Evading Love

17. Health scare

While going back to the guest room, something feels off. Why is it suddenly so silent? I turn and find Ram facing me, struggling to stand. Wavering, he lifts his hand to his nose. His fingers turn red with blood, and his alarmed eyes meet mine. Shit. I rush to him as he falls. Barely able to hold him, I somehow lay him down as he blacks out.

"Ram? Ram? Wake up."

I shake him to wake him up but to no avail. F***. F***. F***.

"RAM! Wake up."

Unable to comprehend what to do, I call for Akki, Shivi, and Tarun. Fortunately, Shubham comes home and rushes to us.

Shubham panics, "What happened to bhai?"

"I don't know. His nose started bleeding out of nowhere, and then he fell unconscious."

Shubham calls Adi and asks him to send a doctor. Someone from the staff hands me a glass of water, and I sprinkle some of it on Ram's face, but he doesn't budge. His family comes out of their rooms, and a worried Nandini aunty pulls Ram's head from my lap and tries to wake him up.

Nandini aunty: "What happened to Ram? What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. He fainted."

Akki helps me get up. He and Shubham carry Ram to his room, and Adi and Bri arrive with a doctor after a while.

Bri comes and stands next to me, out of breath. "What happened to Ram?"

"He had a nosebleed and then fainted."

The doctor says something about BP and some tests and hands a prescription to Adi, who escorts them out when they're done.

Bri: "Aunty, you should go and sleep. Adi and I will take care of Ram."

Nandini aunty: "No. I will not go anywhere. Ram is not well."

Bri: "It's late, and you need to rest. Ram wouldn't want you to fall ill. The doctor has given him medicine. You'll take care of him from tomorrow anyway. For now, Adi and I will take care of him. I'll call you when he wakes up."

Nandini aunty relents and everyone leaves, but Bri holds my hand to stop me. "Stay."

Bri: "Now tell me what happened. I need every detail."

"...And then you came. I told Ram he would fall sick, and he did. I shouldn't have said a thing."

Bri: "This isn't your fault."

"I know." 

I can't help but feel guilty. Like I should've done something. Hush, Sia. Not everything is your fault. It's okay. He'll get better.

Adi's tone is urgent, "Baby. We have a problem."

Bri: "What?"

Adi: "We had to go to the temple."

Bri: "Shit. It almost slipped my mind. But he cannot go."

"What's going on?"

Bri: "For every big project Ram starts, he walks to the temple with its file around five in the morning. He was going to leave with Adi now."

"But he can't."

Bri: "Exactly. And the project isn't even his. It's Shubham's."

"Then shouldn't Shubham go?"

Adi: "He hasn't even shown his face in the office once."

Bri: "You've seen how Shubham is."

"Yeah. Sorry."