Page 30 of Since You Came Along (Ever Since #1)
M eera woke up and stretched her hand out, only to find the bed empty. She opened her eyes and looked around the room. The thick blue curtains filtered the bright morning rays into soft streaks of light, bathing the room in muted sunlight.
She sat up and called out his name, but the silence that followed felt heavy. After waiting a moment, she sank back into the bed, her gaze fixed on the ceiling.
Last night replayed in her mind like a surreal dream, making her question whether Raghav had really come home. Her only proof was the closed curtains. The dull throb in her temple reminded her of how he’d spent the night changing the cold compress on her forehead.
Her fingers brushed against the sheets beside her, and she took a deep breath, inhaling his scent still lingering on the fabric. It brought a small smile to her lips. Where had he gone so early?
Her eyes shifted to her phone on the bedside table. A small slip of paper lay tucked beneath the phone. She recognised his handwriting right away, and as she read it, she moved her fingers over the words.
I managed to switch on your phone. Call our friends, they’re worried. I spoke to them already, but they’ll want to hear from you. I’ll call you soon.
- R
Meera dragged herself out of bed and picked up her phone. She padded into the kitchen and the rich aroma of coffee greeted her. She heated a mug for herself, settled at the dining table and called Siya.
Two rings later, she heard Siya yelling at her. ‘You fucking idiot! Where the hell have you been?’
Meera couldn’t help but chuckle.
‘Oh, this is funny to you?’ Siya snapped. ‘You know what? I don’t need this bullshit. I don’t want to talk to you. Bye!’
The call disconnected before Meera could respond, but she shook her head and counted under her breath. Sure enough, fifteen seconds later, her phone buzzed again.
Siya was yelling louder this time. ‘Can’t you call back? If I’m upset, will it cost you anything to make it up to me?’
She laughed to herself and said, ‘You’ve never gone a day without talking to me, so save this drama for someone else. I’m fine. I’m so sorry you guys had to go through that.’
Meera meant it. She couldn’t imagine the panic her friends must have felt, stuck in another city, worrying about her.
‘It was awful,’ Siya admitted, and Meera could tell she was holding back tears. ‘When Abhay called, he was so panicked. I could hear Kusha speaking to Raghav in the background. Then Abhay said there’d been an accident there. Oh, Mihu! You’re never driving that cursed car again!’
Meera heard the raw emotion in her voice and said, ‘Okay, I won’t.’
‘Hang on,’ Siya said, and the call went silent for a moment.
Two sips of coffee later, Meera heard Swayam joining the call. The overlapping chatter between them was chaotic, arguing over why Meera had called Siya first and not Swayam. Nobody seemed to listen to her.
She let them carry on for a while, her heart swelling with affection for her friends. She could not imagine losing their love, their chaos, and their unwavering support. Her thoughts turned to the stranger who hadn’t been as lucky, and she prayed for her and her grieving loved ones.
When their conversation became too much, Meera disconnected the call. It wasn’t long before they called back. This time Swayam spoke first. ‘Why’d you cut us off?’
‘Because you weren’t listening to me,’ Meera replied. ‘Speak one at a time, or I’m hanging up again.’
The threat worked. After a moment of silence, Swayam said, ‘I miss you, Mihu. Don’t ever scare us like that again.’
‘Oh, Swayam,’ Meera said, her own eyes stinging with unshed tears. ‘Don’t cry, please. I’m fine.’
‘I didn’t even know what happened until later. Abhay called to tell me what happened just before Raghav landed. I don’t know how the others coped for hours without losing their minds.’
‘I didn’t cope,’ Siya interjected. ‘I imagined the worst plausible scenarios. Let’s all take this as a lesson. Please, always keep your phones close.’
‘I miss all of you, and I love that you care so much about me. But you do realise it wasn’t me who scared you, right?’ Meera asked, trying to calm them.
‘Doesn’t matter! You’d better be safe and cautious from now on!’ Swayam warned her. She knew all of them well enough to understand that last night had shaken them. She made a mental note to call Abhay and the others later to check on them too.
The conversation shifted to her car, and the group launched into a lively debate about how to get rid of it without invoking her wrath. She protested, reasoning that it wasn’t the car’s fault, but they brushed her off and kept talking among themselves.
By the end of the call, she had assured them all as best she could, and when she hung up, her chest felt a little lighter. The knowledge that she was loved filled her with gratitude.
She spent the next hour talking to Abhay and Luv. Both of them had been terrified, and Abhay could barely hold it together when he talked to her. He explained how he’d wrapped up work and was on his way to the airport when Raghav called to say he’d found her safe at home.
He didn’t elaborate, but Meera could hear the unspoken strain in his voice. Luv had never sounded so grim. Both men made her promise to replace her phone and to take better care of herself.
Just as she was about to put her phone down, it buzzed again. The name on the screen surprised her. Kusha. She’d never called before.
‘How are you?’ Kusha asked so softly that Meera had to strain to hear her.
‘Hey. I’m fine. How are you? Yesterday couldn’t have been easy for you,’ Meera replied.
‘No, it wasn’t,’ Kusha admitted with a sigh.
‘I can’t imagine how you handled the guys. I’m struggling to convince them I’m okay, and I wasn’t even there for the worst of it. You had to deal with them in full panic mode.’
The silence stretched on the call for a moment before Kusha said, ‘Meera, yesterday wasn’t hard because of the guys. It was hard because I thought we’d lost you.’
‘I get that. It would’ve been unbearable for everyone. Raghav looked like he hadn’t slept in days. I can’t even imagine what the others went through.’
‘Meera...’ Kusha trailed off. Something in her voice stopped Meera in her tracks.
‘Yeah?’ she prompted.
Kusha confessed, ‘I was scared as well.’
Meera blinked in surprise. ‘You were?’ she asked, unable to keep the shock out of her tone.
Kusha sighed, and asked, ‘Have I messed up so badly that you can’t believe that? I was terrified of losing you, Meera. I…’
Meera held her breath, waiting for her to continue and when she did, Meera wanted to weep with happiness.
When Kusha continued, her voice broke. ‘I don’t want to lose another friend.’
Meera smiled through tears and promised, ‘You won’t.’
They talked for a few more minutes and Kusha told Meera to keep chocolate chip cookies ready for her when she came back home.
As the call ended, Meera leaned against the wall, her mind drifting to Raghav again. He’d been a constant presence in her thoughts all morning. Where had he gone? Did he go to work? Was he okay?
It was two in the afternoon when Raghav called her. Startled, she jumped up from the bed where she’d been reading and answered. ‘Hello.’
‘Hi. How are you now?’
‘I’m better. What about you?’
‘I will be,’ he said. Before she could ask what he meant, he continued, ‘Did you take the medicines I left for you? Did the fever break?’
She smiled and said, ‘Yes and yes.’
‘Good. If I ask you to come to an address, can you manage that?’ Raghav asked hesitantly.
‘Of course. Tell me where,’ she said, already reaching for a pen and pad from the bedside drawer.
He gave her the address, and she jotted it down. Before she could ask why or what this was about, he said, ‘Can you be there in half an hour?’
‘Sure,’ Meera replied without hesitation.
Just as she was about to hang up, Raghav said, ‘Meera, please don’t drive.’
She almost protested with the reason she’d given everyone, but stopped herself. Abhay had warned her earlier on the call that Raghav would be worried for the next few days.
‘Okay. I’ll take a cab. Where exactly should I meet you?’ she asked, her tone softer now.
‘Just get there and call me. I’ll be nearby.’ He paused, then added, ‘And come safely, Meera.’
She agreed with a smile.