Can't promise you the world, but... (A Rohit-Shreyas Fanfiction)

Chapter 17

The door opened in Rohit's face with a jerk. Shreyas appeared in a towering rage, but Rohit couldn't say he was surprised.

"Stop this nonsense," he said before Shreyas could start. "Call your sister, she's worried."

Rohit could tell Shreyas hadn't expected that tone. When he'd got over the momentary shock, Shreyas set his jaw stubbornly.

Rohit held out his phone, where Shresta had texted a minute or two back. "Go on, call her." 

"I don't want to and I won't," said Shreyas, stalking into the room (Rohit automatically followed) and beginning to throw clothes into his suitcase, lying open on the floor. "I'm going back to Mumbai anyway tomorrow, goodbye."

Rohit sighed. "Stop acting like such a brat always, Yas."

"Oh yes, don't worry, I'm going to stop everything I am to you right here, right now and you don't have to worry about anything anymore!" shouted Shreyas, without straightening up, still dumping clothes. 

"Yeah?" said Rohit. "How's that, suddenly?"

"Where no one expects anything from you, where no one expects that out of so many people out there you'll be the one one can look up to, where no one puts so much pressure on you that you'd look like a sad person all the time!"

Rohit tried to process what Shreyas was saying, but before he could, Shreyas was already dropping the next bombshell.

"I won't play this stupid sport anymore!"

"What?"

"Thank you for everything you did for me, skipper! Like giving me so many chances, all the unfair chances I did not deserve!"

That was when Rohit registered: Shreyas had said Mumbai, not Bangalore, where he was due to leave the next morning for the NCA. His eyes went around the room, took in Shreyas' cricket stuff strewn on the floor unceremoniously, some of it torn or battered.

Whoa.

It occurred to Rohit this was more than a temper tantrum. Judging from how Shreyas, now that he observed closely, was breathing hard and shaking even as he was bent over the suitcase, it looked more like a breakdown.

"Yas?" ... "Shreyas?"

"WILL YOU AT LEAST JUST LOOK AT ME?"

Shreyas looked up. His eyes were bloodshot. Some part of Rohit already wanted to hug the life out of the boy.

He didn't. Not yet.

"We're always talking of fair and unfair, aren't we? Then what part of you thinks it an inch right that when you are upset with someone, without even telling him what upset you, you're leaving him?"

"You don't care, Rohit--bhaiya," said Shreyas, like he'd tagged on the 'bhaiya' only at the last instant. "You just don't care, and you can stop pretending now. No one's here."

They looked at each other for a while.

Then Shreyas stood up, rather unsteadily, and went to his kitbag to dig out his favourite bat, and walked to the balcony, threw open the door and stepped out.

"What are you going to--" Rohit asked in alarm, following him again. "Are you crazy?"

Shreyas had made to hurl the bat down.

"Shreyas Iyer, you will put down that bat right now." 

Shreyas lifted it higher above his head to fling it down harder, but then, he couldn't. His lowered his trembling arms and hugged the bat to his chest.