Beneath Guarded Hearts - 66

Previously...

Asma

I found myself moaning when his lips left mine, and he laughed huskily as he lead me to his car with one arm draped across the length of my shoulders.

3bdulla: “Let’s go home.”

__________

3bdulla

I saw the worry in her eyes, but she ignored it and used my presence to serve as a distraction. And of course, why wouldn't she? I was an awesome distraction ;) Her shaila was idly hanging on her head, barely wrapped around her face but covering everything. She always paid a lot of attention to her shaila; there was certain 'way' that it had to be done, but today, it seemed like she didn't even care. I asked her again for the millionth time.

Me: "Asma, mt2akda inch b5air?"

She rolled her eyes and looked at me with 'the look'.

Asma: "REALLY 3bdulla, really? Walla I'm fine what do I have to do to make you believe it?"

Me: "Act like it."

She stared at me for a long moment before her gaze left my face. Knowing my Asma, I waited patiently for her to start her ultimate confession. She finally broke the agonizing silence.

Asma: "3bdulla, what's going on? W shft Rashid, fa you can start by explaining that. Ho shoy5e9a fel mo6'oo3? And what is sul6an planning to do?"

I groaned inwardly. I knew she wouldn't let it go. I was about to lie to her again when I saw her eyes watering up as I tilted my head slightly towards her. I saw how hard she was trying to hold herself, and she bit her lips and clenched her fists –and not too gently I might add– when she thought I wasn't looking. How had I not noticed this before? She was too good at 'distracting' herself.

            I stopped the car on the side of the road. One would feel free surrounded by such open lands and endless dunes; I only felt small and a little confounded, which was weird, considering how much I loved the desert. I turned to my distressed wife and looked her right in the eye.

Me: “6al3y ele fe roo7ch Asma, mb zain etyawdeen 3mrch che. Sho elsalfa, what are you worried about?”

Her eyes watered up again, and tiny tears started to fall as she looked away.

Asma: “Something's very wrong, and it kills me when I don't know what on earth is going to happen to sul6an or what he'll do.”

            I didn’t know what to say to her, because I myself didn’t have a clue as to what Sul6an’s plans were. I wanted to hold her all day and soothe away her worries, to tell her how much I loved her, to take her out and show her off to the world, to buy her all chocolate in the world until it made her feel better. I just didn’t know how to tell her that. How does a person even say such things without looking like a fool?

Me: “It’s okay asamy, he’ll be alright. Don’t think about it so much.”

            I took her hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Me: “5ala9 Asma, it’s all over.”

            I gave her a reassuring smile, and she seemed to calm down a little bit as she settled into her seat.

Asma: “I miss you 3bady…”

            He sudden words shook my insides.

Me: “I miss you too 7bibty. Yalla try to get some sleep, ma bagy wayed elain ma no9al.”

Asma: “Mmm okay… Ohh and don’t think you got away with it, you’re explaining kilshay yom bano9al el bait…”

She paused before she suddenly spoke again, with more energy this time.

Asma: "3bdulla, move! Move 7arik el sayara that's Sul6an's car!! Yalla yalla!!!"

She was pointing frantically at a black porshe panamera that had just zoomed past us and at the same time, she was slapping my arm until I felt my muscles clench. Damn, I should seriously stop underestimating her size. And how on earth did she know it was sul6an? We barely saw the car pass let alone been able to see the plate numbers.

Me: "Inzain inzain!! 5aiibh hadyy im going.."

I ignited the engine back to life, and it roared as I stepped on the gas. I shook my head in disbelief. Hal bnt 5bla walla!

Me: "Kaif t3arfeen inh Sul6an?"

Asma: "Omg you're SOOOOO sloow, yalla el7aga!!!"

Me: "Asma, what if it's not sul6an?!"

Asma: "Sho? Kaif mb Sul6an I just told you that it's his car."

I sighed heavily and gave up. I was going nowhere trying to argue with her. Stubborn, hard-headed Asma. I honked at Sul6an's car as I neared up, and it went faster. I got a little confused and pushed at the gas, taking the right lane to make sure I had a view of him.

Only, when I started to wave at the driver's seat, it wasn't sul6an who was sitting there.

It was 3alia.

Me: “Oh shit. This can't be good.”

To be continued…

Beneath Guarded Hearts - 65

Previously…

Asma

I watched his reaction carefully for any signs of fatherly worry, but I couldn’t get a flicker of feeling out of him. He was like a numb robot that sensed nothing for anyone or anything, and I was starting to wonder what kind of a childhood Alia grew up in.

I also knew whom the Rashid she mentioned was. I was also positive about whom the anonymous kidnapper was.

A silent smile stretched across my face.

My 3bdulla had come for me.

_____________

3bdulla

            He was insane. We had our leverage and he didn’t need to “commit” to anything anymore. Apparently, the idiot thought otherwise.

Sul6an: “Ma batifham. Elmhm, inteh weyaya wela la2?”

            He refused to discuss it any further. Damnation altogether. He was ruining everything. I groaned in evident annoyance.

Me: “6ab3an ana weyak but… Inzain lai-”

Sul6an: “Bass. Hd el mow6’oo3 w turn around. We don’t have much time.”

            I heard some muffled protests from behind me, and I signaled Rashid again as I started the engine. He gave her one of his “threatening” expressions and she was instantly silent. What a brat. If it were my Asma in her place, she would have probably glared right back at him. I couldn’t endure alia for even a short ride, and that was when she was gagged and tied. God knew how on earth Sul6an was even considering having to deal with her and her father when he didn’t have to. I wonder how long it would take before his temper breaks. Patience was not one of his virtues. I smiled, imagining him and 3alia fighting, both too proud to surrender to the other’s argument. Hell. She would be lucky if he didn’t loose himself each time she opened her mouth. This should be interesting.

Sul6an: “W sho ele y6’a7ek inshalla?”

            I grinned.

Me: “Mashay.”

Sul6an: “Hmm ashoofk mstanis, shakly lazim athakirk inh Asma ba3adha weya ahmad. Who’s to say your ‘leverage’ would even work?”

            My grin disappeared instantly and I pushed on the gas harder, needing the speed to match my level or urgency. It would work.

It simply had to.

Asma

            The call we were all waiting for finally came. My heart skipped a beat as Ahmad’s phone vibrated within the hold of his wrinkled fingers. It was time. As scared as I was, I felt a strange anticipation as I thought of finally seeing 3bdulla again, finally having him hold me in his embrace and taking me home. It felt like I hadn’t seen him in ages, and I missed him dearly.

Ahmad: “Alo.”

            I couldn’t hear what was being said, or who was at the other end of the phone, but I tried to put the pieces together as much as I could.

            My stomach twisted in fear as I saw Ahmad’s expression change. No, it was still the same, yet… it was different. I didn’t know how to explain it or how he did it, but it was unnerving. There was a certain edge to it, a mysterious terror in the pinprick gleam of his eyes that sent me warning daggers.

Ahmad: “Mhmm… Inzain… La2 la2, inteh tra3f shroo6y, ma ba8bal. La walla? Mayhimny, 5alooha, malha fayda mny.”

            He hung up the phone. I stepped back automatically as he looked at me in mischievous triumph. Anger exploded in me as I kept my gaze in place. I refused to shrink back to his daunting looks. They were all probably just bluffs anyway. The worst thing was, he was enjoying this. It was almost as if… as if it were all a game to him, and he had to win.

            Not a minute passed before the phone rang again. A wide grin stretched across his face, and he waited a couple of seconds before he answered.

Ahmad: “Sho, 3’ayarto raykm?”

            I stared in horror. They couldn’t agree to… to whatever it was he wanted. They couldn’t! They had alia to use against him, they ha-

            His smile disappeared. He gestured to the stranger whom I heard him refer to as 7e9a, and an unspoken conversation ran between them. She nodded and suddenly stomped towards me, her face terrifyingly expressionless. She grabbed me by the arm and pushed me towards the route I had been staring at all day: my only escape.

***

3bdulla: “ASMA!!”

            I spun towards the deep masculinity of his sweet voice. I was so happy to see him I was close to tears. I started to run to him, when a firm grasp on my arm held me in place.

Me: “Goomy 3any!”

            She only stared at me, and after an exaggerated pause and a scrutinizing gaze, she answered me coldly.

7e9a: “Not yet.”

            She wasn’t looking at me anymore, but at the once empty space that now occupied my… my brother!

Me: “SUL6AAN!!! Omg inteh ehnee!”

            He gave me a tight smile, and that was when I saw her step up: alia.

            The grip on my arm loosened a little bit, and sul6an stepped forward, dragging alia with her. Why wasn’t she objecting to him touching her?

            I spoke weakly, my insides already turned.

Me: “Sul6an?”

            When he gave me no answer, I glanced back at 3bdulla, who held a fixed composure. This time I managed to find my voice.

Me: “Sul6an? Sho el salfa what’s going on?”

            No answer.

            I was about to batter them both out until they spilled whatever was going on when the sound of footsteps interrupted me.

            Ahmad approached and stood a finger’s length from me. His closeness made me shiver in panic, but I held my stance. I wouldn’t allow myself to be the object of his amusement. I scooted closer to 7e9a. Ahmad didn’t look at me, simply stared at sul6an and his daughter.

Ahmad: “Salim tistilim.”

            I stared at Sul6an as he nodded very seriously. Something was very wrong about this. I could sense it in my bones, in the air between us. Alia looked as confused as me for some reason. Ahmad nudged his head towards the door to the hallway that lead inside their strange farmhouse, indicating for Sul6an to follow, and turned to leave. My pulse quickened as I saw sul6an move as well. He finally looked at me as he pushed alia gently past me. He attempted another tight smile. When was he bad at convincing me that ‘everything was alright’? What was he about to do?

Me: “Sul6an… you don’t have to do this. Hai mb mas2ooleetik, hai mas2ooleyat… hai mas2ooleyat baba.”

I said it in a broken voice. I suddenly felt anger towards my father as I said the last words. It was his responsibility. Why were we here taking the blame for what he did and paying for his mistakes? Sul6an shouldn’t have to do this. Sul6an shouldn’t even have to think about this. Baba should have dealt with this a long time ago. But he didn’t. And here was my brother, the person I cared about the most in this world – even more than 3bdulla, I had to admit – surrendering himself at my expense. I couldn’t let him do it, I couldn’t-

I spotted a familiar devilish radiance in his eyes. For one split second, he grinned at me widely.

Sul6an: “I’m offended that you’d think I gave up.”

            He gave me a wink before his face went expressionless again and he brushed past me, walking into the dark hallway.

I only stood still, unable to stop the ramble of thoughts and possibilities that raced through my head, when a memorable touch gently tiptoed up my spine. He turned me towards him and stared at me intently, his eyes cautious and agitated, yet I could sense the desire looming under the surface. He tenderly pushed me closer to him very slowly until I had to look up to meet his gaze.

3bdulla: “Inte b5air?”

            It amazed me how the slightest touch from him managed to knock me out of my breath. He was even more mesmerizing in his disheveled state of worried serenity.

            I smiled at him tiredly, the exhaustion taking over my body now that it was over. I stood on the tips of my toes and put my arms around him as I kissed him as passionately as I could. Oh, how I missed the delicious taste of him… I broke the kiss and met his surprised expression. I pretended to make a very serious face.

Me: “What took you so damn long?”

            He laughed then and kissed me again, this time me being the one taken by surprise. His hand was still supporting my back as his other free hand lifted my chin up, and he kissed me deeper. My legs felt weak as pleasure roared through my body. Vivid memories of our intimate night burst into my head, but instead of blushing like I always did, I found myself clinging on to him tighter, returning his kisses with savage desire. I found myself moaning when his lips left mine, and he laughed huskily as he lead me to his car with one arm draped across the length of my shoulders.

3bdulla: “Let’s go home.”

To be continued…

Beneath Guarded Hearts - 64

Previously…

Asma

Alia: “Am I understood?”

I nodded slowly, and she let go of her painful grip on my hair as I massaged my scalp. She gave me a resentful glance before she left, and I gave in to my shaking legs as I slid down to the ground slowly, my back crushed against the surface of the cold mirror.

I was stuck with an absolute maniac. And if I didn’t leave soon, I would have to meet the source of her unstable resent: her father.

__________

Asma

            He had the most revolting features, and age had not helped him at all. Yet in a very strange, scary way, I found a familiar face in him that I couldn’t exactly pin point out. Have I seen this man before from somewhere?

Alia’s Father: “Asma. W a5eeran etsharafna eb ma3rftch.”

            He gave me a cold smile, his voice filled with scrutiny as he addressed me. Even through his fixed composure, his level of hatred towards me radiated from his entire being. What in the world did baba to do this man? And what do I have to do with any of it? It’s not like baba ever favored me out of my other siblings. I couldn’t find any words, couldn’t phrase an appropriate sentence in my head. I have been scared before, but right at this moment, I was chilled with terror to the marrow of my bones.

            I had to run, and fast. But where to? I had no idea where we were, and when I had tried to look through the pixelated surface of the bathroom window, I saw nothing but the blurred stretch of an empty desert. Oh, if only I had my phone…

Alia’s Father: “Esma7eely, ma 3raftch be esmy… Ana Ahmad Khaleefa Al-X, and I have come to meet the sister of my soon-to-be son-in-law.”

            I merely stared at him in confusion; I was too terrified to breathe to even consider asking him what the heck he was talking about. But then my mind tried to mind map it and connect the dots. The sister of his soon-to-be son-in-law? Wait a second, does that mean that…

No.

It can’t be.

Me: “ALIA IS MARRYING SUL6AN?!!!!”

Ahmad: “Laish mista3’reba? Chaih ma7ad em5abrinich el salfa?”

            I shook my head slowly in dazed disbelief. My pulse had already accelerated into frenzy, my cheeks flushed in fury, and I entered into a state of panic. This man was absolutely irrational and completely out of his mind.

            He gave out a triumphed, bittersweet laugh.

Ahmad: “Obooch el 3’aly, ya Asma, ma wgaf weya klmiteh. Obooch 5ayen w chathab w mayfaker ela fe 3mra. A7eena ele estwa estwa, I am merely collecting what I had been promised years ago.”

Me: “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!”

            He raised a brow at me. I didn’t know where I found this kind of voice, for not only moments ago I was shivering in utter fear, unable to think for myself, unable to trust my own words. But anger replaced my terror, for my protectiveness towards my family out beat everything.

Me: “SUL6AN MA BAYITZAWAJ AY 7AD! MB 3ALAIH AY SHAY HATHA BAINIK W BAIN BABA LAT7I6EH 3ALA 3YALEH!”

Out of nowhere, Alia’s voice interrupted mine, reminding me that I wasn’t the only one in the room.

Alia: “Latraf3een 9ootch, sho hai el 8ilat el 2adab! Lo knty 3aisha fe wagtna knty batin6’irbain mn hal lsan el 6weel!”

Ahmad: “Alia. Bass.”

            One look made her mouth shut. She clenched her fists and left the room in the elegance of an aristocrat and a fury of a burning soul. How she handled her father every single day was beyond me.

            I dug my nails into my own palms as I closed my fingers into a fist.

Me: “Sul6an ystahal akthar. And you’ll make your daughter miserable; bat5areb 7yat-hm, matshoof inh malh mnh fayda?! 5ala9 ele estwa estwaa, laish 7a8id 3ala ele mi6’a w ra7? It’s not like you had a mis-”

            The other stranger whose name I still didn’t know appeared out of nowhere, her face worry-stricken and desperate.

“He took her, they took her!”

Ahmad: “Wal, hady 3ala a39abch, mno ele ma5theenha?”

“Alia, bntik Alia! Wa7ed 6ila3 out of nowhere w 5i6afha! W ma batit5ayal mno kan weyah: Rashid!”

He raised his brow, the only sign of emotion, or ghost of an emotion, I had seen all day.

Ahmad: “Rashid weld Flan Al-X?”

“Haaih!”

            I watched his reaction carefully for any signs of fatherly worry, but I couldn’t get a flicker of feeling out of him. He was like a numb robot that sensed nothing for anyone or anything, and I was starting to wonder what kind of a childhood Alia grew up in.

            I also knew whom the Rashid she mentioned was. I was also positive about whom the anonymous kidnapper was.

            A silent smile stretched across my face.

My 3bdulla had come for me.

To be continued…

Beneath Guarded Hearts - 63

Previously…

3bdulla

Me: “I’ll only ask you one more time, WAINHA?”

She sighed. I waited impatiently for what seemed to be the longest minutes of my life.

3wash: “They took her to their farm in hatta, bas there’s nothi-”

*6ooo6*

I closed the phone on her face and looked desperately for my car keys. There was nothing that I could do about it? Well, she and everyone else were in for a big surprise. I’m coming Asma.

_____________

Asma

            I eavesdropped on Alia as she talked to the other stranger. I was supposed to be getting dressed; ma ga9irat ba3ad, she stole my clothes as well! I tried to quiet my breathing, to get rid of the drumming pulse behind my ears, so that I could make out what was being said. I failed hopelessly, but in my desperation for an escape from this outrageous situation, I concentrated harder.

Alia: “He won’t stop ringing on her phone. I had to shut it off! What if he does something? Baba won’t like this at all…”

“Calm down, ya Allah! I already told you, everything’s under control. Mb wath8a feya?”

Alia: “Laa2 I am, bas baba-”

“Bas nothing. Ushh yalla, mb matfayja 7ag your dramatic assumptions. Now go and check on her.”

            Damn, and I thought she was bitchy to me.

Alia: “Fine. Bas lo shay estwaa, ana may5e9ny. Sawait ely 3alaya.”

            I saw her turning to come back and I sprinted into the dressing room and pretended that the zipper was stuck. She reached in a few seconds

Alia: “5ala9ty?”

Me: “Laa2, do you think you could help me…”

            She came in with a creased forehead and zipped me up into my top/dress. She smiled at me coldly through the mirror, and before I could interpret anything from it, she clutched the roots of my hair and smashed it on the wall. A bolt of pain electrified my head and I felt unsteady.

Alia: “Next time, you might want to watch whose business you stick your nose into. I am sure you know inh el shya6een were punished for eavesdropping on the mala2ika. The only difference is, I’m not warning you.”

            She gave me a dark look that not even the blind could miss. My head spun wildly and my thoughts were all over the place.

Alia: “Am I understood?”

            I nodded slowly, and she let go of her painful grip on my hair as I massaged my scalp. She gave me a resentful glance before she left, and I gave in to my shaking legs as I slid down to the ground slowly, my back crushed against the surface of the cold mirror.

            I was stuck with an absolute maniac. And if I didn’t leave soon, I would have to meet the source of her unstable resent: her father.

To be continued…