His Favourite Book

Chapter 45 - The Inevitable

Trigger Warning: Depictions of mild violence

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Amidst an almost deafening silence spread throughout the hospital corridor, sat Aashna and Abeer. She was warmly sheathed in his blood-stained hoodie while being engulfed by the haunting thoughts of a dreadful future for Khushi. An always cheerful girl, working hard at her part-time job for some extra pocket money, who had nothing to do with any uncongenial matters of the world, was now being operated upon, for an accident she never even deserved in the first place. Whoever the hit-and-run maniac was, deserved a far worse condition.

"Excuse me? Any one of you, please come to the reception desk." A lady's voice, addressing them, was heard interrupting Aashna's thoughts.

"I'll go." Abeer declared and stood up to leave.

The moment Aashna looked down at her lap, she again heard some hasty steps approaching her direction. She looked up to see a panting Kartik frantically searching for a distinct room. His dilated pupils finally fell on Aashna's awaiting figure.

"I received Abeer's message. Where's she?" He said stepping closer to Aashna.

"In there." She pointed towards the Emergency Room while her other hand gently caressed Kartik's upper arm to calm his hefty huffs.

As the doctor exited the room, both of them jolted towards her.

"She'll be fine. We'll have to get her admitted for at least a month. Maybe more than that. The injuries are major but at least she's out of a direst peril. Please do not enter the room for now. We'll convey the additional details to her immediate family when they arrive" The doctor declared Khushi's status, bringing them a sense of relief. Both of them thanked the doctor and settled on the seats behind them, waiting for further instructions.

Once they had calmed down to a secure extent, Kartik looked over to Aashna's clothing. "You... Why this hoodie over your Kurti?" That seemed to be a weird combination that he couldn't just ignore. He had never seen her wearing such ensembles.

Aashna finally noticed herself and turned expressionless at the question thrown at her. Before she could think of any response, She felt a presence behind her. "It was getting cold so I lent her my hoodie," Abeer replied on behalf of her.

"But you're in your thin T-shirt, aren't you freezing?" Kartik's query was aggravated when he wasn't satisfied with the retort. Aashna looked down at her well-covered body and then side-eyed Abeer's thin layered attire. Steered by concern, she held the hem of the hoodie, cruising to take it off and return it to where it belonged.

Abeer noticed her actions and held her fist to stop her movement. "Nope, this is all good. As long as I can keep others warm." He replied to Kartik without sparing any glance at Aashna.

Kartik noticed it too— the contact Abeer and Aashna were retaining. He sighed and nodded. "Oh." He looked away, not desiring the slightest to face the other two anymore or any further. His ears, however, were stuck on whatever they were supposedly about to emit.

Abeer then turned to Aashna. "When can we call her parents? They were asking about the payment modes and stuff so..." His words trailed off, a hint of guilt clear in them. The guilt of talking about money when she has just escaped the throat of a catastrophe.

"Umm... actually, I don't know anything about her family. When Girisha recruited her, her application only consisted of her abilities and achievements. She is hardly a year younger than us. She said she was in dire need of a well-paying part-time job to afford her basic expenses. So by that, I'm guessing... Either she doesn't have parents, or there is some unpleasant tension in her family. Could be anything else, too, honestly. She's paid by the hour. She works all day and studies in her spare time in the cafe itself. I don't think she is engaged in higher studies, so I have no idea what she learns from those books in her locker. Even if we into her savings from her salary, obviously that won't suffice. I guess we'll have to bear her hospital fee. I'll ask Girisha if there's any such policy to do something for her employee." Aashna began searching for her phone in her bag.