Wounded: Our Journey Home

Wounded- Chapter Thirty One

"Yeah," I nodded and pulled him over to the side. "You look beat down. What happened?"

He waved me off. "I wanted to apologize for blowing up on you the other day. I was just worried and thought that...well..."

"That I would feel the same as you?" I filled in, and he nodded his head.

"I just freaked when I saw the note. I don't know what came over me."

"It's not your fault," I quickly assured him. "Anyways, is that why you look like this? Because you're taking care of him?"

"Ummi has to work to keep up the income, so I help out after school. Some days are better than others."

"Yeah," I scoffed. "He needs a nurse to look after him, not a sixteen year old boy. Have your studies dropped?" When he didn't answer, I had the answer. "Wasim, school is important."

"So is taking care of him. He's not doing well. He's getting worse."

"Then why was he released from the hospitals care?"

"He wanted to be with his family before," He paled again at that, shaking the mental image from his brain. "I don't mind helping him."

I decided to give it up. Wasim is passionate about few things. And his latest one is nursing our father. Allah knows what it will take to get him to see clearly.

"Alright. But let me give you a ride home."

He smiled at me through tired eyes. "Thanks."

I nodded. "Yeah."

-*-

Ayah:

"Knock knock," I smiled, peeking at Jamila from where I stood in the hall. It's been entirely too long since we've last spoken. And when we did, she was still secretive.

"Come in," She waved me in, clicking on a tab in her laptop. "Look at this."

As soon as I saw the image, my breath caught. She made this?

"Jamila, it's amazing. What's this for?"

"A friend of mine on Wattpad. Her story was getting more viewers, so she wanted a cover. Is it bad?"

"Bad?" I laughed at her. "It's amazing. You have a gift."

"I figured it out. This is what I want to do."

"Instead of college?" I asked, but she shook her head.

"For college. I want to major in art, specifically graphic design. The only problem is, I'm not applying until next year. So I'll be taking the year off..."

I rolled my eyes and sat down next to her. "It's not the end of the world. You're going to college for something amazing! Be excited. Also, I wanted to talk to you about something."

She eyes me suspiciously. "What?"

"How's it going to with, you know, him? Any more complications for your future."