7 days

DAY FIVE ( PART 2)

POV: Shubman Gill.

Shubman stood on the balcony and watched as rain clouds gathered on the Mumbai skyline. According to the news, it was going to be a stormy week. The strong winds brought little drops of rain which crashed against him. Shubman felt hollow from the inside. He was exhausted and lethargic. His entire body ached for some reason, but what was making him feel even worse was the heartache. Was Ishaan right about what he said? Was he a bad boyfriend all this time? Why didn't Ishaan say anything this entire time? All he had were questions, and no answers. With a deep sigh, he decided to go in before the drizzle got worse.

Even though the AC was off, the room felt cold. Shubman had to force himself to change out of his clothes before he collapsed into the bed. After he had stripped down to his boxers, he stood and stared at his reflection for a while. He was covered in bruises. Ishaan was never violent with him even if he was in a wild mood, he always asked Shubman for permission, and Shubman loved him for it. He ran his fingers across the nail marks on his waist, he could almost feel Ishaan's touch.

He was tired but sleep refused to come visit him tonight. Restlessly, he tried to keep his eyes closed, trying to  trick himself into falling asleep, but to no avail. Finally, annoyed with the whole ordeal, he took his phone to mindlessly watch reels, but instead he opened his gallery.
He opened the hidden folder and scrolled through the photos.

Random photos of Ishaan doing mundane things. Ishaan as he made a mess in the kitchen while trying to cook something. Ishaan playing video games. Him singing Punjabi songs wrong. Him, with flowers in his hair. Ishaan in bed, under the covers laughing, him smoking on the balcony. Him, in a  towel loosely hung around his waist. Him, wearing Shubman's sweaty jersey after Shubman won a tournament, and Shubman's favorite photo of all; Ishaan, covering his face with a fluffy sweater, revealing only his eye. His fox eyes, which held so much power over Shubman.

“aankhein dekhi to mein dekhtha reh gaya”
“When I saw his eyes I was transfixed”

Shubman stirred in his sleep as he felt a cold hand run across his back. He didn't realize when he had fallen asleep. He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt too heavy. He struggled to move but his body felt like lead. Was it Ishaan, did he come back? The hand moved slowly up his back and stopped at the back of his  neck. A shiver ran down his spine. He tried to move again but stopped as the smell of smoke enveloped him.

‘ Ishu, why do…. You smell like smoke’ he mumbled in his sleep.

Shubman could hear the rain coming down hard. The sound of thunder, one after the other. He wanted to open his eyes and look at Ishaan, but the exhaustion stopped him. Shubman turned and lay down on his back. He felt the cold touch move across his stomach and up his chest. He mumbled Ishaan's name again without opening his eyes.

‘ I feel cold..  Ishu baby…’

He felt the cold hands grip his shoulder and felt a heavy pressure on his chest, as though someone had climbed on top of him.

‘ Ishu..’ he whined and struggled under the weight.

The smell of smoke was overpowering him, the cold arms now gripped the side of his face. Shubman tried to shift his position, but couldn't. The weight slowly got heavier, as though it was sinking into him. Something was pushing against his sides. Shubman was starting to feel pain. A panic arose in him. He tried to force himself to wake up. If it was Ishaan, he would have said something. His mind immediately thought of his stalker, was it him? Shubman was panting in his sleep now, struggling to get his eyes open. He begged his brain to register the danger. His heart beating wildly, he tried to move, but whoever was on his was too heavy.

After a few minutes of struggle, he forced himself to open his eyes and immediately regretted it. The panic in him turned into fear at the sight of what he saw. He stared wide eyed at what was on top of him. A dark figure, with coal like skin, stared at him with scarlet eyes. Shubman lay paralyzed, unable to move, unable to scream, staring at it wide eyed, mouth ajar. It moved closer to Shubman's face with just a few inches left in between them. The smell of burning flesh hit Shubman's nostrils. Shubman was shaking in fear but didn't dare to move. The figure pressed its nails deep into Shubman's soft skin and watched as drops of blood smeared on its fingers. Shubman winced in pain. The figure stared at Shubman's fearful eyes clouded with pain, as it slowly opened its mouth and a forked tongue rolled out. Shubman gripped the sheets in horror, the figure moved closer and closer and licked the blood off Shubman's face. A scream finally managed to escape Shubman's lips before he passed out.