He doesn’t answer and I feel the world heave under my feet.
“Dad? Is she okay?”
“Get here as soon as you can, Arush. Hurry.”
“Okay.” Tears fill my eyes. Ohmygod. I’m going to be sick.
Julian’s there in the next breath, his arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly to his chest as I try to catch my breath enough to get the words out. I need to get back to India.
CHAPTER 31
JULIAN
Arush has been quiet,but I don’t think that’s unusual when we’re around people he doesn’t know well. He’s still quiet when it’s just the two of us. We’re still getting to know each other, so there’s a chance he’s just a quiet guy. I’ve been told I’m quiet.
Sharing friends isn’t a necessity. Maybe he doesn’t like my friends. That’s okay. It’s not a criterion for a relationship to share friends. I’ve heard the argument that it’s better when you don’t and allow yourselves to have separate lives. Be separate people. There’s no rule stating that you need to or should share everything.
I want Arush to like my friends, but if he doesn’t, he doesn’t. That’s okay.
It might be something far simpler than that, though. I’ve surrounded him with six people he doesn’t know. He hadn’t gotten to know my four friends from Arizona, and then we added two more. That might be a lot. I’d probably be really quiet and feel a little on the spot, too.
Thankfully, we have Horny, and he’s more than happy to take the spotlight.
When Arush’s phone rings, it makes the entire group stop talking. I have an immediate bad feeling about it. He’s been inthe US for three months, and his phone never rings past nine or ten in the morning. Ten, at the very latest. An eleven-hour time difference isn’t something easily worked around.
I see the unease in his face when he meets my eyes after looking at the screen. My eyes are locked on him, my heart racing as he steps a dozen feet away to take the call. All the color in his face drains and my breath leaves my body.
Oh no.
His hand covers his mouth, and I can see it tremble as he says something into the phone. He might be a dozen feet away, but I can see the tears in his eyes.
Someone has died.
His hand holding the phone comes away from his ear and he sways. I get to my feet and take him into my arms. He’s shaking. His entire body is shaking. With fear, with upset, with his tears—I’m not sure.
“What happened?” I ask, squeezing him as tightly to me as I can.
“My sister was in an accident. I need to go to her. Dad said… he wouldn’t tell me she’s okay.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. My arms tighten as the sick feeling in my gut thickens. I can’t imagine how that must feel. I don’t have siblings, but to be told that one might not make it?
“Let’s go,” I tell him. “We’ll get your suitcase from the hotel and get you on the first plane. Okay?”
Arush nods. My friends are watching, faces colored with concern. I don’t offer the reason we need to leave. That’s private and not mine to share. “I’m sorry. There’s an emergency and we need to leave.”
“Okay,” Etna says, getting to his feet. “Let us know if you need anything.”
I nod and half carry Arush through the house and to the rental car. I want to tell him it’s going to be okay. Thateverything will be fine. But I don’t know that it will. It doesn’t sound like it will be fine.
There are no words of comfort to offer him, so I hold his hand tightly. Arush doesn’t stop shaking the entire drive to the hotel. It’s not a long drive, but long enough that it feels like it takes ages.
We get upstairs and I sit him in the chair, crouching down to meet his eyes. “Do you need anything from the condo?” I ask. “Do you need to stop in Chicago first?”
Arush shakes his head.
“How about you pack your suitcase, and I’ll find you a flight?”
He takes a breath, and his eyes close for a minute. I watch as he wipes his eyes. He nods. “Okay.”
