Sparks of Love ☑

Twenty

Chapter Twenty

"I'm going to think about it," Yahya finally whispered, bringing the ice cold cup to his lips. Coaching was nothing like playing on the field, but then again, he had to start somewhere and at the same time, Abdur Rehman's words seemed perfect for new beginnings.

"You do that," Rafa said, pushing back her chair. "I'm so tired, I wish I could roll into a ball and catapult myself into my bed."

The boys chuckled at her comment, gathering their leftovers and heading towards the exit. It had grown dark outside, and the sun's absence had brought a chill in the air. As the couple waved their goodbyes to Yahya, they huddled near for warmth.

"Better get going," Abdur Rehman whispered, fishing for his phone to look at the time. His eyebrows shot up in surprise upon seeing the numerous missed call notifications. "Oh God, Mama isn't going to be happy."

"It's only 8:20," Rafa commented, swinging her body towards the car.

The evening breeze brought relief to the skin cells - pleasuring them with freshness and making themselves alive with the cold tinge as a cherry on top but it didn't give any sort of relief to Abdur Rehman's restless heart. "Let's get home," he whispered, biting his lip.

He wasn't sure when the loud music inside the restaurant had drowned out his ringtone, or how he hadn't felt the vibrations of the phone, but missing his mother's calls was never good. He gulped back the unease and pressed harder on the accelerator. It was imperative that they reach home as soon as possible.

"Yahya can be quite a shy boy sometimes," Rafa chattered excitedly through the car's speaker. "He's like that especially when I bring up Anjum. Do you think it's love?"

"Hmm."

"Anjum's really good. I would say she's as good as her late brother, but then again, no one compares to Aashiq."

"Yeah."

"Abdur Rehman, are you hearing what I'm saying? I was just kidding, okay?" Her chuckles echoed through the small space.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"What's up, Abdur-Rehman? Are you worried about Mom?"

"Yes," he confessed. Sitting together for dinner was a tradition his family had followed for decades, and which his mother held very dear.

Suddenly missing it and without any warning...his mother was going to be very upset.

"I'm sure it's okay!" Rafa chirped. "We have our meals with your family, today you had a meal with mine. Mom will understand!"

"She won't," he wanted to say, but bit back the words.

Upon reaching home, he pulled into the driveway, killed the engine and rushed to the door. Rafa followed behind in her car, gathering her coat, purse and small suitcase containing her possession's from her old bedroom.

As expected, Tayyaba answered the door before they had even placed the key into the lock.

"Assalamualaikum, Mama," Abdur-Rehman greeted cheerfully. Rafa mirrored the greeting.

"Wa'alykum Salaam. Bohat dayr kardi aaj." (took a lot of time to get home today." She commented, eyeing Rafa's go-to bag of the restaurant's leftovers.

"We were actually out with Yahya, we had a great time, alhumdulillah," Rafa offered, beaming.

"With your brother?"

"Yes! He insisted on eating at this really fancy place. And I said we should definitely go because Yahya always buys elite food." She giggled at the last part blissfully.