The Mechanic

11

"Eating-"

"Not in my car-"

"How will you eat? Standing?"

Faizal grabbed her legs and placed them in the car before closing the door and getting into the driver's side. He drove away on some "you'll come back for your car later."

.

The place he pulled into was rundown. Sebina thought it would fall apart at any second.

"Is it safe?" was the first thing she asked.

She had never seen something quite like it because the entrance had no security or guard, the stairs reeked of urine, the paint was peeling off the walls in layers and someone somewhere had tried to subdue the smell by dumping what must have been an entire bucket of disinfectant or bleach around the corridors.
Sebina was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth but her life had been very comfortable growing up and she was always shocked to see that other people lived like this. Even when the business did not take off in the beginning, she always had a good place to lay her head in and food and all the basic necessities. 

At the moment, she was sure that someone had been murdered here, already imagining the police tape and chalk outline.

"With me, it is safe," Faizal simply said as he unlocked a worn door and pushed his body into it to open it, taking care not to hurt the sleeping baby.

Sebina quickly walked in when she saw someone walking down the passage towards her and she shut the door, locking it.

"Such a snob," Faizal said.

"I've never been poor before so excuse me."

As she looked around the small rental, a shabbily fitted kitchen was to her right, a couple of broken tiles here and there.  The rest of the cramped space had two couches that seemed to have been recently upholstered. A small flat screen sat on a wooden base, facing away from the window behind it and the carpet, Sebina could swear that this carpet had belonged to someone in the early 1900s.

"Had to downgrade," Faizal said when he saw her looking around. "Not the best place for someone with my salary but the best place for someone with my expenses. It has a bathroom in my bedroom. Water barely runs hot but we make do with what we can. I'm sure you're thinking I might as well be homeless."

"Certainly," Sebina said without batting an eyelash.

Faizal laughed. "Ok, your highness. I'm going to put Vinter to bed. The dishes are in the cupboard near the sink and I have fizzy drink in the fridge. Hope you like Coke."

Sebina nodded and went to the sink to wash her hands but the tap only sputtered, no water. She grabbed the plates and glasses then served the pizza and coke before making...or trying to make herself comfortable on the hard couch. She ate her slices and Faizal came back when she was on her last one, downing the Coke after it.

Faizal sat beside her and helped himself to his slices. He looked at her for a while before saying, "Thank you. For helping me out back there and for sharing your food with me. I have food in the house but I thought I could spoil myself and my son a bit with pizza and ice cream but-"

"You don't have to explain to me. It's Ok." Sebina downed the last of her coke and sat back.

"I just thought you might be curious as to why my card was declined when you gave me that ridiculous amount of money after I sent you lunch. I was very offended that you could look my gift horse in the mouth like that."

"That explains why you avoided maintenance week with me, huh?"

"Oh! You noticed," Faizal said sarcastically. 

Sebina looked at him with a bored expression. "Anyway, where's your son's mother?"

"Dead."

"Murder or accident?"

Faizal stared at her with amused disbelief. "You ever think of just not speaking sometimes? Like to just connect that upper lip and lower lip then keep them glued?"

"You started it. You said she was dead in that disrespectful tone and I just asked because I assumed you hated her or something. You should have said she had passed away and I would have known it was not my business to ask more."

"She's dead. End of story."

"So you're a widower?"

"Her husband is a widower, not me. Vinter was an unplanned baby, one night stand things and now here we are, my family won't take care of him because they are already struggling and I am trying to do my best being a single dad. I mean it gets me all the hot ladies but only for the night or until they see where I live. I'm shocked you haven't run yet."

"I was hungry."

Faizal snorted without meaning to as he smiled at her. "You are something else."

"Well, nobody has ever said it so fondly so I am assuming that's a compliment if you're smiling at me, right?"

Faizal nodded. "I don't like you but you're an interesting character."

"Same."

An ear piercing scream came from the bedroom and for a second, Sebina freaked out only to remember that there was a baby in the house. She watched as Faizal ran to the bedroom then came back with Vinter in his arms, talking baby to the little one.

Without a word, Faizal did the worst thing he could ever do! He put the baby in Sebina's arms and she froze.

"Take it away...please...take it away," she begged, eyes closed like she had just been given the nastiest ticking time bomb ever. She was beginning to hyperventilate and Faizal realised that she was panicking so he quickly grabbed the baby, a concerned expression on his face.

She quickly stood to her feet and walked out of the house without a word. By the time Faizal walked outside, Sebina was nowhere to be seen.