#Chapter Two#
I was running down the blinding white hallway, trying to locate the waiting area the receptionist outlined to me a few minutes ago. Seeing the large ‘Paediatrics’ sign hanging above me, I turned right and was instantly halted when I heard my name being called from the opposite end of the hallway.
“Sameena, over here!” Sarah’s voice called out to me. Pivoting, I turned back to my left and ran to where Sarah was now in sight.
“How is she? Any news?” I gasped, out of breath.
She ran her hands up and down her arms, as if she was cold. Exhaling loudly, she shook her head sadly and rubbed at her swollen eyes. “No, still no news.” Seeing how frightened and vulnerable she was, I quickly gathered her in my arms and rubbed circles on her back.
“I was so scared.” Her voice broke and I held onto her tighter. After a few moments, I pulled back and directed her to one of the chairs.
“You’re her mother for God’s sake, why haven’t they let you in with her?” I questioned, turning my head to look for any nurses in sight.
“Well, I was a bit of a mess when we came in. They told me to wait outside and calm down.” I gave her a sympathetic look, before getting up to hunt down someone I could talk to.
“I’ll be back.” I could feel one of the security guards leave his post on the corner of the wall and begin to follow me, whilst the other stayed watch for Sarah. They were like an annoying shadow that never disappeared and no matter how hard I tried to convince my dad and brothers we didn’t need them, they were insistent.
Before I had even walked ten metres, I stopped when I heard my name being called. “Sameena?”
My gaze searched for the voice in question and landed on a male doctor, dressed in the usual attire. He was holding a clipboard in one hand whilst the other was raised above the paper, pen in hand, as if he was just about to write but something shocked him. His grey eyes were widened slightly and I shifted uncomfortably under his burning gaze.
Salem, the security guard standing a few metres behind me, cleared his throat, most likely unhappy with the man’s staring.
“Sorry,” he coughed awkwardly, his eyes suddenly scrutinising the floor, as if it was the most interesting thing in this place.
“Can I help you?” I asked, my own eyes flickering around the hospital.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” Puzzled, I glanced at him quickly. He didn’t look like anyone I knew.
“No, sorry. Who are you?”
“My name is, -“ but before he could answer, Salem stepped up and swiftly ended the conversation. I’ll admit I was annoyed at that, since I wanted to know who this person was, but Salem was just following orders.
“Wait!” I called, just as the doctor nodded his head solemnly and turned to leave. He paused and lifted his head in acknowledgement. “My niece is in the emergency room and they haven’t given us any information yet. She’s been in there for about an hour. Could you please find out if she’s OK or if we can see her yet?”
He simply nodded his head. “Her name?”
“Abir Ahmad.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Lowering his clipboard, he pocketed his pen and then shoved his hand into the pocket of his white coat.
“Thank you,” I said, genuinely grateful. He walked off and I was left wondering who he was. Maybe he just knew who I was because I was the daughter of the man who ran this country. But the way he was looking at me had me thinking that he knew me on a more personal level. Strangers customarily referred to me as ‘Miss Ahmad,’ but he had called me by my first name.
I stood there for a few minutes in an attempt to figure out who he was, until I realised that I was just standing, frozen, in the hallway. Retreating to where Sarah was, I told myself that mystery man would have to stay just that for now…a mystery.
####
Ten minutes later, a nurse finally approached Sarah and I. Beat with worry, we finally let out relieved sighs after the nurse informed us that Abir was doing fine and that she would explain everything once we had seen her.
We were hurriedly following her through the pristine hospital, so much so, that both Sarah and I were practically walking in front of her. It was actually quite funny, since every time we arrived at a corner, we’d have to stop and wait for her to direct us since we didn’t know where to go. She gave us an understanding smile and shook her head, amused.
“Come in,” she said, pushing open a door. Timidly, we both followed her into the extremely quiet room. There was no noise except for the beeping of the heart monitors and the soft, slow breaths of the children sleeping away in their cots. “Over here.”
We walked further into the dimly lit room until we stopped by a crib in the corner. Instant tears pricked my eyes when I saw my baby niece soundly asleep, a tiny oxygen mask pulled over her mouth. A heart monitor and other wires and tubes were also connected to her small body.
“How is she doing?” I asked, seeing that Sarah was too busy wiping away at her tears.
“She’s doing really well,” she spoke in a hushed tone. “When she was first brought in, she was suffering from anaphylaxis, which you might know to be a severe form of allergic reaction and is life-threatening. Your daughters throat was closing up, as a result restricting her breathing. A rash also broke out across her body, which you can see if you look closely.” I stepped forward to analyse her and surely, there were small red dots scattered along her face and neck.
“But I don’t understand. I was breastfeeding her as normal,” Sarah explained, staring down at her daughter in worry.
The nurse nodded and continued to clarify what happened. “As you know, the nutrients you absorb on a daily basis also get transferred into your daughters system when you breastfeed. We detected her allergy to a specific protein found in red meats. Did you eat any meat before you breastfed her?”
Sarah’s eyes widened as she nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes I did! I had steak for lunch.”
“Well, there you have it. We’ve created a list of foods that you need to keep away from whilst breastfeeding. Also, as Abir gets older, you need to ensure that she stays away from the consumption of this protein.” She pulled off a paper that was clasped to one of the clipboards and handed it over to Sarah. “If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you,” she replied, skimming her eyes over the sheet. The nurse gave her a soft smile and told us she’d give us a few moments alone.
“One last question - when can we take her home?” I inquired before she could leave the room.
“We want to keep her for a few more hours to make sure the protein is completely out of her system. Once that’s been checked, she should be fine to come home tonight.”
“Great.”
After she left, me and Sarah remained standing next to Abir’s crib in silence. Although we knew she was fine now, there was always that negative whisper in the back of your brain that tried to convince you otherwise.
After a few more minutes, we each gave her a peck on the cheek and left the room, feeling more at ease than before. Just as we stepped out, my phone began to vibrate in my pocket. “Where are you?” Ziad asked, not bothering with formalities. I gave him the room number and resisted the urge to smile at Sarah’s sulky expression.
“Why does he not call me?” she grumbled under her breath. I slipped my phone back into my pocket after ending the call and laughed out loud. She was so easily frustrated.
“That’s because you never answer!” I defended on behalf of my poor brother, who’d probably get the silent treatment as a result of his mindless act.
“It’s not that I don’t answer! I just always get to the phone too late.” She furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Aww, is someone upset?” I cooed, squishing her cheeks and attempting to lighten up the mood.
At that exact moment, Ziad rounded the corner. I took note of his stiff back and bloodshot eyes along with the dented groove between his eyebrows that revealed his concern. It was a stark contrast from the usual upbeat, loudmouth Ziad that’s always badgering those around him. Crucial moments like these, observing how quickly and momentarily someone can change due to fear, reminded me how difficult it must be to be a parent.
Without delay, Ziad took a hold of his wife and kept her in a long, quiet embrace. I felt like I was intruding on their moment, so my eyes involuntarily strayed from their entwined bodies. I didn’t mind public displays of affection. In fact, I was usually that girl that murmured a soft ‘aww’ at this kind of stuff, but when it was your own brother, it left you feeling a tad awkward.
He released her to give me a kiss on the forehead and I merely smiled up at him in response.
“You look stressed,” I remarked, pointing out the obvious.
He heaved a tired sigh and ran a hand through his disheveled hair. “That plane ride back was torture. An hour had never felt more longer.”
“I know,” Sarah murmured, wrapping her arms around his waist and seemingly forgetting her initial annoyance towards him. An amused grin made its way onto my face.
“Let’s go in, I want to see her. I need to make sure she’s OK with my own eyes,” he said, pulling his wife towards the door.
“You guys head in without me. I’ll go fetch us some coffee.” Ziad graced me with a small smile before stepping into the room, Sarah right behind him.
After traipsing all over the enormous hospital, I finally found the cafeteria. Salem was trailing behind me silently and every time I turned around to apologise for my nuisance in dragging him around, he maintained his indifferent demeanour and uttered something about it being his job.
I was wondering whether my father should add, ‘bright and lively’ as two essential traits guards needed to have in order to work for us, when I brushed past a cafe that looked like it sold decent coffee. It smelled good enough.
Ignoring the wide-eyed, open-mouthed stares from people was as always, simultaneously frustrating, yet comical. After ordering and receiving my take-away cups from the flustered barista, I manoeuvred through the tables and chairs to make my way back to the room. Thankfully, Salem had a better memory than mine, so we managed to return within minutes.
I handed the coffees to the very grateful looking couple and promptly walked back out to find a bathroom. When Salem began to follow me again, I stopped and faced him with my eyebrows raised.
“I’m going to the bathroom,” I stated, knowing that wouldn’t deter him from coming.
“And?” He replied, eyebrows raised challengingly.
“I’ll be no more than five minutes. I give you permission to stay here.”
“Not happening.” He crossed his thick arms over each other and continued to stare above my head. At this point I was glaring at him, but of course, he couldn’t see me.
“For proprieties sake at least, stay here. You really want to wait outside a women’s bathroom?” He shifted uncomfortably on his feet and I grinned triumphantly, knowing I had caught him.
“Be quick,” he grouched, deciding to recline on one of the seats. Giving him a thumbs up - which he ignored - I rounded the corner for the fourth time this evening and began scouring for the nearest bathroom. As I hunted down the toilet, I began to hum a random tune, thoroughly engrossed in my own thoughts.
The universe on this particular day must’ve really hated me, because just as I spotted the bathroom sign a few metres ahead, I heard a shout from behind me and turned to witness the horrific sight of a bunch of paparazzi heading towards me. Or more like, running towards me.
“Oh no…no, no, no,” I fumed, breaking out into a run.
“There she is!”
Some more shouts before flashes and lights went off.
“Why is she running?!”
“Someone grab her ankle, that’ll stop her!”
“Sameena!”
“Miss Ahmad!”
Hearing the utter chaos following me, I quickened my pace, which believe me you, was not easy to do in a skirt. On impulse, I grabbed the nearest door and flung it open, not caring whether it was a office, medicine closet, or even a surgery room for God’s sake. I swung the door shut and let out a relieved breath once I saw it had a lock.
Fumbling with the ridiculous string that would pull the blinds down, I yanked on it roughly, until finally, the clear glass window was covered. Grabbing the edges of one of the blinds and pushing it aside, I peeked out into the hallway to see if any of them managed to find me. Seeing no one in sight, I turned around and began grumbling angrily about the stupid paps.
“Why can’t they just leave me the hell alone,” I spat. “I need to pee.” I exhaled heavily and looked up to see where I was. I paused in my step once I saw three sets of eyes looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance.
One particular set of eyes was looking at me with clear amusement.
“We meet again, Sameena,” Mystery Man said.
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A/N
I'm really not liking this chapter for some reason, but I thought I might as well upload it since it's been typed up since days ago on word. Hopefully the next chapter will be better!
Don't forget to comment and vote! ♥