Beginning of The End

XXI

"What the fuck was that?"

He pulled the phone away from his face and stared at the contact number incredulously for a second, just wanting to make sure that he had not dialed some other number by mistake.

"Didn't you see any of my messages?" Virat voiced out his confusion, feeling utterly lost at the hard edge of his best friend's voice, and frowned when he heard him scoff on the other side.

"Of course I saw your message, and I saw that goddamned interview too." He snapped loudly, the tone of his voice not altering one bit and Virat felt all his previous excitement simmering down.

Virat had his fair share of pulling Rohit's leg during Ritika's pregnancy so he knew his best friend wouldn't be aiming to make things any easier for him either. He had expected a few taunts maybe, a little bit of banter.

But after announcing their pregnancy to the world, the last thing Virat had expected was his best friend to shout at him like this.

Why did Rohit sound so angry? Virat thought with unfamiliar insecurity lurking in his heart. Was he not happy for him? 

He bit down on his tongue before the question rolled off his tongue. And he quickly rubbished his thoughts, because what was he thinking? Rohit would be the happiest person for him, he knew that. 

Virat had even asked Anushka to get a few extra copies of the first sonogram they had of their child. Because during Ritika's pregnancy, she had told him how she wanted to make a collage of the first glimpse of their firstborns. Everything from the first sonogram they received to their first time in front of a camera.

"God Virat, just what were you thinking?" A loud groan from Rohit interrupted his thoughts and Virat's eyes flickered towards his wife almost instantly. Thankfully she was immersed in one of the hundred pregnancy books Chetna bhabhi had given her.

Virat silently made his way out to the balcony and away from her hearing range. "What do you mean?" He asked Rohit with an unsure smile on his face, not wanting to jump to conclusions just yet.

"Why would you say such a thing Virat? Are you seriously going to leave the team like that?" He demanded in a loud voice and Virat slowly felt his heart sink.

The entire world had been vocally against his decision. Although undeniably hurt, Virat had accepted the outrage without as much as a word.

And amidst everything he knew it would be childish for him to expect that Rohit would support him just because of their friendship.

But that had not stopped Virat from hoping that his best friend would be on his side.

"I'm not leaving them Rohit, you all will be there. Jinks will be there and you know the boys can do it." He attempted to explain his reasons in a feeble voice, his mind going blank all of a sudden.

"But why are you leaving?" He demanded in the same volume once again and Virat was left speechless. "What do you mean why am I leaving?" He said in an equally loud voice after a few seconds of uneasy silence.

Amidst the confusion in his mind, he also felt fury unleashing. Why was he acting like this?

"You know how important Australia is for us," Rohit said in an obvious tone as if Virat was the one who was acting out of nature.