"VEDIKA, RAISE THE STRING a little higher. It's not in perfect alignment." I put my hands on my waist watching Vedika wrestle with the fairy lights.
How she was going to get the lights hanged is the biggest question of all time.
"Zivah, if I go higher than this, I'll probably be on the floor with you in no time." Vedika being her smartass self, grumbles. Then she makes a great leap on the heightened stool that almost scares me. Vedika gasps, a little shaken by the move she made herself.
"Zivah, tell her to get down." Dhruv shouts from afar as he lays a chair next to a table.
Today in the morning, Sumi treated all of us with an extraordinary breakfast and then dropped the bomb that the organising committee was low on people; and obviously that meant that we were expected to be the said 'organising committee'.
Now that I think about it, it's pretty dumb of us to assume that Sumi would offer pizza for breakfast without wanting anything in return.
It's been exactly four hours since all of us are tossing and throwing chairs, tables and decorations all over the place.
"But she ought to listen, Dhruv," I groaned. Vedika makes another jump, and surprisingly, her hand reaches the tip of the pole as she crosses the threads successfully. Dhruv grunts and stomps alongside me in no time and shouts, "Vedika, get down. Now. It won't be funny when you break your leg."
Vedika ignores him as she continues to interwine the wires of the light to the pole.
"Why the fuck is she so stubborn?" Dhruv groans near me and I laugh.
"You think this is funny?" he turns to me.
I raise my eyebrows at him. "What's up with your parents though?" I find myself asking randomly.
He just shrugs. "They keep fighting and making up. You can't really tell what goes on with them."
I nod in realization, "that explains why their sons have so many commitment issues."
He looks at me pointedly. "Please, you're only right if you're talking about Arjun. Me, on the other hand, I am not scared of commitment."
I stare at him longer than I should have.
He seems to notice that because his lips curl up just a little but in a smirk.
"You know, it's high time you guys get together now. It's turning boring for all of us now." Vedika unnecessarily comments, tiptoing on the stool.
Before I can potentially shut her up, a strongly loud yell cuts in. "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!!!!!" Sumi shouts excitedly in the loudest tone possible.
We turn to see Sumi hurdling over the setup furniture to get to a woman who had just made a grand entrance through the gates of the Singh-Gupta Household.
She appeared to be in her forties and her features were fairly similar to those of Sumi.
So, she was probably her sister.
"Now this house is going to be on fire." Dhruv informs.
"Binita, why didn't you tell me you had arrived?" I would've sent one of my boys to pick you up from the airport.
"Oh, no," she shakes her hand. "It's not like it's my first time here. I've been here like seventy million times. I know your place front and back." The lady, apparently named Binita, had luggage double of what Vedika has carried. And that's saying a lot.
"How is everybody? How are my munchkins? and how is my Sandy?" She asks, looking around in excitement. Dhruv scoots a little behind me in an attempt to not be visible in her peripheral vision.
But when her eyes spot him, she beams and rushes towards us. She almost throws herself on Dhruv, gobbling him into a hug and plants a big kiss on his cheeks.
"Aw, my munchkin is still handsome."
"And exactly how many times have I told you not to call me that?" Dhruv complains irritatedly.
She simply just pats his hair and smiles. "You will always be my little munchkin, no matter what."
"Binita, ignore him, will you?" Sumi says, taking the bags, one by one, from her hand. "You must be all jet-lagged. Come on, let's get you settled in the guest bedroom.
"Yeah, that we will," Binita states, glancing around in search for someone. "But where is Sandy?"
Who Sandy?
Sumi is smiling frantically. "Are you serious about seeing him? I mean, it's no secret you're not his favourite person. He'll probably flip when he finds out you're here despite all his endless warnings."
"Ugh, since when did we start acknowledging his likes and dislikes?" She says, and they both chuckle collectively.
"The fuck, who's Sandy?" I mutter under my breath.
"She's talking about my dad," Dhruv replies from my side. "Sandy is short for Sandeep. A highly unusual name my maasi came up with."
Before I could comment about the name, a loud muffled thump echoes behind me and a piercing scream cuts through the air.
Dhruv and I immediately spin on our heels to see Vedika fallen to the ground with a heavy wooden table, somehow, over her left limb.
She lets out a loud gasp from the pain.
"Fuck," Dhruv curses loudly as he rushes to lift the hard table off her leg. I rush to her right away as she grits her teeth and shuts her eyes tightly, panting.
"Hey, shh. Calm down," I grab her shoulders and rub her back as Dhruv gently lifts up the table off her with his strong arms.
"You, alright?" he asks frantically inspecting the lower half of her leg where the table had collapsed on her.
She shakes her head helplessly as another cry of pain escapes from her mouth and she looses all her calm and falls back against my chest.
My reflex grabs her before her back touches the floor and Dhruv immediately moves forward to steady her.
"I'll get some water." I hear Sumi's uncertain rushed voice as she drops Binita's luggage on the floor.
My eyes go back to Vedika holding on to her leg as she tries to stabilize her breathing.
"Dhruv, do something." I ramble at him.
He gives Vedika a once-over before getting up on his feet and pulling out his phone from his back pocket. He starts to dial a few numbers.
I stare at him in confusion, "What are you-"
He clicks his tongue in annoyance and puts his phone on speaker. After a couple of rings, the person at the other end, receives the call.
"Hello." I hear Arjun's deep voice.
"Arjun, get here. Now," He speaks into the phone.
Vedika quickly looks up at Dhruv and shakes her head aggressively.
"No, I can't," Arjun simply declines. "I have work."
Dhruv takes a sharp breath. "Look, you know I wouldn't be calling you if there wasn't something urgent. Just get here, will you?"
I hear Arjun click his tongue in annoyance. "Please, I'm not coming over to help you set that party. Also, if there's something else, then I believe you are much capable of handling it yourself."
Dhruv rolls his eyes and begins, "It's about Vedika. She-"
"Nothing, Arjun," Vedika cuts in panic. "It's nothing really. Dhruv here was just trying to mess with you. Sorry for wasting your time. Have an awesome day, bye-bye."
Then trying to ignore the pain in her limb, she tries to lift herself up from beside me in an attempt to snatch the phone from Dhruv but it ends up in her falling back on the ground with a painful groan.
"Dhruv, what's wrong?" Arjun's tone changes.
He wasn't stupid. Panic oozed out from every word she spoke. Obviously, now he knew something was really wrong.
"She's hurt." Dhruv finally says, pitifully glancing at Vedika who was glaring at him.
"Hurt how?" He shouts in a tone which makes me shudder.
"Dhruv, I'm fucking talking to you." Arjun's tone rises as if he was was trying to not lose his shit.
I grab the phone from Dhruv's hand. "She fell from a stool and somehow, this huge table fell on her leg. And now, she's having trouble getting up. Since you're practicing orthopaedy, we figured you'd be of some help. So will you please hurry up?"
He inhales a sharp breath. "Dhruv, lie her down on the bed. I'll be there in 15 minutes."
_____________________
"Mom," I talk on the phone with every ounce of courage I've managed to muster. "I'm not brave enough to talk to you, so I'm sending you this voice message."
I feel a tear drifting from the corner of my eyes, but I wipe it as I curl up in the bed.
"I know what I did wasn't right. I know I hurt you'll. And, it was completely unacceptable. And I'm sorry for everything. I want to come back home. I want to see you'll. I want to stand in front of you and apologize."
My gaze hangs over the photo frame next to my bed.
The eight of us sittin' on the couch.
Aman with Vedika and Kavya to each side, while he kisses Vedika's hair. Zivah and Dhruv gaze at one another. Nishaant grinning widely at the camera while Arjun looks at him with an annoyed expression. And me, next to him, smiling.
"Don't you worry about me, all right?"
I'm fine. I will be. No matter what. Because I got them.
I shift a little.
"Also, I have been lying to myself and to you'll. But now I don't think it's right to hide this anymore. I don't think I can do medicine. I never thought I might and now I've decided. I'm quitting."
———
yo what's up? i don't know what motivated me to come back but ig it was all those comments and messages from u guys.
<3
also how did u like this chapter,
do let me know?
and sorry for dropping that bomb in the end.
.