Ankita nodded in sympathy. “I can understand that.”
“But I don’t know what to do now. How to be around him. We still have to go to Seth’s wedding and pretend like everything’s fine, like we’re together and in love and…” She shook her head. “I have no idea how we’re going to do that.”
Ankita let out a watery laugh. “We’re a real mess, huh? The two of us.”
“We are, but at least we’re going through it together.”
Ankita wrapped her in a quick, fierce hug, and something tight and heavy in Meghna’s chest eased during the embrace. She felt lighter. Like she’d let go of something that had only been dragging her down.
“So, what now?” Meghna asked as they left the store.
Ankita linked her arm through Meghna’s. “Well, I have ice cream at my place. And we’ve missed quite a few episodes of our favorite show.”
Meghna smiled. “As long as we can build a pillow fort, I’m in.”
They headed to Ankita’s house, catching each other up on all the small things that had happened in the last few weeks, sharing the details they’d been keeping from each other. Meghna had missed confiding in Ankita, and though they wouldn’t be able to resolve everything in one day, it felt like a step in the right direction.
—
Karthik called his mother the moment he landed and went directly to the house. His father, unsurprisingly, was out of town at a conference, so Karthik was able to discuss everything with his mother alone. She’d heard about the article, though his father hadn’t told her any detailsabout the university investigation or the lawsuit. She had about as much information as Karthik did.
She wasn’t surprised or shocked when they discussed the news. Just quiet, an inscrutable expression on her face. Karthik told her that he was there for her and asked if there was anything she wanted him to do, but she only said that she didn’t want to talk about it anymore. She got up and served dinner, and they ate in silence, like they had so many nights before.
Though she seemed fine, when it was time for Karthik to go back to his apartment, he found that he didn’t want to leave her in the house alone. He told his mom that he’d be staying the night in his old room, and she distractedly acknowledged his words before going to bed.
After Karthik had gone to college, his childhood bedroom had been converted into a home office/guest bedroom. The changes caught him off guard every time he entered. Something inside him expected to see pale-blue walls, his twin-sized bed, and glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, but he was greeted instead by a cherrywood desk, a large computer monitor, and a dark-gray couch that pulled out into a bed.
He took a seat and remotely logged into his office email. He had resisted checking it while in Dallas, unsure what he’d find. Unsure if he’d be able to handle it. The promotion was likely out of reach now; he’d basically abandoned his job by walking out without telling anyone. Bile rose in his throat. He’d never done anything like that before. He had no idea what to expect. He might be disciplined, perhaps even terminated for acting so unprofessionally.
Taking a deep breath, he scanned his inbox, surprised to see that there were only a few emails and that the first one was from Paul.
From: Paul
To: Karthik
Subject: ???
Hey, was waiting for you to come back. Hope ur ok. Call me if you want to talk.
Paul had included his personal cell phone number at the end of the email, and Karthik couldn’t help but feel touched. Karthik shot back a quick response saying he was fine and that he’d see him at work on Monday. He scrolled further, his blood freezing when he saw that the next message was from Jim.
From: Jim
To: Karthik
Subject: Yesterday
Karthik,
I’m unsure what happened yesterday. I went to your office later and your intern told me you were feeling unwell and were taking a sick day. I hope you’re getting some rest and feeling better, but I’m very concerned by all of this. Please give me a call on Monday or whenever you are back to work so we can discuss.
Jim
Karthik blinked. Then read the email again. As far as responses went, this was better than expected. He could talk to Jim. Explain the situation. Or at least explain that he had gotten sick very suddenly that afternoon. That had the added benefit of being technically true. And then he could ask for another chance.
He swallowed. He might still have a shot at the promotion. Karthik texted the number that Paul had sent.
Karthik: This is Karthik. Thanks for covering for me and thanks for the email. I really appreciate it. See you on Monday.
