The dim light of the hotel room bathed everything in a warm glow, yet the air felt heavy with unspoken words. Shubman Gill stood with his back turned to the bed, meticulously folding shirts he had pulled from the luggage he never fully unpacked from his last trip. He could almost hear the echoes of laughter and whispered confessions bouncing off the walls, drowning in the silence that had followed.
"I'm packin' my bags that I didn't unpack the last time," he muttered under his breath, the weight of his routine words feeling heavier than usual. Each item folded was a bitter reminder of the fleeting moments he had spent away from Ishan Kishan, who was now sitting cross-legged on the bed, his eyes glued to a phone but his heart somewhere else-on the cusp of departure once again.
"You say I'm always leavin' you when you're sleepin' alone," Shubman continued, glancing back at Ishan, who seemed lost in thoughts of his own. "But the car's outside." The bittersweet pull of the impending goodbye tugged at his chest. He was supposed to be excited about his next match, about the thrill of his career. But with Ishan sitting just a few feet away, all he felt was the reluctance to leave.
"Are you even listening?" Ishan finally spoke, his voice barely a whisper, as if the air in the room was thick enough to weigh down even the simplest words. There was a tremor in his tone that Shubman hadn't missed.
"I am," Shubman replied, turning fully to face him, his own voice breaking slightly. "I just... It's so hard to say goodbye when all I want is to hold you instead." The sincerity in his words hung between them, a dense fog of longing.
Ishan looked up, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. They had been through this routine of parting before, but each time felt more like a wound that refused to heal. "Do you really have to go?" he asked, his voice cracking under the weight of vulnerability.
Shubman clenched his jaw, the turmoil of conflicting emotions swirling inside him like a storm. "You know I love what I do, Ish. But..." He took a step closer, the distance between them feeling insurmountable. "I'm tired of lovin' from afar and never being where you are."
He wanted to reach out, to pull Ishan into an embrace that would erase every mile and every match that kept them apart. But the car horn sounded outside, an impatient reminder of the life waiting for him beyond the hotel's four walls.
"Close the windows, lock the doors," Ishan said suddenly, surprising Shubman with the strength in his voice. "I don't want you to leave me anymore." That desperation ignited a flicker of hope in Shubman's heart, but he knew it wasn't that simple.
"I wish I could take you with me. You have no idea how many times I wanted to call you, just to hear your voice," Shubman confessed. "But I have to go. I have a game to play."
"Another game. Another hotel. Another goodbye," Ishan said, bitterness creeping into his words. "I'm starting to feel like a part of your routine... something you just tick off the list before you leave the next time."
Shubman caught Ishan's gaze, trying to communicate what he felt-a wave crashing relentlessly against the walls of his heart. "You mean everything to me, Ishan. Every match I play, every run I score... I do it for us," he said, his voice breaking at the end of his statement. "But tonight... Tonight, I want to stay."
"Then do it," Ishan challenged, standing up and stepping towards Shubman. "We can make this work. If you want it. If you really want it."
The sincerity in Ishan's plea struck Shubman like lightning. They both knew the truth; the world outside would always pull them apart, yet here they were, two souls that were undeniably drawn to one another. "I can't leave you behind while I chase my dreams," Shubman admitted, desperation creeping around the edges of his resolve.
"Then don't," Ishan whispered, heartbreak woven into his words. "I don't want to be the one at home, waiting for your call while you're out there, living a life I can't be a part of. I know this wasn't what we chose, but it's our reality."
The car honked again, and Shubman felt the heaviness settle into his bones. "I'm not gettin' in that car unless you pack your bags," he said, the plea reflected in his anguished gaze. "You're coming with me."
"Shubman..." Ishan hesitated, his heart racing. "You know how these things are. You'll be busy, and then I'll be left alone again."
"That's not what I want," Shubman growled, frustration lacing his voice. "I want to be with you, not away from you. I hear the city lights and they all fade compared to what you give me. I would trade them all for just a minute more with you."
"But you have to go. You have to do what you love," Ishan's tone sounded tinged with resignation as he stepped back, the walls he had built around himself rising again. "Just stop saying goodbye like it's okay."
And it wasn't okay. Not one bit.
"I don't want to leave you anymore," Shubman admitted, his eyes swimming with emotions as he turned back toward his suitcase, desperately fighting back tears. He didn't know how to change anything, how to bridge the distance that would now stretch between them again as they had done so many times before.
But reality was like a relentless tide; it didn't care for their emotions or the promises whispered in dark hotel rooms. The truth was lurking like a shadow, always there to remind them of the unavoidable fate they faced.
"U need to pack some more," Ishan said quietly, turning away. The pain was etched in every word, leaving a trail of agony behind.
As the last ounce of light spilled through the window, Shubman Gill felt the cold grip of goodbye tightening around him once again. The dreams they had built together, shattered at the edges by too many nights without each other.
He wanted nothing more than to hold Ishan close, but the call of duty was a burden he could not escape. As Shubman fumbled with his belongings, the tear-filled silence spoke volumes-a love woven together yet unwound by distance.
With a final glance over his shoulder, he whispered one last time, "See you again," feeling the weight of those words, provisional yet poignant.
But tonight, all he could do was pack his bags and walk into the night, leaving behind a piece of his heart with the one person he wished could come along.
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Okay i cried this time fr.
At last you can imagine that they parted away forever and never faced each other again.
Ik many people will not feel this story , but for me this story is a part of me. A part when I had to part away with my bf, because he got transferred to a new city, for his job. We thought it would work for us living in long distance. But when we again met each other in his vacation, we felt that the spark that we had before was lost. We knew that if we stayed with eachother together, we could have bring that spark again, but it was not possible because of our jobs.
Inspired by the song CAR'S OUTSIDE.
