Not That Interested

Chapter 31: The One With All the Goodbyes

I glance towards my own parents who are watching the exchange without expression. They are wondering what I'll do now.

"I forgive you." I whisper; "But don't ask me to forgive him. I am not quite there yet." I doubt I ever will be.

....................

I am startled awake from my nap, by insistent prodding. I groan slightly, realizing that I fell asleep in the middle of the day, curled up in front of our TV.

"Minnnaa, I am leaving Minnaa! pweaze wake up!" a squeaky voice whispers in my ear.

I rub out the confusion in my eyes to stare at Rania's grinning face, too close to my own.

"Kitten? How did you get in?" I croak sleepily, hugging her to my chest.

"Your Mom let me in." She chirps back."I would never leave without saying goodbye to you Minnnna."

I swallow down my tears, in order to avoid upsetting her. She hates tears, and raised voices. We end up taking a few selfies, (hey, this is standard procedure for when people leave town!) I also press a small gift I got for her.

"Open it on the plane!" I urge her. "And take care of your Mama okay? Moms get super scared during plane rides!"

She eagerly grabs the brightly wrapped present; shaking it enthusiastically to figure out its contents. I got her a tiny, clay-modeling kit for the long, boring plane ride.

She pouts as I escort her towards her house. "Shehzer is going to Lahore now. I'll miss him at home."

I'll miss him too kitten. I refrain from voicing out my wayward thoughts.

She chatters about plane rides as we head outside. I spot an airport cab parked outside the our home. Shehzer's mom is directing the driver with the luggage. She smiles sadly when she sees me, and briskly approaches me for a hug.

"It was wonderful meeting you after so many years Mina dear. You're a lovely woman now! I wish you all the happiness for your future."

I hesitantly hug her back. Why does everything sound like a pity party for me?

Does she pity me too? This horrible relationship of mine has twisted me into an insecure mass of nerves. I smile ruefully at the fact that I cannot even accept a simple compliment without questioning the person's motives.

Shehzer appears from the house suddenly. He is dressed casually in T-shirt and old, faded jeans, for travel I suppose. He is carrying two impressively massive wheelie bags in each hand. The aviator sunglasses perched on his nose should be illegal. I marvel at my ability to ogle this man while I am being hugged by his mother.

EMV chuckles; 'How can you NOT ogle at him?"

He grunts out a greeting, while hefting the heavy bags inside the cab's boot. Dusting off his hands, he walks towards is mother and me, a curious twist in his lips.

"Ready to go ladies?" He asks his Mom and Rania, but his eyes are on me. I shyly look away. This boy will never cease to disarm me. I kind of hate him for that. EMV snorts derisively at the idea.

While his mom leaves to say goodbye to her sister and other family, Shehzer stays near me, trying to get me to talk.

"How's the finger?" he asks, going all annoying doctor on me. I scowl at that, and hold up my middle finger for his inspection.

He barks out a laugh; "Mina, I'm pretty sure it was your index finger."

"It's doing just fine, thank you!" I mutter, while my brain is reeling; Please don't leave me, please. Apparently, I am irrationally scared of people leaving me now. This is something new. Thank you for this too Areeb. Ass.

"How are you doing?" He asks in a lower tone now, concern etched in his eyes.

"How do you think I am doing?" I whisper back.

"I think you're very brave." he shoots back. "And very beautiful. Don't you dare forget that; no matter what your overactive imagination wants you to believe." My insides are doing all sorts of acrobatic moves at this statement.

Rania interrupts us then, with requests for "One Last Hug!"

Pretty soon, I am holding back tears as they get ready to pile themselves inside the car. My family is also outside by now, waving goodbye, and throwing out "Safe travel" wishes.

Shehzer turns to me before settling his tall frame inside the car; "I'll be back." he smirks at his terminator reference, and I end up letting out a teary giggle at that.

As the car pulls away from the driveway, I feel a heaviness settle in my heart. I hate goodbyes.

...................

A/N:

Thank You for the touching comments folks!!

I loved the feedback so much, I decided to update once again. :D

My book is now currently on #11 in the spiritual category! Eeep! how crazy is that! I just started 20 days ago. This is all because of your support and appreciation. Love you guys.

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