Tangled Memories of Guilt: A Love's Redemption - Sidneet

Chapter Eight

Avneet after returning from college she entered her room and sank onto her bed. She dialed Lucy number, her psychiatrist.

"Hey Avu, how are you?" Lucy warmly greeted with concern that lingered in her tone.

"Hey, Lucy. It's been a while" Avneet replied with some unspoken struggles.

"Everything alright? You don't sound that good," Lucy asked sensing her unspoken struggling.

With a little bit of hesitation , Avneet raveled her recent experiences – the haunting flashbacks, the recurring nightmares, and the cruel insomnia that had gripped her for the past 48 hours. Lucy listened attentively.

"Hey, it's okay," Lucy reassured, "Recovery from PTSD is not a linear process, and setbacks can occur. Triggers can come from people, environments, or incidents, leading to a retraumatization."

Avneet paused for a moment before she spoke "Lucy" but Lucy spoke again.

"Avu, I suggested you return and resume your therapy sessions" Lucy said with a gentle but firm tone "I want you to stop blaming yourself for everything that happened. Despite all those years of therapy, you've made progress, but there's still a layer of guilt buried within you. And this Siddharth guy – maybe he can be a part of your recovery if you're willing to give it a chance."

Avneet was silent before she finally declared "I want to stay here until my course is completed, but I will come back for my sessions" with a hint of determination in her voice.

"Whenever you decide, Avu. We'll overcome this together," Lucy stated. Then, with a playful tone, she added teasingly, "So, are you going to come back after a date with him or—"

"Lucy!" Avneet interrupted.

Lucy chuckled "Chill, I'm joking. And inform me when you will be coming back." With that they ended their call.

After her conversation with Lucy, Avneet dialed her brother's number. As she headed toward the kitchen to look for something to eat.

Jay cheerfully greeted her "Hello, sister."

"Jay, can you look and book a flight back for me?" Avneet requested.

"Are you bored that soon that you want to come back?" Jay teased.

"No, duffer. I have a session with Lucy" Avneet explained.

"Okay, sister. Anything else?"

"Are you in that much of a hurry to end our call?"

"I mean, yeah. I have a date waiting for me" with that Jay abruptly cut the call. Avneet stared blankly at her phone and snorted.

Her thoughts were quickly shifted to Siddharth, as she remembered about their date. But, she was unsure about what to do.

She decided to wait and see what would happen after her therapy session. She texted him, informing him that they need to cancel their date due to an important thing she needs to do.

Settling on her couch and sipping her coffee while she scrolled through shows. She looked at her phone and saw that Jay had booked a tonight flight for her.

"This boy."

She left for her room to pack her belongings.

Avneet was already on a flight back home. Once landed, she informed Vaishnavi of her unexpected return and mailed their project to Siddharth.

When she arrived home, her parents and brother were waiting for her arrival at the gate.

Her mom embraced her in a warm hug and expressed "I missed you, Avni."

"Mom, I missed you too" Avneet replied.

Jay took her luggage inside and her dad suggested "We can continue this mother-daughter reunion inside."

The family settled in the living area, and her dad asked, "Avni, how is Mumbai?"

"It's good, Dad," she replied.

The family shared the day together with the meal cooked by her mom and stories of Avneet's experience in Mumbai.

The next day, Avneet went to Lucy's office.

"Hey Avu, come sit," Lucy welcomed.

As Avneet settled down, Lucy complimented, "Avu, you've become even more beautiful in these past few months."

"I have been like a walking zombie in the past few days" Avneet chuckled and their session began.

Lucy was Chinese American but she was born and raised in London. She was in her early 40s but still looked so young. Her bond with Lucy and Rose, her therapist had grown beyond the professional relationship since their first session. They treated her as a friend and insisted she address them by their names.

Meanwhile in Mumbai, everyone was gathered at Faisu's place to work on their project.

However, Siddharth was staring at his phone screen, waiting for a response from Avneet to the message he had sent.

"Btw, where is Avneet?" Abhishek asked.

"She texted me that she was going back to the UK for something" Vaishnavi responded.

"So, she's not coming back?" Riyaz questioned, and Siddharth instantly  looked towards Vaishnavi for answers.

"Maybe?" Anushka said in a nonchalant tone.

As they talked, Siddharth couldn't shake the thought that Avneet leaving might be because of him.

Faisu asked "What about your project, Sid?"

Siddharth replied, "It's completed."

Avneet had sent him the remaining things that were needed for him to do the project's conclusion.

Vaishnavi said "She might return in few days."

However the entire week was passed but Avneet had still not returned. She was not replying to any of Siddharth's messages nor she had talked with any of her friends.

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