Why, We Fall (Book One)

16: Eye of the Storm -2

"What were you thinking? Taking him on like that? What if he hurt you?"
After a thorough inspection to make sure Aleya wasn't physically hurt Hasan couldn't hold it in anymore. He started to shout. Something he never did. He is more like a grumpy 'holding all the rage of the world inside' kind of guy when he is angry. But today, after all that's happened starting from his father's house to the street they were standing on, he just couldn't hold it in anymore.

Aleya was half keeled over, crouching her knees. The exhaustion of keeping it together the whole event finally catching up to her.

"Are you listening to me?" Hasan asked frustratingly. For once he is letting it all out and he needs an audience to vent all his frustration out on. 

"Why didn't you just give him what he wanted? Do you even realize how dangerous it was? He had a knife Aleya! He could've killed you!" The girl didn't seem like listening to him. But he had to say these words. He had to make her known what she had made him go through in the past 15 mins. He hasn't been this stressed out his entire life.

"He forgot Lloyd. " Aleya said from her crouching position.

"What?" For a second Hasan only heard Aleay's soft voice ringing in his ears. It sounded different from what he is used to hear. She sounded exhusted. It made him want to get closer to her. Feel her closer to him.

"He forgot Lloyd. " Aleya pointed at the knife laying still on the street.

"Are you kidding me?" He said out of frustration more to himself than Aleya. Here he was going out of his wits over what could have happened if the mugger decided to take a swing at Aleya instead of getting out of there and she is concerned that the devil left his pitchfork behind?
Pushing his ruffled hair back out of his forehead for the umpteenth time he approached Aleya with determined steps. He refused to stay far from her for a second more even if it's to scold her.

In a moments notice he walked over to where Aleya was still crouching her knees. Grabbing her by the arms he straightened her up and brought her closer to him.

He urged her to look at him. To look at his face just so she knew at least some of what was going on inside him.
The concern and fear he felt for her.

"Do you have any idea how scared I was?" He told her in case his face failed to pass the message. He wasn't shouting anymore. He was whispering. Whispering in a tone that was still accusatory.

"Why did you come to the hospital today?" She asked softly mirroring his own tone.

What's wrong with the girl!! She is determined to say anything not to address what just occurred moments ago. Is this some kind of a defense mechanism for her not to think about what could have conspired tonight?

"What are you babbling about? Do you not realise what just happened Aleya? Or what could've happened if your foolishness backfired on you?"

Hasan was still holding Aleya by the arms. Refusing to let go till she understands she couldn't do anything like that ever again. His face was mere inches away from hers. He could see the brown specks of her eyes sparkling even under the dim street lights. He felt his ashy ones going dark as the heat from her body started to radiate on his.

"You didn't answer my question. " She said with a pair of almost glazed over eyes.

Is this girl for real? She wants him to answer her question when she is not even acknowledging his for the last ten minutes! Not to mention he didn't even know what she was talking about.

"What question?" He whispered again. Not with accusations this time. It sounded more like an endearment.

"Why did you come to the hospital?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You could've gone to any other group. Then why ours?"

"I didn't purposely choose yours Aleya. I just happened to be there. " It's hard to tell if he is convincing Aleya of that lie or himself.

"Then why stay? Why did you volunteer to be my partner?

"You were alone. "

"No, I wasn't. " She kept looking at him with those expectant eyes.

"Aleya... " It looked like he was going to say something but stopped mid sentence. He closed his eyes just to avoid those brown ones urging him to spill the beans of his unconscious mind.

"I don't know what you want me to say. I was free for the day. So I decided to help out. " Still holding on to Aleya, he sounded detached.

Aleya waited a second more, looking at his eyes. But they already turned colors. She knew whatever she saw in them for a fleeting second if she saw anything at all in the first place, it was gone.

"Oh. " She pushed against the hold Hasan had her secured in. It had started to suffocate her.

But he didn't budge.

She looked at him again. Maybe what she saw wasn't an illusion. It wasn't the street lights playing tricks on her. But his eyes remained a puzzle to her. She couldn't find the emotions she thought she saw minutes ago.

She pushed a little harder this time and his arms came undone around her. She took a step back.

"I should go. It's getting late. "

"Let me drop you off. "

"It's fine. My dorm's just around the corner. I highly doubt I'm gonna meet another mugger anytime soon. " She said with a weak chuckle.

"Yeah. I bet words are already out on the street. Never mug a Bengali. They are as stingy as they come. " Hasan joked lightly. Without any hopes of seeing that ethereal smile again.

But he managed to see a peek. A little upturned motion at the corner of her lips like a fleeting moon through the dark coulds.

"Thanks for being here tonight. And I'm sorry I put your life at risk as well. Goodnight professor. Have a safe ride home. "

Refusing to let Hasan to say anything more that could break her heart she turned around and hurried her way back to her dorm.

Without knowing Hasan was following her the entire way, making sure she reached the dorms safely.

Without knowing that he stood there for minutes even after she was inside.