Short stories - Un Petit Secret Pt.2

I start university tomorrow, my three week holiday is officially coming to an end. Strangely, I've missed university but I haven't missed the studying of course. So I'm bummed out and excited at the same time, just one of those things where you have mixed feelings about.

I can't start a full long story with university but I really want to start doing the short stories thing, hopefully it works out though, I have a tendency of getting bored of the story and changing my mind about continuing it. 

The parts will be short and quick, but most likely I'll develop the story even more (so you all won't get so confused with the story) with other parts. Oh and "un petit secret" means "little secrets".

Don't forget to leave some feedback on the comments below, I appreciate it a lot thank you so much! x

-

Previously in part 1:

"Since when did you start keeping secrets?" Fouz cocked an eyebrow at Mariyah, tucking her textbooks into her maroon backpack.


"As of today."

-

Raghad pushed herself to move her legs quicker, her feet were pounding over the hard ground, her sneakers squeaking out in dismay. The rays of sunlight hit the back of her neck, making it easier for droplets of sweat to form. Her chest heaved, she kept on running, but running from whom? She didn't know, all she knew that those footsteps behind her were following her. She kept her head low, too frightened to look at the figure behind her.

Just a few more minutes and I'll be at the car, on my way home. Go faster! Raghad thought to herself, trying to motivate her weak legs. She wasn't much of a runner, much less an exercising person in general.

A hard smack to her left cheek stopped her in her tracks. Her textbooks that were under her left arm fell down to the ground, her much needed to be trimmed bangs sticking to her eyes, blinding her image of what stopped her.

"Woah," a deep male voice scared her. Raghad brushed away her bangs from her face, leaving her textbooks on the ground to catch a clear sight of the 6 foot guy standing in front of her. He was in his school uniform, the same uniform as hers, his skin sun tanned from the summer and his eyes peeking down at her short height. She had bumped into his chest and had nearly toppled over but his firm hand grabbed her arm, stopping her from falling. He quickly let go once she regained her balance.

"Sorry," Raghad mumbled, becoming embarrassed. They were from the same school but the schools were segregated, Raghad was in the all girls version of the school and the all boy school was right next to theirs. 

"It's okay, I didn't see you there," he gave her a funny look that said "due to your short height". Raghad normally would have gotten mad at that snark comment but her heart was still grinding up against her ribcage because of the stranger following her. Raghad took this chance to look behind her, but she only found the numerous cars parked outside the school building and the students hurrying to their cars, excited to have finally get the chance to experience the weekend.

"You okay? You're not hurt, are you? I was just joking around.." The guy peeked at Raghad, pushing his face slightly next to hers so he could face her, his expression held an apology, thinking that she had gotten mad over the snark joke he made earlier.

"Yeah, yeah." She stuttered before kneeling down to grab her textbooks, he made a move to kneel down and help her but she was too fast for him, she grabbed her Biology and Chemistry textbooks and stood back up.

"Oh, I took Chemistry last year-" He began to speak with a hint of a smile in his voice, running his fingers over his dark black hair. Raghad didn't get a chance to hear the rest because she caught the familiar sight of her car, just a few meters away. She gave him a slight nod and walked off. 

Bader watched her run off, the sun glinting over her dark curled hair, with a surprised expression on his face, chuckling to himself as he murmured; "Weird girl."

Short stories - Un Petit Secret Pt.1

Hey! Thanks to ALL the great feedback on my finale and all the other chapters, I've loved all of them and I'm very grateful for all the support you guys have given me.

My holiday's coming to an end and it's not enough to start a brand new long story, so I'm probably keeping my long story for the summer enshallah, but that doesn't mean I won't post from time to time. I decided to write short stories instead, they will be super short and each story will be different from the other, just so I can practice writing different types of stories.

Your feedback will be most appreciated! Tell me what you think about the new changes by commenting down below, and NO MORE ARABIC on my posts. ONLY English. (Sorry guys)

This goes out to Mr Quinn's awesome class I visited today, (any of his students reading? Make sure to tell him I put the dedication he asked for!) Mr Quinn, you're AMAZING and your source analysis lessons, just awesome.

Oh and this is just an introduction! So bare with me, it's very short and confusing. It's supposed to be mysterious.

-

Unknown Number: I know your secret. 

Raghad stared at the text message, her lips twitching slightly, her heart hammering in her chest uncontrollably. She tried reassuring herself that it was a prank of some sort, but the message seemed too personal and she had too many secrets to know which one the text was talking about.

"Psssst, did someone find out about your secret already?" A voice hissed into Raghad's left ear, scaring her, causing her to jump up from her seat. She turned swiftly around and made eye contact with the 16 year old Mariyah, her chestnut hair was pulled up in a messy bun, her hazel eyes swimming with excitement.

"W-what?!" Raghad stuttered, clutching her iPhone in her hands, her fingers began to sweat against the cool metal cover of the iPhone.

"What's wrong with you?" Mariyah smirked, looking at Raghad's worried eyes and how her fingers were closed over her iPhone so tightly that her knuckles turned pale and white.

"N-nothing, what were you talking about?" Raghad snapped at her.

"I was just joking around, I read the text over your shoulder by accident, it's a senior prank, chill dude." Mariyah rolled her light coloured eyes at Raghad, she seemed a lot more confident than her, even when Mariyah was two years younger and wasn't even graduating yet.

"Senior prank?" Raghad regained her posture and tried to give off a more confident expression on her face, she brushed her fingers through her dark mahogany hair, her curls tucking themselves behind her diamond encrusted ears. "Yeah, I know. Those creeps."

"You okay?" Mariyah laughed but her eyes seemed suspicious. "So what's the secret?"

"What secret? It's a prank, I don't keep secrets." Raghad grabbed her backpack, the bell rang and the sound burnt in her ears. She was saved, she hurried off, waved at Mariyah and left the Geography class room without a word.

"What's up with her?" Fouz whispered to Mariyah, staring at Raghad's back as it disappeared off into the crowd of students. Mariyah had snuck into the senior class, her full lips and long hair gave her a more mature age and the fact that the Geography teacher had his eyes sleepily closed most of the lesson, helped too.

"I dunno, are you guys pranking her? Is she the bait for this year's senior prank?" Mariyah looked over at Fouz, her deep chocolate brown eyes staring back at Mariyah's.

"We didn't even start the senior prank yet, the girls didn't choose the bait yet or assigned the rules for this year, why?" Fouz's dimple popped up as she bit on her bottom lip, seeming confused.

"Oh, nothing." Mariyah grinned.

"You're hiding something, spit it out."

"My lips are locked," Mariyah made a locking gesture over her lips, sealing them.

"Since when did you start keeping secrets?" Fouz cocked an eyebrow at Mariyah, tucking her textbooks into her maroon backpack.

"As of today."

Le Chase Chapter 43 *FINALE*

After the last chapter, 70% of you were all disappointed, pissed off and were thinking "what the heck is wrong with this writer, is she trying to emotionally kill us with her cliffhangers?"

READERS! No pain, no gain!

Gotta remind you, Layal never actually died that time plus I love some drama in my stories, I can't let my readers lounge about on their couches saying "oh, it's a wedding, awww it's a finale, awwww it's gonna end this way". NO, when you read my chapters, I want you to think "God, I have no idea what's gonna happen next" or else my blog overall would pretty much be boring as hell, wouldn't it?

Everyone's minds when they read the last chapter was pretty much like: "aww so romantic, aww her dress, aww wedding, YAY Thari's walking in-WHAT THE FREAKING SJKDNJWKBCHWDBCHEBCHBHBHB!"

LOL sorry but I'm quite an evil author but it does make the story more exciting and less cliche-y. So before you get all disappointed or mad on me, be patient and wait till the next chapter, I appreciate the feedback, I like honest feedback! But don't suddenly assume that after that chapter, it's downhill from there, an evil plan is always plotted perfectly.

This chapter goes out to the beautiful birthday girl @DanahAO! I was too tired yesterday to write the chapter but I was about to, but then this birthday girl wanted it to be posted specifically on her birthday.

Birthday girls get their wishes granted, so here's the finale everyone's been anticipating for!

*By the way, I don't know when I'll write my next new story. Don't ask me, I might just stop writing till the summer comes or I might start the story whenever I feel like it. If I take a huge break from long stories, I might just post short stories every once in a while. You'll be updated if you follow my twitter. @vieblogue.

-

"Layal."

The voice was slow and quiet, it brought a sense of relief to my chest after hearing it. I automatically opened my eyes and found a good view of Thari standing over me, his traditional clothes were messy, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his strong arms in view and his hair that was once neatly gelled back was ruffled, his hair wavier and more natural. He was staring back at me, he breathed out a sigh of relief once he noticed that I was awake now.

"Where am I?" I murmured, quickly sitting up but it was a huge mistake because a my head began to throb with pain, I hurriedly laid back down, wincing slightly.

"Layal, shway shway." Thari placed his hands over my arms, making sure I sat back slowly. His hands were warm, his strong fingers gripping my more fragile ones that felt weak in comparison to his. I touched my head to where it was hurting me and felt my own hair, my eyes widened in shock.

"THARI GET OUT MU LABSA E7JABY!" I suddenly yelled at him. Thari blinked a few times, he stood in the middle of the hospital room that was decorated with white blank walls that resembled the hospital rooms I've been staying in for the past 3 years because of my cancer. The smell of medicine and plastic was too familiar to my nostrils. Thari suddenly began chuckling uncontrollably.

"Layal, ana zoujch, shfeech nesaitay?" Thari said in between laughs.

"Huh?" I asked, I couldn't remember anything, I had flickers of my memory flashing in my head. Slowly I remembered everything. The engagement, the wedding, how everything blacked out before I saw the two wide doors open, welcoming Thari into the wedding.

"Oh, God what happened?" I asked, fully conscience now.

"Lal7een ma nadre, the results aren't out yet and you've been passed out all day." Thari looked into my eyes, his eyes full of worry and tension. He sat back down into the seat next to me, fatigue filling his handsome face.

"I thought you were dead," Thari breathed out, his voice shaking, his eyes not meeting mine.

"What, why?" I asked, my heart breaking at the sad sight of him.

"Not all the husbands wish to see their wife on the ground on their wedding day," Thari gave me a sad smile. "Bas el7emdellah, I felt your heart beat and I knew you'd be okay."

"Then why do you look so sad? I'm sorry it ruined our wedding ni-"

"Layal shaku, bel6agag el 3irs, abeech entay, I did the wedding for you, not for me. Bas walla shay, la t7ateen." Thari looked away, clearly hiding something.

"Thari, et3alimny feek? Spill it, what's wrong?" I ran my fingers along the wires that were connected to my wrists, my thumb brushing over my engagement and wedding ring, it felt so new to my skin but such a joy to wear.

"Thari," I repeated, trying to get him to speak. He was just staring at the ground, his face was depressed, his eyes red from the lack of sleep. I looked up and found that it was 4 am in the morning. Weird, 4 am, the same time Thari called me 2 months ago out of nowhere. "Gelt results, if I'm okay then why the results? Results for what?"

"Why is my wife so smart?" Thari finally looked up, his dark smouldering eyes meeting mine, it caused my heart to skip a beat but I quickly pulled myself together. "Results to make sure your cancer isn't back."

"What?" His words snapped me out of my thoughts about his dark eyes, I was now suddenly visualizing myself stuck in a hospital room for the next 4 years of my life, questioning if I was going to live or not everyday. What hurt the most, was knowing that there's a chance Thari would be forced to watch me suffer, when over those 3 years, I avoided him for that mere reason.

"Enshallah khair," Thari noticed how frightened I've become, he slowly inched his fingers closer to mine, placing his masculine hand over my smaller one on the bed. His long fingers wrapped around mine, our hands intertwined; I couldn't help it, even though my head was busy with thoughts about the cancer, my cheeks still heated up to his touch. "Cancer or without, either way I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm sorry," I whispered, staring at our hands.

"Sorry for what?" Thari widened his eyes, looking confused.

"I ruined our wedding and now there's a chance of ruining your life after we find out that my cancer's back," I croaked out, trying not to break down in front of him. I had to be strong, I couldn't let the tears come, no not now.

"Layal ga3da tabcheen?" Thari asked, he was staring at me, looking sadder than ever. He quickly stood up and sat beside me on the hospital bed, his free arm wrapped over me. Instant warmth filled me, causing the tears to spill over. Do you know that moment when you're about to cry, you're trying to will the tears away but your throat's clogged up and once someone hugs you to comfort you, the tears becomes waterfalls of pain? Suddenly everything you've bottled inside, just comes flying out.

"7beebty," Thari murmured into my hair, his chin resting on top of my head. "La tabcheen."

"S-sorry," I stuttered, wanting to hide underneath the sheets of my hospital bed.

"Layal stop apologizing, ma sawaitay shay, please I want to see that beautiful smile of yours... Khala9 okay agoulch el 9ij?" Thari suddenly changed his seated position so he could face me. I rubbed the tears off of my cheeks, his fingers wrapped around my wrists, bringing my hands to his lips to softly kiss them.

"Walla etha kan eb eedy, chan ma saweit 3irs," Thari looked into my eyes, a smile playing on his lips.

"Huh, laish?" I asked.

"Cus I'm too impatient, I've waited 3 years. I didn't want to wait another day, I wanted to sign the papers and just go anywhere with you. Phuket, Paris, Germany, anywhere you want, elmohem ana m3ach." Thari chuckled to himself.

"I'm not much of a wedding girl either," I bit my bottom lip.

"Ha, laish b3ad? Entay bent, all you girls love these things," Thari cocked an eyebrow at me.

"I hate crowded places," I embarrassingly stated. "Just knowing that a hundred pair of eyes would be staring at me for hours made me feel nauseous."

"Laish ma gilteely?" Thari asked.

"Bas, madre I thought it would be different if it was my wedding day."

"Khala9 3nde khoush fekra."

"Shnu?"

"Shrayich we have our own wedding again, we never finished it. And this time, not a hundred pair of eyes would be staring at you," Thari's face lit up.

"3yal?" I grew a bit nervous.

"Just one pair of eyes would be staring at you."

"Shloun?"

"We'll do the wedding here," Thari grinned. "Now."

"Maynoun?" I laughed. "Ballah shloun bensawe 3irs in a hospital room?"

"Entay malech sheghl, your job is just to sit in your bed, mashe?"

"Wait wait, wein rayi7?" I asked once I saw him let go of my hand and quickly jump off of the bed, walking towards the door to leave.

"Ne6ray."

"Enta kela bas ne6ray? How many times have you told me that?" I laughed to myself.

"One more wouldn't hurt," he said before leaving the hospital room in a hurry. I couldn't wipe off the smile from my face, he was the silliest man I've ever met and have grown to love. I wanted to kill time, I tried to sit up from the bed once again and my head didn't hurt this time.

The room was filled with flowers from family relatives or friends, I took this time to just read most of them.

Finally, I was at the last vase of flowers that had chocolate in a small basket next to the vase. There was an envelope instead of a card, I pulled it out of the basket and looked for a name on the envelope but I got nothing. I ended up ripping it open, unfolding the paper and reading the following letter written in Arabic.

"Dear Layal,

I've heard that you're married now, you're all grown up, aren't you? But I also found out you're at the hospital because of your fainting incident, looks like you've taken after your mother with the fainting issues. 

I know I haven't contacted you in a while after I remarried once I left your father, may his soul rest in peace. I was quite busy but I only wanted to congratulate you on your wedding and soon hopefully, on your kids. I've tried calling your brothers (well, my secretary did the calling) but they've clearly ignored all of the calls. I hope you're still not angry with me and I hope we can put this behind us.

Here's my number attached to the letter (it's on my little business card) if you're interested in meeting up with me soon, it's my secretary's number, she'll give you the days where I'm free and can see you again.

Best wishes,

Aisha Al-X."

Wow, did your secretary send the flowers and basket of chocolates too? What kind of mother would put her daughter through her secretory? 

I stared at the name "Aisha Al-X", she didn't even bother putting "Your mom". It was like she was a colleague or a friend, not my mother who didn't contact me for years after she ran away with the man she was cheating with.

"I hope you're still not angry with me and I hope we can put this behind us," wasn't enough to make up for the pain we went through because of her, it wasn't enough to make up for her cheating on my father and leaving him, even after he begged her to stay, he loved her too much to leave her after he found out she was having a secret relationship with another man.

The letter angered me, I balled my hands into fists, wishing that I never found this letter.

"Layal?" I heard Thari's deep voice and caught a whiff of his manly cologne. I jumped, he frightened me. I tuned around and saw him behind me, holding a small plastic bag.

"Shfeech 7beebty?" Thari looked at the letter in my hands and then to my face.

"Ha? La2 wela shay," I gave him a reassuring smile, ripping the paper into small pieces before dumping it in the trash.

"Don't you want that?" Thari watched me, suspicious.

"Nope, it's waste." I shrugged, mentally knowing my mother was waste to me now. "Al7een shnu hatha eb eedik?"

"Betshoufeen al7een, yalla jidamy, go back to bed." Thari grinned, putting his hands on my waist and pushing me towards the bed.

"Thari!" I laughed, holding onto his hands not to fall or topple over. I finally gave in and walked back to bed, tucking myself under the blanket.

"Okay, we're going to have our wedding now." Thari gave me a huge smile. "Just you and me, what we both originally wanted."

"Bas Thari I'm not even in a dress and I bet my hair's a mess." I pouted, pointing to the shirt and shorts I was wearing that someone probably brought over from home, letting the hospital change me into more comfortable clothing.

"W ana y3ne? Shekly yi'9a7ik." Thari pointed to the deshdasha he was wearing, the sleeves rolled up, his hair ruffled everywhere and a stain on his clothes.

"Bas 3laqal labes deshdasha, and you look cute anyway." I laughed, trying to smooth down my hair. I glanced at the mirror in front of my bed and saw that my hair wasn't in the same braid-like hair do anymore, it was loose but the curls were still perfect. As for my face, the make up's fully gone but my cheeks were tinted with rosiness.

"And you look beautiful, in a dress or not." Thari grinned. "Yalla 3ad, abe 3irs."

"Khala9 okay okay," I laughed again. "How are we going to do this?"

"Entay g3day mukanch, ana ba6la3 w badish, basawe rou7y y3ne ana el mi3ris and it'll be exactly like how I walked inside our wedding earlier today, and I'll be staring right at you."

"You're lucky I have a good imagination, yalla khala9 let's start." I smiled, he grinned before leaving the hospital room. I stared at the door, my heart hammering in my chest as I waited patiently. I heard a knock on the door and I smiled to myself before calling out the following words:

"Halla?"

"Are all the women covered up?" Thari called out from outside of the hospital room, I could hear the sheepish grin in his voice.

"Yup, they're all wearing their 3abayas." I laughed, looking around, seeing no one but me in the hospital room.

"Yalla badish, one... two... three." He took a deep breath, making me laugh again because he was acting so serious. He pulled the door open and I stared at my husband, in his messy deshdasha, his hair wavy and his eyes staring right at mine, a smile on his face.

"Ma ga9ertaw, mashkoureen, allah yibarik feekom," he kept talking to the air, as if people surrounded him, cheering him on. I couldn't contain my laughter, my eyes started watering just at the funny sight of him. He finally walked up to me and sat next to me on the hospital bed, he leaned over to whisper in my ear.

"You look really beautiful, your shorts really bring out your coloured eyes." Thari whispered in my ear, chuckling slightly.

"You look very handsome yourself, I love what you've done to your hair bas yabeelah shay." I smiled.

"Shnu yabeelah? 3ad 7a6ait gel w sawait this Justin Bieber look with the hair, mu 3ajbch?" Thari joked. I leaned over and used my hand to ruffle up his hair, making it messier.

"Hey!" Thari exclaimed, "stop trying to increase my sexiness."

"It's your wedding day, I have to." I laughed at his fake serious expression on his face.

"Fine fine," Thari smiled back, his serious tone not matching his funny expression. "Yalla al7een we cut the cake."

"What cake?" I asked, looking around for it. He stood up and grabbed the little plastic bag. He got out a small piece of strawberry cheese cake in a plastic container. He sat back on the spot next to me and looked at me.

"Sorry, this is all I could find at the cafeteria downstairs."

"Allaaah, 3ad ana amout 3la cheese cake," I grabbed it, clearly wanting to eat it without sharing.

"Hey hey ya mara! Ne6ray!" Thari laughed, fighting me on the bed to get the cake back.

"I'm hungry," I whined.

"Sharing is caring, hmpf." Thari finally got the cake out of my hands after wrestling me for a few minutes, he was too strong to win against.

"Yalla, lets cut it." Thari gave me a plastic knife, I leaned in to cut it but before I could, he smashed the cake into my cheek by pushing the plastic container forward. The cake was cold and soft against my skin, it smelled of tongue watering strawberries.

"You-" I gasped, touching the cake filled cheek. He grinned in response, I took a chunk of cake and aimed for his face but instead, I got his neck.

"You're going to pay, wife." Thari stared at me, his eyes serious.

"Not before you pay, husband." I copied his facial expression, making his serious face melt away, causing him to laugh. Thari poked my cheek with a finger to get some cheese cake on his hands, he licked it off of his fingers.

"Mmm, Layal and cheese cake goes very well together," he said, his mouth full of the cheese. I did the same to avoid the feeling of my cheeks heating up again, enjoying the sweet taste of strawberries. Afterwards, our faces, necks and hands were filled with stickiness because of the cake.

"Ha, shrayich bel 3irs?" Thari asked after we were done eating and had our hands washed.

"El9ara7a, 3ajeeb." I couldn't stop smiling, it wasn't the fairytale wedding every girl hoped for but it was the perfect wedding for me. I was beyond happy.

"We forgot one thing," Thari sat back next to me, looking at me.

"Shnu ohwa?"

"Pictures," he slipped out his phone and aimed it at us after he clicked on the camera icon on the touch screen. I smiled at the camera, automatically thinking Thari would do the same but once the camera's flash blinded our eyes, I felt a pair of soft but manly lips on my left cheek. I quickly turned to face him with a surprised expression on my face but then those lips were on top of mine. It was a quick kiss but a sweet one, he was smiling from ear to ear as soon as he leaned back, looking back at the picture of us kissing.

He looked up from his phone, staring at me with an amused expression on his face. "Why are you red?"

"What?" I stuttered, touching my cheeks. They were completely hot, super hot, I couldn't imagine how red they appeared to Thari.

"Zoujte tisti7y," Thari chuckled.

"La2, shaku." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"You're still blushing," Thari couldn't stop smiling, he took a quick picture of me and showed me my cheeks in the picture. "Hmm, this would be a good wallpaper for my phone."

"YA WAILIK!" I exclaimed.

"Shnu? 7laly, kaife." Thari smirked and hid his phone to stop me from grabbing it and deleting the picture.

That night, was probably one of the best nights of my life. My worries of cancer had flown away, Thari kept a smile on my face all night, keeping my thoughts off of the subject. But we couldn't avoid it any longer, because the next day, the results was what woke me up the next morning.

"Akeed?" I heard Thari's voice, it was sleepy but not distant. My eyes were shut and my arms felt cold, they felt warm all night because Thari had kept his arm around me. I opened up my eyes and a bright ray of sunlight whispered good morning to me. I looked to the right and saw the female doctor, her hair in a ponytail, her wrinkles showed wisdom and she held papers in her hand. My brother Abdulra7man stood next to her, with Thari on the other side, his hair was even messier than yesterday but he looked adorable.

"Sh9ayer?" I murmured, I was still tired.

"Are those the results?" I asked once all of their eyes were on me, they stared at me, not answering. My heart began grinding against my rib cages, the atmosphere felt tense.

"Just say it, please." I sat up from my bed, squeezing the blanket's soft material to calm myself down.

"You don't have cancer!" Thari exclaimed, a huge smile on his face.

"THARI!" Abdulra7man shouted at him in annoyance. "What happened to surprising her?"

"Ma gidert, shift wayiha? Etshawig, ma gidert." Thari looked at Abdulra7man, trying to reason with him. I stayed in the bed, still in shock.

"N-no cancer? Did I hear that right?" I croaked out.

"Yes, yes, yes." Thari repeated.

"Yes, really Layal." The doctor smiled.

"Yes." Abdulra7man finally said, three of them made it official for me. I was going to jump out of bed but the headache was back again.

"Careful Layal, you're blood sugar's quite low but by tomorrow you'll be fine. You fainted because you're claustrophobic and I've heard that you barely ate that day, so make sure you fill yourself with food today if you don't want to faint again." The doctor advised me but I couldn't stop smiling, even through the bad headache.

Thari and Abdulra7man hurried over to the bed, both giving me a huge hug. A few minutes later, my other brother Ebrahim joined us, also hugging me after hearing the news.

I remained in the hospital for another day just to rest up but Thari never left my side.


-

"So, Germany, Paris, Phuket or got another country in mind for our honeymoon?" Thari asked me once we were both in the car, leaving the hospital together.

"Anywhere," I smiled.

"All of Europe?" Thari grinned, he had the windows down, the wind filling the insides of his sleek Rolls Royce.

"Deal."

"Okay Layal, neseitay shay thane men 3irsna gabel ams," Thari kept his eyes on the road, but his eyes would flicker over to me every once in a while.

"I think I know what it is, but do you really want it? Ma maleit?"

"Shloun amil? Men 9ijich? It's the highlight of my day." Thari replied.

I leaned over from the passenger seat to make sure I could whisper in his ear, saying it slowly so he wouldn't miss a word.

"I.. love... you."

-

Epilogue:

This story's different. No, I won't say how many kids they have or whatever happened to any of Layal's or Thari's other relatives.

But I'll say one thing.

Both of them remained happy through whatever problem they faced or whatever other tragedy they had to live through.

They were and are.. simply happy. 

Le Chase Chapter 42

My schedule for this holiday (week days, mu weekend 3ad:p) is practically this:

1- Wake up
2- Gym from 5 to 8pm.
3- Shower.
4- Write a post.
5- Answer the advice ask.
6- Watch whatever's online.

And this is why I've been posting again everyday, lets hope nothing messes up schedule, right?

Hope you enjoy this chapter, this one goes out to @contempretty, you're beautiful my t-bot.

I appreciate all the feedback I get (huge THANK YOU), comment down below to tell me what you think about this chapter! x

-

Previously in Chapter 40:

"And yes, I did miss you and yes, enta a7la men Satan eb wayed," she said with a wide gleaming smile before shutting the door behind her, her dress swirling around behind her before I lost a glimpse of her.


I slid out my phone, quickly texting her a last message before I left the grounds of her house.

"And you are the most beautiful blessing my eyes, heart, mind and soul has ever been granted with."

All I needed was that last glimpse of her for my smile to glue itself to my face for the next twenty four hours.

-

Are you ready?

I stared at the text message blankly, feeling queasy to my stomach. I looked up from my Samsung and stared at the reflection standing in front of me. My face looked pale, a face that was caked with foundation, eyes rimmed with eyeliner and patted with barely there gold eyeshadow, that glimmered in the dark; my lips left as rosy as the crimson colour of the apple of my cheeks. 

My dress, the white long dress I've been day dreaming about for years and years, lay delicately over my mahogany chair. It was long, the material soft to my fingers as I trailed them over the dress. I looked over the ivory flowers that trailed down the dress, the tiny leaves and petals that were sewn over the sleeves, it was beautiful but I was scared to put it on and damage the frail looking dress. (Layal's dress: click on me! dress pic #1 and Layal's dress pic #2)

"LAYAL, hurry up! Your wedding's in 15 minutes, what are you doing in there?!" I heard the impatient voice of my good friend Taiba, her knuckles banging on my bedroom door.

"Digeega, walla digeega w akhale9!" I yelled back.

"Lebestay?" Taiba asked, clearly knowing that I was still in my under garments. 

"Eee," I squeaked out, biting the inside of my cheek.

"La walla? 3yal fit7ay el bab khanshoufch," Taiba challenged me, I could hear the evil grin in her voice.

"Okay okay lal7een ma lebest, enzain?" I sighed, looking back to the dress, laying over the mahogany chair.

"Shfeech sa3a? We took you to the salon, your hair's done, your make up's done, now it's just the dress and we're done," Taiba started to sound worried. (Layal's hair: Click on me! Layal's hair pic)

"I need help with the dress." 

"Okay unlock the door."

I approached the door, unlocked it and let Taiba in, not allowing the other girls to follow her. Taiba walked in, closing the door and unlocking it behind her. Her semi long auburn hair was curled and waved, her make up simple, winged eyeliner and red lips to compliment her sleeveless body hugging black dress, that reached right above her knees.

"Yalla, put your feet in," Taiba bossily snapped at me, grabbing the dress and placing it under my feet. I shimmied around till the dress was fully covering most of my body, I slid my arms through, the sleeves hugging my shoulders.

"Ma t'hagain it's too much?" I asked, biting down on my bottom lip once I caught a glimpse of my reflection. The dress was backless and the fabric was snug tight it, it hugged every inch of my body. It felt like I was wearing practically nothing.

"Ey too much? Mu men 9ijich 9a7? El habba al7een short wedding dresses and barely cover your body, w entay nagaitay this backless one w mu 3ajbich the sleeveless wedding dresses. Shensawe feech? Walla zain ma lebestay 3abaya to your own wedding," Taiba began to complain, her fingers buttoning the dress on my sides as I held my arms up, making sure they were out of the way.

"Shd3wa 3abaya 3ad," I replied.

"Look who's talking, the girl who wanted to wear a long sleeved dress to her own wedding, during the summer." Taiba smirked.

"That dress was elegant!"

"Y3ne mu 3ajbich this dress al7een?" Taiba shook her head in dismay, she was about to complain some more since her mouth was half open but as soon as I turned around to argue, she gasped.

"Shnu?!" I asked, already worrying that the dress was too tight or wasn't flattering on me. 

"Shoufay," Taiba gave me a huge smile, pointing to the mirror next to us.

"Mabe," I hesitated but then turned around to face myself in the mirror. The dress was absolutely perfect. Yes, it was tight but I could breathe and move, it framed my hips, covered up half of my chest and the flowers lay around me on the ground, making me even look angelic with my side curled/braided hair that was filled with delicate flowers to match my dress.

"Etgoul mabe w et6ali3," Taiba laughed. "Ha, do you still want that long sleeved dress?"

"Men 9ijich albes 3abaya to my own wedding?" I replied, with the same tone of her complaining voice earlier, causing both of us to laugh afterwards.

The girls helped me walk down the stairs without tripping on the long train of my wedding dress, my skin was patted with every kind of perfume and I smelled of vanilla and orchids. Every five seconds, Taiba had to pat some more perfume to my bare neck or wrists.

"GOULAW MASHALLAH BANAT!" Taiba lectured the girls before we dove into the car.

"Entay shfeech kel digeega bas etzifeen aw tit7l6main?" I laughed once Taiba and I were in Thari's Rolls Royce. I had a 3abaya clung to me and my hair but the driver was a woman.

"3shan ma ya7sidounch, ma shfteehum shloun khazouch, walla." Taiba pouted as she powdered her face, using a small compact mirror and a Chanel powder in the left hand.

"GO FASTER, THE BRIDE IS LATE!" Taiba suddenly exclaimed at the driver.

"Madame, I can't we're stuck in traffic," the Indian woman pointed to the numerous cars in front of us.

"MAKE THE CAR FLY." Taiba snapped at the driver.

"Wa6ay 9outch! Entay feech shay elyoum, shnu sharba?" I couldn't contain my laughter anymore, I was afraid I'd rip my dress since it clung to the skin of my stomach.

"Red bull, red bull and red bull," Taiba gave me a meek smile. "Oh, gabel ma ansa!"

Taiba quickly reached inside her classic Chanel purse, digging out a pair of Cartier diamond earrings along with my diamond bracelet.

"Your earrings," Taiba handed them over, I quickly dug them into my earlobes and circled the bracelet around my wrists, firmly closing them. 

Afterwards, I remembered the text message I never replied to. I dug out my Samsung that was in Taiba's purse and stared at the text message again.

Thari (my one & only): Are you ready?

That crazy man prompted his mother to plan a whole wedding in a week after I accepted his engagement offer. After he surprised me, by showing up the next day, talking to my brother and then banging on my door saying; "I'M NOT WAITING FOR YOU TO ANSWER ME THROUGH YOUR BROTHER, WILL YOU MARRY ME LAYAL?" 

I was in my room, astounded by his familiar voice. I could also hear my brother in the background, lecturing him that this was not the traditional and manly way of proposing to a girl.

"LAYAL, I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE," Thari had shouted through the door, I was tucked in bed watching Gossip Girl, totally in shock.

"Thari, maynoun ent?! La etkhaleeny a6al3ik men baitna w agoulk ma tegder etzawij ekhty!" Abdulra7man had angrily shouted.

"LAYAL, BSR3A GABEL MA OKHOUCH YI6IGNY," Thari had continued to shout, completely stubborn, not listening to my brother. I was laughing, my heart hammering in my chest, I thought I was in a dream. It was surreal.

"YES!" I immediately shouted back, in between laughs. And then silence, neither did Thari or my brother speak a word.

"Thari? 7amany?" I had asked, staring at my bedroom door. Silence.

"Layal." Thari barely whispered, I heard his deep voice through my door. "Akhaf ga3d at7alam, can you say that again please?"

"Yal maynoun ekhty galetlk ee!" 7amany laughed, his voice full of joy, the anger and annoyance from his voice completely melted away.

"I SAID YES!" I shouted again, willing the happy tears away. "YES! YES! YES!"

"Ashoufch next week in a white dress!" Thari said, I could hear the huge smile in his voice.

"Offh wein rayi7?! Shnu next week?!" 7amany followed him, I heard the footsteps on the stairs, Thari was running off, too excited and 7amany was complaining that a week was too fast. I had wrapped a veil around my head just to cover my hair, put on a jacket over my pajama pants and shirt then ran downstairs to catch Thari, speeding off in his Range Rover.

"Hal rayal mu 9a7y, are you sure you want to marry him?" 7amany had asked me, we were both standing outside of the house, my eyes on Thari's car that was slowly disappearing, the road swallowing it up.

"I'm one hundred percent sure." 

"Layal we9alna!" Taiba's voice drowned out my thoughts and I dove back into reality. I quickly replied to Thari's text message.

Layal Al-X: Yes! 

Thari (my one & only): Shfeech 6aweltay;p, yalla 3ad don't keep the groom waiting. Why can't we have an American wedding 3shan ashoufch 3la6oul? Mu an6er w b3dain ayeelch?

Layal Al-X: Cus we're Kuwaiti LOL. 

Thari (my one & only): 3yal 9awray nafsch, khan ashoufch.

Layal Al-X: Hey, be patient you'll see me soon. It's bad luck a9lan.

Thari (my only & only): you said we're Kuwaiti and that saying's only applied to Americans.

Layal Al-X: 3ade, we can have a semi American/Kuwaiti wedding. :p

Thari (my one & only): La walla, eb kaifich. ;p 

Layal Al-X: It's 2013, the woman controls the relationship now.

Thari (my only & only): Awareech who controls it after the wedding.

Layal Al-X: Too bad, was going to send you a picture of the train of my dress just to make you a bit happier. Never mind.

Thari (my only & only): Hey hey! Khala9  you control the relationship, ely tabeen! Bas dizeely el 9oura 3afyaa 7beebty. 

Layal has sent you a picture.

Thari  (my one & only): Basss? Ma sheft shay, bas ashouf a few flowers. :( 

Layal Al-X: LOL yalla 3ad it's better than nothing, you'll see the whole thing in an hour. :p 

Thari (my one & only): Okay khala9, I can't wait to see your beautiful face!  Layal?

Layal Al-X: I can't wait to see your handsome one! 3younha?

Thari (my one & only): Zoujte?

Layal Al-X: 3youn zoujtk?

Thari (my one & only): I love you.

"Hey, why are you smiling like a dummy?" Taiba scared me, causing my smile to widen uncontrollably once I notice that we're already in the hall, I was about to go inside the ballroom.

"Bas," I kept smiling and replied to Thari's message with a "I love you too."

"La ykoun entay ga3da etkhouneen zoujich men al7een?" Taiba gasped, trying to peek at my phone.

"6ayoub!" I smacked her arm.

"Atghashmar, atghasmar!" Taiba laughed. "Yalla heday telephonch, time for the bride to go in." 

I took a deep breath, re-applied my rosy coloured lipstick and slowly took a step towards the two wide doors.

-

-Thari-

"Bo Zaid, yalla al7een bendish," 3abbas, dressed in his formal clothing, his face cleanly shaved, exclaimed excitedly. It's finally time to see her. Finally, I'd see her now, really see her. No veil, no boundaries, she was now officially mine.

"Tell the women to cover up," I told him, trying to sound normal but he smiled, already noticing how impatient I was.

"They're covered up, yalla endish?" 3abbas asked, with a grin on his face.

"La2 enta ma ra7 etdish, bas ana, murty mit7ajba, nesait?" I gave him a smirk.

"I was being general Thari," 3abbas shook his head at me but I was finding it amusing. I was finally going to see her, no other man could see her the way I would be seeing her, in just a few minutes. A few minutes, that's practically nothing! But it felt like hours.

"Jahiz?" 3abbas was my driver, he was about to leave but he turned to look at me once more.

"Yes, yalla goul mabrouk w emsh, tara bashouf zoujte." I impatiently said, 3abbas ended up laughing.

"Khala9 khala9, barou7." 3abbas gave me a hug, kissed both of my cheeks, a huge smile on his face. He congratulated me thousands of times before finally walking off, letting me go past the two wide doors.

I was expecting the women to stare, to murmur good words but once I walked in, all I saw was a crowd of covered women, in a circle. I couldn't understand what was going on, I couldn't even see Layal in the wedding seat that was in front of me.

"Ya satir!" One of the women exclaimed, her voice full of terror. It caused my heart to bang against my ribcage, I practically ran over to the crowd, the women quickly put space between me and them, letting me pass.

"Besmellah!" Another woman exclaimed.

This isn't good.. this isn't good.

I finally got to the spot they were crowded around, what I found ripped the insides of my heart into thousands of pieces. 

On the ground, was a body, a young woman in a black dress with red lips was on the phone, obviously calling the hospital, but I couldn't tear my eyes off of the body.

Layal, in her beautiful wedding dress, her face pale, her dark mahogany hair that was once curled and neatly put into a side curled braid was sprawled around her beautiful face, her curls slowly untangling from the hair-do, her curved body angelically laying on the cold hard ground.

Le Chase Chapter 41

Woah, so after chapter 40, I swear to you, OVER 100 DMS/MENTIONS all complaining, or all shocked and pretty much NON of you liked the way I ended it haha.

Non of those mentions or dms changed my mind on how to end this story. I'm a stubborn and evil writer, I will not spoil any of my stories for anyone, not even my closest friends who read my stories. Your wait's been appreciated, you can now finally know what happened after that chapter.

I apologise for being evil, but you gotta admit, it sure as hell keeps the story exciting.

Don't forget to leave your feedback on this chapter on the comments below, haha I love seeing your reactions! Thank you so much for reading my chapters and all the support. x

-

Previously in Chapter 40:


"Oh right, I got the wrong address." I lied, buying me some time. "Funeral Al-X right? Uhm, for the father?"


I knew Layal's father passed away a while ago but I gave her a dumb expression. She looked at me with a confused expression on her face.


"No, Layal Al-X's funeral."

-

"What?" I croaked out, my vision began to blur as I tried to concentrate on what the housekeeper was saying. Did I hear her right? Did she truly say it was Layal, my Layal's funeral? Before she could answer me, the door was cracked open even further and a womanly figured young lady came in view.

"Thari, shitsawe yay ehny?" Layal asked in a surprised tone, she was dressed in all black. Her 3abaya (A'abaya: a dark piece of clothing that's made of a soft material to keep a woman's body hidden) was loosely thrown over her body, I could see traces of her dark dress underneath it. Her face looked energised and healthy, not pale and dead.

"Thari? Are you okay?" Layal looked alarmed, she was staring at my left cheek. I quickly touched the spot she was staring at and found a tear that had sneakily escaped. I brushed it away, awkwardly coughing under my breath. I hadn't realised that my emotions had taken control over me, I also hadn't realised the true meaning of death of a loved one. It felt utterly horrible, those last few seconds. All I could do now was stare at Layal in awe, gratefully and emotionally thanking God inside my heart for keeping Layal alive, for keeping her in this world, for keeping her in front of me for a while longer.

"Layal, who is dis man?" The housekeeper's accent was heavy with Filipino heritage. I wanted to strangle her with my bare hands because of what she said a few moments ago.

"My far away cousin Annie," Layal lied.

"You told me it was Layal's funeral!" I barked at her, anger oozing out of me. I was grateful that Layal had shut the door behind her, so it was only the housekeeper, Layal and I.

"What? You told him it was my funeral?" Layal asked the housekeeper in a shocked tone.

"No I did not say dat," she shook her head in dismay." I said, LAK-AYEL-QWUDH." Her words were muffled and said quickly.

"Huh?" Layal and I asked, our eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"What, you no hear?" She asked, shaking her head in annoyance. She said the words again slowly but the words were still muffled, we couldn't understand a thing but it sounded a lot like "Layal Al-X's funeral" once again.

"Annie, what the heck are you saying?" Layal laughed, finding it amusing but I was still angry. I wasn't over the fact that a few moments ago, I truly believed that my Layal was gone.

"Filipino for no funeral in this house." Annie snapped at us as if we were stupid.

"Annie, we are Arabic, we don't understand your language." Layal shook her head at her. "Sorry Thari, she's new to the house." 

"La7tha, akeed entay 9ej jidamy?" I asked her, I was starting to think that I may have fainted and may be hallucinating that Layal was truly alive. I pinched my left arm, waiting for the sounds of people shouting in my ear to wake up. Annie left Layal and I alone to speak, she hurried inside and closed the front door behind her.

"Haw, shfeek Thari? Ee jidamik! Enta men 9ijik 9adegt'ha?" Layal's red lips formed an 'o'.

"Walla seme3t 'Layal's funeral', walla!" I winced after I pinched myself, clearly I wasn't hallucinating.

"Okay calm down, akeed seme3t ghala6, ehya tagrig bel Filipino wayed, ma tifham wayed 3arabe." Layal gave me a reassuring smile.

"Okay bas ehya galat maku 3aza, bas galetly ena okhouch bel 3aza w entay labsa 3abaya..." I was remembering her words. "Fa shloun al7een etgouly maku 3aza eb baitkom? Mnu mat? Layal 3atham Allah-"

"Thari calm down, wait wait. My brother's in the funeral that's right next to our house but there's no funeral here and I don't know the man who passed away." Layal put her manicured hands up in protest to stop me from rambling on, I was sure she was about to even put a hand over my mouth but she stopped herself from doing so. "W fee 7afla eb baitna, plus how would I go to a funeral with red lipstick and a dress like this?"

Layal let of her A'abaya slightly to show the ends of her dress, her dress was long. It was a maroon colour but it had faint glitter in the material that looked too flashy for a funeral. It flowed loosely down to the ground, not showing the figure of her body but I couldn't help but imagine how she would look like if she was in a wedding dress. She pulled the A'abaya tighter over her, hiding that piece of material that I was staring at.

"So ma7ad mat, ma feech shay and everything's okay?" I sighed, the lump in my throat disappearing. It felt like someone had lifted off a huge car off my chest. Yes, my chest had gotten that heavy.

"Eee la t7aty," Layal smiled, her eyes sparkling. "Al7een lazem ared dakhl gabel ma el banat yila7'9oun, digeega enta laish yaay 3ndena a9lan?"

"Uhm," I scratched the back of my neck, a smile creeping back onto my face. "Awal shay gouleely meta okhouch bekoun bel bait?"

"Mm, everyday from four to six then he goes off to the gym, why?" Layal looked suspicious, I could now notice her party make up and the faint beats of music that was probably coming from the ground floor of Layal's house. 

"Bacher bekoun bel 3aza wela?" I asked, ignoring her question. I took my time to stare at the way her eyelashes effortlessly was curled upwards, her wide eyes gaping into mine. I could see the small features of her face in broad daylight, the little beauty mark over her cheek and the way her nose crinkles ever so slightly every time she smiles. She seemed to notice my stare because I could have sworn I caught her cheeks becoming rosier than usual.

"La2, he'll be home. Now can you tell me what's going on? You know, it's been two months as of today, you should tell me today what's going on and why we didn't talk for so long," she regained her posture, trying to eliminate the shyness in her voice.

"No, that night I talked to you was at 4 am, remember? So that day, doesn't count as two days and so, tomorrow is the official day when it turns into two months and our deal ends," I grinned.

"You're so evil," Layal crossed her slim arms over her waist.

"You mean I'm so smart," I confidently replied, chuckling.

"No, very very evil, even as evil as Satan," Layal fiddled with the soft material of her A'abaya, her eyes peeking up at mine.

"Bas ana a7la mena, mu 9a7?" I continued, causing her to laugh. I enjoyed listening to the sound of her laugh, it was musical and it made my heart feel as light as a feather. I couldn't get enough of it, especially for having to go 3 years and 2 months without listening to it.

"Your ego mu 9ij, you're still evil."

"Laish? Am I evil cus I got you to miss me over those long two months?" My grin widened.

"Shaku," Layal stubbornly answered, lowering her eyes down to her heels that peeked out of the ends of her glittery dress.

"Aa7, you didn't miss me?" I faked a heart broken voice.

"Layal, wein Layal?" A young woman's voice called out from the inside of the house. Layal jolted from her comfortable posture and turned around to hear the voice more clearly.

"I have to go," Layal nervously stuttered in a hushed tone, she quickly turned the knob of the front door and scurried inside, but before she closed the door, she dipped her head out of the house to look at me.

"And yes, I did miss you and yes, enta a7la men Satan eb wayed," she said with a wide gleaming smile before shutting the door behind her, her dress swirling around behind her before I lost a glimpse of her.

I slid out my phone, quickly texting her a last message before I left the grounds of her house.

"And you are the most beautiful blessing my eyes, heart, mind and soul has ever been granted with."

All I needed was that last glimpse of her for my smile to glue itself to my face for the next twenty four hours.

Le Chase Chapter 40

NO MORE FINAL EXAMS! Woooooohoooo! I'm putting my time back into my blog and on the side, gym haha. Clearly this story is ending but I'm still quite unsure about my new story, I know the plot for it, I know I said I'd use true characters but at the same time, it will take me a LOT of time to write about real people I actually don't personally know. So I'm still thinking that over, I might keep it for the summer to write about or change it around? I'm still confused. And don't forget, my next story will be in 100% ENGLISH.

I want to hear my reader's feedback, comment down below please! Thank you for all the feedback, and all the support, you guys know how to make a girl happy, THANK YOU.

Hope you enjoy this chapter, as much as I enjoyed the fact that I finally am done for finals (until the next four months haha).

By the way, this is SHORT, it's a teaser, not a full chapter.

-

Previously in Chapter 39:


"Layal, etha et7beeny, you'll do two things for me." Thari continued speaking, my heart hammering inside my chest to his words. I didn't realise how much I truly missed hearing them till now, I willed the happy tears away to reply to him.

"Shnu?" I hesitantly asked.

"Erta7ay, I need you to be as healthy as you can be again," he whispered.

"And?"

"Wait."

"Wait for what?" I asked, curious.

"You'll see. Just wait Layal, I love you."

And with that, he ended the phone call before I could ask any more questions.

-

It's been exactly two months. It was the hardest two months of my life, after those 3 years without Layal. I've forced myself to not talk to or see Layal in these two months on purpose. I had a surprise for her, I message her, making sure she knew that these two months would be off limits and that she had to stay as patient as possible. 

I had a feeling she already found out what I had in plan for her. 

Marriage.

My heart was hammering inside my chest with excitement. Today was the day. The day where I was going to officially go to her house and ask her brother for Layal's hand in marriage. I made sure my mother stayed out of this, she was ecstatic once she heard I finally wanted to settle down with a girl, she wanted to be the one to arrange everything. Even before Layal had officially said yes, my mother wanted to start the wedding arrangements. My mother was that excited.

I tore my eyes off of the grey stone ground I was staring at and pulled my eyes to the white painted front door of Layal's house. I pressed my thumb against the cold plastic doorbell, impatiently waiting for someone to answer the door. For some reason, Layal's house was packed with cars everywhere. I didn't understand why, I was assuming maybe her brother had a "dewaneyah" night at his place. (Dewaneyah night: when the men in the family invite over their friends or relatives just to play cards, eat a feast or just hang out in their "diwan", a separate building or a separate large room just for them. It's simply a guy's night, no girls allowed.)

I knocked again, I heard murmuring voices in the house yet no one answered me. I nervously smelled my 'deshdasha' (a white traditional piece of clothing for Arabian Muslim men), it smelled of expensive strong cologne I sprayed earlier. It still clung to the white smooth fabric of my deshdasha. My buzz cut had gotten longer, I had my wavy hair slightly gelled back formally.

Only a few minutes from now, I will finally be engaged to Layal.

"Salam 3laikom," a voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked up and found a house keeper. It wasn't Layal's house keeper that I've met ages ago, it was a new one, with a younger face with her hair put back into a bun. Her Arabic was broken, it was iced with a Filipino accent.

"3leikom elsalam, wein Abdulra7man Al-X?" I asked eagerly with a huge smile on my face, I could barely see who was inside the house but my ear heard multiple voices, murmuring in the background.

"Not here sir, are you here for the funeral? The men's funeral is not here sir, I think you got the wrong address," her words stung me, funeral? She stepped to the side, allowing me to catch a glimpse of what was behind her. It was a group of women in 3abayas, their eyes rimmed with redness from the tears that fell. The atmosphere of the house was heavy, it depressed me to watch them but I was curious on why there was a funeral inside the house.

"Oh right, I got the wrong address." I lied, buying me some time. "Funeral Al-X right? Uhm, for the father?"

I knew Layal's father passed away a while ago but I gave her a dumb expression. She looked at me with a confused expression on her face.

"No, Layal Al-X's funeral."

Le Chase Chapter 39

Happy New Years! I know I'm 4 days late but I only found the time to post now. I hope all of you are starting your 2013 with a smile. I'm sure everyone's wondering, what the hell happened to Thari and Layal over those 3 years? x

Comments are open again! Please leave some feedback about this chapter? Anyone can comment.

-



Previously in Chapter 38


-Thari, 3 years later-


"What's wrong with the girls I showed you? Clean reputations, good families and beauty, shtabe akthar besmellah?" My mother aimed her strongly eyeliner-ed eyes at me, her wrinkles in her forehead furrowing in annoyance.

"Mabe shay, yalla meshaina?" I avoided her eyes.

"Walla you're going to regret passing this girl up Thari," she shook her head, her English fluent and she only spoke English when she was super serious.

I regret passing up one girl.

And only that one girl.

-
"Layal."

The voice was quiet, slow and careful. Afraid of hurting me with the softness of their breath. I couldn't open my eyes, I felt stuck and heavy on the bed I was laying on.

"Layal?"

The voice sounded more familiar now. Why did it sound so much like Thari's? No, I've said his name. Here comes the pain now, digging into my back, where my surgery was. Yes, my surgery. My last surgery, I remember now. Why am I thinking about Thari? Why are my eyes still closed?

"LAYAL!"

And just like that, my eyes flew open. I was expecting bright white lights glaring right at my eyes, but instead, my eyes met with it's dear friend; darkness. It was pitch black, the moon cast a soft blanket of light over the bed I was laying in. A bed that smelled of dust and vanilla.

It was my own bed. My own bedroom back in Kuwait. What was I doing here? I looked around but the pain in my back was still there, piercing my skin.

"LAYAL!" The voice scared me, it was from my window. A rock was thrown at my window, scaring me.

Thari. It was his voice. Is this a hallucination? 

"Thari?" I croaked out, my bedroom was on the second floor, I doubt that he could even hear my whisper. The memories flooded back into my head, my surgery was last week, we came back to Kuwait a day ago. How did I forget this? My head felt blank, all of my thoughts scattered around recklessly.

I knew I couldn't move, I felt every pinch of pain whilst I was laying in my bed. I couldn't imagine the pain if I stood up. I reached for my Samsung that laid next to my bed, on the small wooden table. Even if this was me hallucinating Thari's voice, I was going to at least live in it for a few more minutes before I actually woke up.

But if I were hallucinating, wouldn't I think that this was real and not even doubt this?

My head was throbbing from all these questions, I quickly dialled Thari's number, that was still memorised and engraved into my memory like my first name. I could hear the rustling of the trees outside my bedroom and a pair of feet, slowly treading over the grass of our garden. Thari's feet.

"Layal." Thari's deep masculine voice breathed out after he picked up his phone. I remained silent, listening to his patterned breathing, unable to speak.

"Layal, come to the window, laish 9arlech sa3a 7agretny? Please Layal, we can't leave things the way it ended." His voice begged for the sound of mine, I wanted to laugh at his idiocy. He didn't know I just had a surgery, he was left in the dark about everything.

And who's to blame? You, Layal. You left him in the dark, you pushed him away 3 years ago. 

I ignored the little nagging voice at the back of my head but it ached to hear it because I knew every word was true. The memories of that night, 3 years ago, exactly 3 years and 2 months ago as of today, came flooding back...

-3 years ago-

I was back in my hospital bed, in Kuwait. In my first few weeks of being diagnosed with cancer. Thari had just left a few moments ago after I forced him out of my room. My cheeks? Wet with tears. That was the last time I was going to see him, I was sure of it. A part of me was in pain, I willed him to fight harder for me but he didn't, he finally gave up on me, didn't he?

Why wasn't I fighting?

I should fight.

I shoved the tears away from my face, tightened my veil around my head and ripped the wires that connected to my body off of me. I had to stop him, why couldn't I hope for a life with him? Why would cancer stop me now? 

I was on my feet again, already out of my hospital room, heading towards where Thari's cousin's hospital room was. They had colourful balloons and little cards that said "Get well soon Maha!"

I peeked through the door, I saw Maha, his cousin in her hospital bed surrounded with family and thought back to my room. It's loneliness, no cards, no balloons, just a man's Hollister sweater that indicated that my brother slept over in my hospital room from time to time. 

I couldn't find Thari, I hurried away from her room before I realised how lonely my room was compared to hers. The jealousy was kicking in alright. I was going to give up, go back to my room and call it a night but I heard his deep masculine voice. His voice, I would know it anywhere. I followed it but stopped quickly once I reached the hallway, where the elevators were.

He wasn't alone. He was with another young guy, with curly brown hair and an innocent face but a lean athletic build. 

"Fahad laish yait foug?" Thari sounded hesitant.

"6awelt, kent bashouf wein ri7t." Fahad sounded suspicious.

"Ma re7t mukan, yalla khan rou7," Thari looked sideways before trying to usher Fahad to the elevator.

"La2, ri7t 3nd Maha mu 9a7?" Fahad angrily stated, I could see jealousy swimming in his smouldering brown eyes.

"Offh Fahad et7b Maha? Etghar 3leeha?" Thari chuckled, trying to joke around.

"Jawibny."

"Ee ri7t 3ndeha, etshawig mu? Ekberet mashallah, shekly bakh6ibha." Thari's words pierced my heart, he sounded so serious. I took a step backwards. I couldn't see his face to see if he was being serious or not but all I wanted to do was walk away. I've heard enough, I was the one who pushed him away, it was only normal for him to go to his cousin next.

But something hard jabbed at my back and toppled over, it was a nurse holding a tray. The tray fell from her hands, the glasses hitting the floor and breaking into thousands of little pieces. I must have gotten in her way by accident.

I looked up and found Thari, his eyes on me and Fahad's eyes alarmed. Thari looked bewildered, he knew I heard every word because next, his eyes watched the tear on my left cheek fall over. I turned away, apologised to the nurse quickly and hurried back to my hospital room. I locked the door behind me, making sure Thari wouldn't be able to get in after me but my heart secretly hoped that he'd at least try to knock a thousand times to get me to unlock the door.

But he didn't. He didn't call out my name, he didn't do a thing. I had my back to the wooden door, waiting for the footsteps, waiting for his deep soft voice to comfort me, but I got nothing, just the lonely sound of the AC in the hospital room.

The next morning, I made my decision. I wanted to be treated in London and I made sure the flight was booked as soon as possible. I wanted to run away.

And never come back.




"Layal?" His voice caused my thoughts to evaporate, I spaced out and was placed in a body that was 3 years younger than the body I was in now. It was present day again, I was in my bedroom, on the phone with the man I thought I'd never see or hear again.

"I can't," I finally spoke and he sighed at the sound of my voice. I looked up to see the clock that hung over my TV, I could see the time in the dark and it indicated that it was 4 am in the morning.

"Laish?" His voice sounded vulnerable.

"I can't move from my bed, I just had a surgery last week," I bitterly said, still thinking about what he said about his cousin Maha 3 years ago. Shouldn't he be with her now, since he got "engaged" to her?

"Shnu?" He sounded alerted now and scared. But scared of what? Why'd he sound like he was scared about me? Being in pain?

"Are you in pain? Did I hurt you by waking you up? Layal walla asif I didn't know-" He continued rambling on, sounding worried. A piece of me melted, just knowing that he still cares about me but the fact that he was engaged or even married by now made me bitter again. If he was truly married, then why would he be talking to me in this way?

"Enta mu mitzawij? Thari, khale9ny, it's been 3 years shtabe al7een?" The bitterness finally came out.

"Mitzawij?" He asked in a surprised tone.

"Eee, 3yal?"

"Layal, hatha mu raqmch, did you change it?" He changed the subject but it caused me to remember what I did after I waited for Thari to chase me but he didn't, I ended up throwing my phone against the wall out of pure anger and hatred. The floor was ceramic, the phone was ruined, including the memory and phone line inside the mobile. I had to change my number and phone altogether.

"So?"

"Layal I'm single."

"W Maha?"

"Shfeeha Maha?" He sounded confused.

"Do I have to repeat the words I heard you say 3 years ago Thari?" I wanted to let go of the rage I'd kept inside me for 3 years.

"Layal, didn't you check your phone that night?" Thari asked me, surprised.

"Why would I?"

"Mu ma3qoula, 3 years and you never saw the messages I sent you on your phone for nearly a year? I was begging you to forgive me, you ignored all of my messages Layal."

"Shaku!"

"3yal? It was your number, I still have every last message I sent."

"I smashed my phone that night, okay? That's why my number had to get changed."

"Then why didn't you at least text me?"

"Why should I? You're getting engaged to Maha, remember?" I pointed out.

"God, mu em9adig." He took a deep breath.

"Shnu?" I asked, now more curious than angry.

"3 YEARS. 3 YEARS and you still don't know the reason to why I said those words?" He tried to contain the anger.

"You never chased me back to my room," my eyes filled with tears over the passing seconds.

"Fahad, my cousin kan m3ay, ma gidert! Layal kent ga3d atghashmar wyaah, shfeech 9adegtay?! Walla Layal you make me angry." Thari's voice was filled with rage.

"I make YOU angry?" I nearly shouted back at him through the phone, the energy I put in caused me to yelp out in pain from my surgery.

"Layal shfeech, t3wrtay?" Thari quickly asked me, his voice not angry anymore but more worried over my health.

"I should be.. the angry one." I breathed out slowly.

"If you didn't smash your phone, you would have seen my explanation."

"If you chased me back, I wouldn't have smashed it."

"Layal, walla ma a7b Maha! Shfeech 9adegtay bsr3a? Gltlch ma a7bha men gabil, Maha 7sbat ekhty! Fahad y7bha  and I wanted him to confess but the only way to get him to actually say he loves her was to trick him into thinking I wanted to snatch her away from him. He's planning to ask her parents for permission to marry her after he graduates from university." Thari's voice sounded sincere.

"Goul walla," I knew his words were true, I knew his voice too well but I wanted more proof. I couldn't believe it now either, 3 years. 3 long years, over this?

"Walla Layal, walla ma a7bha walla a7bech entay. Galoli ench rije3tay men Germany, galoly kelshay.. yait el mustashfa 3labouna afahmch kelshay after you didn't reply to my message that night 3 years ago but you were already gone. Your twitter was deactivated, you weren't replying to calls or texts, you disappeared. I didn't know where you were Layal, w '9aleit adizlch message kelyoum w agoulch ene asif, w agoulch ene a7bech, bas ma radaitay 3lay. Tadreen shkither I got hurt? I thought you read my messages but you didn't want anything to do with me anymore. And the fact that I read that you had fatal cancer.. I even thought you died." Thari rambled on, letting everything out. I didn't realise I was crying until the tears rolled down to my neck.

"And I thought you were living with your new wife." I laughed through my tears.

"Agder asmi3ch ti'97keen, 3 years 3la hal salfa yi'9a7ik?" He said with a sad smile.

"I don't have cancer anymore, I forced you to leave my life because I didn't want you to be with someone who was going to die. They told me I was going to die, no one told me I had a chance to live. But it wasn't the fact that I was going to die bothered me, what bothered me was that I didn't have a chance with you anymore." I sobbed out, the bitterness melting away from my voice.

"Layal, that's not an excuse to push me away, okay? I would have stayed with you all the way, cancer or without."

"Adre bas ma gidert.. you have a life, you shouldn't pause it because of me."

"After you left, I didn't have a life anymore," he sighed.

"Why?"

"Because you are my life Layal."

"You're mine too."

"La7tha digeega, you don't have cancer anymore?" Thari breathed out, sounding hesitant, as if he wasn't sure if I really did say that or not.

"This was my last surgery, no more cancer..."

"Do you forgive me, Layal? Do you still love me?" Thari quickly said, his words were fast.

"Thari haman ana kent ghal6ana.."

"Jawbeeny, allah yekhaleech bas jawbay."

"Yes and yes I still love you."

"3 years, every day of those 3 years were worth it just to hear you say I love you to me. I love you too Layal, I've loved you since day one and I'll love you till the last of my days." He sighed, his voice indicating that he was smiling.

"Layal, etha et7beeny, you'll do two things for me." Thari continued speaking, my heart hammering inside my chest to his words. I didn't realise how much I truly missed hearing them till now, I willed the happy tears away to reply to him.

"Shnu?" I hesitantly asked.

"Erta7ay, I need you to be as healthy as you can be again," he whispered.

"And?"

"Wait."

"Wait for what?" I asked, curious.

"You'll see. Just wait Layal, I love you."

And with that, he ended the phone call before I could ask any more questions.