Page 103 of Reckless Dare

The next few hours were chaotic. An ambulance arrived within minutes to take Pooja to the emergency unit. Ava stayed at the hospital all night. Pooja’s pulse had stabilized but she was asked to spend the night in the hospital. Ava decided to stay next to her.

She texted Abhi to let him know she wasn’t in her apartment and was taking a night shift in the hospital. She didn’t want to tell anyone about what had happened to Pooja. Not even to Abhi. It was up to Pooja to disclose that information.

It was early morning when she woke up with a stiff neck to someone calling her name. She opened her bleary eyes, only to sit up on the hospital chair.

“Pooja, are you okay?”

Pooja still looked very pale and weak, but she nodded. “Yeah.”

Ava got up from the chair. “Let me bring in a nurse.”

Pooja shook her head. “No. I’m fine now.”

Ava hesitated. “Pooja, no one knows you are here. I won’t tell anyone either. But you need medical help.”

The doctor had told Ava that Pooja had a stroke and it was induced by anorexia. Pooja had been deliberately throwing up so much that her body was starving for nutrition.

Pooja slowly nodded. “I know,” she said, softly. “Thank you for helping me.”

Ava smiled tentatively. “You are welcome.”

Pooja was quiet, but suddenly her face fell. “I’m sorry, Ava,” she said.

Ava frowned. “For what?”

“For the way I treated you. I know I was being mean to you. But I was jealous of you.”

Ava fell silent, not knowing what to say.

“I was jealous because of Abhi,” Pooja added. “I know he likes you.”

“Pooja…”

“You don’t have to hide your feelings because of me, Ava. I realize how selfish I was and how horribly I treated you due to my jealousy. I’m sorry.”

Ava was surprised. But she was happy that her roommate was no longer holding any grudge towards her. She held Pooja’s frail hand and squeezed gently. “It’s okay,” she said. “And I do seriously hope we can be good friends.”

Pooja smiled weakly. “Me, too.”

Pooja was asked to stay at the hospital for one more day for observation. Ava wanted to give her company, but Pooja insisted she leave.

Ava hurried to the housing unit to freshen up and attend classes. She opened the door to her apartment and walked straight towards her bedroom feeling too tired to even make coffee. Just when she stepped into her bedroom door, she jumped.

“Oh my God, Abhi!” she said, placing a hand on her chest. “You gave me a heart attack.”

Her tormentor was seated on her bed. There was a large brown bag next to him along with two tall cups of coffee. The smell of coffee and the breakfast made her mouth water.

“Did you catch any sleep?” he asked with a frown.

She knew she must look quite tired. “Yeah.”

His frown didn’t disappear. “When you said night shift, I assumed you’d be back after midnight or so. Why were you at the hospital the entire night?”

She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to tell him about Pooja.

“I was too tired to get back here. So, I slept at the hospital.”

He didn’t like her explanation, but he didn’t say anything. “Let’s have breakfast.”

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