09
IMPULSIVE DECISIONS

April

Hope.

The only driving force of humans.

Abhishek returned home, dripping wet because of the unannounced downpour. His parents and an already dozed off sister were in the living room, waiting for his arrival. After Abhishek's late night anxiety attack, the family was worried for the twenty five year old all the time, not wanting to leave him alone even for a moment.

"Mummy Papa, didn't sleep yet?" He causally asked, tossing the keys into a bowl neatly placed on the shoe rack. Asha and Vinod shared a glance before turning to look at him. "How was the wedding?" He added.

"Tumhe ghar aane mein itna late kyun hua?" (Why are you home so late?) Asha asked, "Kal subah flight hai tumhari," (You have a flight tomorrow morning)

Abhishek paused. And sighed. There was no point in hiding the truth.

"I met Aastha," he informed, "She wasn't getting a cab or anything, so I dropped her off," he said, chugging down a glass of water.

Silence. Abhishek looked at his parents expectantly, waiting for a response. But they didn't say anything. They glanced at each other and Asha decided to wake her eldest child, who was sleeping on the sofa, hair sprawled over the cushion, mouth slightly ajar, leg dangling from the edge of the seat.

"Good night, " Vinod said, marching to his room.

"Soja Abhay, kal jaana hai, " (Sleep. You have to go tomorrow) Asha muttered as Nikita got up, eyes partially open, walking off with her mother, leaving Abhishek in the kitchen, gripping onto the steel glass in his hand.

_____

next day

Abhishek glanced at the man sitting beside him. Ishan Kishan. He couldn't remember the last time he joked around with him, couldn't remember the last time they pulled each other's legs.

And the realisation of how drastically he'd changed hit him. He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling hesitant.

"Ishan?"

"Bol na," (Yeah?) a causal response came as Ishan tilted his head.

"Uh..." Abhishek suddenly blanked out, confused on what he should say while Ishan looked at the Sharma expectantly, raising an eyebrow.

"Oye-

"Panchayat ka naya season dekha kya?" (Did you watch Panchayat's latest season?)

Abhishek's question was received by a scoff.

"Ha, ek saal pehle," (Yeah, a year ago) Ishan replied, "Jab release hua tha," (When it was released)

"Oh...you liked it?" Abhishek awkwardly questioned and Ishan sighed, his eyes softening.

"Abhay...what do you actually want to talk about?" He asked and Abhishek sighed.

"I...I met Aastha yesterday," he confessed. Ishan remained silent, shocked at the revelation.

"She was at a college reunion, I'd gone to just have some dinner...I ended up dropping her to her house," Abhishek continued and Ishan's eyes flickered with a hope.

"Really?" He mused, "Did you...well, did you talk about anything or...?"

Abhishek sharply exhaled, shaking his head in a no. Ishan nodded, patting his shoulder.

"It's fine, it's fine...baby steps, I guess," he mumbled.

"She...she was wearing the same dress from our first date," Abhishek said, the dreamy look in his eyes unmistakable. Ishan softly smiled.

"Sunn, don't give up...just yet," Ishan said.

"I never wanted to," Abhishek smiled sadly, the expression on his face shifting as if he remembered something. "I never wanted to," he repeated and Ishan stayed silent for a moment before speaking.

"Then don't, no one's forcing you to," Ishan scoffed.

The conversation ended. But Ishan's annoyed advice remained with him throughout the day. Even when Riya— their social media manager was bombarding with instructions about the content they were supposed to get. Even when they were having dinner while Aniket and Nitish were playing antakshari.

Maybe if I hadn't given up back then, she wouldn't have left...

"GUYS," Riya interrupted the mehfil, panting as she had just ran down the stairs.

"Mate, you okay there?" The skipper was quick to ask and Riya shook her head, her hair swaying.

"Nope," she mumbled, "Okay, listen up," the social media manager said, catching her breath. "Wear white clothes tomorrow and be ready at the lobby at 12 in the afternoon!"

"What for?" Nitish asked as he swallowed a spoonful of rice.

"Just do as I say," Riya said, her voice firm and the players just nodded, aware about how they shouldn't argue with the clearly tired and angry woman.

Even after dinner, Abhishek found himself in comparatively high spirits as he retreated to his room. The night seemed peaceful, seemed hopeful, the bright moon signifying how the sun hadn't completely disappeared.

While he found himself sink into the pulchritude of the night sky, he pulled out his phone, typing a message. His eyes remained glued to the screen, heart pounding in his chest as his fingers hovered over the keyboard. He paused for a moment, reading the text. And then, as a newfound courage took over him, he pressed the little arrow, sending the message.

Abhay 🩷
I'm back in Hyderabad
Mummy Papa and Di are still in Mumbai

"HOLY SHIT" he suddenly realised the magnitude of his actions, flinging away his phone onto the fluffy mattress as if the phone was about to blast in his palm.

Meanwhile, the person he'd texted was busy throwing clothes in a mini suitcase.

_____

next day

Abhishek was in the shower when Nitish had rung the doorbell seven times. SEVEN times. Hastily, Abhishek stepped out of the bath, putting one of the fancy bathrobes kept by the hotel.

"KYA HAI," (What is it?) he asked, annoyed as he opened the door.

"Riya di's like...pissed, super pissed," Nitish breathlessly explained, "You need to get your act together and be there in five minutes," Nitish said, running off in two seconds.

Abhay shook his head, slamming the door shut while Nitish ran down the hallway.

"Ye saala maine iss team ko kal disqualify hone se roka na, toh bhi yeh sare secretary waale kaam karvayenge," (Even if I save this team from getting disqualified tomorrow, they'll make me do all these secretary like tasks) he muttered under his breath absentmindedly, now jogging instead of running.

And that's when it happened.

A high pitched, shrill shriek followed as Nitish bumped into a girl, dressed in a chikankari kurti and a white palazzo.

Nitish's eyes widened as she shouted, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Roop?" He mumbled in confusion.

"Aye tum!" (It's you!) she said, "Dekh ke chal na," (Look while you're walking) she said, annoyed.

"I'm sorry," he quickly mumbled.

"Paagal," (Idiot) she frowned. "Tumhe dhang se chalna bhi nahi aata," (You can't even walk properly)

"I see the dramatic life has not left you," he said, rolling his eyes.

"I see the screw up life refuses to leave you," she retorted, smiling a little too sweetly at him. Before he could reply, the two were interrupted by a loud voice.

"Nitish!" It was Abhishek, taking long strides towards the duo. "Abb kyu timepass kar raha hai? Chal na jaldi se!" (Why are you wasting time? Let's go)

"Par- (But-)

"Chhup reh," (Shut up) Abhishek glared, tilting his head to look at the woman named Roop.

"What's happened?" he politely asked.

"Uh...woh," The girl stuttered, nervous and shocked to see one of her favourite cricketers right in front of her. "He...he bumped into me, and well- I almost fell," she said, pointing at Nitish, suddenly feeling embarrassed for picking a childish argument.

"Oh! I'm really sorry, he's very...absent minded, you know?" Abhishek politely replied while Roop just nodded, starstruck as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "We need to rush, we're getting late," he hastily added, almost dragging the frowning Nitish with him, leaving a dazed Roop.

"Your dumbass can't walk now?" Abhishek asked, still annoyed at how Nitish had interrupted his shower. The fact that he had impulsively texted his 'wife' last night who had not replied to his message didn't help keep Abhishek calm as well.

"She was looking wasn't she? She could have just moved aside," Nitish grumbled as the two got into an elevator.

"Famous hai tu abb, you are the one who has to stay polite all the time, you fool," Abhishek pointed out, much to Nitish's displeasure.

"Hold up!" Nitish suddenly exclaimed, "What was she doing in Hyderabad? She lives in Chandigarh!"

"How do you know?" Abhishek asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Arey! She's the bandar kya jaane adrak ka swaad ladki!"

"Acha ji?"

The elevator doors opened with a ping, as the two teammates made their way to the lobby where they were supposed to be present. Abhishek and Nitish were chatting— or rather, Abhishek was listening to Nitish babble about the Roop girl when his eyes landed on her. And the world around Abhishek faded away into silence. She was dressed in her favourite white t-shirt which had a The Office quote, her favourite pair of bellbottoms, hair tied in a ponytail. His breath hitched, heart skipping a beat as everything suddenly felt like a...dream.

"Bhai, aap sunn rahe ho?" (Brother, are you listening to me?) Nitish suddenly asked as he scanned Abhishek's zoned out face. "Bhai?" Nitish tilted his head, following Abhishek's vision as he saw the familiar person.

"Aastha bhabhi?"

Hope was alive and well.

______

2 years ago,

"Did I miss something? Was our room hit by a storm?" Abhishek quipped as he entered their bedroom, sipping on guava juice.

"Did no one teach you to keep your mouth shut?" His wife asked, as she tossed yet another tee on the bed.

"They tried to," he replied, sitting down on the bed comfortably to watch the next episode of Suits.

"CHOOSING AN OUTFIT IS THE WORST," Aastha declared loudly, frustrated making him flinch.

"My god, this woman startled me," he mumbled under his breath, the iPad slipping slightly from his fingers but he managed to not let it fall. "Aye, paagal hai kya?" (Are you crazy?)

"Why can't you try and be...helpful?" She asked, her voice higher than usual. He scanned her face, contorted with worry lines and sighed, getting out of bed.

"Kya hua?" (What happened?) his voice was softer, as he crossed his legs to sit beside his wife on the floor.

"I'm going to an IPL match for the first time in my life...and that too, as a cricketer's wife, " she paused, "WIFE! What should I even wear?" Aastha asked, her voice conveying the seriousness of the moment.

Her husband scoffed.

"You're fretting over clothes?" He asked, "You could wear a potato sack and still look good, " he said, getting up.

"You're just saying this because you're my husband," Aastha told her man who scrunched up his face in confusion.

"No? That's stupid, why would I lie to you just because you're my wife?"

Aastha sighed, taking three t-shirts from her lap, and threw them at him, annoyed and frustrated. Abhishek rolled his eyes, dodging all the clothes thrown at him.

"Just wear something orange, na," he suggested, "That dress you bought when you went out with your friends is cute,"

"Wait, what dress?" She asked, squinting her eyes.

"The new dress which you've kept on the topmost shelf? The one which is still in the shopping bag?" Aastha gasped as she stood up, eyes landing on the brown shopping bag.

"OH MY GOD, I FORGOT ABOUT THIS," she shrieked out, pulling the bag and looking at the dress. "Oh my, this is perfect!" She exclaimed, gleefully, her worries thrown out of the window. She quickly ran up to Abhishek, throwing her arms around him.

"Thank you, thank you," she said, pulling away and he just smiled.

"Glad to be of service," he said, pulling her closer as the two shared a laugh.

First appearance at IPL as newlyweds: almost done.

Ta-da! How was the chapter?

As we slowly unravel what went wrong for Abhishek and Aastha, I want to say it beforehand, that I've written this from the view that no one is to blame, that both of them went wrong and couldn't sustain their relationship.

Most of my stories are purely ideas, not plots— I've been working on writing more plot based stories like Pehla Pyaar (?) but yes, the idea of this story is that any relationship, be it romantic, platonic, etc etc, can go through a rough patch, can face its lows but if the love, respect and trust exists, people find their way back to each other.

Soooo, I can't really promise a lot of grovelling or anything as such im sorry if you thought you were in for that classic wattpad someone screws up and grovels and becomes the 'greenest flag' in existence story😭 i do enjoy that trope, but this one isn't that.

Bass aur rant nahi karungi😞🙏

ALSO OBVIOUSLY, Ablazed_phoenix named Roop :)