The hollow dread began to settle deep in his chest, a gut-wrenching instinct that something wasn't right. He even tried calling Radha, but faced the same answer.
Mahir looked at his watch. He needed to head for the meeting. The client was yet another moron who was getting under his skin. If only it wasn't Ronit's work; he was merely completing as his substitute. Mahir would have enjoyed showing the moron client his real place, but he needed to hold back for the first time, and he hated every bit of it.
Trying one last time before leaving for the meeting, he sighed in relief as the call was finally answered.
"Arjun, will you tell me what's going on, where is Radha, and why the hell weren't you receiving my calls?" He shot out with questions, his tone sharp with anger, yet laced with unknown fear.
"Bhaiya!" The single word was all it took for Mahir's heart to stop for a beat.
"Arjun, what happened? Tum log thik ho? Radha kaha hai? (Are you guys fine? Where is Radha?)" Mahir asked steadily.
"Sh--She met with an accident," Arjun's voice cracked, words jumbled in panic. "She is in the hospital; doctors are checking on her, she... she, blood, Bhaiya, I....I"
Mahir staggered back a bit, holding on to the nearby table. His grip tightened around the phone. Momentarily, the world felt like it was spinning. For a second, he forgot how to breathe until he heard his brother's spiraling voice, blinking away the tears that formed in his eyes. Mahir straightened himself.
"Arjun!" Mahir's firm voice cut through the chaos. Arjun was drowning on the other side. "Calm down, Baccha." His tone softened but remained firm. "Doctors are checking on her, right?"
"J--ji. (Yes) But..."
"Then she is going to be fine." Mahir cut him off immediately. "I am leaving from here and will be there within a few hours. Have some caffeine and make Abhi have it too. Kuch nahi hua hai Radha ko, kuch nahi hoga usse. (Nothing has happened to Radha, nothing will happen to her.) Am I clear?"
Arjun's broken sob echoed faintly through the line before he forced out a hoarse, "Okay."
Mahir disconnected the call and moved towards the door without wasting a second. His siblings needed him, and that was the end of the discussion.
"Get the jet ready," he ordered, colliding with the manager as soon as he opened the door. "Now. Cancel the meeting. We are leaving in ten."
The manager looked at him, shocked. "But sir, the investors...."
"Be damned with the investors," Mahir snapped, his voice cutting through the air like a blade.
The manager hurried away to obey.
Mahir stared at his reflection in the glass door. The calm composed exterior betrayed the myriad of storms colliding within him. His jaw clenched as he prayed to the Almighty to give strength to his brothers to hold on until he reached them.
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Arjun stumbled back, leaning against the wall, his phone slipping from his fingers to the floor, but he didn't care. His eyes remained trained on the emergency room where Radha was, his hands stained red from his sister's blood so were his clothes, mixing with the terror he felt in every fiber of his being.
He can't fall apart! Arjun reminded himself; his Bhaiya will be there within a few hours, and Arjun vowed to hold himself together until he came. Pushing himself off the wall and looked around for his younger brother.
Just as he reached to pick up his phone to call Abhi, he stopped midair, finding him sitting nearby against the wall on the floor at a distance, murmuring something, his pale face and eyes wide with fear. Arjun rushed to his side, in blink of an eyes, dropping to his knees before Abhi.
"She's fine," Abhi mumbled to himself in a state of shock. "She's fine."
"Abhi." Arjun shook his brother by his shoulder, but to no avail, as the latter sat numbly, oblivious to his surroundings.
"She—she is fine. She is pranking me like she always does," Abhi muttered again.
"Abhishek!" Arjun's voice rose an octave as he shook Abhi harshly by his shoulders.
Abhi flinched out of his daze and looked at Arjun. As their eyes met, reality hit him: the car hitting Radha and her body being thrown away. The memory, so terrifying yet painful, was now engraved in his mind, refused to leave him. Tears streamed down his face as he threw himself at Arjun, clinging onto him, burying his face in his brother's shoulder.
"Yeh sabh... yeh sabh meri wajah se ho raha hai (All this… all of this is happening because of me,)" Abhi sobbed hard. "Na mein Radha ko ghar pr akela chodta aur na hi yeh sabh hota. (If I hadn't left Radha alone at home, none of this would have happened.) It's all my fault."
Arjun pulled him closer to his heart. Tears trickled down his face. Words of comfort refused to escape from his mouth when he was himself drowning in guilt. He didn't have anything to offer to his younger brother except holding him tightly.
Minutes turned into an eternity before the doctor finally stepped out, her expression grave.
The brothers approached her immediately. "How is Radha? She is fine, right?" Abhi asked, worried and scared.
"She is out of immediate danger, but her condition is still critical. We have managed to stop the internal bleeding for now, but she has lost a lot of blood. We will need B- negative blood; we are arranging for it, as it's not available in blood bank at the moment. And we don't have O- negative bags either."
"You can take mine." Arjun cut her off. "I am O- negative."
The doctor agreed instinctively. "There is something else you should know." Her voice lowered, her eyes flickered with discomfort as she looked at Arjun. "We found fresh marks on her ribs and arms. Though some have turned blue due to lack of attention, they are surely not from the accident."
Arjun froze, the words slicing through his heart, sharper than any wound could. "What? What do you mean?" he demanded coldly. "Are you saying someone hit her?"
The doctor nodded. "It's possible. Fortunately, there aren't any broken bones or internal damage, but the force might be very blunt. She must have been in immense pain."
Arjun's breath hitched, his fist clenched so tight his knuckles turned white, disbelief clouding his face at the news he just received. His sister was suffering, and he didn't even know about it. The truth was like a slap to his face.
Abhi felt the ground shift beneath him as he sat down on the bench with a thud. He was more of a friend to Radha than her elder brother, and the fact that she was suffering and he had been ignorant filled him with rage and another wave of guilt hit him. His vision blurred, and tears overflowed even without his realizing.
The sky turned dark, the moon hung above, shining brightly on the canvas above. Yet the missing stars felt like a cruel reflection of their own night, beautiful on the surface, but painfully incomplete underneath.
Everything looked calm outside, but nothing was calm with the brothers. Minutes turned into hours, but Radha was still unconscious.
The treatment was done; the doctors had done everything they could, but her condition was still critical. Every time the ICU door opened, both brothers rose with a flicker of desperate hope to cling to, only for the nurse to shake her head and walk past.
They weren't allowed inside even to see their sister, to calm their pounding hearts that she was fine. Though the reason was obvious, it still gnawed at their hearts, colliding with helplessness, deepening with every tick of the clock.
Arjun sat beside Abhi, his hand gripping his brother's shoulder, firmly offering him every bit of comfort he could provide, even though inside he was crumbling. He wanted to scream, to punch the wall, or just isolate himself; the weight of guilt pressed heavily against his chest, suffocating him.
He was the one who promised his Bhaiya that he would look after their sister, and now sitting outside the ICU waiting for Radha to wake up displayed the failure of a promise he couldn't keep.
The sound of hurried footsteps nearing broke through the fog of their despair. The brothers looked up, and the sight of Mahir brought an unexpected wave of relief, washing through their veins.
Arjun and Abhi rushed to his side instantly.
Mahir stumbled back a little as Abhi threw himself at him. He immediately wrapped one arm tightly around him, holding him closer to his heart as though anchoring him in the moment. With his other hand, Mahir reached for Arjun, who stood just behind Abhi, pulling both his brothers into his arms. He held them protectively.
Only he knew how he had managed to keep his heart from shattering during the endless flight. He was glad that Arjun kept him updated through texts, the only thing which held him from breaking. Otherwise, each second felt like a century, every thought haunted by the image of Radha being injured and his brothers facing the situation alone.
Gently, he pulled back from his brothers and cradled Abhi's face in his palms, wiping away the tears that continued to flow. "Shhh... She will be fine, baccha. Tujhe toh pata hai Radha ko apne bhaiyon ko pareshan karne ki aadat ho gayi hai. (Our sister has developed a habit of troubling her brothers.) Don't worry. Once she gets up, I'll set her right."
Abhi shook his head. He didn’t want his Bhaiya to scold his sister; he just wanted Radha to wake up quickly. The more time went by, the more his fear increased.
Mahir looked at Arjun, who for some reason wasn't looking at him, and that puzzled him. Gently, he rested his hand on Arjun's shoulder. "Tu theek hai, Arjun? (Are you fine, Arjun?)" he asked softly.
Arjun nodded, still avoiding his gaze.
Mahir opened his mouth to ask something when reality hit him. "Ye sab kaise hua? (How did all this happen?)"
Arjun and Abhi stiffened, sharing a nervous glance. They knew one thing: their Bhaiya was overprotective, in fact, unbearable sometimes; when it came to their safety. What Radha had done wasn't just walking out of the house without informing them, but doing so without security, breaking every rule their brother hated to see broken. Hiding the truth was not an option, as Mahir would find out anyway, but the "protective brother" instinct in them kicked in.
"We don't know, Bhaiya," Abhi replied before Arjun could come up with a safer answer.
"Really, Abhishek?" Mahir's tone hardened.
Arjun clenched his eyes shut; their Bhaiya knew them like the back of his hand. It wasn't hard for him to catch a lie that followed a dramatic pause and avoided eye contact.
"Arjun?" Mahir called out in the same tone.
Arjun looked at him instantly. No matter what, when his Bhaiya used that tone, it demanded an immediate compulsion.
Mahir held his gaze. "Do I need to repeat myself?"
He already understood that something was amiss. There were countless questions running through his mind, but the answer to all of them lay in the question he had just asked his brothers. It wouldn't take him long to find out the truth on his own, but he refused to ask outsiders, wanting to hear it from his brothers.
Arjun sighed inwardly; there was no way he could lie under that piercing look. "Bhaiya, actually..." He stopped as the door of the ICU opened and the doctor stepped out, having gone in for a final round before calling it a day.
Mahir turned his attention to her. "How is Radha now? Can we meet her?" His voice was tight but controlled.
The doctor shook her head sadly. "The treatment went well. Fortunately, the internal injuries weren't many; it was her blood pressure and shock that gave us trouble in the beginning. She is responding to the medication, but her failure to wake up is the main concern."
The doctor paused for a moment, letting her words sink in. "Her head hit a heavy object. Even though the MRI didn't show any internal brain injury, there is still a neurological lag... something that indicates emotional trauma more than physical. She needs to wake up soon, or it will dangerous for her. There is something keeping her from waking up. I have never seen a patient fidgeting so much in an unconscious state as Radhika. Tell me... did something happen before the accident? Something that could have caused this?"
Mahir's frown deepened. He looked at Arjun, who stood rigid, pale, and completely hollow, as if someone had suddenly carved the life out of him.
"Arjun?" Mahir shook his brother’s shoulder.
Arjun snapped out of his thoughts, his eyes avoiding Mahir's questioning gaze. "She… she tried to commit suicide," he said quietly. "She was about to take pills, but she didn't had them. And then the accident happened." His tone was flat and lifeless, as if he weren't really there.
Mahir staggered back, shocked. The words ripped his soul apart in an instant, as if someone had thrust a knife into his chest and twisted it mercilessly, shattering his belief that he knew his sister and had kept her safe.
"Bhaiya!" Arjun and Abhi immediately held him, breaking his fall before he hit the floor.
Mahir shook off his thoughts, swallowed the storm, forced his spine straight, and looked at the doctor. "Can I meet her?" His tone was calm and steady; almost frighteningly composed, as if his heart hadn't just stopped beating a minute ago.
The doctor nodded in understanding. "Only one of you can." She looked at Mahir. "Your brother told me that Radhika suffers from anxiety and panic attacks. If she wakes up soon, it will be better because in such situations, familiar voices, a familiar presence, and reassurance can prevent the brain from spiraling into deeper stress. Talk to her. Maybe if the medicines aren't working… your words and love will."
She exhaled softly and walked away, hoping the girl would open her eyes soon. Teenagers these days were impulsive and sensitive, giving immense weight to their emotions. While that is a good thing, they also needed to learn to balance them, because in the end, it wasn't just they who suffered, but also the people they left behind.
A part of her heart ached that Radha had thought of giving up, but she was also relieved that the girl hadn't actually succeeded. That in itself was a small but significant victory.
Mahir turned to his brothers. "Tum dono ne kuch khaya shaam se? (Have you two eaten anything since evening?)"
Arjun and Abhi looked at each other and then back at Mahir; his calm tone only scared them more.
"Bhaiya…" Arjun began, but trailed off as Mahir raised his palm, silencing him.
"Go home. Eat something. Freshen up, change, and come back. I am here with Radha," Mahir ordered.
The brothers shook their heads in unison.
"We will stay here," Abhi said immediately. "Hum aapko aur Radha ko akele chhod kar ghar nahi jaayenge. (We won't leave you and Radha alone to go home.)"
"Abhishek—"
"Bhaiya, please…" Arjun cut in softly, his voice trembling. "Ghar par mann nahi lagega jab tak Radha ko hosh nahi aa jaata. (We won't be at peace at home until Radha regains consciousness.) Please… let us stay."
Mahir took a deep breath before finally nodding. "Fine. But go and have something to eat first, then come back. We can take turns sitting with her."
Abhi still looked unconvinced. "But you....?" He fell silent instantly at the look Mahir gave him.
"Hum abhi aate hain, Bhaiya. (We’ll be right back, Bhaiya)," Arjun intervened, almost dragging a reluctant Abhi away. Arjun knew better than to test Mahir’s patience, unlike Abhi, whose stubborn streak tended to emerge at the worst possible times.
As the brothers disappeared around the corner, Mahir finally turned toward the ICU door. His hands trembled as he gripped the knob and pushed it open. His heart felt ready to leap out of his chest before he even saw his sister. But nothing... absolutely nothing, could have prepared him for the sight that met his eyes.
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