Chapter 29

"Get out of the car!"

Arnav craned his neck in one go, giving a blow to the slight cramps that had already started to grow in it, his eyes wide as football, looking into Vivek's eyes who when he first looked were a raging tide, and now all that remained of it was the calm sea, as if he was collecting his thought processes in order to think straight. Arnav continued to look at him fishily, some kind of answer being expected from him, but Vivek kept looking far off somewhere, and then only a while later looked back at shaken, yet rattling with rage Arnav.

"I mean, that hospital. (pointing at the gate of the hospital) your mom stooped the car in front suddenly, I had to halt or we would have crashed into her" Vivek explained still stammering, his expression lost somewhere in an another world, and it did not take long for Arnav to realize the jeopardy in Vivek's head, and not being fond of him, he slowly let his anger fade away, and stepped out of the car, letting Vivek park the car in a safe spot.

In front Anita, Aparna and Khushi were still in the car, while Anita parked the right next to where Vivek was parked, and soon enough got out, Khushi out with her standing frantically, her eyes searching for Vivek to get out. It was just a moment of relief for her to see that he had stepped out of the driver's seat perfectly fine, but that was soon gone as she carefully noted the hay wire expression on his face. She tried to have him look at her, but he kept looking away from, to an extent that he and Arnav and carried Aparna Gupta out of the car, and he hadn't even uttered a single word about anything else.

Tensed, she followed them inside the hospital, where Aparna Gupta was rushed to a stretcher quickly, Anita calling the nurses to take her straight to the ICU, get in the equipments there while she came there to attend the patient.

"She's going to be alright. Don't worry" Mrs.Raizada kept her hand comfortingly on a color drained, pale Khushi, who gave her a tight liped smile, as she saw the last of her disappearing into the Doctors cloak room. Now the only people that remained were, Arnav, herself and Vivek. She turned towards Vivek but before she could say anything at all, his phone started to buzz in his pocket, and in a disheveled, fidgety kind of manner he retrieved it from his pocket looking at the caller ID.

"You wanna attend it? It's Aakash." Vivek asked Arnav coolly, not even for a second letting his eyes meet with Khushi, as if she wasn't even standing there, extending the ringing phone in his hand towards Arnav who exchanged looks with Khushi, and then at him, and then back reverse but then finally took the call. That said, he walked away from there, leaving Khushi whining in pain, taking a seat near the ICU that Mrs.Gupta had moments ago been rushed into. Khushi slowly followed him, cursing herself under her breathe for not telling him before and quietly took the seat next to him.

"Aren't you going to call your dad? He should know that your mother is in the hospital" Vivek finally said after a few minutes, still looking at everywhere but her, asking if the question was casual, but the bitterness in his voice was pretty much evident.

Khushi took a while to grasp the question she had just been asked. The least that she expected to ask him right now, was why she hadn't told him before, this, this, was something totally totally unexpected. Her expression was a bit dazed, as well as hazy due to all the tears she had shed, the uncomfortable situation between the pair prevailing, the one which they had always avoided to ever surface between the two of them.

"No. If there is any body responsible for Maa's condition it is him." She said stoutly, the hatred for her father pouring out of her sharp tone, and it took a moment for Vivek to get use to of her hardness as he looked at her astoundingly for a split second then turned his eyes away quickly, before she could even meet his gaze.

"Do you hate him that much?" he asked her keeping up conversation, and craned his neck now to look at her, shaking with uncontrollable fury, the same he had seen her in when because of Arnav she had been scolded by the librarian, but the intensity of anger he saw now was much more than he had ever seen from her, it was pretty much of out of imagination, he never had any idea she could get that fumed up.

"More than you can imagine" she said, chewing on her words, her teeth chattering within her mouth, the thought of her dad sending chills down her spine, every moment of the treachery she and her mother had to go through because of him, playing like a cassette I front of her.

"You will still have to call him. Do you see that? (pointing at the ICU door) it's the operation theatre, your mom is most probably going to have operation, and for that they will need you fathers permission, what will you do then?" he countered her logically yet again, her looking at him blankly, worry now surfacing back on her face giving way for the hatred to not be too obvious now, as she looked at the letters he was pointing at, and then back at him, the look on his face faded but concern all over it.

"I'll manage something." She retorted and shifted her gaze to look at a husband rushing his wife, who was in labor towards another operation theater, the couple gone, her thought churning inside her head, clawing back at her. She knew he had a point, sooner or later, Mrs.Raizada, would come with the papers and want her to call her father for his permission. What was she going to do then? It was clear, that she was only 16, and not lawfully an adult either, so they wouldn't except her signature, she had no one else other Payal and her aunt-uncle as her closest family her in Stanford. The awareness of the hoarse relationship she and her mother had with her Aunt and Uncle was not unknown to her, after Aman Gupta had learned of his elder brother's lawful separation from his wife. Things had gone ugly between them, though she had kept in good contact with Payal Jiji and their closeness hadn't faded but still she knew their was little Jiji would be able to do about it right now, this situation had gotten worse way beyond control.

Vivek now stopped shifting his place, and his eyes now stuck at Khushi still with a certain kind of seriousness he stare at her gravely, holding up her chin to look at him, who slightly frightened, slightly relived, slightly horrified looked at him, and even though she tried hard she just couldn't look away after that.

"Look Khushi, you will have to dissolve all that hatred in you for him, just for the time being. Remember it's not because its your duty to tell him that you are doing it, its because of your mother, its for her, you know that too well that they wont start the operation without his permission, right? *pause* So you call him right now, let him speak to Mrs. Raizada, and then it will be good, you just have to talk alright, or if you cant, give me the number I'll do it" Vivek told her in a reasonable soothing voice, and she just stared at him with nothing but an expression of pure helplessness, gathering the strength she needed from him. From where they sat, Arnav walked towards them the cell phone in his hand, luckily having had caught what Vivek had told Khushi, pretty impressed with his sensible attitude. He didn't know why, but something in him was changing for Vivek too, it was like seeing him in a new light, now that he looked at them, it looked as if he and Karan were talking about a serious issue, and Karan was advising him about something. Khushi was too startled to face the truth, to say anything, as she felt the hand on her shoulder going heavy, letting her eyes take in the sight of Arnav towering above the two of them, his hand on top of Vivek's on her shoulder. Vivek looked at him with a joyful affection, and put up a small smile, much to his surprise Arnav returning it with a small one of his own.

"He's right Gupta. You have to do it. It shouldn't be too bad, the worst that can happen is, he insists you on giving details, leave that to us, we'll handle that" he told her with assured eyes, the baffled state of hers still not letting go of her, so that she decided on a decision, her eyes moving from Arnav to Vivek, and then at the ICU board on the top of the room where her mother was now. Finally after what was like, thinking over and over again about that, her mind having accepted that she had no other option but this, she looked at the two of them straight in the eye and slowly yet forcefully nodded, as she saw a bit of relief yet protectiveness taking over the two of them.

"Here. Go call." Arnav told her, handing over Vivek's phone to her and her hands shivering, the blood inside her getting jammed, she took the phone, inching toward Vivek to make seat for Arnav to sit. Sitting in between the two of them, her hands still shaky, she dialed in the number to her dad's cell phone hastily, looking at the two of them now and then while doing this, searching their eyes for just one hint, of her not doing this. But their was a certain kind of determination in the way they both were looking at her, like there was no option at all, and finally after having pressed in the entire number with much difficulty, she kept the phone on her ear her reflexes still numb ever passing ring faded away.

"Hello? Aryan Gupta speaking" she heard his hoarse, ragged, husky voice crackle from the other end, her entire features going tensed hearing it, and she pressed her free hand into Vivek's for support, the blank expression on her face making it clear to the boys that the call had been received.

"It's Khushi here" she said in a shaky voice, the anger and hatred burning within her, her eyes going cold, as she heard the shuffle of noise on the other end, a few labored breathes, and finally the raspy voice returning back to line.

"What happened? I did sent your mother money last week, is there anything else that you want?" Aryan Gupta replied, in a slightly irked kind of voice, the memory of his last visit to her still fresh in his head, as he waited for his daughter to answer him back. Khushi seethed in pain, her insides stretching out to their utmost limits, as she kept the phone down on her lap front on the back, her palm covering the voice box, jaw tightened, teeth chattering.

"I am not saying another word to him. The man is sick" she said in a horrified, pained kind of tone leaving Arnav and Vivek exchanging glances at each other, but soon they had after urging her continuously got her into keeping the phone back on her ear, her eyes now blood red.

"Maa is in the hospital. She had a stroke. The doctor's need your permission for the operation" she said directly, not stopping or taking any pauses in between, leaving him to digest the sudden news that she had blurt out in one go, the wait taking more longer than she had wanted it to take, her patience wilting away with every second of wait that she had to face.

"How did it happen? What happened to her? Leave it tell me in detail when I get there I am coming." Aryan Gupta said quickly, his voice pressing on to the tension he felt growing inside him, Khushi on the other hand getting the hang on his words, felt like someone had snatched her heart right out of her chest, conscious.

"What! You'you..are coming here..?" she spluttered in a ragged kind of voice, her breathing labored, exchanging terrified looks with Vivek and Arnav, who seemed too moved to even react, her eyes turning as hard as chips as metal, the though of facing her father made her shiver, meeting him yet again, was not a good thing at all.

"Yes. I have been in Stanford since the last two weeks. Tell me which hospital are you in, I'll be right there" he said in an impatient voice, gathering up his formals, pulling over his coat, all the while his phone on his ear while he waited for Khushi to answer him.

"There is no need of you to come, really there isn't. They understand that you are in the military and so will take your permission on the phone itself, you don't need to take the trouble of coming here" she said hurriedly, trying her bets to stop him from coming, she didn't want any drama right now when her mother was in such a poor condition, and she herself wasn't in much good mood either, him coming would be very abrupt, she wasn't even sure if she would be able to handle it.

"Just tell me the hospital Khushi. Don't argue." She heard him telling her sternly, her reflexes tightening on his commanding voice on her, as if he had a what so ever right on her. She knew him, if she did not tell him, he would find out anyway, and then that would be all hell loose, it was better she prepared for the worst, instead of it barging through her door uninvited.

"The one in Margaret Jacks." she told him coldly, and not waiting for another word, disconnecting the call, slamming the phone heavily right into Vivek's half out stretched palm, her entire body now rattling with fury that was not even near to anywhere that was known as 'control'.

"Are you two happy now? He's coming here. You said the worst that could happen was he would ask details right Raizada (looking at Arnav hotly), look at this, this is the father of worst coming here! Now what am I supposed to do? I can't face him, now in the current state I am, no one knows what I will do if I see him face to face right now" she said clenching her fists hard, her nose flared up, the red color on her face highlighting her beautiful yet fearful features right now. She just couldn't imagine the torture of seeing him again, at a time this critical; it looked like all her stars were playing against her just right now. She arched her elbows on her thighs, and buried her face into her palms, trying to gain control over herself, while all that Vivek and Arnav could do was just look.

The two after much thinking had finally decided on an appropriate reaction when their was a sudden commotion in the small hall way they were sitting in, Khushi oblivious to her surrounding, as a highly worried, and slightly frustrated Aakash and Anjali raced about the hall frantically, rushing towards the trio seated on the chair. Anjali was sobbing heavily, on the other hand Aakash looked like he was in a good mood of kicking anybody who dared mess with him now, right in the nuts.

"Chotte you are seriously out of your mind! How could you have not cared to give either me or Anji a phone call, when so much had happened? (moving his eyes around) Where is Mrs. Gupta? And Maa where is she?" Aakash busted off at Arnav who had gotten up from where he had sat, seeing his siblings in such a feisty mood.

"They are in the operation theatre" He scowled at his elder brother, offended at the way he was holding him responsible for everything. Now how did he fit into the picture, it wasn't a Grand Bumper Sale that he would tell them about, this was someone getting sick, the whole of Stanford was not supposed to know that.

Anjali who had wiped her tears dry, stared for a while at a lost in her own world Khushi, and quickly she bent down, and threw her arms around Khushi's crouched form, taking her by surprise, her eyes flying open, seeing someone's arms around her and for a minute she even tried to struggle, thinking it was her dad, but she eventually realized that the touch was a soft one, and wrapped her own arms around Anjali, her eyes before that moving upwards towards a frustrated Aakash, making the guess of the comforting hugger very clear.

Anjali pulled away from Khushi, and searched her face, for fear, which was there, worry which was there, but much more than all of that she looked scared and terrified, it surprised Anjali to know that she wasn't even crying but had a blanked out expression on her face, and her entire body by the touch of it felt intensely warm, like she had fever.

"Khushi you feel so hot. Do you have fever?" Anjali asked her worriedly, but Khushi only looked at him with a confused expression puzzled at what she was asking, more than ever a bit shaky seeing the two of them suddenly appear out of nowhere.

"I don't know, I can't feel it. *pause* When did you two come?" she asked meticulously, getting up from her seat, feeling a bit wobbly in the knees, grasping Anjali's hand for support, her mind still lost somewhere else.

"Just now. How long have they been in there?" Aakash replied in a tensed voice, his sight lingering on the red bulb above the ICU letters that was still not turned off.

"Half an hour." Arnav answered him back, Aakash still pissed off at Arnav's negligence giving him a disapproving fiery look, Arnav just rolling his eyes at him in reply, while Anjali shook her head indignantly at her two crazy than many brothers.

In all of this Vivek, who was standing a bit cut off from the rest of the crowd, felt stranger, now that he had come to know, that she preferred the three siblings over him, he did not feel any need of him being there, because with the three around, he trusted them enough to take good care of her, maybe better than him. Gradually, taking steps back from them, he gave a last painful look at her and decided to walk away, but much to his utter surprise he had to turn back just in time to see Khushi's hand firmly intervened in his looking at him with a deadened expression.

"If you'll excuse us for a moment please" Khushi asked the sibling trio, who nodded at her slightly taken aback, more confused by her request and let her move out from the circle they had enclosed her into, her hand still very firmly holding on to Vivek's who was nearly just as more shaken as she herself was. Pulling away to a side, away from ears reach, she cornered him forcing him to look at her.

"What do you want me to do to you, punch or slap? You decide." She asked a dazy him fiercely who just felt completely silent, his expressions were still blank, but only a bit of fondness was returning back to it.

"Where the hell do you think you were going huh, leaving me alone here, you put me into this wrath of facing my father you cant just run away like that!" she told him with narrowed eyes, blood pouring into her plump cheeks as he arched his eye brows at her and then sadly yet again looked away.

"I thought you liked the Raizada's company better than mine, so erm, feeling un wanted I decided to leave", he told her with a hurt expression on his face, the expression of guilt and sorry returning back to her face.

"Un wanted? You and un wanted? For me, no company is better than yours, you understand?, don't act so sadistic punching bag, doesn't suit you at all." She remarked calmly, trying to gather her thought on what she had to say next to him, since he had completely refused to meet her eyes at all now.

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