Can't Escape

Chapter 18

"How would you feel if that was off?" He mumbles through his pouted lips, pointing his finger at the can of lemonade which sits in my hand.

"Well, I can't answer that, Uncle," I snort. "It's not off, it's...fresh!" I take a swig off the drink but almost spray it out once Uncle Walid's frown has been wiped off his face and he's now bawling out laughter. The fizz of the drink runs back up my nose, making my fce contort but soon I join in with his howling.

"Oh, little Alvina," He sighs, wiping a tear from his eye. "You do make me laugh."

"You laugh at everything!" I retort with a playful eye roll to which he shrugs his shoulders and raises his arms with a chuckle. "Oh, Uncle, you do make me laugh."

At this he bursts out laughing, clapping his hands as he does so, making me stare at him in amusement. His laugh becomes high pitched, hitting the walls of his office and I run a hand down my face, laughing at him. A few moments pass and he finally calms down, going over to his mini fridge before grabbing out a bottle of water and taking a sip.

His face is flushed because of how hard he was laughing and I furrow my eyebrows.

I swear it wasn't that funny.

"Ah!" He sighs, holding out the bottle of cold water in front of his face. "Refreshing!"

I snort at his satisfied expression as he ogles the bottle, drops of water trickling down it. He then proceeds to shut the fridge door with his knee before striding over towards his desk, clearing it with his hands so he can make room for himself to take a seat on it when there's a perfectly good chair besides it.

Uncle Walid slips off his smart shoes and lifts his legs up, bringing them under each other on his desk. He then looks at me with a smile, tilting his head slightly. I grin, placing my can of lemonade besides me on the windowsill before latching my fingers beneath the edges and swinging my feet back and forth. I watch him curiously as he looks down at his hands and then back up at me, his silence confusing me.

He then laughs suddenly, a smile sweeping onto his face, his eyes scanning the floor as if reading something. "Oh, Alvina...today just...it was beautiful," He begins, his eyes flickering up to meet my confused ones yet he dismisses the questioning features sat across my face. "A teenage boy- well, let's say a man down on one knee asking her to marry him, there was no-one applauding yet they looked so happy."

I swallow, my eyes never leaving his face, wondering why he is randomly mentioning this. We were just laughing moments ago and now he's decided I bring up this topic which is cute yet makes me uncomfortable. I fiddle with my can once again, my shoes scraping against one another in irritation.

"I watched them from afar in my car like a weird old man but the couple seemed so in love, you know?" He says, looking up at my face and I quickly stop gnawing on my bottom lip and give him a forced smile, nodding my head. He sighs and carries on. "It just reminds me of when I proposed to Sana: how her eyes bulged out of her sockets and her smile...her smile was everything. Just..."

I watch him silently as he talks about his late wife, his eyes glistening as he recalls the moment he asked for her hand in marriage. His story goes on and I smile softly, however his words seem to fade into the back of my mind and I don't realise until his voice raises slightly, probably repeating a question.

"How are things at home, little Alvina?" He asks, his head tilted and I let out a little laugh yet he doesn't seem to be in the mood for laughing anymore for some reason.

"They're good," I say with a nod of my head before nervously fixing my headscarf. It's not an odd question to ask me anymore: I'm beginning to think that Uncle Walid has figured out that my house isn't my safe haven any longer. "How about you?"