𝐊𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐉𝐀𝐇'𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 / 𝐃𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐈𝐄 𝐁

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟖: 𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆.

Khadijah didn't say anything else after that. She just nodded, accepting it for what it was, and let her mother wash her body.

The days really seemed to blur together. It seemed within the next week, they'd prepared his body, prayed Janaaso, and buried him. Khadijah accepted all the prayers and words of wisdom numbly, leaving the mosque feeling less than settled. Her mother had cried, and she'd held her—shedding no tears of her own.

Then, they'd gone home and Khadijah was glued to her bed once again.

Sometimes, she'd move around the apartment, and she'd see her father sitting in his reading chair, sitting at the kitchen table, or watching TV in the living room—but then she'd blink, and he would be gone.

Just a figment of her imagination.

It crushed her all the same.

It only took a few more days for Jackie and Lauren to visit. The two women were like her mother's sisters—having grown together in the Bronx as immigrants, reckless teenagers trying to live the American dream. Sadly, the Bronx was no place for foolish wishes like that. They'd found that out the hard way.

"Thank you for coming to visit, I appreciate it—both me and Khadijah," her mother's voice echoed through the walls.

"Of course, Titi, we just wanted to give you guys some space—time to process," Jackie's voice sounded next, very soft, and quiet unlike her usual confident tremor, "I hope you don't mind, but Kevin and Arion are here as well. I didn't realize, but it seems they've all grown close since the new semester started. Can they come in?"

There was a pause and Khadijah blinked slowly beneath her covers.

"Just let them in, T," Lauren sighed, "Khadijah needs friends. Maybe seeing them will do her some good."

"Alright." Her mother sighed quietly. "Come in, boys. I trust you know where her room is." Muffled conversation ensued afterwards, and footsteps stamped into the apartment. Khadijah counted four minutes before her door opened slightly. She didn't move as Arion and Kevin entered her room hesitantly, the smell of pizza filled the room.

"We got you pizza, Jah," Arion said, sitting on the edge of her bed as Kevin sprawled across the foot of it.

She didn't respond, just bit her lip—scared to face them.

"We're sorry about what happened, Jah." Kevin spoke up. "I'm sorry that this shit happened."

"Yeah, we sorry for your loss, Jah." Arion added on quickly. "But you gotta eat, ma. Your mom been telling Tía you haven't been eating."

"I'm not hungry," Khadijah sighed, shuffling in her cocoon of blankets, "thank you though."

"You don't gotta thank us." Kevin stated simply. "You just gotta eat. You can't starve 'yaself like this."