

Armaan sighed but didn't say anything. Sure, it hadn't been the best day. Aniket and Adhiraj making an appearance and Tamanna talking about her abuse definitely equated it to the worst day ever. But, there had been good stuff too. Like the prank Tamanna played on him. And his conversation with Riddhima.

He was brought out of his musings when he saw a glass floating in front of him. Armaan took the glass from Rahul's hand and looked to see him pour himself a Macallan too. Oh, so it was going to be this kind of night.

Armaan and Rahul only drank scotch when things were really bad. The first time they'd done it had been with Rahul's dad, Dr. Rajveer Grewal - Raj Uncle, as Armaan fondly called him. It had been a few weeks since Armaan had come to New York. When he told Rahul's parents what had prompted his sudden move was when Raj Uncle had broken open a new bottle of Macallan. That night, they'd toasted to Armaan's heartbreak and gotten rip roaring drunk (only Armaan and Rahul because Raj Uncle was undergoing chemo. It hadn't, however, stopped him from downing a small, Rahul approved peg, which was as good as only a sip.) Since then, it had become tradition between the duo to talk about issues over a bottle of scotch. But, Macallan was saved for only the big stuff. The ugly stuff.