It was 8am and Ved hadn't yet replied to my texts. I checked my phone multiple times, called him too but there was no sign of him being online. I was getting a weird feeling in my stomach since midnight, but I ignored it by taking it as my nervousness of meeting Natural Heater in college.

I couldn't even eat the breakfast properly for which I received a nice scolding from Mom. She packed more lunch in my tiffin and warned me not to bring back any food. I nodded absentmindedly and exited the house after grabbing my scooter keys and helmet.

I took out my phone once more to check if there was any reply to my messages when I heard a loud screech of car tyres in my pavement. Within seconds, Shreyas and Shree were out of their Mustang and dragging me with them.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"There is no time for questions. Just come with us," Shree said.

"But I have to go to college. And you guys should too."

While I was struggling to know why I was getting kidnapped by my friends in the broad daylight, the twins were making calls simultaneously and murmuring something. They loaded me in the back seat, and Shree took the driver's seat, while Shreyas sat beside me.

"Don't panic, okay?" he said.

"Just tell her, will ya?" Shree started the car.

"What's going on? Did something happen to Ved?"

"He is in the hospital," Shreyas said.

"What?! How did he... no, what the hell are you saying? He was fine yesterday then what happened suddenly? And why didn't anyone inform me earlier? Is that why he didn't see my texts? Is he okay? He isn't dying, right? Oh no, what am I supposed to do-"

Shreyas put his palm over my mouth to shut me up. "Relax, woman. He is all fine; his dad suffered a stroke in the early morning and had to be hospitalized immediately. We are taking you there only."

"Drive faster then."

"You want me to run over everyone on the street?" Shree snapped.

Shreyas wrapped an arm over my shoulders, and Shree picked up Nikhil from his home. He also looked disheveled after hearing the news but assured me that everything was going to be okay. Till the time we reached the hospital, Shree was on the verge of exploding after hearing me cry throughout the ride.

"Are you done?" he asked me after we got out of the car.

"Don't be so rude, bro. She is just worried," Nikhil argued.

"I know that, okay? Ved is already dealing with a lot, and if he sees her crying rivers, he will lose his shit," Shree said. "We have to support him."

"He is right." I nodded and wiped my tears.

Shreyas guided us towards the VIP ward where Ved's father was being operated on. In the waiting area, we met Parth, Karthik and Krittika Aunty. She told us that she would inform us when the doctors would come out, so we could go and check on Ved; he was the one who needed more attention.

"I have tried to cheer him up, but he is getting more depressed by each passing second. I don't know how to make him understand that his dad won't leave him," she said painfully.

"Don't worry, Aunty. Now that Sandhya is here, she will handle it." Shreyas smiled.

What? Me?

I thought of expressing my doubt, but my friends shot me a warning look, and after taking updates from Krittika Aunty, they took me to the room where Ved was. Nikhil told me to call them if the situation got out of my hands; they would be right outside.

"Why don't you guys come too?" I suggested.

"He won't tell us exactly what's going on in his mind; he is good at masking his emotions. Even if we are his best friends, he never tells us if he is in any kind of trouble. You get what I mean, right?" Parth said.

Yeah, I got what he meant. Ved never showed his weakness in front of others - not even his loved ones.

I assured my friends and knocked on the door of the room. When I heard no response, I opened the door a bit and roamed my eyes around and sighed in relief after spotting Ved in a corner. He was glued to the window, looking outside with a blank expression on his face.

With cautious steps, I went inside and stood at one hand distance from him. I decided to give him some time before I announced my presence, though I was sure that he had already noticed me. Slowly, I inched closer and tapped his shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

He turned his head in a slow motion and nodded. "I am fine."

"You expect me to believe that when you are looking like you are on a deathbed."

"Why are you so concerned? If you are here to give me a lecture then I don't need one. I am capable of taking care of my family, so I don't need yours or anyone's pity, okay?"

"I am not pitying you," I said. "Why would I when I know you don't need my help?"

He darted his eyes around my face, and when I saw his body going stiff, I grabbed his wrist and told him to sit on the vacant bed. He didn't protest and sat down, his face losing color when I stepped back.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Sandhya. I don't know what I am saying..." He rubbed his face with his palms and began getting up.

I braced his shoulders with my palms and lightly pushed him back. "Stop worrying about me and focus on yourself."

He nodded like a kid, and I told him to close his eyes. He gave me a confused look but did as I said.

"Just don't think of anything else and concentrate on your emotions. I will be right here, but I won't disturb you." I removed my hands from his shoulders.

I leaned on the wall and gave him some space. Ved opened his eyes after a few seconds but closed them again when he saw me. He was struggling to keep still as his body shook a little, and his skin changed colors rapidly. One moment, he was all pale, the next all pink and then he would look like he was replaying very happy memories.

He opened his eyes after ten minutes and the expression he sported was the same as he showed on the day of my ninth birthday, when his mother had died, the day when he and I were standing in front of his late mother's photo in his house, and the moment he saw me all battered in Ayush's room.

"Need a hug?" I asked and stood in front of him.

When he moved his head an inch, I wrapped my arms around him. I patted his back and caressed his hair; unlike the rigidness in his body, they were soft and flowing freely in curls. Fortunately, Natural Heater got back in action and warmed up both of us.

"I don't want to lose him too," he said.

"You won't."

"I kept telling him to stop overworking, but he never listened. Even when I told him that I would take care of everything, he ignored my requests and kept exhausting himself. You know he didn't even have time to attend Veer's birthday party, but we forced him to come because otherwise Veer would have gotten upset.

"Why doesn't Dad understand that I don't want him to die? I already lost Mom; I don't want him to leave me too. Sometimes, I feel he is doing it on purpose so he no longer has to deal with me. I know I have disappointed him a lot, but I love him. I don't know if I will be able to live without him..."

I moved back a little and cupped his cheeks. "Just like you love your dad, he loves you too. He won't leave you, Ved; not even if you force him to. And don't say that he is tired of you. You are disrespecting his love when you say that; maybe he is not good at expressing his emotions just like you."

"I don't hide my emotions." Ved shook his head. "When have I?"

"Is that so? Then why are you keeping your tears to yourself?"

"I am not crying," he argued.

"Then you should. No one will judge you for crying. We are humans, so don't pull that 'Men don't cry' card on me."

When he still looked hesitant, I thought of a way to get him to open up. If he kept his emotions bottled up, he would hurt himself more.

"Okay. If you don't want to cry, then don't, but don't deny it too. I promise I won't look or tell anyone even if you do cry; I am good at keeping secrets."

He pulled me closer and crushed me in his arms. "Just stay here."

I hugged him back and patted the top of his head. I felt really good, but I was worried if Ved thought the same or not; he wasn't moving at all. I thought of checking if he had fallen asleep but stopped myself when I heard a low sob. Soon, Ved tightened his hold, and I felt my t-shirt getting wet with his tears.

I let him cry his heart out, and as I had promised, I didn't disturb him. I noticed my friends outside, motioning me to tell them if Ved was okay or not. All of them smiled when I nodded; they left after checking on us.

About twenty minutes later, Ved looked up at me, and I kissed his forehead. "Feeling good now?"

He gave me a small smile and told me that he wanted to see his father. He got up from the bed and hugged me tightly. "Thank you, Sandy Pandy."

"Sandhya Didi!"

Ved chuckled when he saw his younger brother hopping towards us, and I caught him before he collided with me.

"Easy there, Little Rajput." I picked him up.

"Were you crying, Bhaiyya?" he asked.

Ved shook his head, but Veer wiped his elder brother's cheeks. "It is okay. I am here, no? I will take care of Dad and Mom, so you can rest now."

"Come here, you little punk." Ved took Veer from my arms and kissed his nose.

Both brothers hugged each other, and when Veer announced that their father had woken up, all of us ran without wasting any time. Krittika Aunty was talking to the doctors, and it was a relief to see her smiling. The doctors allowed us to meet Jaiwant Uncle but not more than two persons at a time.

After Veer and his mom's turn, Ved took me with him to see his dad.

"Did you cry?" he asked Ved worriedly.

"Yeah, I did."

Jaiwant Uncle stared at his son in disbelief but cracked a smile when Ved hugged him.

"I love you, Dad. If you ever think about leaving me then I will never talk to you."

"I love you too, kid."

Uncle kissed Ved's crown and promised that he would not neglect his health and worry his family. After talking with him, I left, while Ved stayed; he had a lot of complaints for his father, and I didn't want to become a third wheel. Karthik offered to drop me and Nikhil home, and we left the hospital premises after making sure that the situation was under control.

The three of us were discussing recent events when my phone buzzed. I cut the call after seeing the caller ID. It kept ringing incessantly so I blocked the number. Nikhil and Karthik asked me what the matter was, and I thought that I would be able to distract them but it was useless.

"Is it a stalker?" Karthik asked and took my phone.

"It is nothing," I said, but Karthik had already checked the missed calls.

"Who is Sahil? And why is he sending you 'Sorry' like lottery tickets?"

"He did something?" Nikhil questioned in a cold tone.

Seeing no benefit in hiding what had happened, I told them about my fight with Sahil. Karthik cursed under his breath and told me to block him on every social site; I did as he advised, and Nikhil suggested that I inform him if I got the calls again.

"Don't tell Ved about it," I said.

"Why not?" Karthik asked.

"His dad is in hospital. You want him to go to jail instead of looking after his family?"

There was complete silence for a few seconds before we burst out laughing. Nikhil commented how his best friend would turn into Red Hulk, and Karthik started coming up with imaginary movie scenes.

"Pinky promise?" I asked.

"Pinky promise," both of them said.

I had just managed to make Ved understand that he should not hide his emotions, and if he got to know about Sahil, he would go berserk. I preferred him calm as I had personally experienced his rage - who knew if he also had levels to it?