Did You Get Your Period?

CHAPTER TWENTY.

"Riddhi?" She hears her mother say, as she walks into Riddhi's room.

Glad for a distraction, she looks up and her mother adds, "Shweta's here to meet you. She's coming up in a minute. I just wanted to make sure you were here."

"Shweta?" Riddhi asks with a little too much surprise and her mother eyes her warily, "Yes, Shweta. What is so surprising about that?"

"Nothing," Riddhi says, smiling through gritted teeth. Trust Shweta to hide behind Riddhi's mother's benevolence and put Riddhi in an uncomfortable position.

"I'll send in some food for you." Riddhi can hear her mother say as Shweta's footsteps sound closer and closer to the room. "No, aunty." She can hear Shweta say, in customary refusal, "I just had breakfast."

"Hey," Shweta says awkwardly as she enters Riddhi's room. "May I come in?" She asks the words she had never uttered before.

This surprises Riddhi as well who had actually been preparing a scathing statement. She hadn't expected Shweta to act so meekly. "You may." She says, folding her arms as though she had no choice but to bear Shweta's presence.

"I'm sorry." She says, uttering the words she had been meaning to all this while. The words that she had said so a hundred times inside her head and had run this scenario inside her head many times.

"Don't be," Riddhi says, unflinching and cold; her defense drawn up high and strong.

"I mean it Riddhi," Shweta says, looking Riddhi in the eye. "I really am sorry. I shouldn't have said any of those things. And I didn't mean it."

"You called me weak," Riddhi says and Shweta looks at her, shame-faced.

"I know." She groans. "I had no right to. You are the strongest, most incredible person I know. And I look up to you, I really do. I just was in so much of a mess that I couldn't help comparing my life with yours; you always seem to have things figured out and you always know the right thing to do. I have so much to learn from you." Shweta says, shaking her head.

"And you called me a liar for not telling you about Vaibhav," Riddhi says, her eyes softening but her frown still in place.

"I'm sorry about that as well. I was the liar, I lied when I said I didn't want to tell you about Vaibhav. You just ran to my rescue even when you didn't know about it and I will forever be grateful to you for it. I wanted to tell you, Riddhi and I was just scared about you judging me. I know, that was wrong. You've been nothing but supportive." Shweta says, her eyes filling with tears.

"You were really mean, you know," Riddhi says.

"I know," Shweta says. "And I can understand if you don't want to be friends anymore. Those were not the kind of things a friend says. But I still want you to know that I'm really, really sorry."

"But I do want to be friends with you." Riddhi sighs as she lets her arms flop to her side.

"You do?" Shweta asks, looking amazed that Riddhi had softened her stance so quick. She had expected to grovel and beg and had been ready to do that.

"Yeah," Riddhi says and Shweta looks at her quizzically waiting for an explanation.

"Well, I missed you," Riddhi says simply; as if missing someone was enough reason to forgive them.

"But I was an a-hole," Shweta says, not mincing her words.

"That you were," Riddhi says, a resemblance of her smile gracing her features. "I knew that. And now, you know that too. What is the point of stretching it further?"

"But still," Shweta says, surprised enough to forget that she ought to be glad that Riddhi had forgiven her. "I'm sorry."

"I know. And I'm sorry, too." Riddhi says, causing Shweta's eyes to widen with mild panic.

"What are you apologizing for?" She asks.

"Well, there was some truth to some of the things you said. And I'm sorry I made you feel like you couldn't trust me. Or like a shadow for that matter. You mean a lot to me, Shweta." She says, her anger now slipping away and replaced by an understanding that had been slowly solidifying over the weeks of silence between the duo.

"That was just me acting neurotic," Shweta says, looking abashed. "You don't have to apologize for being yourself. Otherwise, what is even the point of friendship?"

"Thanks," Riddhi says and there is an awkward pause. It feels awkward to Shweta but Riddhi seems to be thinking; chewing her lip thoughtfully.

"I just want you to know." Riddhi says, "That you can also be whoever you want to be around me. I'm sorry I made you think that I would be judgemental about your and Vaibhav's relationship. And maybe I was as well, forcing you to tell me things that you weren't ready to. You had a lot going on then and it can't have been easy. I should've been there for you but I wasn't." She says.

"That's not going to be a problem anymore. Because telling you things makes things much better anyway." Shweta says with a wry smile.

"I'm glad," Riddhi says and there is another pause. Shweta interrupts it just to clear up the air, "Just to be clear, I am forgiven right?"

"You are, silly." Riddhi laughs and Shweta scratches her head awkwardly.

"I just wasn't expecting it to be resolved with this much ease." She says.

"What were you expecting? For me to scratch and scream?" Riddhi asks and Shweta smiles, "Something of that kind. But you were so polite."

"Do you even know me at all?" Riddhi asks, grinning and Shweta's own mouth widens into a large smile. "Turns out not as well as I thought I did."

"Well, you have been caught up with that little boyfriend of yours." Riddhi snickers in a tone so identical to Shruti's that Shweta hides her face and groans.

"Oh my god, don't start acting like Shruti. It was a relief when she went back to college."

"I can't stop it." Riddhi says mischievously, "Shruti told me to start teasing you about it once you'd apologized."

"Once I'd apologized?" Shweta echoes incredulously. "So, you knew I would apologize!"

"Of course, I did. I had enough people apologizing on your behalf and calling me to tell me that you would be apologizing soon. I knew you weren't feeling good about it." Riddhi says, enjoying Shweta's outrage.

"Then why didn't you say something?" Shweta wails, tears springing up to her eyes. "You knew it! You knew how miserable I felt about it all. Do you have any idea how much I've missed you at all? You didn't miss me, did you? No, you didn't!" She says, her voice breaking in agitation

"Of course, I did silly," Riddhi says, getting up to wrap her arms around Shweta who is still very agitated.

"You tortured me, didn't you?" She says, allowing Riddhi to hug her; speaking mostly to her best-friend's hair.

"Can you blame me? I've always enjoyed a bit of sadism." Riddhi grins.

"Do I even know you at all?" Shweta grumbles as Riddhi breaks into a laugh.

"Do you, Shweta? But that doesn't matter. You and your little boyfriend have made it official and that's the story I want to hear today." She teases her friend.

"Oh god." Shweta groans, "Why did I even bother apologizing?"

"Because you love me!" Riddhi says in a sing-song voice.

"You're lucky I do," Shweta admits grudgingly.

A/n: So things are looking up for Shweta, finally. There's going to be a final chapter. An epilogue of sorts, if you will.

So long, I'll publish the epilogue soon.

Much love,
shortgirlbigbook ❤️