Endurance

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

It's been a day and a half since the incident at the station happened and as Layla sat on a chair beside Ray watching her breathing a little steadier than before and she could only thank her Lord for His mercy on keeping her friend alive as there were no injuries to her vital organs and the blood she lost had already been transfused and the surgery had been successful. And only when her friend was stable did she come to terms with the fact that she needed to freshen up because she was starting to smell unpleasantly. Before she could do much with the thought in her mind Ray's mom tapped her gently on the arm.

"You need rest Layla, and something to eat." She had softly suggested and Layla nodded with a yawn then taking the keys to Ray's car and room that her mother had given her. Her friend's mom had asked if she'd go home, which opened up a chapter of the mess that Layla's life was at the moment, allowing her to find comfort in the acceptance she had found in Ray's mother, only on the condition that she'd go back home and try to make amends with her father.

There's no man on earth who will love you like your father. Her friend's mom had told her. It was hard to believe, and she was sure as hell not going to buy it because she was tired of waiting for her father's approval and love for she doubts it'd ever come.

Ray's sisters bring full course meals to the hospital but Layla didn't have it in her to eat anything apart from water, so she was allowed to take some of the food to Yusuf and his sister that stayed with Hafsa when she wasn't there even though her visits had been mostly brief.

Walking out of the room she saw a very beautiful woman who was heavily pregnant strolling down the hallway with another younger woman aiding her take her pre-labor exercise which Layla didn't allow herself dwell on as she carried on to the exit. Driving out of the parking lot she hit the road towards her friend's home.

Freshening up and eating the hot lamb pepper soup with a steaming bowl of Kunu that Zayyan's mom kept for her in the flask which were the only edibles that appealed to her at the moment, Layla sighed sitting in the driver seat and finally plugged her phone with her friend's charger as she had forgotten hers at home when she left.

Immediately it was on the multiple messages she had blowing up her phone were overwhelmingly loud and many that she had to silence it. The messages were all from her family. Her mom, had sent the last message by morning, asking where she could be. Layla stared at her phone as if she had never seen it before, wondering how she would handle their worries. She wasn't used to them being so alarmed that they haven't heard from her, well apart from her mother, hence why it slipped her mind to inform them of her struggles at the moment. Before she could dial her mom's number Rays mom called, and her heart did a somersault as she picked up the call.

"Alhamdulillah! Your friend has regained consciousness ." Layla breathed out loudly and laughed then sobbed, then back to letting out another laughter full of joy.

"How is she doing Ma?."

"The doctors are checking up on her right now. We will know more about her condition when they are through examining her ." Layla nodded as if her friend's mom could see her, before swallowing the uneasy lump in her throat then spoke.

"I'll be there in a few minutes in shaa Allah Ma. Alhamdulillah."

"Alright. Be careful."

"I will Ma." She whispered and reversed then head toward the direction of the hospital silently thanking Allah for this beautiful miracle.

Coming out of the car, Layla unlocked it and stepped out. Only to come face to face with her brother, Sa'ad. She halted her steps and stared, trying to gauge the kind of emotion that marred his face but there was none. It was just blank, with his arms folded across his chest. Another man emerged out of a car bend leaned against its bonnet, and immediately her heart stopped beating for a second at the breathtaking sight of him right there, looking nothing but the same way he does every time they meet, simply stunning and despite the situation she still had to admit that much.