Chapter 12

*Abeera's POV*

I slide in my sister's car and immediately close my eyes once my head rests against the headrest. 

"Hey there girlie, you okay?" she asks me worriedly taking my hand in her and squeezing lightly. 

I don't have any energy in me so I just nod. 

The car cruised along the road. I was lost in my own world, but I could almost hear the  soundless changing of the gears. I could almost hear 'All of me' playing in the car. But my mind is somewhere else. It's glued to Nafayh. 

I didn't see him after our little fight in the cafeteria. He didn't call, didn't come to see me, and I didn't see him in the school also. So yeah, that's why I asked my sister to pick me up. 

"Baby, did something happen?" 

I pull myself out of my thoughts, and shake my head. The tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down my face. I feel the muscles of my chin tremble like a child and I look toward the window, as if the outside view could soothe me. But, most of all, I didn't want Haifa, who has suffered a lot for me, for us, to want see me cry like a 3 year old. 

She parks the car alongside the road, and tilts my head towards her. "Nafayh?" 

I nod, teardrops flooding down my cheeks. 

She cups my cheeks, then wipes away my tears with her thumb. "Look, my baby. Friendships are very complicating, they're very.. tough. You're just 17, and you'll be an adult next month. You are young and naive, you haven't experienced everything. You think you have, but it's not. I'm 22, and still there is so much I need to explore." She takes in a deep breath and carries on. "When mom and dad died, I thought the world has ended. I was broken, I was in mourning and most of all I was scared of how I will raise you. How I will educate you when I myself was just 15. You might remember how we survived with grandma." 

I nod. Of course I remember. Even though she was really sick, she still worked and did her best to give us a good education. She sold all her jewellery for us. And 2 years after she died, Hailey had to start a job. 

"And Nafayh...he is a spoiled child, Beera. I don't know what happened between you two, but if you really like him and have feelings for him, sort this out. Be mature, and don't fight like a 17 year old would. Show him that you're not like every girl he's been with. Prove it to him. And remember, if you’re interested, you have to marry him then." 

This is how a true friend, a  sister, and someone who loves you would soothe you. Hope beads in my skin like dew on spring grass. I feel it radiating in to soothe my blood. I can't know for sure that tomorrow will be better than today, but I'm optimistic and that's the best I can say. 

I can't deny that I don't feel anything for Nafayh. I do. I really do. But can the past of both of us ever let us have a happily ever after? Will our relationship benefit either of us?

...

After taking a long shower, I put on my white tee and plain black pajamas. Yawning, I pull out the drawer of my dresser and grab my hairbrush. While the brush is smoothing out my entangled hair, I hear my phone beep (a message), and make my way towards it excitedly. 

Please be Nafayh.

Please be Nafayh.

I quickly view it, and guess what, IT IS HIM!

~I know I should tell you about my past. Take a day off from school tomorrow. I'll pick you at 10 am. We'll be going at my parents house. And we'll talk❣️

N.~

Hope engulfed in me in its warm embrace, lifting all the tensions off my shoulders. My lips naturally curve in a smile (and I'm surprised it's not a forced one). After all, there still is hope for us. Hope for me is like a bright star in a dark universe. Hope makes me smile on the inside as well as the outside. Hope is not just an emotion for me, it is a promise that smiling and laughter are just around the corner. And I wish I explore all the good things in this world with him. 

I quickly type a reply,

~Any specific perfume you want me to put on?~

I laugh like a mad woman after pressing send. 

Hmmm, so many memories in such a short amount of time. Once I get full comfy in my bed, I nervously assume what could happen tomorrow. The smile almost quickly vanishing away in thin air. Tomorrow would either be a new beginning, or an end to everything. 

The phone vibrates, and I sadly pick it up. 

~Go for the most expensive one you have. Take some rest, tomorrow is going to be hectic. N~

Turning my mobile off, I roll over to the other side, and drift off to a restless sleep.