Shadows From The Past

Abhishek stared at the message, his grip tightening around his phone.

"You think Aarav was your only problem? Think again."

A chill ran down his spine.

Meera noticed his expression immediately. "What’s wrong?"

Abhishek hesitated. He didn’t want to ruin the moment, but something about that message felt off.

"Nothing," he said quickly, locking his phone. "Just some random spam."

Meera narrowed her eyes. "Abhi."

He forced a smirk. "Relax, Sherlock. No secret admirers or exes lurking in the shadows."

She rolled her eyes but didn’t push. "Good. Because if some other ex of yours shows up, I’m retiring from this relationship."

Abhishek chuckled, but his mind was elsewhere.

Something about that message felt… personal.

And he had a bad feeling that whoever sent it wasn’t done yet.

<⁠(⁠￣⁠︶⁠￣⁠)⁠↗

The Next Morning

Abhishek arrived at practice early, hoping to shake off the unease. The field was empty, except for one person.

Virat.

The captain was going through his usual warm-ups, but as soon as he saw Abhishek, he called him over.

"Need to talk."

Abhishek walked over, trying to act normal. "What’s up?"

Virat tossed him a cricket ball. "You’ve been playing well. Focused. But something’s off."

Abhishek forced a shrug. "Just a lot on my mind."

Virat studied him for a long moment. "Anything I need to know?"

Abhishek hesitated. If Virat found out about the message, he’d definitely overreact. The guy was already overprotective about Meera—if he thought there was some threat involved? He’d go full captain mode.

"Nah, just personal stuff," Abhishek said, forcing a small grin. "Nothing I can’t handle."

Virat nodded slowly. "Good. Because we’ve got a match coming up, and I need your head in the game."

Abhishek exhaled. "I’m good, I promise."

But just as Virat turned to leave, Abhishek’s phone buzzed again.

He glanced at the screen.

Another unknown message.

"You should’ve picked a different girl, Sharma. This isn’t over."

Abhishek’s blood ran cold.

His eyes darted around the stadium, scanning the stands, the entrance, even the shadows near the pavilion.

Was someone watching him?

Virat frowned. "You good?"

Abhishek locked his phone. "Yeah. Just a stupid notification."

But inside?

He knew one thing for sure.

Whoever was sending these messages wasn’t just messing with him.

And it had everything to do with Meera.

<⁠(⁠￣⁠︶⁠￣⁠)⁠↗

The next few days were a blur of practice, uncertainty, and creeping dread. Abhishek couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him—waiting for the right moment to strike. The messages kept coming, each more cryptic and threatening than the last.

"You don’t know who you’re messing with."

"She’ll regret picking you."

The worst part? The person sending them knew things only someone close to him—or Meera—could know.

"Abhi, you’ve been distracted all week," Meera said one afternoon, her brow furrowed as she watched him closely. "What’s going on?"

Abhishek forced a smile, trying to act like everything was normal. "Nothing, just the usual pre-match nerves."

She didn’t buy it. "Don’t lie. You’ve been looking at your phone like you’re waiting for the apocalypse. Spill."

He hesitated, but seeing the concern in her eyes made him cave. "It’s nothing... it’s just some weird messages."

Meera’s eyes narrowed. "What kind of messages?"

Abhishek took a deep breath, recounting the threatening texts. "They’re... personal. Whoever’s sending them knows a lot about both of us."

Meera’s face paled. "What do you mean, 'a lot'?"

"Details. Like they’ve been watching us. Following us." He ran a hand through his hair. "I don’t know who they are or why they’re doing this, but they’re not backing off."

Meera’s eyes flickered with something—fear, anger, maybe both. "Have you told bhaiya?"

Abhishek shook his head. "No. I don’t want him involved. He’s already got his hands full with the team. Besides, I don’t want to drag you into this any more than I already have."

Meera looked at him, her face hardening. "You’re not dragging me into anything. This is about us."

Abhishek sighed, feeling the weight of the situation pressing down on him. "I know, but—"

Before he could finish, Meera grabbed his phone. "Let me see the messages."

He tried to protest, but she was already scrolling through his texts.

Her face grew darker with each line. "This is... insane, Abhi. You have to tell Virat. We need to figure out who’s behind this before it goes too far."

"Meera, I—"

She looked up at him, her eyes intense. "No, we are going to figure this out. Together."

Abhishek felt his heart swell with gratitude, but the knot in his stomach tightened. "But what if it’s someone close to us? Someone who knows us both?"

Meera didn’t hesitate. "Then we’re going to get to the bottom of it. Don’t you dare try to protect me from this. I’m in this with you."

His resolve faltered. Maybe it was time to stop running from the problem and face it head-on.

"Okay," he muttered. "But we need to be careful. Whoever this is... they’re playing a game, and I’m not sure if we’re the players or the pawns."

Meera looked at him with a glint of determination. "Doesn’t matter. We’re going to beat them at their own game."

—

The following day, Abhishek and Meera decided to go on the offensive. They called in their close circle of friends—Virat, Ishan (yes, Ishan), and a few others—to gather information and figure out if anyone had seen anything strange or unusual recently.

It felt almost like they were assembling a team to fight back.

Virat, unsurprisingly, was not thrilled. "You’re telling me this now?" he grumbled, running a hand through his hair. "I could’ve helped days ago!"

"Would you have listened?" Meera shot back, her arms crossed. "No. You’ve been way too busy protecting your own secret girlfriend."

Virat blinked, caught off guard. "Okay, wow. Low blow, Meera."

Abhishek chuckled despite the tension in the room. "I think that’s a topic for another time, don’t you?"

"Fine, fine," Virat muttered, clearly not pleased with the teasing but giving in. "So, what’s the plan?"

"We need to figure out who has access to our lives," Abhishek said seriously. "Who could be tracking us this closely without us noticing."

Ishan, who had been sitting quietly at the back, suddenly spoke up. "This might sound crazy, but have you thought about the possibility of someone from your past?"

Abhishek’s stomach twisted. "What do you mean?"

Ishan leaned forward. "Well, you’ve got a history with a few people, right? Exes? Old teammates? Anyone who might hold a grudge?"

Meera’s eyes widened. "Wait—what if it’s someone connected to one of Abhi’s old relationships?"

Abhishek frowned. "I don’t have that many exes... but, yeah, it’s possible."

The group fell silent, contemplating the angle. Could it be that simple? Or was this someone closer than they thought?

Suddenly, Abhishek’s phone buzzed again. Everyone froze.

He glanced at the screen, feeling his heart drop.

"You think you can hide? You’re not as clever as you think, Sharma. Time’s running out."

Meera’s breath caught in her throat. "It’s escalating."

Abhishek stood up, his hands trembling. "We have to find them. Before they find us."

But as they all gathered around, brainstorming their next move, no one noticed the small figure standing across the street, hidden in the shadows.

Someone was watching them.

And they were closer than anyone realized.

(⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)⁠✧⁠*⁠。

That is it for today,

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