Homecoming

Chapter 21: Tough Love

"Can you please take a deep breath, and tell me exactly what happened?"

They were in a VIP visitor section of the hospital, and Virat was trying to understand what exactly had happened in the span of 15 minutes to make Shubman so distraught.

Shubman looked about 5 seconds away from having a complete meltdown, so Virat, ever the loving (!) mentor, placed a hand on his shoulder, and tried to persuade him to let it all out.

Shubman looked at Virat with tear stained eyes, rubbed them vigorously so he could see Virat clearly, and blurted out,

"He said I made him suicidal, that I was a drug he had tried so hard to cut out of his life. He– he went through unbearable pain because of me, bhai, because of my stupidity, and I was not there for him. I screwed him up, maybe for life. What kind of a person am I that I let him think death was easier than living? How could I do this? How can I ever forgive myself, let alone get him to forgive me? What do I do, bhai, what do I do..."

Shubman was bawling in Virat's arms now, his tears staining Virat's shirt; atleast Virat hoped it was only tears. He loved the kid, but a snotty Shubman was not something he wanted to deal with.

Alright, time for some Rohit-estyle tough love, thought Virat, and instantly grimaced. He vowed to never let Rohit know that he was about to use his technique; he would never hear the end of it.

He lifted Shubman's head from his shoulders and asked him, as calmly as he could,

"What were his exact words?"

Shubman scrunched his forehead in an effort to remember.

"He said he did not want to go through the pain of dying-esque feelings again, that he could never let me in for fear of me leaving again. He said he's too tired and does not have the strength to go through it again–"

"And do you plan to? Leave him again?"

"Ofcourse not, what kind of question is that? How could you even ask me–"

Virat smacked Shubman, hard, in the middle of his rant. Shubman looked at him, gobsmacked.

"How Ishan puts up with you, I have no idea. You idiot, he said he doesn't want to go through it again. If you are not going to put him through it again, how did you conclude that you lost him? He is hurt, he is upset - he is allowed to be. It's your job to show him that you don't plan on leaving, that he's stuck with you. Woo him, take care of him, show him you mean what you say - dikhade tu mera chela hai."

Shubman still looked stunned, so Virat rolled his eyes, and continued,

"Tell me something - what happened with Sara? I thought you liked her."

At this, Shubman turned sheepish and awkward.

"I–I thought so too. We were friends for so long, and I think I got swept up in the normalcy and obviousness of it all. Everyone around me kept hinting at us as a couple, my dad starting mapping out my future everytime I talked to him, and it kind of starting making sense.

I asked her out and she said yes, but she knew there was no spark there - I took a long time to figure it out. I didn't feel like sharing my daily to-dos with her, everything that happened, all the cool things I saw - she was not the one I wanted to share it with. I thought the feeling might disappear after a while, but it only got stronger. I missed Ishan, a lot. I craved his smile, his presence, but he found reasons to not be around me. I didn't know how to face him after what I had done, but staying away from him was agonizing. I-I fucked up, bhai. I fucked up."

"Yeah you did."

Shubman looked up at him then, surprised.

"What, I call them like I see them. You fucked up, big time. But the good thing is, all hope is not lost. I have seen the way you look at him, but more importantly, I see the way he looks at you - like a forbidden fruit that he craves but can never have. He steals glances at you when he thinks no one's looking, he keeps looking at the door awaiting your arrival....trust me, you both are goners. Now all you have to do is make him believe that you are forever, and make it stick."

"But that's the hardest part!"

"Didn't say it was going to be easy, Kaake!"