chapter 12

Chapter 12MishalSana stayed back at my place that night. It wasn’t a planned sleepover. We kept preparing the food orders, and when we realized it was too late for her to go back home, I asked her to stay at my place. After dispatching the orders, we had dinner, and then I brought Sana into my room. Since she had brought no night clothes with her, I offered her mine. We always did that. We shared each other’s clothes, shoes, bags, jewelry, and what not. That’s why we were best friends. There wasn’t anything that we hadn’t shared with each other. So when she asked about Daniyal, I had to be honest with her.  ‘What do you want to know about him?’ I asked her, getting into my bed after we changed clothes. ‘How is he doing? Is he still seeing Anna?’ she asked, raising a brow. I shrugged. ‘I don’t know. You tell me. Is she still seeing him?’She shook her head. ‘I don’t know. Sahiba hasn’t told me anything about her relationship with Daniyal. Last I remember, Anna had to leave town to attend a wedding.’I pressed my lips together. ‘Oh, I see.’ Was that the reason Daniel seemed to be after me? Because Anna was not in town, he thought he could spend some time with me so that he doesn’t get bored. I really hoped that wasn’t the case because I wasn’t some source of entertainment for him. ‘Anyways, did you ever get to talk to him? Let’s not forget you both are neighbors,’ she said teasingly. ‘And I must admit you’ve got a really cute neighbor.’I ignored her remark. ‘We have interacted a couple of times.’‘And?’ She waited to hear more. I shrugged. ‘And nothing.’She scowled. ‘C’mon, Mishie. Do not give me bland answers. I want details!’‘There are no details, Sana.’ I looked away, becoming serious. I could not get my head around the fact that Daniel was only taking an interest in me because his girlfriend was out of town, and he did not want to face boredom.‘What happened?’ Sana asked, concerned. ‘Is everything okay?’I sighed, looking back at her. ‘I am attracted to him, Sana, and I really don’t know how to get myself away from this feeling.’‘Why do you have to?’ she asked, her brows creasing. I looked up at the ceiling, not knowing what to say. ‘Because he’s involved with some other girl?’ I looked at her again, shaking my head lightly. ‘There’s another reason why I don’t want to be around him, and you know that.’She took a few seconds to realize what I was talking about. ‘Oh, that.’I nodded in agreement. ‘Yes, that.’‘That’s an old story, Mishie. You can’t be thinking about it all the time. You have to move on.’I shook my head fervently. ‘No, Sana. It’s not an old story. It can never be an old story because Daniel is not even aware of it.’‘So what do you want to do? Do you plan to tell him everything?’‘I can live with the fact that he likes someone else but not me, but I can’t live with the fact that I took away his confidence and self-esteem.’‘You have not taken anything away from him. You and your family did the right thing at the time. There’s no other way to put it.’‘No, Sana. We did not do the right thing. Ruining someone’s teenagehood, someone’s entire adult life is not right. Taking away someone from his mother is not right.’‘What’s your plan? Will you continue blaming yourself for the rest of your life?’ she asked. ‘Huh?’‘I don’t know. I really don’t know.’ I looked at my hands and then closed my eyes. ‘Mishie, listen to your heart for once; it will never misguide you. Do what it says. Do what feels right.’I opened my eyes, considering what she said. ‘I know what feels right.’‘What?’‘I have to tell him everything. He needs to know why it happened, what happened.’‘And what happens after he knows the truth? Would you want him to hate you for the rest of your life?’‘I can accept his hatred, but I can’t accept being a liar. I can’t accept being someone who played an important role in ruining his life. For all these years, I have been waiting for him to return one day and tell him everything.’‘How can you say that you ruined his life? He seems pretty normal about everything. It seems he has a good life there. It’s not like he’s living a miserable life.’ ‘You could be right, Sana, but I have to free myself from this guilt. I have to tell him the truth for my conscience’s sake.’‘Acha, baba, theek hai. I won’t force you to stay quiet. You can tell him whenever you want.’I nodded. ‘Yes, I will.’‘Shall we call it a night now? I’m sleepy,’ she said with a yawn. ‘Sure. I’ll turn off the lamp.’ I shifted to my nightstand to switch off the lamp and found my phone there. After turning off the lamp, I held the device in my hands and lied down on the bed. Only after seeing Daniel’s WhatsApp messages on my phone, I realized I had agreed to meet him on the terrace that night. It had been an hour since he had texted me. What if he was still out there, waiting for me? I looked at my side where Sana was lying and found her sleeping peacefully. When I made sure she was into a deep slumber, I slowly and silently got off the bed, put on my slippers, and walked past the balcony window and onto the terrace. I was disappointed not to find him there. He would have gone back by then. No fool would have waited for someone for over an hour. I decided to head back into my room and send him an apology message. What started as a serious conversation soon turned into a humorous chit-chat where I ended up teasing him. The tone in his messages proved he was annoyed at me. Perhaps that was what I wanted; I wanted him to get irritated at me. I deliberately wanted that to happen. I realized he was better off with Anna. At least she had not betrayed him the way I did. DanielI woke up with a startle when I heard urgent knocks on my door. Half sleepy and half awake, I looked at the time on the wall clock, and I realized it was only 10 a.m. Who could be at this time? Worried that it could have been Mum or something about her, I jumped off the bed and reached for the doorknob to unlock it. To my astonishment, Fariha stood before me, her face surprised. ‘What?’ I asked her abruptly. ‘Nothing.’ She shrugged coolly. I shook my head lightly. ‘Why are you here?’‘Mom asked me to wake you up; she has prepared some lavish breakfast for all of us.’‘She could have called me on my phone. Why did she send you?’She smiled at me flirtatiously and drew a step towards me. ‘I guess I wanted to come by myself.’I stifled a laugh. ‘You didn’t have to, mate. Trust me.’‘I want to trust you,’ she looked at me dreamily. I surrendered my hands in front of her. ‘Honestly, Fariha, I think I know what you’re trying to do.’Her brows creased. ‘What am I trying to do?’‘Do you think I’m naïve? I don’t understand?’ I said, my jawline hardening and my tone growing serious.She kept staring at me as if she was in a state of confusion. ‘Again, you’re trying to put me in a bad light. You’re trying to frame me for something I would have never done.’She heaved a sigh when she got the cue and understood where I was coming from. ‘C’mon, Daniyal. You need to grow up now. Forget what happened in the past. We were just kids.’I shook my head. ‘No. I can’t forget. It’s not somethin’ I can just let it go.’‘I admit my mistake, okay? I really do, from the bottom of my heart. So please. Just let it go and forgive me if you can.’A small silence ensued when she said that. I couldn’t meet her eyes after that, so I looked away, suppressing my anger. Just then, I heard Mum calling me from downstairs. I looked back at her, my face becoming stern. ‘It doesn’t work that way, mate. It doesn’t.’A helpless expression crossed her face, but I ignored it and closed the door on her face. ***After sleeping for a few more hours, I came downstairs, dressed in a navy blue button-down shirt and a pair of jeans. I saw a solemn expression on Mum’s face as I entered the lounge. Khalid accompanied her to the couch. ‘What’s goin’ on?’ I asked her, ignoring her husband’s presence in the room. ‘You missed the breakfast,’ Mum told me. I could tell she seemed upset with me. ‘Yeah, I’m sorry, Mum. I over-slept.’‘Do you feel okay?’ she asked as she looked at me with concern. I nodded. ‘Yup.’‘He seems fine, Nigar. Why do you worry so much?’ Khalid asked Mum, holding her hand. She looked at him and smiled. ‘That’s how all mothers are.’In an attempt to interrupt their cute little conversation, I added. ‘I heard you made some lavish brekky today.’She looked back at me. ‘Oh yes, I did. I made a Spanish cheese omelet and French toasts. There’s a place reserved for you in the kitchen. Go ahead and have it.’‘Sure, Mum.’ I walked into the kitchen and started looking for the plate Mum had prepared for me. As I looked for the plate, my cell phone beeped. There was a new message from Mishal, along with others that I hadn’t read since last night. Creasing my brows, I tapped the notification to read her messages. Mishal: Good morning, Daniel. Mishal: How are you doing today? Mishal: Are you there? I wanted to talk to you about last night. Okay, so now she wanted to talk to me about what happened the previous night? Why was she so much concerned now? I wasn’t someone who purposely ignored someone, so before I could type out a reply for her, there was another new message from her. Are you upset? Aussie boy? ☺That message brought an involuntary smile to my face. Daniel: Why would you care about how I feel? Anyway, I’m fine. I’m not upset with you. Mishal: When did I say you were upset with me? :PDaniel: I thought you assumed I was upset with you. Mishal: So did I assume it all wrong?Daniel: About what?Mishal: That you were upset with me?Daniel: Fine. I was pissed off when you canceled on me last night, but I was fine later. Mishal: I can compensate you with something interesting ;)Daniel: Like what?Mishal: Just wait for a few minutes. I did as I was told; I waited for a few minutes. I did not even know what I was waiting for, but I did anyway. A few minutes later, my cell phone rang. It was a call from her.I answered it in an instant. ‘Hey.’‘Come out,’ she ordered. ‘What?’ ‘I said come out. Hurry.’Without saying another word, I hung up the call and sprinted out of the kitchen. After making sure Mum and Khalid were deeply involved in a family conversation, I whisked away under their nose and walked out of the main door. Only when I came out of the house, I found Mishal sitting in the driver’s seat of her car. She beamed at me and gestured for me to get in the car. Completely dazed by this unexpected act of hers, I did what she said and got inside the car. ‘What’s happenin’, mate?’ I asked, looking at her in surprise. ‘Can I take you out for cuppa?’ she grinned. I sank back to the car seat, too surprised to register the entire situation. And when she noticed the surprised look on my face, she added. ‘Please?’I nodded. ‘Sure, Mitchelle. Let’s go.’