Loving You

chapter two

"Dur-da-nah~!" Sang an almost psychotic voice. Durdanah hid underneath the bed, holding her breath. Ya Allah. Please, don't let him find me. Please. She did a quick prayer. "Durdanah." Durdanah felt repulsed by her name, the moment he called it. He made her name seem so dirty, so unclean. So scary. Like him.

"Durdanah! We can do this the easy way and you can come out like a good obedient wife, or we can do this, well you wouldn't want to see my way." Arham chuckled. Ya Allah, please. Tears threatened to spill as her eyes welled up in fear.

Arham strode around the small flat, breaking everything within vicinity as he opened closets, and looked under tables.

"Durdanah, this is your last chance. I'm getting angry." He threw a vase across the room, dangerously close to her hiding place. 

She closed her eyes shut as she mumbled the first few ayahs of Surah Rahman after saying the ista'aadha. "I seek Allah's refuge from Shaytan; the Accursed one. In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, Most Merciful." The words had a habit of calming her down since she was a child for some reason that she couldn't fathom.

"Durdanah, since you aren't coming out, well, I guess we'll have to do this my way." He smacked the top of the bed with his belt, as if it were a whip.

Please. Arham wandered closer to the bed before walking away. Durdanah breathed a sigh of relief but to her dismay, Arham slowly walked back before poking his head underneath the bed with a grin. 

"Peek a boo."

"Ya Allah!" Durdanah woke up in a cold sweat, her breath coming out ragged and uneven. "Ya Allah." 

She patted her chest, to get her heart to calm down. It was racing. Why? Why do I have to go through this even in my sleep?

The memories haunted her all day and night. She couldn't get a moment's peace. Even when she'd finally managed to leave Arham, he'd still won. He still plagued her mind day and night. He still controlled her and held her in his grasp. She won't ever be truly free from him, would she?

Durdanah forced herself to get out of bed, and as she washed her face, she could still see the two scars that had originally been her lip split in two from the corner. Now, the scars vaguely resembled spider bite lip rings that had been drawn into her flesh. She still shuddered, remembering how she got them.

Durdanah traced her arms, legs and stomach, the scars all over her body. Scars. Bruises. Stitches.

***

Yusuf quickly tried to change as Hamsa wailed in the background, pleading to be fed. "Hamsa, love. Please. Just a second. Baba's getting ready." He implored his daughter, trying to get her to stop crying.

He just quickly threw a random shirt on and pulled on a pair of pants lying on the bed. Yusuf picked Hamsa up, as he fed her breakfast in the car as it heated up. Hamsa just gurgled as she splashed some banana puree onto her father's shirt.

Yusuf groaned in exasperation. "Hamsa! Bad girl!" Hamsa howled as she took the spoon and flung more banana on the car's new seats. Yusuf rubbed his face in frustration. Don't get angry. Don't get angry. Don't get angry. He sighed.

"Hamsa, love. You can't do that. Look, you made my shirt all messy! And look, the new car seats, they're all banana stained now!" He scolded as he took the spoon away from her and wiped her face, the car seats, and his shirt.

His eyes flickered to the time.

8:20

Oh no. His shift started at 8:30. And, he still had to drop Hamsa off at his mother's place. 

Yusuf swiftly put Hamsa in her seat, buckled her up and started the car. He was speeding, that he knew but he didn't care. Somebody's life could be at risk in the emergency room! And, it'd be his fault that they had a shortage of doctors.

***

"Yusuf." His mother opened the door, wide-eyed as she scrutinized her son. "Ya Rabb! What have you done to yourself?" Tasneem asked in bewilderment. Yusuf's hair looked like it hadn't been brushed in days, his eyes were puffy from no sleep, and he'd gotten wrinkles already. He looked like he'd aged a decade. Not to mention, his pants had a paint stain on them, and his shirt looked like it'd eaten a banana.

"Yusuf?" 

"Ma, please take care of Hamsa while I'm getting really late for work, right now. I don't even know how I've gotten here in 10 minutes. Okay, Salam Alaikum. Bye!" He shouted as he got back in the car and drove to the hospital.

"Wha, ten minutes?!" It was at least a half hour drive.

Tasneem watched him drive away. She eyed her granddaughter who had banana in her hair, her face, and her clothes were a mess. Oh, Yusuf.

***

"Dr. Faaris, you do realize that you arriving an hour later than your shift could have resulted in a patient's death?!" Chief of Medicine Dr. Nichols admonished, her blond hair pulled back in a tight bun as she pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose.

Yusuf nodded. "My deepest apologies, Dr. Nichols. It won't happen again," He promised.

Dr. Nichols narrowed her eyes at him, "It better not, Dr. Faaris. As doctors, a patient's safety is most important to us, do you understand? If you can't handle coming to work early, then find something else to do. Because this job? This job can save and kill lives. Our patients are trusting us back there in the emergency room. Is this the training you have received?!" She spoke calmly, enunciating each word, but the rage in her eyes could not be mistaken.

Yusuf hung his head low, "I apologize, once again. I am very sorry for my lack of professionalism. This won't ever happen again. I'll be sure of that."

"Good. You are dismissed." She waved her hand at the ajar door.

"Yes, Dr." He walked out of the office, feeling very humiliated. How was he going to manage this? He's been late before too. It was hard with Hamsa, without Rania as much as he hated to admit it.

It was hard.

***

Sorry if this chapter wasn't the best! I've spent all day trying to write this, but ...it's just life was getting in the way so if the quality isn't that great, my deepest apologies. 

I'm trying to update every day until my studies start up again. I've been trying really hard to get to my dream of becoming a Psychiatrist. Unfortunately, universities are really tough and acceptance is hard, so I need to work extra hard. Make du'a please. :)