"And I will hold
I'll hold onto you
No matter what this world'll throw
It won't shake me loose

I'll reach my hands out in the dark
And wait for yours to interlock
I'll wait for you
I'll wait for you."

-Don't give up on me, Andy Grammer

Chapter 26

I woke up groggily to the loud blaring of not mine but Jeremy's ringtone. I groaned.

"Jeremy!"

"I can't reach it right now, my hands are-"

"I don't care, shut it off-"

"Wait, it's grandpa-Hello?"

"It's been a while since the old folks called-" I smirked while sitting up straight, suddenly hyped about talking to my grandparents.

While I was struggling to get out of my bed though, Jeremy appeared in front of my room, his hand outstretched and a distraught expression on his face.

"Wha-"

"The call is for you," he said quietly.

My heart galloped in my throat as I stumbled towards him before grabbing the phone in a haste.

"Jennifer, darling," a soft gruff voice came from the other side.

"Yes, Benny," I mumbled.

Benny was what I called my maternal grandfather. It was an inside joke which always stayed between us, its source long forgotten.

"Jen-" he sighed again.

"Benny, you're scaring me, is naanu alright?"

"Your grandmother is alright-"

"You-"

"Your grandfather is well too-"

My heart skipped a beat.

"Bruno?" I whispered quietly.

Another sigh.

"Bruno was vomiting blood in the morning, we rushed him to the hospital-"

"What?"

"But don't worry, he is stable now, the doctors are-"

"Where are you?"

"You don't have to worry-"

"Benny!" I shouted before Jeremy snatched the phone from me and placed it on his ear.

"Yes-" Jeremy was nodding frantically while walking away from me, but I followed him determinedly wanting to know any piece of information about Bruno.

My Bruno.

I had to get to him.

"Jeremy," I whimpered as he came to a stop in front of our couch. He patted it while continuing to mumble to my grandfather. I quietly sauntered to him and collapsed on it, exhaustion hitting me while he rested his hand on my head, petting me softly.

"Yes, I will. Keep us updated," he said before ending the call. He sat next to me and I curled up to him, his arm coming around me. His warmth giving me the comfort only a brother can.

"What did he say?" I mumbled into his hoodie.

"Bruno is stable at the moment-"

"What do you mean by at the moment?" I asked gently, not wanting to lose my temper.

"The docs aren't saying much to them either, but both of them are there-"

"We should be there too-"

"No-"

"Why is Benny not wanting us to be there? What is he hiding from us-?"

I pushed Jeremy away before storming to the front of our apartment. As soon as I opened it, I realized I had no idea where they were or at what hospital. I quickly walked to my room in search of my phone.

"Jenny-" I heard him sigh behind me.

"No, I just can't stay here, doing nothing, I am going to make them tell me which hospital they're at. I can't-"

"Jen, please, they're taking care of the matter, there is nothing we will do there other than crowd-"

"Jeremy," I screeched in anger.

Just then Soham walked up behind him, a quizzical look on his face.

"The door was open-"

I turned my back to them and on seeing my phone, grabbed it before seeing an unread message from Ethan. It was his ritual good morning text which didn't make me smile like it usually did.

I tapped out a quick reply telling him that Bruno was in the hospital before an unexpected sob escaped me. I haven't felt this helpless in such a long time.

One sob followed another and soon I was collapsing on my bed, feeling fragile. Jeremy hastily whispered something to Soham before reaching out to me.

"Jenny, he will be alright-"

"He is an old dog, Jer, he won't be able to endure a major surgery-" I hiccupped.

Soham came forward, my distress mirrored on his face.

"Jeremy, give me the phone," he requested. I watched as Jer handed him the phone and he walked out of the room. Soon after, I heard whispers as Soham conversed with Benny, I assumed.

As soon he reappeared into my room, a look of anguish was on his face.

"Jer, your grandfather told me to ask you whether you'd inform your parents-"

"What did he-"

"Bruno passed away."

"Soham-" I whimpered.

He was kidding, right?

Please tell me, you are kidding, Soham.

He quietly sat behind me, pulling my body into his arms while Jeremy walked out, tapping over on his phone.

"He was really sick," he murmured.

We sat there for a while, his arms around me while sobs wrecked my body.

"Do you remember getting him?" I whispered.

He rested his chin on my shoulder and smiled gently.

"Of course, I do, he was a tiny little pup who was abandoned in that dog shelter, the one we always went to after school-"

"Did it shut down?"

"The dog shelter? Yes, shortly after you left for Pune."

A few moments of silence passed as I wiped my tears before a fresh round appeared.

"Was I a bad parent-"

"You were the best," he whispered.

"But I abandoned him, the same way his previous owners did-"

"Jeremy was allergic to dogs, you were going away to Pune, you gave him over to your grandparents where he was so happy-"

"How do you know?" I asked, suddenly pulling away from him.

"I used to go to meet him," he replied, gently.

"Oh," I whispered as I relaxed against his chest. The strong beats of his heart being the only thing I could concentrate on, it weirdly comforting me.

"He'd left one of his toys here the last time he was here. The last time I'd met him," I pointed to a chewed up soft toy at the corner of the room.

"The carrot, right? I had bought it for him," he mumbled before a soft chuckle escaped him. "He loved it the most."

"Why carrot?"

"You don't remember? You loved bunnies as a kid, so much so that you started calling your grandfather bunny which turned into Benny as you grew up."

I looked at him as he narrated.

I had completely forgotten that that was where Benny came from.

"You wanted a bunny as a pet but then somehow we could convince your parents to take in Bruno-"

"And I wanted to name him Bunny but I was already calling my grandpa that, so I named him Bruno, a name which you suggested, but he was always-"

"Bunny to you, I know," Soham completed my statement.

"Thank you," I quietly whispered after a while.

"For?" he asked, his arms tightening around me.

"For taking care of him, when I wasn't there."

"I love him."

I noticed his present participle usage and smiled softly at him, my vision blurry with tears.

"He was a good boy, wasn't he?"

"He was the best," he whispered, before turning away from me, biting his lip softly. That's when I realized Soham probably needed as much comfort as me. Bruno's death must have shook him up too.

I rubbed his arms before his phone vibrated in his pocket.

He quickly pulled it out and cancelled the call, before tapping a message.

"Wait, isn't it your try outs today?" I asked.

"Yes, it's them, I'll try to reschedule-"

"No-" I said as I tried pulling away but he didn't budge.

"I will reschedule, Jen," he said sternly.

"Leave when you have to," I mumbled.

He didn't reply as he tapped on his phone.

I picked up mine from next to us before seeing a message from Ethan.

Hi, I hope your dog is alright now, I am sorry but I can't be there with you today. Avi is having a dance show at her college. I will try-

I didn't read the rest of the message as I placed my phone down, relaxing further into Soham as for a moment, I pondered on the multiverse theory.

In some other world, Ethan was here with me.

In some other world, Soham and I were more than just friends, maybe lesser.

In some other world, Bruno was alive and playing with his toys.

That last thought was comforting enough.

~

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