26

It had been a few days since Tara and Aryan's heated confrontation. Neither of them had been the same since. They hadn't shown up for their classes. They didn't need to meet for their restaurant work. Tara was holding onto her anger like armor, and Aryan was drowning in guilt, retreating into himself. They avoided each other as much as they could, and even when they had to work on the business project, they didn't communicate. They just did their part, and uploaded it into the collaborative document—from where the other took over.

Their absence from their usual group hangouts didn't go unnoticed.

It was a quiet afternoon in Aakash and Rohan's apartment. Aisha and Aria had dropped by under the pretense of discussing their course assignments, but it had mostly turned into light chatter—anything to avoid the elephant in the room.

Aakash leaned back on the couch, tossing a stress ball in the air lazily. "Have you guys seen Tara anywhere? I haven't seen her in a week."

Aisha froze for a second, her fingers tightening around the pen she was holding. She exchanged a quick glance with Aria, who tensed as well. She hesitated, trying to keep her voice light. "Umm... no. I haven't seen her either."

There was an awkward pause, but before anyone could dwell on it, Rohan spoke up, his tone equally curious. "Even Aryan... I haven't seen him. He's usually around at least once or twice, but nothing."

That was it. The unspoken truth was starting to surface. Aisha and Aria locked eyes. They both knew exactly what was happening—they had already pieced it together from Tara's emotional outburst days ago. The fight had shaken them both more deeply than either was willing to admit. And now, the distance between Tara and Aryan was spilling over into the rest of their lives.

Aisha let out a small breath, her heart heavy. She looked at Aria and gave a slight nod. It was time.

Aisha shifted on the couch, her voice quieter, but firm. "Guys... we need to talk."

Aakash sat up straighter, his eyes narrowing slightly. "About what?"

Rohan glanced between them, sensing the shift in the mood. "What's going on?"

Aria leaned forward, his tone careful. "It's about Tara and Aryan."

Aakash frowned, confusion flickering across his face. "What about them?"

Aisha exhaled, bracing herself. "There's something you don't know."

The room grew still, the weight of what was about to be said hanging in the air.

"Tara and Aryan had a fight. A huge one." Aisha slowly said.

The room was quiet, the weight of Aisha's words still settling over everyone.

Aakash frowned, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees. "A fight? They barely know each other. What could they possibly fight about?"

Aria exchanged a quick glance with Aisha, then shook her head. "Barely? No... they know each other. A lot more than you think."

Rohan's brows furrowed. "How? What do you mean?"

Aisha sighed, her fingers nervously tapping against her knee. She glanced at Aria for support before finally speaking. "Tara and Aryan... they dated. In first year."

A beat of stunned silence.

Aakash's eyes widened. "Wait... what?"

Rohan blinked. "Like... together? Dating?"

Aria nodded. "Yeah... they got together in first semester. But they were kind of friends from school too. I mean, they weren't super close back then, but here... things just clicked."

Aisha picked up from there, her voice softer. "It was going well. Really well. Until after exams ended. Aryan said he had to go back to India—something about his dad not being well. Tara wanted to try long distance, and he agreed... but when he got there, everything changed."

Rohan leaned in, curious. "Changed how?"

Aria bit her lip. "He started replying late. Then it was one-word messages. And then... he just stopped opening her texts. It was like he... slowly faded out."

Aakash's jaw tightened. "What? He blocked her?"

Aisha shook her head. "No, not exactly. He just... stopped. It got confusing, tiring... Tara held on for a bit, but after a few weeks, she was exhausted. She finally messaged him, saying she couldn't do it anymore... she ended it."

Aria sighed. "But... he never even saw that message. To this day, it's still unread."

The room fell into a heavy silence.

Aakash exhaled. "And after that?"

Aisha shrugged. "Second year, Aryan didn't come back. Tara... I guess she made peace with it. She moved on... or at least, she thought she did. Until that day. When we all saw him in your flat."

Rohan's eyes widened with realization. "Oh... is that why you three bolted out of there so fast?"

Aria nodded. "Yeah. Seeing him after all that time... it hit her hard."

Aisha added, "Since then, she's been trying to avoid him. But... they're working together on that business project. So, it's been complicated. I don't know exactly what's been happening between them, but... last week, I think everything exploded. They must've finally talked about it—fought about it."

Rohan leaned back against the couch, taking it all in. "That explains why they've both been... off."

A brief pause settled over them, the pieces falling into place.

Rohan broke the silence. "But... why? Why didn't Aryan ever message her back? Why did he just disappear?"

Aisha shook her head. "We don't know. None of us do."

Aakash leaned back, processing it all. "I... I don't know, man. But... I think he still likes her. I saw the way he looked at her when we were moving his stuff into the flat. It wasn't nothing."

Rohan let out a breath, his gaze shifting between Aisha and Aria. "Do you... forgive Aryan? For what he did to her?"

Aria hesitated. "Until I hear his side... how can I?"

Aisha nodded in agreement. "Same. There's so much we don't know."

Aakash and Rohan nodded slowly.

After a long pause, Rohan clapped his hands together lightly. "Okay... so... what do we do?"

Aakash smirked. "We can't just sit here and watch them self-destruct."

Aria leaned in. "We need to... pull them out of this. Get them to talk. Somehow."

Aisha smiled faintly. "Yeah. Maybe... help bring them a little closer."

The group exchanged determined glances. This wasn't going to be easy. But they cared—about both of them.

And they weren't going to let Tara and Aryan drown in silence any longer.

💜