Silent Echoes || When Cricket Heroes Fall and Brothers Turn Strangers

Chap 3

As the door slammed open with a loud thud, causing Rahul Bhai to freeze mid-dial, his eyes widened, and his heart raced, the urgency of the moment reflected in the tightened grip of his hand around the hotel's landline phone. Rohit instinctively clutched Virat's right hand in a vice-like grip. His eyes, wide with fear, reflected the residual shock of the unexpected entrance. Meanwhile, Virat instinctively grabbed a pillow as a defensive object, a questionable choice for a defense that left Virat momentarily second-guessing his choice of protection, but seeing Rohit clutching his hand as if his life depended on it, Virat's protective instincts kicked in. The room was tense with anticipation as the door swung shut behind the five furious figures who stormed in. Virat, still holding the pillow defensively, exchanged a concerned look with Rohit, silently urging him to stay calm. While Rahul Bhai, still had the phone clutched in his hand, he watched the unfolding scene with a mix of confusion and worry. His gaze eventually, landed on Virat's choice of defensive object, wondering if Virat was preparing for a fierce pillow fight rather than facing the sudden intrusion. The five figures stormed into the room, their faces a mix of anger and concern.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU ROHIT GURUNATH SHARMA", exclaimed Bhuvi, a hurt tone evident in his voice.

This was swiftly followed by an equally, if not more, furious outburst from Jinks, who yelled,"HOW COULD YOU BLOODY DO THIS TO US, ROHIT SHARMA".

Rohit, tightening his grip on Virat's hand, looked at the jinks, Bhuvi, and the rest three figures with a mixture of panic and disbelief.

"You guys believe the rumors?" he questioned, his tone laced with anxiety. "It's not what you think. I-I never betrayed the team or did anything to harm us," he stammered, his eyes pleading for understanding.

Jinks and Bhuvi shook their heads in disappointment, while Shikhar and Ash, standing right next to Rohit's bed, reached out and gave him a playful slap on the back of his head. Jadeja rolled his eyes at Rohit, unimpressed, remarking, "Ah, Classic Rohit Sharma move, always concluding wrong things" he quipped, dripping with sarcasm. "You, my dear friend, must think we're all a bunch of fools. I mean, who wouldn't believe some ridiculous rumors going around on social media, over their friend; brother who they have known for more than 15 years of their life?" He chuckled sarcastically, maintaining a mocking tone as he continued, "And of course, it's not like we're all genuinely concerned about your health or anything. No, no, why bother sharing something so trivial as your well-being with us? Silly us for caring."

Ashwin chimed in with a mocking grin, "Oh come on Jaddu, why would Rohit or Virat even go through the trouble of informing us, mere mortals about Rohit's health, it is not like we all would've been on the edge of our seats, genuinely concerned about his health. I mean, who wouldn't want to be kept in the dark while their friend like brother suffers silently? But no worries, Rohit, carry on with your extraordinary but stupid overthinking. It's truly the highlight of our day."

Jadeja and Ashwin couldn't resist infusing their words with a healthy dose of sarcasm, leaving no doubt that Rohit's actions were far from impressive in their eyes. Jinks, Bhuvi, and Shikhar joined in with sarcastic claps, further emphasizing their disbelief at the situation. Now, now, now if Jinks and Bhuvi are yelling, Jaddu and Ash are talking sarcastically, and well Shikhar is talking in his right mind state, then congrats! You have successfully pissed them off to an extent where they behave out of their characters, and honestly, that's not something to take pride in. Upon hearing what Rohit said, Shikhar couldn't hide his frustration anymore,

"This is not okay, Ro. You're not just an individual; you're a part of this team; our family and we deserve to know when our own brother is going through such a tough time. How could you keep this from us!?!"

Rohit, still gripping Virat's hand, stammered, "I... I didn't want to burden anyone. It's my issue, and I thought I could handle it alone."

His gaze dropping on the bedsheet, Jadeja was beyond frustrated with his idiotic friend, and reached out to give a slap on the back of Rohit's head, "Handle it alone? Your way of "Handling it alone" is so good that it made you get attached to drips. We're a team, Ro! We share victories and defeats together. How could you think we wouldn't stand by you when you needed us, the most? "