Somewhere Only We Go (Editing)

Prologue

Avinash:I kissed someone.

Ishan: Good for you baby bro, I guess?

Avinash: It was a boy.

That's how Avinash came out to his brother, Ishan. Ishan who was successful at the age of 19, was famous and loved and everything his parents wanted. He didn't plan on telling anyone what had happened tonight at the party but it was his first kiss and he had kissed a boy and loved it. it was just a confirmation of something he already knew. But tonight it has become real. Avinash knew he was gay, he was never interested in girls like his other classmates, it was always the boy with the cute freckles or the basketball captain with his charming smile, breathtaking eyes or the men girls usually thirsted over on Instagram. So he knew much before he tasted those lips of another boy tonight, he knew. But that also brought the realization that he was the joke now. The joke his parents cracked about gay men at dinners and galas. He was freaking out and that's how he ended up texting his brother. He wasn't expecting a reply from Ishan so when his phone started ringing he thought he was going to die. What was he supposed to say now? He didn't think about what came after.

Ishan and Avinash weren't close. Their parents and Ishan's ambition had made sure that how there always will be a distance between the brothers. So why did he text him?

"Hello." Avinash was not sure what else to say but he didn't have to.

"Avi?" There was music playing in the background. Maybe he is still at the party. He was invited to inaugurate a new club that has opened in Gurgaon.

"Yeah."

"Avi, listen I can't hear you but I am guessing you can hear me...I am so proud of you bro. and don't panic or overthink. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

He cuts the call and Avi has tears in his eyes. His brother told him he was proud of him. Ishan, the man who is loved and respected by so many just told him he is proud of him. Avinash could feel some of the tension leaving his body, at least one person was on his side.

His phone beeped twice with incoming messages.

Ishan: I love you, Avi. Remember that always.

Ishan: How about we go out for dinner tomorrow? Just the two of us. I know I can't throw you a coming out party, not yet, so a dinner will have to do. Sounds good?

Avinash replied with a yes and went to bed much more relaxed than he was a few minutes ago. Tomorrow was going to be fine. That's why he didn't understand what to make of the scream that woke him awake in the morning.

Avinash rushed out of his room and his stomach sank when he saw four men in police uniforms his mother on his knees his father barely supporting her, tears streaming down both their faces.

One year later

"I hate you....I hate you...You ruined my life, Ishan."

This was the last time Avinash would cry for Ishan, the last time he would let himself be weak. As he burned the only two pictures he had of his dead brother, he vowed to never let anyone in his life. His parents have discarded him like a spare part in their house that isn't worth anything. That was the day Avinash realized he would always be in Ishan's shadow, alive or dead his brother would always come first.