In the Stars ✅

Chapter 20- Haven

You are killing me and you are keeping me from dying. That's love.
~Mahmoud Darwish

Khayra

All I could do was stare at the man in front of me. If he had taken anything we had spoken about into consideration, he shouldn't be here. And our last conversation at the hospital ending on a not-so-plausible note should be another reason for him to stay away from me.
I had the right to send him away. I had every single right to, but I don't have the strength to. Being here again meant that his house was chaotic once again. I was one hundred percent sure that he was blaming himself for being the cause, hence, choosing to stay away from home.

"Sure, you can come in." I consented, opening the gate wide enough for him to enter.
Ever so slowly, a small smile crept onto his face. I'd be a blatant liar to say that I didn't like it.
I stepped aside for him to walk in before locking the door in place.

We then proceeded towards the porch together. I don't know what got into me to make me feel so comfortable with him to the extent that I turned around and began to walk backward, only so I could get a good glimpse of his face.
" It's good to see you again."
I nearly tripped.

" Be careful!" He cautioned, holding out his hand as if to hold me if I fell.

I got a hold of myself, I turned back and walked beside him like any normal person would.

" Thought as much," he countered at my statement just as we made it to the stairs where we sat the last time.
We then sat down right there.

" Should I get you a blanket?" I enquired. " It's quite cold."

" Yes, thank you."

I couldn't help the bashful smile that threatened to tear my face apart, following his answer. With Sayida and I being in opposite time zones of our shifts, the nights had started to get lonely and boring.
Soon, I was back with a blanket and two tubs of ice cream. One's day is never complete without ice cream, trust me.
I took my place beside him and handed him the blanket. I waited for him to drape it over his shoulders before handing one of the tubs to him.
He seemed a bit reluctant but took it eventually.

" Trust me, you'll feel better after taking it," I advised, sinking my spoon into the tub. " It works."

" Coming from a doctor, I expected something more like Panadol in case I catch a cold."

" What?" I couldn't help but laugh. For my good, I decided to ignore his gaze on me. " Does that make me a bad doctor? Because I've done this a couple of times with my patients. Night shifts can be crazy at times."

A slight frown fell upon his features, followed by his lips spitting in a wide smile. The widest I've ever witnessed since all of this happened. I'll encourage him to smile a bit more because it makes him look celestial. I liked it. I might have spent longer than usual staring at him until his voice snapped me out.

" This," he stated, holding the end of the blanket for reference. "A Disney-themed blanket."

" That's me refusing to let go of my childhood. My cousin from Palestine gifted it to me years ago. She was my favorite. Farah"

" Was?" He echoed the verb in my statement. A denotation that couldn't be overlooked. I recalled her in the past tense. " What happened between you two?" He added, a small crease marred between his brows.

" Nothing, she was taken by Israeli soldiers," I stated, feeling the pain from that miserable day coursing through my being once again. " Right in front of my eyes, and I did nothing to stop them. We were only eight years old at that time." I let out a shaky breath before turning to him.
"Never mind," I shrugged, not wanting to speak about it anymore.
However, he held my unwavering gaze, not wanting to drop the topic. For a short while, we stayed engulfed in the silence. His gaze dropped along with his adamance, and he drifted off to another topic.