Give Me All Your Pain

19. Fixing You

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Aanya

I hastily grabbed my bag, catching Nidhi's questioning gaze, but I simply told her it was an emergency. Satyam's voice on the phone was filled with fear and urgency.

"I'm in Belgium right now. He was supposed to arrive here by morning, but when he didn't, I called him repeatedly, and he didn't answer. So, I confirmed at the airport, and they said he never took the flight."

Satyam inhaled sharply; his anxiety palpable. "I managed to get through to him a moment ago, but he didn't seem to be in the right state of mind. I think he might be having a panic attack. Please, go to him."

Satyam didn't have to ask. I was already sprinting towards the university gates, my eyes searching for a taxi. "Is there anyone with him?" I inquired, my heart pounding in my chest.

"No," Satyam replied, his voice shaking with worry. "He's alone."

My mind raced, thinking of who else could help him. "What about the Professor or Martha Aunty?"

"He's in London, and Martha Aunty has been on leave for the past week. I haven't been able to reach her yet," Satyam explained.

A taxi driver agreed to take me, but only if I paid him double the fare since the place was in the opposite direction and the drive would be more than an hour.

Money was the least of my concerns at that moment; all I wanted was to reach Abhinav as soon as possible.

"Should I call an ambulance?" I asked as I settled into the taxi.

Satyam took a deep breath before responding. "Not yet. Just please check on him first. This can't escalate further. Call me as soon as you reach there." With that, he abruptly ended the call.

"I need you to drive as fast as possible," I urged the taxi driver, my nerves on edge. Time seemed to crawl as my eyes remained fixated on the mobile in my hand, my concern growing with every passing second. "Please, drive faster," I repeated for what felt like the tenth time.

The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror. "Do you want us to get arrested? There's a speed limit; we can't go any faster than this," he retorted.

Though I wanted to shout at him that I wasn't afraid of getting arrested, saving someone's life was far more important.

But I understood his predicament; he was doing his best too.

So, with no other immediate recourse, I did the only thing I could do at that moment – I prayed.

Until I reached there... Please, be okay, Abhinav.

.

.

In a frenzy, I instructed the taxi driver to wait outside in case things didn't go well. The main door of the house was unlocked, and I rushed inside, calling out for him. "Abhinav!"

"Abhinav!" I hurried straight to his study, but he wasn't there. My mind raced, trying to think of other places he could be. I ran upstairs towards his bedroom, my heart pounding in my chest.

The door to his bedroom was slightly ajar.

With all the running, I was out of breath and my mouth was dry. I quickly darted my tongue to moisten my lips as I pushed the door wide open and stepped inside. I never imagined that I would see his room for the first time like this, in such a distressing situation.