Second update of the day

Fahad stopped dead in his tracks, he contemplated turning back and not eating, but he'd refused to eat last night, mostly because he didn't feel like it, but also the thought of just laying in bed gave him comfort so he couldn’t force himself to get up and eat.

He hasn't seen his father or talked to him and after his mother's very long talk which she ended with a threat, he didn't want to beat her stomach to see if she would act on it, she was Salima Barkindo for a reason, she would definitely act on it, and now his father stood and he probably wanted to talk too, heavens knew he did enough talking with his mother to last him a lifetime, maybe he was exaggerating a little, but it felt like that really, she just kept going and going.

Before he could make the decision between cowardice and bravery, the latter being facing his father who was making tea for his wife most definitely, said person turned to him with a knowing look. He should’ve picked the former he thought as he made his way further into the kitchen, or better yet he should’ve reached a conclusion quicker.

“You can go if you want, we both know you knew I was aware of you the second you entered.”

“Good morning” he grumbled childishly.

“Ah, so he speaks,” he turned to the tea he was furiously stirring, well furiously from Fahad's perspective, the poor teacup “I thought disappearing was your thing.” he stopped stirring the tea which Fahad was sure had gone cold and sighed.

He refrained from asking why his father was on edge, it wasn't the first he'd left to have time for himself, but he knew better than to comment when his father looked like he could punch someone in the face, he'd never seen him that angry before.

Abubakar Barkindo was as level minded as they came, he doesn't crack under pressure, maybe he does but you don't see it, he’s never seen it, his patience was on a level Fahad knew he would never ever reach, not in this life.

“I got a call from Tanim,” he mentally groaned when he heard the man's name. He was one of the directors and a total pain, a sleazy perfectionist who was too self conceited, has the mentally that everyone was wrong and he right, nothing you do was good enough for him.

“What did he want?” his voice was courteous.

“You've been missing meetings and you left Aisha to handle by herself?” it wasn't a question, it took him a few minutes to actually register when he did that, he had nothing to defend himself with, he did have something to say but he'd rather not rile up his father. “What are you turning into? I should expect this lack of seriousness from Ja'afar, even he can't do something like that, and we both know you shouldn't even leave an animal in Ja'afar's care, but you,” he breathed in.

Fahad's gaze rested on nothing in particular, he'd forgotten when last his father had actually sat him down because he did something he wasn't satisfied with, maybe since when he'd officially taken over in Nigeria and he was twenty four-twenty five then. He felt like a child being scolded for taking the candy that was forbidden to him, not at all a thirty year old.

“What is actually wrong?” this was where you know your whole life was against you or as he’d often heard, your village people were after you, when your limbs out right betray you and go for the kill when you're most definitely the prey and not the predator, a suicide mission, but Fahad knew his father, for thirty years he'd watched the man, he’d looked up to him and him arguing because he hadn't attended meetings or had left for a few days, that wasn't what made him angry and he was sure of it.

“Your mother, are you proud of what you're doing to her?” he felt the words like a blow to his gut and it took everything in him not to storm out and this time, not come back.

“For the past two weeks, I had to watch her doubt herself, she didn't sleep well throughout, she thinks I don't know, she wakes up in the middle of the night and just sits still, and then in the morning when she's looking exhausted and tries to smile and show your siblings she's fine and assure them that you’ll be fine, I see the look in her eyes, the self doubt, the self loathe because she thinks she isn't enough, that she didn't raise you well enough, I've been with her for thirty five years and not once have I seen her doubt herself, she is miserable,” he fixed his gaze on his son, “Is that what you want?”

“Abba...I,” he realized he had nothing to say when those words left his mouth, he took a deep breath suddenly feeling constricted.

“I know you and this, the man I'm seeing right here isn't you.” with a shake of his head, he picked the cold tea and left the room, it's a good thing they had a microwave upstairs, his wife hated cold tea.

**** **** ****

“Please let me drop you off.” Farhan pleaded for the umpteenth time, he had a boyish smile on his face, even though the world seemed pretty much against her, Khadijah felt calm so she nodded, totally dismissing the fact that she would have to find a way to get her car.

“You're with your car right, just give me the keys, I'll have someone bring it over.” she looked up at him with a curious look, wondering if he read minds, if he saw her questioning look, he didn't ponder on it and asked “Ready?” she gave a half nod and stood up.

Her legs wobbled for a bit from being seated for long and the events that occurred, she'd forgotten how sore her body was. His gaze remained on her to make sure she could stand on her own.

“You should've eaten something.” he said under his breath, it sounded like grumbling to her. He was right though, he hadn't eaten either, he only ordered tea and coffee when she managed a nod, but they both didn't touch it, he walked ahead and cleared the bill before waiting for her at the door again.

Khadijah was sure she looked like a toddler because she could literally feel her legs quiver, she gripped a nearby table and practiced her breathing exercises, when she was sure she wouldn't topple over she stood straighter and took two small steps then stopped again, her eyes glossing with tears she hadn't noticed.

She knew what it meant and it scared her so much, why couldn't she have been in her room or somewhere? She managed to raise her head and looked up at his tall frame that stood by the door gripping the handle with a force that could leave a dent.

“Khadijah?” the worried tone he used and the fact that he looked like he was having an inner battle about something she couldn't quite place her finger on made her want to burst into tears, she wasn't far from it anyways.

She opened her mouth to reply but she heard a sob instead, he quickly left the door and walked up to her, there were not much people in the average sized inn and only the doorman and a waiter lingered, they stood at a reasonable distance, ready to render their service if needed.

Khadijah clutched her abdomen and bit her lip to stop another sound from coming forth, She felt arms around her not caring who it was, she leaned into the touch, she needed warmth, anything to make her feel better, he was saying something but she couldn't make it out for the life of her, she felt breeze making her veil flap around her then the sound of a car, had they walked out of the restaurant?  She could hear cars, they seemed close but everything was hazy, she succumbed to darkness when she felt something solid.

Farhan didn't think twice when he picked her in his arms and into the hospital, thankful when he saw his aunt with two nurses already waiting by a stretcher.

“What happened?” she asked rushing up to him, he gently placed Khadijah on the stretcher and they rushed in.

His aunt held his hands making him turn to her “Farhan, I said what happened to her?”

He ran his hands through his hair in a agitated manner “I don't know, she just stood there unable to walk then she started crying, she's in some kind of pain.” he explained to the best of his abilities, he was looking ahead of her where they've wheeled Khadijah to the emergency room.

“Okay, I need you to calm down,” she looked at him pointedly, he looked like he was about to bolt to the emergency room, “and call someone from her family.” his face looked stricken, she saw the look and sighed “I'll give you her sister's number, I believe I have it.” His aunt said and turned with him hot on her heels.

She handed him her phone when they were in her office, it took a lot to get him to actually sit and calm down.

“Aunty S?” she turned to junior, giving him her full attention, “Will she be fine?” his voice was soft.

“Insha Allah.” she used her index finger and thumb to smoothen the worry lines on his forehead, with that she left him in the office and went back to work.

Farhan ran his hands through his hair again, then over his face before sighing, with a deep breath he dialed the number, his heart beating erratically for no apparent reason, but he knew why, before he could ponder on it more, he heard a voice speak, he looked at the phone like it was a foreign object, he'd forgotten he put it on speaker.

“Hello?” Sadiya's voice came impatiently it wasn’t the first time she talked presumably.

“Hello, Assalamu alaikum, I'm speaking with Halima Sadeeq right?” he didn't know how the erratic beating of his heart did not affect his speech, but he was thankful for it.

“Yes this is her.” she answered after replying his taslim. He knew who she was of course but he'd felt like he needed to confirm, he couldn't explain.

“Erm, your sister Khadijah-”

“What happened to Khadijah?” he could hear the panic in her voice.

“Don't worry, she's fine,” he said even though he had no idea, “She's in the hospital.” she asked which hospital and thanked him before hanging up.

“Ya Allah please let her be fine.” he muttered quietly into the empty room.

Farhan sat staring aimlessly at his aunt's office, willing-no forcing his mind to not visit dangerous places.

His phone rang breaking him from his trance, his heart jumped to his mouth, theoretically when he saw his mother’s name.

“Ma,” he called softly.

“Farhan, are you okay?” the soft timbre of her voice was almost his undoing, he detected worry and something else in her voice.

“I'm fine, you sound worried, is everything okay over there?”

“Erm, yes actually everything is fine.” she wasn't telling the truth, or at least she wasn't telling him something but he let it slide. He made a sound at the back of his throat to show he heard.

“Habibi, are you sure you're okay? I'm restless.”

“Of course I am ma, don't worry yourself, I’m outside right now, I'll call you when I'm at home?”

“Okay, please don't forget to eat and rest, I know you overwork yourself so don't even try to deny it,” she added the last part before he has time to protest.

“I will, I promise.” he vowed even though he was not sure food would stay in his stomach until he was sure Khadijah is fine.

“May Allah ease your affairs and protect you, I love you.”

“Ameen, I love you too.” he hung up after that. Not up to a second later, his phone rang and this time the caller made his heart skip a beat.

“Hello,” Sadiya stopped probably realizing she didn't know his name, “Erm, I'm at the hospital if you'd please come out.” he replied with okay and walked to the entrance.

He saw her the second he walked out, not only because she was looking around definitely searching for him, but because of her face, he'd know that face anywhere.

A man stood beside her, one of his hands wrapped around her in a comforting manner, he willed his feet to walk faster seeing her standing while pregnant didn't sit well with him, on second thought he stopped and dialed her number again, she picked on the first ring.

“I'm at the door, can you wave when you see me?” she turned immediately and their eyes met, she waved with a forced smile.

“Let's go.” Abdulrahman, her husband said both steering in his direction.

They exchanged pleasantries and thanked him multiple times for calling, he only smiled and said they didn't need to thank him.

The three of them walked into the reception, Abdulrahman forced Sadiya to sit even though all she wanted was to go and look for her sister, when he was sure she wouldn't jump and go about doing what she wanted, he turned to the man and motioned with his hand to follow him.

“Thank you so much again.” he shook his hand and patted his back. They stood in companionable silence before Abdulrahman spoke, unable to stay quiet.

“So, what exactly happened?” he narrated how he'd found her in the parking lot on the verge of a panic attack and the one in the restaurant, when he was done, Abdulrahman muttered a Subhanallah then shook his head.

“Alhamdulillah for you being there, only Allah knows what would've happened.” Farhan nodded absent mindedly, he almost ran back in when he saw his aunt calling him on his phone.

“Farhan, can you come back in immediately? She is awake.” he wasn't sure how he told her brother in law but they both rushed back in, Sadiya who saw them followed immediately, she was on the verge of tears.

He stopped at the hallway realizing he hadn't asked where she was but calmed down when he saw his aunt standing outside a door.

“She's in the ICU, this way.” she led them there, before anyone could react, Farhan walked past them and hugged her to him, she was muttering something and her eyes were closed, turning and twisting on the bed like she was having a bad dream.

“It's okay now,” he kept murmuring, Abdulrahman was the first to break out of his trance of shock, he not so gently took his arms and wrenched him from her body, he didn't miss the murderous look Farhan gave him, but with his hands on his elbow, he dragged him out of the room.

“I'm sorry, it's just that you can't touch her like that, aren't you a Muslim?” he struggled to get his breathing back to normal, he could very much beat her brother in law to a pulp, Abdulrahman is tall and muscular but Farhan stood five or more inches above him.

“I am.” he ground out.

“Then you understand why I did that, I'm sorry for how I did, we're grateful for all your help but we can take it from here.”

Farhan felt the blow but it didn't show on his face, he kept a blank expression and whispered to Abdulrahman before he left him there standing with his eyes wide open in confusion at first, then shock when his words registered, by the time he willed his limbs to move, he was already out of the hospital.

Abdulrahman dejectedly walked back to the ICU, they were thankful for Dr. Sakinah because only one person would be allowed with her.

“She's not stopping, why is she not stopping?” Sadiya asked him the second he walked back into the room, his heart broke when he saw Khadijah how they left her, still turning in every way and crying.

“Can I speak to you in private?” Dr Sakinah and another doctor stood by the door, he nodded and followed them.

“Please sit.” she pointed to the chair opposite hers, the doctor made himself comfortable on the examination bed in the office.

“Has this ever happened before?”

“Not that I know of.” he shook his head.

“We ran multiple tests but there is nothing wrong, the result of the X-ray will be brought soon and we'll see,” a nurse walked in just that moment announcing she had the X-ray result.

Dr Sakinah took it and her eyes ran over the result, the doctor who he still didn't know his name stood and joined her, they had the same confused expression on their faces.

“There is nothing.” she stated, she had a thoughtful frown on her face and didn't say anything for a second or more.

“Any medical history with abdominal pain?” he thought for a moment then shook his head.

“She'd had a number of surgeries though after her miscarriage.” he said, he saw a strange expression pass across her features but it left just as soon as it came which left him wondering if he’d imagined it.

“Can I speak with her previous doctor?  Or better yet, the hospital she went to can send her medical history here, we need it.” he nodded and excused himself to call his cousin, he explained the situation to him.

“Her doctor will be here with the results in about,” he looked at his watch “Twenty to thirty minutes.”

“Is there nothing you can do about the pain?” he asked after a moment.

“We can't prescribe any pain killers of her body is showing no signs of injury, I hope you understand.”

He sighed in defeat.

“How about sleeping pills? Dr. Ibrahim, a miniature dose of rozarem to help her fall asleep.” Dr. Sakinah suggested turning to the other doctor, he nodded then turned to leave but stopped.

“Isn't melatonin safer, I know rozarem doesn't have bad side effects but melatonin would be better,”

“You're right, melatonin then.” he nodded and paged a nurse.

“It'll just help to make her sleep instead of her to be in pain until the doctor gets here.” he nodded “You can go back to your wife.” he nodded again and thanked her before leaving.

Abdulrahman's mind was going through a hundred questions per second pondering on what the man said, he didn't even know his name.

“Just who are you?” he muttered to himself, he picked his phone and typed a message before walking in, he saw Sadiya still hugging her sister, he lend a comforting hand on her back unable to even form words of comfort. He knew how close the two sisters were, he’d seen it first hand, so he knew just how much seeing her sister like that was hurting her.

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So, I like saying so don't mind me

Anywho, I've resumed school unfortunately so updates will be a bit slow, I'll try to update all the chapters I've proofread even though finishing this book this July seems...errr...sort of impossible but oh well, we'll see.

Sha, vote comment and share and please comment COMMENT 🥺🥺🥺😩😩😩

Okay byeeee

Amyrah