Kirti Aunty was Angad's mother. 

Yug's call had put her in a frenzy because Angad wasn't in Delhi. The flight time between Goa and Delhi was barely 3 hours. He had checked out early in the morning so he should have reached by this point. 

Yug told her a very censored version of Angad and Siddharth's fight as the reason for his sudden departure. 

What little I knew of Angad's mother made me feel guiltier about this situation. She was the kind of person who worried too much, especially when it came to her only son. He was the one person she cared the most about. 

And now Angad was missing owing to the misunderstanding that I had unwittingly caused. 

An hour later everyone else knew that Angad was nowhere to be found. We looked around all the nearby bars and restaurants. Shreyas and Deepani volunteered to check the nearby hotels. Yug and I were driving to the airport. 

"You think he's okay?" I asked Yug as we neared the airport. 

"When we were 12 years old Angad was missing for two days from his home. It caused a big stir in our circle especially since his father and Kirti aunty were getting divorced. Angad missing from homemade the Mehras quite the happening topic of gossip."

"And then?" I asked horrified at the thought of a twelve-year-old Angad going through the trauma of his parents separating. 

"He wasn't missing. He was hiding in my room." 

"What?" 

"Yes, he managed to make his way to our house, begged me to hide him in my room and not tell anybody. Apparently, he was convinced that would make his parents stay together."

"So what happened?" I asked.

"My mother caught me sneaking food upstairs and, needless to say, both of us got what we deserved. He went back to his house and his parents still got divorced. So no, this isn't the first time Angad Mehra has run away from his problems. Only this time he didn't see it fit to confide in his best friend."

I sat silently thinking about the anecdote Yug had just related till we reached the airport. 

He wasn't there.

We inquired about the flights to Delhi. There were two. One had left at 9 am and the other just an hour ago. If Angad had taken the 9 am flight he should have been home by now but if he had taken the later flight then he wouldn't land till 4 pm. 

We headed back to the hotel and found that Shreyas and Deepani had had no luck either. 

Vahni was talking to me in curt sentences now only because she was worried about Angad. This was an improvement but not quite satisfying. 

My phone rang as we were discussing where else we could look for him. It was Sarah. 

In all the excitement I had completely forgotten about her National Conference. I was supposed to check in. 

"Hello," I said trying to sound cheery. 

I stepped away from everybody.

"Hi, Meera! Where have you been?" she said. 

"Oh, it's been crazy here. You tell me. How was your nerdy conference? Did your project win the prize?" I asked. 

"It's not a middle school science fair you dummy. But yes, we did receive positive feedback on our paper. It was so much fun! Matt has been on cloud nine since the panel praised us this morning." 

I heard Matt yell out an uncharacteristically excited "Hi Meera!" in the background. Guess he really was pleased.

"That is so great! I am so happy for you." I said sincerely, "Say 'hi' to Matt for me will you?"

"Sure. How was Soul Threads though? Did you have fun at the afterparty?" she asked 

My mind ran through the series of events that had taken place last night and I didn't know how I could answer her question.

"Meera? Is everything okay?" she asked when the pause stretched a little too long. 

"Uh yeah. It was fun, normal. We got super drunk." I said.

"Meera.." she said in a chastising tone.

I sighed. I guess I should tell her everything. She had made me promise not to keep anything from her since the Instagram debacle.

"It was bad. Like the worst night of my life," I said miserably.

"What happened? Spill. Now." 

So I told her what had happened in the course of this eventful day that seemed to stretch on forever. She was speechless by the time I was done. 

"Either you are jinxed or God is playing the biggest prank on you." was all she could manage to say.

"You are telling me!" I cried in frustration.

"So you guys still have no idea where Angad is?" she asked. 

"None! He isn't answering any of our calls or texts. His own mother can't get through to him," I said.

"And Parth? I cannot believe that asshole followed you to Goa! How did even know where you were?" she asked.

"Beats me." I shook my head. 

"I feel bad for Sonali though." 

"Me too," I agreed. 

"Meera I gotta go for now. We have a session now but please keep me posted," she said. 

"I will. Bye. Have fun." I said and hung up. 

At least one of us was having a fun mid-sem break.

***

All of us were exhausted both emotionally and physically by evening. Angad hadn't landed with the 4 pm flight. 

We all retired to our rooms. I moved my stuff into Angad's now vacant room. It was better this way for both Vahni and me. 

I stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom thinking of what a disaster this fun trip turned into. I couldn't believe that it was only a few days ago all of us were so happy at the thought of beaches, parties and the fun times we would have. 

Things seemed to topple one after the other once we were here. 

Siddharth's confession, Vahni's conquest, my own realization that I liked Angad, Neel and Yug, Parth making a reappearance, Sonali confronting me and then Angad taking off this way. 

A knock on the door broke my train of thoughts and I wiped my face with a towel before walking to the door and opening it. 

Siddharth stood with his hands in his pockets. 

"Angad is in Mumbai," he said without preamble.

"He is with his uncle there. He contacted his mother and she let Yug know. Thought you'd want to know too." he added.

"Does she know anything else?" I asked. 

"This was all I heard," he said and then nodded before walking away. 

A part of me was deeply relieved now that I knew Angad was safe and with his family. The other part was angry. He couldn't have just told us this? Or better yet, he couldn't have waited for me to explain what had caused the misunderstanding. 

I walked to Yug's room and his door was open. I walked in and found him talking to somebody. I waited patiently till he hung up. 

"He's in Mumbai, the idiot is in Mumbai," he said frustratedly. 

"Siddharth told me." 

"I do not know what he is thinking. He still isn't answering phone calls. Can you believe that? I had to contact his douchey cousin to know if he's okay. He knows how much I hate Jai." 

"Jai is his Uncle's son?" 

"Yes. He is a royal pain in the ass."

"So he's okay then?"

"I think so." 

I nodded. 

"Did you explain what happened here?" I asked.

"I would have if he talked to me." Yug snapped then softened his tone, "I am sorry I am just so angry at him. None of this is your fault." 

"It's okay," I said. 

But I did feel partially responsible for what had transpired. 

"Let's get some sleep. We will talk about it tomorrow." 

"Yeah, I just need to inform the others."

 "Text in the group. Whoever is awake will read it." 

Yug nodded and I left his room. 

***

It was our last day in Goa. 

I had thought I would be despondent when the week ended but I couldn't wait to go back. This day stretched on and I found myself walking alone on the beach. 

I watched a group play volleyball nearby and couldn't help but think back to when we had played. It was such a perfect, fun afternoon. 

I still had Angad's shirt he had lent me. I sighed and headed back to the hotel. 

We were all having our last meal in Goa together despite the tension in the atmosphere. It was the most awkward dinner I had sat through. Only a couple of sentences were exchanged here and there, no pictures were clicked and we were in our hotel rooms by 9 pm. 

I was in bed soon tossing and turning. 

The moon shone through the huge window and the sound of waves made for the perfect atmosphere. Yet sleep evaded me.

I got out of bed and strolled around the room. Growing impatient I walked out of the room into the lobby. I made my way towards the deck thinking of the last time I had shared breakfast with Angad there. The view was still gorgeous. 

I paused when I saw Siddharth leaning against the railing with a cigarette in his hand and his eyes on his phone. 

Should I leave? Maybe he still didn't want my company. 

"I can see you staring at me," he said looking up. 

"Just wondering if I should stay or leave. You don't seem to like my company very much these days." 

Siddharth gave me an amused look which was encouragement enough. I took a place next to him. He stared at me for a second and then looked away. 

"What are you thinking of?" I asked.

"You want the truth?" 

"Yes." 

"I am thinking of how beautiful you look in the moonlight."

My heart stuttered and looked up at him in surprise. 

"You wanted the truth." 

"Siddharth..." I said and I couldn't think of anything I could say after that. 

"Meera..." he said mimicking my tone. 

I felt the rush of familiar feelings that had plagued me since the day he had confessed his feelings. Sadness, regret, guilt. 

"It's okay. I get it. I don't want to burden you but you did ask me to answer truthfully." 

He looked at me again and I couldn't help myself. I stood up on my tiptoes and threw my arms around his neck. 

He stiffened at first but then he flicked his cigarette away and his arms pulled me closer. 

This hug expressed all that I hadn't been able to express with words in the past few days. The sadness, the affection, the apology. We stayed that way for a full minute before he pulled away. 

"Good night, Meera. We have a flight to catch tomorrow," he said softly before walking inside. 

And then I was alone on the deck in the moonlight. 

***

We got to the airport in plenty of time and then lounged around reading books, scrolling through our phones and drinking overpriced airport coffee. 

We were all relieved that the trip had ended. 

Vahni was probably happy that her seats were farthest from us all this time around. 

"Did you talk to him?" I asked Yug for probably the umpteenth time even though I already knew his answer to that. 

"No, Meera. You will be the first to know." 

I nodded and tried but failed to concentrate on the book I had with me. 

The flight was short and we landed without incident. None of us had very much to say to each other after the week we had had. Deepani sure hugged me a tight goodbye and assured me everything would turn out okay. 

I gave her a weak smile and took a cab home. 

My parents weren't home so I was spared any conversations about my trip. I dumped my luggage in my room and slept. 

When I woke up my parents were back. I gave them a brief account of what had happened in Goa omitting the scandalous details. I showed them some photos from the trip. They seemed satisfied with it and went to bed.

I stayed up late thinking about the day I would finally face Angad. It would be on Monday in college provided he came back from Mumbai. 

Yug still hadn't talked to him because he hadn't texted me with an update. 

I didn't call to pester him which took every ounce of self-control on my part. This was going to be a very long weekend if I didn't get any news from Yug. 

A/N

Surprise! Double update. I don't know, the words just seemed to flow out.