BROKEN THINGS

10

It had been a really long day. They had wheeled Rahul out for X-Rays and other tests. They didn't ask them to do much of the legwork, but it was still exhausting. The emotions only had been so heavy, from the devastation of losing to the horror of what he had walked into, to the rage that had taken over him. And then ofcourse Rahul himself had proceeded to add a couple of verbal stabbings as if his heart hadn't been through enough.

And then Rahul's reports had given him a seperate headache. It started from low bp, low sugar, mild concussion, a fractured rib, his jaw had a hairline fracture and his kidneys were bruised. Meaning the poor boy was about to have a very tough time in the washroom. Rahul hadn't reacted to any of it, just asked when he was allowed to go back. The doctors had wanted to keep him for a day but he argued his way out of that too. Sourav wasn't in the mood to hear more verbal attacks aimed at him should they not give in, so they let him have his way. It was a harsh reminder that this was just an isolated incident. Nothing between them had changed.

They were lying in Sourav's room now. Rahul needed somebody to monitor him through the night, his ribs were in a delicate condition. There needed to be someone around to make sure he doesn't shift too much and cause something like a lung collapse. And despite feeling unbearable anger, he couldn't bear it be anybody else but him. Sachin and Anil had wanted to. Heck Sachin had begged to stay with them. But Sourav was too emotionally overwrought, he needed some privacy. Rahul had been dead asleep since before they had arrived, so he was as good as alone.

He sighed and picked at his broken glasses that Anil had retrieved for him from the trashed room. A lot was going around the team now, he knew that atleast a good amount of BCCI officials had heard something of what had happened by now, Chappel was hardly a man who would keep his mouth shut though Sourav was pretty sure he had broken some of his teeth. There were bound to be repercussions. Anil had insisted he would take care of it so he didn't worry about it either. He trusted Anil... the way he couldn't trust Rahul now.

He lay down beside his brother, facing him, getting a vivid flashback of the day Rahul had joined their family. Rahul was the son of his mother's bestfriend. The Dravids lived in Bangalore and they in Kolkata so there weren't too many interaction between them before that particular day. Rahul's family had been a part of a car crash and Rahul was the sole survivor. He hadn't known all that at that age ofcourse. All his parents had told him was that he was getting a new brother. And all that had concerned an eight year old Sourav was that there was finally going to be somebody younger than him in the house to get bullied by all his cousins and elder brother. He was finally going to be a big brother.

But then, it hadn't been a little baby his parents had walked into the house with. It had been a little boy, with large downcast eyes, a serious face and a never to be heard voice.

His parents had given him a long winding explanation in hopes of convincing Sourav to accept somebody into their home. They needn't have bothered. The only part that had concerned Sourav then was if Rahul was younger than him. When the answer came in affirmative, he had all but latched onto that little boy, declaring they were going to be the best brothers ever.

Twenty odd years had passed since that and Sourav found, it was not that easy to be the best brothers ever. He sighed and gently touched Rahul's face, bruised and broken as it was. They may not be the best brothers ever but he was still his brother. Sourav wasn't blood bound to love him, but his heart didn't accept that. And despite everything Rahul had thrown at his face, the little boy with wide eyes was all Sourav could see even in his anger.

He sighed, and gently pulled his brother close into his arms, the way he would never be able to if he was awake. Rahul wasn't his JamJam anymore, but Sourav still cared. He cared with all his heart. And it hurt to see him hurt.

"What are you hiding now Jammy?" he whispered in to the ears who won't hear his question, "What are you hiding?"