It felt different, sitting on the motorcycle behind Zain. He was silent the whole time although she occasionally caught him looking at her in the side mirrors as he drove. Nyla was grateful that Aliyaar had given her his sweater since she had left her coat inside her bag back at the party. She wondered who would bring her things home or if, anyone would bring it home at all. But that was the least of her worries. Asad and Aliyaar were still at the house where the party was at. Laila was sleeping after getting drunk and she was riding home safely, when she knew she didn't deserve it. It was all her fault. She had lied, deceived, and went behind her brothers' back when all along, they were only looking out for her. If Tony, hadn't come, and if her brothers hadn't come, she didn't know what would happen or what to do. Tears sprang to her eyes that had nothing to do with the wind.
She sniffled holding onto Zain's jacket. The cool wind whipped into her face and stung them. She was exhausted from all the events that took place that day, she leaned forward resting her head on the back of Zain's hood, not caring whether he minded or not. He stiffened but she stubbornly remained that way until they reached home.
Unlike the rest of her brothers, Zain's driving was smooth and controlled. She soon began to feel drowsy and her eyelids began to slowly shut before she jerked awake realizing she was still on the back of a motorcycle. She was relieved when she saw the familiar forestry by the side of her house and slid off the bike when Zain had stopped in the driveway.
Zain walked up to the door which swung open as if on cue and Anwar stepped out enveloping her into a hug. For some reason, that only made her feel worse and she began to sniffle as small tears dripped from her cheeks and onto Anwar's shirt. She covered her face with her hands melting into Anwar's embrace. She stuck to his side, not once lifting her head from his shirt as he guided her inside the house. He didn't seem to mind and she listened to the voices of the triplets who she was sure were looking at her.
"Why is she crying did they do anything to her?"
"Did she get drunk?"
"Is she wearing heels?"
"We'll talk about it later, right now though, just leave her alone." Anwar said as he sat down on the couch with her.
Nyla was grateful for his answer. She didn't want to face anyone just yet. She followed Anwar blindly, her face hidden in his embrace and she kicked her heels off as soon as she had sat down with him on the sofa. She could feel the triplet's eyes on her and she waited for them to make mockery out of the situation but they were surprisingly quiet except for a few whispers they were taking amongst themselves in. A few minutes later, they had gotten bored and left and she finally was able to completely relax after what happened.
Tears continued to spill from her eyes and Anwar handed her a few tissues which she took gratefully and wiped her nose. She didn't know how long she sat there with him. Her head was hurting from crying and her face and eyes were red and puffy. She closed her eyes leaning back into the soft couch cushions. A few minutes later, her fingers loosened their hold on Anwar's shirt and she fell into a deep sleep.
*********************************
It was noon when she woke up the next day. Her stomach growled with pangs of hunger and she lifted the comforter that lay atop her , slowly stepping onto the floor, or what she thought was the floor. She felt something soft and hard at the same time and she yelped, immediately falling back onto the sofa and peering down at her feet. Anwar lay on the floor, he stirred, rolled over and looked at her grumpily.
"Sorry," she mumbled. She reached up and touched her face lightly, feeling the thick swollen skin under hear eyes from crying. The side of her head was also a bit swollen and hurt to the touch. Her face had been wiped clean and was free of any blood.
"You good now?" Anwar asked sleepily.
"I'm hungry." Nyla answered her stomach rumbled. She hadn't eaten anything since yesterday at lunch. She didn't mention the pounding headache she felt from the bruise on the side of her face.
Anwar stretched and got to his feet. There was no sign of any of her other brothers in the house.
"They're outside," Anwar said pointing out the sliding glass door in the dining room at the triplets who were out on the farm playing baseball.
Nyla watched as Deen pitched to Haaris who missed the first hit but then hit the second one so hard, it flew halfway across the farm before arching and falling to the ground. Shaam raced to get the ball as Aliyaar ran to the next base with Haaris behind him. They both managed to get a home run just as Shaam reached them. Haaris bumped shoulders with Aliyaar who walked up to the home plate to bat.
Nyla hadn't noticed Anwar in the kitchen, fixing her a plate of food. He walked into the dining room, handing her a plate full of fluffy pita bread with hummus and olive oil in the middle.
She thanked him and took it gratefully, watching the triplets and Aliyaar play as she ate and trying to avoid any eye contact with Anwar who sat beside her, also watching his brothers play. He sat silently, not asking any questions for which she was grateful, and he waited for her to finish before grabbing the plate from her and walking off to the kitchen to wash it. Nyla sat at the table for a minute until her returned with a bottle of Tylenol.
She looked at him in confusion wondering how he knew. "Your head," he said pointing, "It's bruised."
Nyla unconsciously touched the side of her face and winced. It was indeed bruised and her head pounded with a slight headache.
She put out her hand and he shook the bottle until a pill felt out into her hand. He pushed a glass of water to her and she accepted it, throwing the pill in her mouth and washing it down with water. She almost choked at the sight of Zain who had emerged from the foot of the stairs in between the living, and dining room. He looked from her to Anwar to the bottle of tylenol and then at the bruise on her face. His black hair was swept back, away from his face, neatly combed and jelled.
He turned around, abruptly and walked back up the stairs. A few minutes later, her brothers came inside, their faces flushed red with large grins on their faces. Even Aliyaar looked happy as he playfully pushed Shaam who fell back into the open arms of Deen. Deen caught him with his left arm and then shoved him into Haaris who stumbled and then turned around with an annoyed expression on his face.
"Stop being a bad sport Deen, you're just mad we won." Haaris said.
"Am not.
"Yes you are." Aliyaar said smirking.
His smirk instantly faded at the sight of her at the table. The triplets also froze as they looked at her nudging each other as they lined up in front of her with angry looks on their faces.
"So, sleeping beauty finally woke up." Shaam said.
"Yeah, what's with the make up, aren't you like six?" Deen asked.
"Twelve." Nyla said gritting her teeth.
"Right, close enough," Deen said waving her off.
Haaris left the room and came back, strutting in the high heel's Nyla had worn the night before.
He flipped his invisible hair behind him with his chin high in the air. "Do I look fat in these clothes?" He said in an exaggerated girl's voice as he twirled around to show them, pulling his shirt out as if were a dress.
All of her brothers laughed. And Nyla couldn't help but smile.
He stuck his hand on his hip and examined his other hand's fingernails before putting it on his mouth and giggling shyly, "Omg." He said looking at Aliyaar and biting his nail.
"You're such a cutie." He said swaying his body left and right shyly. "Can I have your number?" He said clasping his hands together.
Aliyaar grinned, "Get out." He muttered.
Anwar was laughing hard and the triplets sniggered.
Then Haaris ruined it by looking Nyla dead in the eyes, "Is that what you saw at the party?" He asked sternly.
The small trace of a smile was instantly wiped off Nyla's face. She ducked her head feeling her throat tighten. Tears formed in her eyes but she blinked them away, not wanting to cry in front of her brothers.
Nyla stood up to leave but stopped when Asad came down the stairs. She continued to walk past him but he gently placed his hands on her shoulders and guided her back to the mat where she was sitting and sat down across from her, gesturing for her to sit. She did so, her pulse quickening. She felt a sense of dread as she looked back at seven pairs of eyes all staring at her expectantly. Zain stood in the far corner of the room next to Aliyaar, arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. Aliyaar shoved his hands in his pockets and Anwar tousled his hair. The triplets were unusually quiet, their signature smirks gone from their faces as they looked at her.
*****************Asad cleared his throat. "So," he began. "Let's start from the beginning shall we?" He said. Nyla felt her heart in her throat. She fingered her pendant trying as best as she could to maintain eye contact.
"Tell me, your side of the story. I want all details, no lies because first of all, it's wrong...and second, I will know."
Nyla nodded slowly. She bent her head shamefully and sighed. She paused for a few seconds and Asad waited patiently. She sighed again and took a breath before beginning her story. She began with how she found out about the party, how she went to Laila's house and everything that happened between her and the redhead.
The triplets widened their eyes when she mentioned the pepper spray and Aliyaar nodded proudly when she mentioned the part about Tony breaking the door to get her out.
Asad said nothing the entire time and listened in silence. The rest of her brothers occasionally asked questions if they thought she had left out any details except for Zain who glared the entire time.
His fists were lightly wrapped in bandages which were slightly stained red. She looked at them with guiltily, feeling as though is was her fault he had them.
When she had finished speaking, Asad fingered his chin thoughtfully gazing into the distance before looking back at her.
"Did you for, even an inkling of a second, reconsider what you were doing? Did you honestly think, that I would not come to find out about what you did?"
Nyla fidgeted with her fingers. "I don't...I wanted to leave as soon as we got there." She stuttered.
Aliyaar snorted, "You could have called us. It would have been better to hear from my sister asking for a ride home instead of Tony calling me and telling me that my sister is somewhere alone in the party with Laila and that he couldn't FIND BOTH OF YOU!" He spat angrily.
"Tony was the one who called?" Nyla asked in surprise.
"Yes, and he found out from Jackson who told him about seeing Laila with you."
"Actually," Asad said, and everyone looked at him attentively. "I knew about Nyla's plans all along."
Nyla gaped at him in disbelief.
"I suspected something right when you came to ask me permission and my suspicions were confirmed by Anwar. I asked Anwar what you had told him and he mentioned that you were going to do your homework at the library at school before going home to Laila's house till ten. When I asked if it was okay if the triplets could drop you off, you readily agreed, forgetting your own lie about staying afterschool to study."
Nyla looked down shamefully.
There were many other subtle clues I had picked up on, and I allowed you to go, to Laila's house where I would intercept you as you left Laila's house. Unfortunately, I was under the false assumption that you were still at her house, since you guys left it earlier than you should have. I hadn't expected you to take public transportation. When you called Anwar saying your phone was lost and that you were trying to find it. I bought it for the time being. But I soon figured out that it was a lie, and that's when Aliyaar came to me telling me that Tony had heard from
Jackson that you were at the party and that he couldn't find you. The rest, you already know.
Nyla was dumbfounded. Why on earth would he let her go if he knew what she was going to do?
"You're wondering why I let you go if I already knew your plan?" He asked. She nodded.
" I wanted to see if you would actually go along with your plan. I was testing your limits to see how far you would actually go and I must say, I am very disappointed." He shook his head sadly.
"I wish that we could have came sooner, so that you could've avoided any interaction with that scum who assaulted you."
Zain who had remained quiet the entire time finally spoke up.
"Imagine, what would have happened. If Tony, hadn't shown up." He hissed. "What would you have done then?" He clenched his bandaged hands angrily.
"I would have pepper sprayed him again." The triplets snickered and Aliyaar and Zain glared.
"Yeah, cuz he'd totally come back for more." Aliyaar snarled, "He would have found a way to get to you without you spraying him, you were cornered with no place to run, he could have done anything. So instead of talking like a stupid bratty five year old who knows nothing about life, think about what you do."
"And, accept your mistake." Zain finished, the vein on his temple throbbed.
Tears sprang to Nyla's eyes again and she wiped them away quickly. Asad noticed and he shot Zain a look before continuing.
"Now, before I conclude this conversation, I would like to know if you have learned your lesson." Asad said.
Nyla sniffled and nodded.
Asad nodded, "Good, now I have work to get back to, if you want to talk to me about something do not hesitate to come by. Deen, Haaris and Shaam, come with me I have to talk to you guys about something."
"What? She doesn't get punished?" Haaris asked.
Asad gave him a stern look. "That, is between me, and her."
The triplets immediately got to their feet and followed him up the stairs. Grumbling about things not being fair.
Anwar sat beside her and handed her a tissue. She sniffled, accepting it gratefully.
"What, are you going to baby her and pat her on the back for what she did?" Aliyaar asked
Anwar scowled at him, "Back off bro, she's only twelve, do you want me to remind you about all the stupid things you did at that age?"
"Yeah, I know I did but you know what? We got beat up for it not a hug and a kiss, and that's why we didn't do it again! She got off with just a lecture and you're sitting there telling her that it's okay? What she did is not okay!" He yelled.
"That's not what I meant," Aliyaar growled. "And what, do you want us to hit her for it?"Aliyaar paused, "No, but she doesn't need to be babied either. Let her feel sorry about it so she won't do it again."
"Be quiet both of you." Zain said irritably.
The twins stopped arguing but continued to glare at each other. Anwar pulled Nyla's head into his shoulder and she stayed there sniffling. Aliyaar grumbled something and stormed out of the room.******************Nyla slept in that day after praying at dawn with the rest of her brothers. She woke up feeling refreshed and took a quick shower before going downstairs to the Livingroom. She could hear the thrum of the treadmill in the basement and guessed that her brothers were training together again. She decided against going downstairs, not ready to interact with her brothers again just yet. She pulled out a packet of instant oatmeal and placed it on the counter and walked over to the fridge to grab some milk. She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and watched as Zain appeared at the door from the basement. He walked over to the bathroom and emerged with a tiny first aid kit placing it in front of him on the counter. He glanced at her and then quickly looked away as he pulled open the kit and rummaged through it.
He began unwrapping his bandages right underneath the cabinet with the bowls in it. Nyla cautiously walked over to his side and he moved to the left giving her some room. She awkwardly reached for the handle of the cabinet and pulled it. The bowls were stacked on the second shelf and Nyla tiptoed, trying to reach it. She was too short. Normally, she would've just climbed on the counter to get them but she didn't want to do that in front of Zain so she continued to reach for it on her tiptoes. Zain glanced at her from the side but made no move to help.
She backed away a bit and scowled, her face heating up in embarrassment. She tiptoed again reaching upward and stretching as far as she could, her fingertips grazed the bowl and she managed to pull it a centimeter closer. She brought her heels to the ground again and exhaled before reaching up and pulling the bowl down. As she brought it, she felt her fingers slip and flinched as the bowl left her fingers, falling towards the floor.
Zain didn't even look as he thrust his arm out and caught the bowl in midair before gently placing it on the counter. Nyla noticed large cuts on his hands which were still raw. Deep cuts were sliced into his skin near his knuckles. She winced, and looked away quickly.
She turned around and grabbed the bowl, pouring the pack of oatmeal and milk into it. She placed it into the microwave and set the timer for two minutes before starting it.
She turned around to see Zain swabbing his cuts with alcohol. He reached for the ointment with shaky hands and began applying a thick layer on them. He began wrapping one hand up with a large pieces of gauze and fixing them in place with medical tape.
He reached for the other gauze and attempted to wrap his other hand with it. The thick gaze wrapped around his left hand prevented him from controlling his fingers properly. He fumbled with the gauze and placed it on his hand as he reached for the medical tape on the counter. The gauze fell off his hand and without thinking, Nyla snatched it from the air and placed it on the counter. She turned around smirking to herself as she watched the bowl rotate in the microwave.
He paused, looking at her at then the gauze on the counter. He picked it up again placing it on his wounded hand. He placed it on his hand attempting to wrap it with his bandaged one but was visibly struggling to keep it in place.
The microwave beeped signaling that her oatmeal was ready but Nyla ignored it and pulled the gauze from Zain's hand. He looked at her in confusion she reached for his unwrapped hand and pulled it towards her by the index finger. He pulled away slightly, for a second but then reconsidered and allowed her to hold it. Nyla nimbly began wrapping the gauze tightly around his large hand with her own tiny ones. She had wrapped them better than the one Zain had wrapped himself and she smiled to herself remembering Sarah who used to do it for her when she had gotten hurt.
When she finished wrapping his hand, she grabbed the medical tape from the counter and cut off a piece placing it onto the gauze to secure it in place. She finished, and proudly examined her handiwork. Zain looked between both hands, comparing the two. Hers was neatly done and allowed him full range of motion unlike the one he had wrapped. He glanced at her and then the one she had wrapped gratefully. His mouth opened and then closed. He froze, looking at something behind her. Nyla turned around to see what he was looking at.
The triplets stood in the door frame with equally large smirks on their faces nudging each other as they looked at the two of them with smug looks on their faces.
Deen had his hands shoved into his pockets as he leaned on the doorframe. Shaam leaned on the other side of the frame and Haaris stood between them with his hands resting casually on both their shoulders.
Zain glared, "Shut up," he said irritated.
The trips smirks widened at his words "Didn't say nothin'" Deen muttered.
Zain gestured to the box on the counter, "Put this away for me he growled."
Shaam shrugged still grinning, "Okay." He said, walking over to the counter and putting the medical equipment back into the kit.
Zain stormed out of the room, but before he left, Nyla noticed his ears were slightly tinted with pink.
She tried to leave before they could tease her too but Deen and Haaris stepped in front of her blocking her way.
"Is our little sis getting along with Mr. Tough guy." Haaris teased pulling on her cheeks. She scowled and slapped his hand away.
"Stop it," she said crossly.
Deen sniggered. "Don't worry, we won't tell Anwar that he's no longer your favorite brother."
"Your secret is safe with us." Haaris agreed with a wink.
"I don't have a favorite, yet" she snapped, "But if I did, you definitely wouldn't be one." She said crossly.
"Oooh, sassy, now are we." Shaam said tousling her hair from behind.
She sighed and turned around and groaned, "Can you move?" She asked. "Please?" She added hopefully.
Shaam grinned, "fine, step aside boys, she said the magic word."
Deen and Haaris obediently moved aside allowing her to pass.