Diamonds & Pearls

Diamonds & Pearls (23)-Witnessing the Impossible

Previously: Diamonds & Pearls (22)-The Bitter Taste of Betrayal

I cried, letting the tears free fall from my eyes openly. I’d put all of my trust into Charice and she was working with Erik against me this whole time. After a minute, I realized that it was Rafiq hugging me. I sobbed into his shoulder, closing my eyes tightly and hanging onto him like life support. I could feel my mother patting my back gently, trying her best to comfort me while she herself was in tears.

 

But they didn’t understand the unspoken puzzle that was being put together in my brain. I was crying for more reasons than one. I was not sure if my father would be okay. I didn’t know if Cole would ever be the same again. My mother was completely stressed out and she, as well as my unborn sister or brother, could now be in serious danger. I was afraid of Erik even more now because I’d realized that he doesn’t take his threats lightly. I was also scared out of my wits because I didn’t know who would get hurt next. And most of all, the fact that this was all because of me is what wouldn’t allow the tears to stop spilling from my eyes.

Diamonds & Pearls

Before You Read: Hey guys! Quick reminder here! If you're delaying a prayer right now to read this story, stop whatever you're doing and go pray! Don't let anything take you away from Allah. Especially not this story. Now if you're all prayed up, go ahead and enjoy this chapter.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE-Witnessing the Impossible

            The more my life goes on, the more I realize that it is our most trying moments that define us. When we find ourselves in peril or our lives falling to pieces, the way we handle ourselves in those moments end up defining us in the end.  When we reach our weakest point, it is our choice to keep moving forward or to let ourselves fall to ruin. I am just finding out what a hard choice that can be. As we drove to the hospital, not knowing the true situation of my father’s wellbeing, I could feel myself falling apart. So many emotions were eating me up alive; pain, sadness, grief, guilt, and worry. I just needed to see my father. I needed to know for sure that he was alright.

            Zayna was driving silently, one hand on the wheel, the other resting on her cheek. She was worried: I could tell by the way she constantly tapped on the steering wheel. It was a nervous tick that both Zayna and Zayan shared. It’s how I could always tell when they were scared, nervous, or anxious. Noor was driving in a car behind us, following us to the hospital. Rafiq had called them when Ummi and I were trying to calm ourselves down. Ummi had been in no shape to drive whatsoever.

            You know, I guess that’s why Allah made men our opposites. As women we’re naturally more emotional and sometimes when our emotions are raging, we can’t think straight. Men on the other hand have a stricter rein on their emotions. They know that there is a time for you to set your emotions free and a time for action. Rafiq did his job in our moment of need and got things moving. He put things into action. Men and women were made differently for a reason; to balance each other out. There is no weakness in that, just an amazing blessing.

            I could hear Ummi’s silent sniffles as we drove, although she tried her best to mask them. I sat in the seat behind her trying my best to stay quiet as I cried. But no matter how hard we tried to mask our fear, the feelings of dread and worry were thick in the air.  Rafiq sat in the seat by the opposite window, glaring at the passing buildings. His rough hand was holding mine firmly, trying to be supportive. I knew he was scared. Rafiq loves Abi so much. Although Rafiq’s dad is a great person, he and Raf have a very rocky relationship. It’s mainly because his dad disapproves of him boxing. He hates what Rafiq loves and I know it hurts him. My dad has always tried to support Rafiq when his dad put him down about it. Rafiq would never forget that. It is one of the reasons he loves my dad so much. He doesn’t mind him being who he is.

           I watched him closely, his jaw clenched tightly. His ivory skin was a little paler than usual. I could tell he was anxious but Rafiq has always hidden his feelings well. The only time I’d ever seen him even close to tears was when he’d left for Europe. Even then he hadn’t really cried. I prayed right then that I’d never have to see him cry. It would hurt me beyond imagination because I’ve always known him to be such a strong person.  I turned my gaze back to the window, squeezing his hand softly. He responded with the same gesture.

            It took us a while to finally park in the hospital garage and when we did, it seemed like no one could get out of the car fast enough. Noor had parked a ways away from us but was somehow at his wife’s side in a matter of minutes. Ummi was breathless by the time we got inside. I knew the baby was taking a toll on her strength and it worried me a little. Zayna made Ummi sit after many protests and then she and Noor set off to the front desk.

            Not too long after that, they both came running toward us. My heart was pounding painfully and the fear of bad news was strong in my chest. I couldn’t live without my father. He means the world and more to me. Oh Allah please let him be okay, I prayed to myself. “He’s in a room in the back.” Noor told Ummi. “He just got back from getting an MRI. We can go see him in a minute. The doctor is with him.” 

            Ummi nodded but she looked like she was inwardly panicking. I knew she wanted to ask if he was alright but she was frozen like we all were. Zayna was biting the inside of her cheek nervously as she paced back and forth. She did this for five minutes straight before Noor grabbed ahold of her hand as she passed his seat. She looked down at him in confusion and he looked up at her with worry in his eyes. “Come here,” He whispered, pulling her to sit beside him. Zayna hesitantly obeyed. As soon as she sat down, her leg jigged up and down with the same nervousness she’d been pacing around with. Noor placed his hand on her thigh and rubbed her leg gently as if to sooth the anxiety away. My sister sighed deeply and he gently turned her chin so she’d look him straight in the eye. “He’s going to be okay inshallah. “

            Zayna nodded softly before Noor pulled her into a sideways embrace. She rested her head on his shoulder and he kissed her forehead tenderly. Zayna closed her eyes and cuddled closer to him as a means of love as well as comfort. Noor caught me watching them and half smiled. It’s going to be fine, he mouthed silently. I gave him a small nod before looking at the ground. Inshallah, I mentally added.

            “Lewis family,” A nurse announced. Every single one of our heads shot up. We all stood before making our way through the door that led to the back. Zayna and Noor were walking a little further behind us, trying to keep Ummi’s much slower pace. I followed the nurse closely with Rafiq nearby, tears welling in my eyes the closer we got to our destination. Finally we made it to a glass room with a curtain. The nurse knocked on the side panel of the glass room before pulling the curtain back. Abi sat on the edge of a hospital bed, trying to pull his light blue blood stained shirt back on. White bandages on his head and shoulder contrasted with his dark skin. Abi looked up in confusion and then he saw me.

            “Daleela-” He started in surprise before I crashed him into a hug, cutting off all speech. He groaned in pain but I couldn’t find it in me to release him. I started sobbing in relief and I felt my father place a hand on my head trying to comfort me. I was the first one to see that he was okay. He was perfectly fine by the will of Allah.  I could’ve prostrated out of thankfulness right then and there. My father’s embrace had never been warmer. “Sweetheart…what’s wrong?”

            I pulled away and looked up at my father with a new appreciation for his existence. “You’re okay,” I whispered before hugging him again. Finally, I let him go and let Rafiq hug him.

            “Uncle, you scared shiz-nit out of me!” Rafiq said with a laugh. I grinned when my dad whacked him upside the head.

            “Watch your language,” Abi reprimanded, then ruffled Rafiq’s brown hair with a grin. Raf grinned back happily. After a second, Noor, Zayna, and Ummi finally made it into the room. When Zayna saw Abi, I saw her visibly relax, her shoulders melting from their previously tense stature. The grip she had on her husband’s arm loosened and she ran to hug Abi.

            “Thank Allah,” Zayna muttered, kissing Abi’s cheek. When Ummi finally caught sight of Abi, tears welled in her light brown eyes. Abi released Zayna when he caught sight of his wife. When he saw her face, it seemed like his heart broke a little.

            “Baby,” Abi said softly, walking to where Ummi stood in the doorway. He grabbed her face in his hands and used his thumbs to wipe her tears. Ummi held his hand to her face as she closed her eyes silently.  “Are you alright?” Abi asked, placing one of his hands on her hip and the other on her pregnant belly.

            “Why didn’t you call me?” Ummi asked in a hurt tone. She was looking up into my father’s eyes as tears ran down her soft brown cheeks.

            “When I got into the accident, I was out of it. Some girl stole my phone and then the ambulance showed up. I’m sorry love. I called the house after I arrived here and left a message telling you not to worry but no one picked up.” Abi apologized, biting his lip as he stared down at my mother. 

            “I thought you were dead,” Ummi whispered, her eyes drinking in every inch of his face so as to be sure he was okay. She pulled my dad’s face to her own and kissed him hard. It was as if this was the first and last kiss she’d ever receive from him. It was sweet but urgent. I didn’t feel grossed out like I usually would have. It was the exact opposite. I was so happy to know that they still had time left on this earth to kiss and embrace each other. It was comforting and made me smile. When she pulled away, their foreheads stayed connected as they both took a deep breath. “Michael Lewis, don’t you ever put me through that again.” My mother said sternly, her eyes closed again. In response, Abi hugged her close to him and kissed her once more.

            “I love you Khadijah and I’m sorry.” He whispered sincerely.

            “I know,” Ummi murmured, hugging him in return.

            * * *

          I sat at the desk in my room, staring at the empty spot on my charm bracelet. My heart was relieved to know that Abi was fine. The doctor said he would be very sore for a few weeks but his MRI came back without any problems and so did his X-rays. I was happy about that, no doubt. Good news is always a plus, right? But now I actually have to sit here and think about everything that has gone wrong. Cole leaving, Charice’s betrayal, Erik and Aimee, they were all problems. I didn’t know what to do about any of it. When I see Charice face to face…I honestly don’t know how I’ll handle it. Thursday and Friday, she hadn’t been at school and I hadn’t told Jade anything. It was mainly because I wasn’t sure how I felt about the whole situation.

          I wanted to believe that she had a reason for doing this to me, I really did. But I couldn’t…because if I were in her place I would have done everything in my power to make sure she didn’t get hurt. Ummi and Abi had always taught me to be forgiving but I didn’t think I could forgive her. I had tried to look at this from every possible angle and make sense of it all. Once you’ve been betrayed though, it’s so hard to be open to such a small kindness as being understanding. I was angry, I knew that. Like Cole had said about Aimee trapping me in a locker, I had a right to be pissed. Especially this time since I’d put so much into being a good friend to Charice.

          Cole…

          I missed him. I wanted to see his face, catch one glimpse of those big brown eyes. Hearing his comforting voice would do me good right now. It scared me how much I wished he was here. I’ve never felt like this about any guy. Not Xavier, not Isa, not anyone. I moaned, laying my face against the cold cherry wood of my desk. I stared at my bracelet, my heart aching. I’d done the one thing I’d always swore I never would. I’d fallen for a non-Muslim boy. I mean, if I’d at least had the decency to have fallen for someone who actually had Islam in common with me, I could do this in a halal way. But with Cole, there is no halal way. I wanted to pray that this was pity I felt for him and not something as deep as…love.

          The word made me shiver. Love is a very big thing. Love is the looks that my parents have given each other for twenty one years. Love is the way Noor can’t stand seeing my sister upset, anxious, or sad. Love is what made Zayan stick by Juwayrah even when they had no hope of being. But me, I have yet to experience such a strong emotion. Something in me wants to experience that with someone. I want a love that’ll last; I don’t want a love like you see in the movies. I don’t want a storybook love either. I just want something real and when it does happen, I want it to be a love that reminds me of Allah constantly. Right now Cole isn’t that love and I don’t know if he ever will be but I just care about him so much and it’s confusing the crap out of me.

          I stood up suddenly, my desk chair flying backward. So much had changed because of one guy! I’ve let him have my heart and I don’t even know what that fully means. I was just so glad that he didn’t know the conflict that was happening within me. It is almost funny how I’ve sort of lost touch with lowering my gaze and Cole has actually been doing a better job of it than I have. I see that he’s purposely distancing himself from me because he understands now. He knows that I shouldn’t be getting comfortable with his presence and he’s trying to stop me from doing something I’ll regret. He’s controlling his desire and curbing my own in order to protect me. Why did it suddenly seem like he was a lot more modest than I had been for a long while? I would have laughed if I weren’t so depressed. I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I took it out, hoping it was somebody I actually liked at the moment. I opened the new message.

          I know that you don’t want my help but things are different know. I need yours.

          I froze, my knees sort of locking up on me. I slowly sat down on the edge of my bed before texting the person back.

          Who are you?

          I waited for a response and it came quickly, just like last time.

          Someone you don’t have to fear.

 

          I sat still, desperate for a sign of what I should do. Not one sign came.

          This isn’t a game for me. I can’t trust anyone right now and whoever you are, you just expect me to believe you? I’m not stupid.

          My hand hovered over the send button before finally pressing it. I got a response moments later.

          I understand why you’re reluctant to trust me. You may not know me but you’ve met before. I know what happened to your father and I want to help all of you before things get worse. I told you we had twenty days to change things, well now we have eleven.

          I read the message over three times. I’ve met this person? I tried to think of who it could possibly be but nothing came to mind. Before I could think further, the phone buzzes.

          Meet me two blocks from your home in twenty minutes. There is a silver diner on the left. You can bring whoever you want if you feel the need for protection. I’ll show you that you can trust me.

          I sat there with my head in my hands for ten whole minutes before bolting from my seat on the edge of my bed. I threw on a blue and black abaya with a matching blue scarf. I ran down the stairs and then straight to Rafiq’s bedroom. When I burst inside, he was lying on a bench lifting weights. “Rafiq, I need you to come with me. I want you to eat lunch with me.” I said breathlessly. Rafiq’s arms nearly buckled at the sound of my voice.

          “Damn it Daleela,” He swore, slowly placing the weights back onto the rack above his head. He sat up, sweat dripping from his body. “Can’t you learn to knock? I’m kind of half-dressed here.”

          I placed a hand over my eyes, mainly for his sake since I really didn’t care at the moment. “I need you to come with me now.”

          “At least let me take a shower first.” Rafiq said grouchily. I let my hand drop from my face to look at him. Luckily, he already had on a shirt.

          “There’s no time, if you won’t come…I-I’ll sneak out.” I threatened lamely. Rafiq burst out laughing before walking over to me. He pulled my hijab down to cover my chest properly before patting my shoulder.

          “Daleela, you and I both know you don’t have the guts to do that.” Rafiq teased, placing a hand on my head. “You’re very obedient to both your parents and hopefully your brother who is now telling you to wait. It’s just lunch, chill out.”

          “This is important so please just put on some deodorant and let’s go!” I begged, yanking his arm. He grabbed my arm and looked me in the eye.

          “Ten minutes to shower, that’s all I’m asking for,” Rafiq said in response. I bit the inside of my cheek in annoyance.

          “Fine,” I snapped, folding my arms over my chest. Rafiq pecked me on the cheek lightly and I grimaced.

          “Thank you!” He chuckled before disappearing into the bathroom. As soon as the door shut I ran to his desk and ripped a piece of paper from one of his notebooks. I scribbled a quick note explaining where I’d be, folded it, and pushed it under the bathroom door.

          I took the stairs two at a time to get up to the main floor. I could hear my parents talking in their room. I hurriedly grabbed my black jacket off of the coat rack and slipped out the front door, staying as quiet as a mouse. I looked down at my phone. There was a new text message.

          Are you coming?

          I debated on whether or not to respond. Maybe I should just show up, in case it was some sort of trap. I decided on texting the person back vaguely.

          Just stay where you are.

          I pulled the hood of my jacket up and continued walking until I arrived at the silver diner. I stood outside for a moment, looking through the windows. I saw couples and families eating and a few people seated alone. Which of those people were waiting for me? I was nervous. As cold as it was outside, my hands were sweating profusely. I took a deep breath and headed toward the entrance. There was one good thing though. When I walked into the diner, there was no sign of Erik and his crew nor Aimee and hers. Maybe I’d made a good choice…or maybe a really bad one in disguise.

          A woman with bouncy red hair made her way to me. “How many dear?” She asked. I was confused for a long few seconds before finally registering her question.

          “Oh um, two I guess.” I muttered nervously. The lady grabbed two menus.

          “Follow me hun.” She said in a sing song tone. I obeyed, following her to a table near the back of the diner. I scooted into the blue booth and she handed me my menu. “What would you like to drink?”

          “A Dr. Pepper is fine." I replied with a soft smile. She nodded, writing on her pad.

          “I’ll be right back then. Feel free to decide on your order while I’m gone.” The waitress said before flouncing away, her red curls bouncing behind her. I looked down at my hands. They were shaking slightly. I clutched them together tightly to stop them.

          “Hello Daleela,”A deep male voice said behind me. I jumped in alarm and then attempted to turn around. “Please, stay as you are. It’s safer for us both if you don’t see my face.”

          I paused and turned back to my original position. I was confused, nervous, and a little scared. “Who are you?” I asked, trying to keep my voice from shaking. It shook anyway.

          “If it’ll put you at ease…I was once a very close friend of Aiken Brackson.” The deep voice said. His voice was steady and smooth. It wasn’t scary at all and as creepy as this may sound, it was kind of soothing me out of my nervous state.

          “You knew Aiken?” I questioned in surprise. It took everything in me not to turn around.

          “Yes, we were very close.” The man said with a smile in his voice. “We were so alike that you could even say we were the same person at times.”

          I saw the redhead waitress returning to my table. “Here’s your drink dear.” She said, sitting my fizzing soda down in front of me. “Do you know what you would like to eat?”

          My mind was still on what the man behind me had said. I looked up at the waitress absentmindedly. “Can I have an order of French fries please?”

          “Sure, will that be all?” She asked, scribbling on her pad. I nodded and she hurried off with my menu in tow.

          “How do I know for sure that you’re not trying to fool me?” I whispered, my head turned only slightly. All I could see from the corner of my eye was a strong, slightly bearded jaw line and dark hair.

          “I honestly have no real proof.” He sighed, a sound of slight desperation in his tone. “I only have one bargaining chip to earn your trust Daleela.”

          I could hear the sound of paper being rustled. All of a sudden, a yellow envelope appeared in my vision. I slowly took it and got a glimpse of the man’s hand. His skin wasn’t dark or pale, it was tan. He had a silver wedding band on his left hand. Was he married?

          I opened the envelope with urgency, using a butter knife from the table to open it cleanly.

         I emptied the contents onto the flat surface in front of me. There were several papers, many of them bank statements. But that wasn’t what caught my eye. I pushed the papers aside to pick up two weird bent out of shape bobby pin looking things. There was also a stamp with a strange seal on it. It was the letter B sitting between the jaws of a lion with vines forming an oval around it. It was strange but the craftsmanship was gorgeous.

          “I don’t understand. W-what is all of this?” I sputtered in confusion. “Why do you think this will earn my trust?”

          “Those two hard wire pins will help you open the necklace so you can access the files within it.” He murmured. I could see him turn his head slightly in the window. If he would just turn it a little more… “You’ll find the seal useful much later. It will help a lot of problems become resolved. I am begging you; please keep up with everything I’ve given you. Hide it and tell no one you have it.”

          “How do you know about the necklace?” I asked in awe. Did he know everything that was going on?

          “Because I was the one who had it customized and made,” He replied shortly. So the necklaces’ history didn’t begin with Aiken? “If you go through the papers in front of you, I drew up directions to get the necklace open. They should be very easy to understand. As far as the rest of the papers, put them away for later.”

          “If these things are so important, why are you entrusting them to me? I’m nobody significant to you.” I muttered, staring at the items in front of me intently.

          “I don’t know you personally but it is my understanding that you’re honorable. You have a good heart and your intentions are pure. That’s hard to find in anyone these days.” The man said in a sincere tone. I was in slight awe of his words. “You’re headstrong and determined to help Aiken’s little brother, even after all the trouble he’s probably put you through. That’s admirable. He’s been through a lot but you’ve changed him. That’s why I trust you will keep this information safe or at least safer than I can at the moment. For his sake, you’ll do it.”

          “Can I ask you a question?” I asked after a long pause.

          “You may,” He replied, although his tone came off as apprehensive.

          “Do you know if Cole’s brother is truly dead?” I whispered with a hopeful heart. “I was thinking maybe he’s alive and Jim Howards lied to Cole. Maybe Aiken is in hiding somewhere-”

          “He’s dead.” The man responded, his voice cold and empty. I flinched at the bluntness in his tone. “Don’t give Cole that kind of hope. Aiken Brackson is dead and has been for a long time. He was shot and then thrown into a river. I was thrown with him.”

          “Oh,” I choked, squeezing my hands tighter in my lap and closing my eyes. “I’m sorry; I just needed to know for sure. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”

          “All is forgiven. Everyone has to move on. That’s what Aiken wants. He wants everyone to forget him.” He said quietly, his tone turning personal. A strange feeling passed over me. He’d just used present tense for a man who was dead.

          “You mean that is what Aiken would have wanted?” I said, an insensitive curiosity overcoming me.

          “What?” He asked in confusion. I resisted urge to turn and look at him. It was such a strong urge that I had no choice but to clutch onto the edge of the table in order to resist it.

          “You said that’s what he ‘wants’ not what he ‘wanted’.” I observed. I heard him clear his throat lightly.

          “I apologize. Aiken being gone is a hard thing to believe. I sometimes forget he’s not still here with me when I speak of him.” He said, his voice breaking briefly. I quickly buried the strange doubt that I’d had a minute ago.

          “I understand. It happens.” I replied shortly but still sympathetically. The man cleared his throat again.

          “Thank you for coming. I know it was hard to do. I’ll be in touch.”

          I heard him get up and I stood quickly, trying to catch a glimpse of his face. All I saw was his back as he made his way to the exit. He was wearing a dark blue suit. His hair was black and he was at least a head and a half taller than me. “Wait!” I called out. He stopped but did not turn. Now, from my angle, I could see he was wearing a pair of sunglasses. “I have questions and you’ve barely answered any of them. When will you contact me again?”

          “You’ll get the answers to your questions soon enough. I promise you.” He said softly, his back still to me. “I’ll contact you when you need me. Trust that.”

          Before I could say more, he’d already burst out of the diner exit. I watched him through the windows but he was strategic and did not leave at an angle that would allow me to see his face. I wanted fall out on the floor in distress. Who was he? I still knew so little about him, even after meeting him in person. Why was he so secretive? He wanted my trust but he hadn’t really explained anything! I walked back to the table in confused blindness. I shoved the papers, seal, and tools back into the envelope then placed it in my inner jacket pocket just to be safe.

          I sat down and let my head fall into my hands. My head shot up all of a sudden as something clicked. He’d said that he’d given me directions to open the necklace. I placed my hand on the necklace that was hidden beneath the folds of my hijab as a smile spread across my face. I got my fries to go and paid for my food before rushing out of the diner. I ran down the street back toward our home. My feet literally couldn’t get me home fast enough. When I got to the front door, it opened as soon as I touched the knob. Rafiq stood there with his jacket half on, a bewildered look on his face.

          That bewilderment soon turned to fury. “I told you to wait for me! Fifteen minutes was all I asked for Daleela!” He shouted angrily. I was unmoved by his anger because of my excitement to tell him the good news. I was smiling so wide that Rafiq paused in his angry fit and looked me over with a curious gaze. “What’s with your face? Why are you smiling?”

          I pulled him away from the doorway and shut the front door. I dragged him down the stone staircase that led to his room. We stood in front of the door to the basement as I tried not to have a complete spazz attack. We were hidden from the view of the street as well as the windows of the house. “I know how to open your necklace.”

          Rafiq looked at me like I was crazy. “What?”

          “I know how to open the necklace!” I yelled, shaking him in excitement. He didn’t look excited or even like he believed me. I dropped my hands from his shoulders in disappointment. “I thought you’d be happy.”

          “No, I am. It’s just…I’m trying not to get my hopes up. Is it open right now?” He asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

          “Well no, it’s not open yet.” I replied with a pout. “If you give me time, I’m almost positive I’ll be able to get it open though.”

          Rafiq looked unmoved and it annoyed me. I’d just basically risked my safety for this information and he wasn’t even fazed by such big news. “I’m not trying to put you down or anything, it’s just I don’t want to get excited for nothing. You have to understand, I’ve been through a lot of disappointment Daleela.”

          I grinned, whacking him on the arm. “Come on Raf, have a little faith. We can do this.” I said ecstatically.

          He smiled down at me. “Okay, okay. Inshallah, you will get it open. Happy?”

          “Yes, very.” I responded with a smile mirroring his. Rafiq’s smile quickly turned to a frown.

          “But where exactly did you disappear off to?” He questioned in slight annoyance. The look he was aiming at me was no nonsense. I tried to play it off.

          “Did you get taller?” I questioned, reaching up to touch his messy brown hair. He sort of flicked my hand away and gave me a hard look.

          “Don’t change the subject. Where did you go while I was in the shower?” He snapped. I had to think quickly. Rafiq was great at spotting lies, a lot better than any normal human being should be.

          “I went to the diner to get lunch. I told you I was hungry.” I snapped back, trying to hide the fact that I was completely guilty of doing something I had no business doing.

          “If it was just lunch, why couldn’t you have waited fifteen minutes?” Rafiq asked, not buying my bull crap.

          “Ugh,” I groaned, shoving the French fries from the diner into his hands. “Some things in this world can’t be explained Rafiq. I was craving diner food and I’m not praying. You know how grumpy I get when I have cravings for stuff and I’m not praying! Sorry for trying to spare you my transformation into a she-wolf.”

          An awkward look passed over his face. His cheeks were tinted pink. “I um,” He coughed, clearing his throat several times and looking at the stone surrounding us. “I didn’t know you weren’t praying. Do you…um need anything?” Why does mentioning you’re on your period always make guys give up every argument? I would’ve laughed if I could.

          “No, now I don’t. If I did you’d just yell at me some more!” I shouted dramaticly, wiping away bogus tears. Rafiq looked totally panicked. I was being overly dramatic of course but he didn’t know it. He placed an awkward hand to my shoulder.

          “I’m sorry! God, what is wrong with you women? You, Juwayrah, and Ummi act the exact same way during your ‘time of the month’.” He groaned in an annoyed desperation for me to shut up. “What do you want? I’ll go to the store and get it.”

          I dropped my hands from over my face and looked up at him with a grin. “I want dulce de leche ice cream, dill pickle chips, and a Sprite please.”

          He gave me a long, calculating look. “You were faking just now, weren’t you?”

          “Are you insinuating-” I gasped but he cut me off.

          “OH GOD, JUST FORGET I SAID ANYTHING!” He groaned quite loudly before stomping up the stairs back to the street level. “I’ll be back. Go inside and don’t get into any more trouble.”

          “Okay! Be back soon.” I called after him and tried not to giggle. I’d done that to Zayan all the time. My poor brothers were such awkward ducklings. There are perks to being a woman. Haha. I inhaled sharply all of a sudden as I felt a deep pain in my abdomen. Ow…cramps.

          Okay perks and pains.

          * * *

          I stood in front of my locker for a long time the following Monday. I was lost in thought and the excitement over the necklace had almost completely died down. I had been working on opening it and it hadn’t worked out so far. I knew for sure that I was doing something incorrectly. I glared at the top of my half empty locker with unnecessary viciousness. All of Cole’s things were gone. His books, his thick notepads, his plans, and even his trash were swept clean from the locker. And to add to that, my favorite Qur’an was missing. Besides the missing Qur’an, my things were the same as they’d always been, stacked in a rush and forced inside the cramped confinements of what had once been a shelf.

          I was sad, I’ll admit. I was sad because he was gone.

          I shut the locker finally and turned to head off to my first class. I was stopped dead in my tracks by the sight of four girls entering the front doors of the school. Aimee was at the lead, walking as if a runway was underneath her feet. I grimaced as I watched her. Then I caught sight of her posse. At first I just saw the usual two, Angela and Ashley. When I saw a blonde head emerge from behind Ashley, I felt my stomach flip. Charice fell right into place beside the burgundy haired girl, Angela. Her blonde hair was curled and pinned to the side over one shoulder. Her makeup was a lot more pronounced and her clothes were different, a lot tighter and shorter. My heart dropped. I thought there was a chance we could work this out. After seeing her with them, I officially decided that I could never forgive her.

          They walked down the hall, straight towards where I stood. I clenched my jaw trying not to cry as Charice’s eyes met mine. Her expression dropped and she let her gaze fall to the ground. I felt red hot anger boiling in my chest. How could she do this to me? “What the hell?” I heard someone whisper behind me. I immediately recognized the voice. It was Jade and her tone was less than amused. “What is going on?” I heard her ask me.

          I slammed my locker shut and turned to walk away. “Daleela,” Aimee called in a sing song voice. I kept walking, ignoring her. My breathing sped up as my anger continued to boil hotter and hotter. I felt a strong hand grab me. I prayed that it was Rafiq.

          It was not.

          “My girlfriend is talking to you,” Erik murmured, pinning my hands behind my back. “You’re coming with us. We need to have a quiet little conversation behind the school.”

          I winced, my eyes watering at the pain of him twisting my arms. People watched him abuse me and did nothing to help. Cowards, I thought bitterly. “Erik, I’m asking you nicely, before I thoroughly kick your ass, to take your filthy hands off of me.” I responded, a calm anger searing in my voice.

          Aimee and her crew were getting closer and I was getting even more pissed with every passing second. Erik cackled loudly as people literally froze in their actions to look our way. “If you think you can kick my ass, you’re sadly mistaken.”

          “If you think I can’t, you’re the one sadly mistaken.” I snapped, my fists clenched behind my back. “I’m being very nice right now. I’ll give you three seconds to release me. One…”

          “This b---- seriously thinks she can hurt me.”

          “Two…” I muttered, ignoring his condescending tone.

          “Whatever,” He huffed, not acknowledging my threat.

          “Three!” I shouted, ripping my arms from his grasp. I spun out of his reach and then drew my leg back before kicking him in the shin as hard as I possibly could. Just like Cole told me in training, Erik howled in pain and leaned down to grab his shin.

          After he grabs for his shin, use that as an opportunity to knee him in the face, I heard Cole’s voice say in the back of my mind.

          I went a little further with Cole’s directions. I grabbed Erik by the hair and kneed him in the neck. As he fell backwards, I grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, balled my fist, and punched him in the nose. Blood started pouring from his nose and only then did I let him go. My fist was a nasty mess of smeared blood. I backed away as he rolled on the ground holding his face. I felt a terrible satisfaction seeing him lying there at my mercy. I’d finally used the skills I’d learned for a true purpose. I felt powerful.

          “What is going on?” My history teacher shouted from the distance. I knew that thick southern accent anywhere. He was the only teacher in the school that didn’t own a New York or New Jersey accent.

          I kept my face neutral as the teacher approached the scene. Teens were peeking out of doorways and others whispered and pointed to Erik, explaining what had just happened to newcomers. I stood there, alone, just no longer caring what anyone else thought. I did what I had to do and no one could tell me otherwise. If you throw rocks at a lion, yo’ ass is gonna get bit. I didn’t regret punching Erik and they wouldn’t make me regret it. It’d felt amazing and I would relish in it for as long as I could.

          My history teacher helped Erik up from the ground and I watched, un-amused. “What happened here?” He questioned, enraged at me for whatever reason.

          “She just started beating on my boyfriend, that’s what happened!” Aimee shrieked, running to Erik. She placed her hand on his arm and he yanked away in embarrassment, holding his head back to stop the blood.

          “Why would you hit this poor boy for no reason?” The teacher asked, gazing at me in disgust. I resisted the urge to give him the same look. Poor boy? Seriously dude?

          “He was harassing me. I defended myself…sir.” I replied in an even tone.

          “I saw everything!” Jade shouted, pushing past people to get to my side. She stood beside me breathless, her long, thick hair sitting wildly on her head and her dark skin glistening with a light sheen of sweat. “He had her arms pinned behind her back and was feeling her up.”

          I looked over at Jade in surprise. I grabbed her arm lightly. “What are you doing? You don’t have to get involved.” I whispered. She shook her head.

          “Don’t even think about pushing me out of it now. I’m tired of him getting away with everything.” She snapped lightly. I let her go, understanding what she meant.

          “I saw it too,” The boy with blue hair from my history class said. I looked at him in surprise and he gave me a half smile. I was too shocked to say or do anything. “He was roughing her up and she exercised her right of self-defense.”

          “You’re all liars!” Aimee howled in defense of Erik. I wished she would just shut the heck up.

          “All of you, to the principal’s office now!” My history teacher hissed before muttering under his breath. “I don’t know what is wrong with you city kids.”

          We were all taken to the principal’s office. We included me, Jade, Aimee, Erik, the blue haired boy, and to my utter dismay, Charice. Rafiq was probably in class somewhere, just hearing about the fight. The closer we got to the principal’s office, the more a strange nervousness started to build up within me. It wasn’t because I was finally realizing what a mistake it was to punch Erik the way I had. It was because they’d probably call my parents.

          The principal called Erik and I inside and I tried to stay neutral to the situation at hand. I was sticking to my story of self-defense because that is what it had been: self-defense. I sat in one seat while Erik sat in other, holding a cloth to his bleeding nose. I could feel his glare bearing through my skull and for some reason it made me want to smile. Of course, I didn’t smile. Instead, I held a hand over my mouth to cover the grin sprouting up there.

          When we were both seated, the principal sighed. He was a light brown haired man with handsome hazel eyes. He had soft wrinkles on his forehead, as if he’d dealt with problems like these his whole life. I looked at the name plate on his desk. Perry Washington: the name did not suit him. It was funny I hadn’t even thought to learn my principal’s name after being here so long. “Now tell me from the beginning what happened.” Mr. Washington said in a clipped tone. When Erik sat up to speak, he held up a hand to silence him and then gestured for me to speak. I saw Erik glaring at the principal from the corner of my eye. “Go on child, tell me what happened.”

          I cleared my throat, sat up straighter, and looked the principal in the eyes so he’d know I spoke no lies. “I was walking down the hallway, heading to my first class, and his girlfriend was calling me. I didn’t respond to her because she is not a person who treats me kindly. Anyway, he grabbed me and pinned my arms behind me in an attempt to force me to answer Aimee or in other words his girlfriend. He’d already gone too far by putting his hands on me. I tried to solve the matter peacefully by giving him a chance to release me. He did not. So I did what I had to do and broke free of his hold. I’m sorry the situation took such a violent route Mr. Washington but my parents taught me that defending myself against a dangerous person is not a crime, especially if they’ve taken it upon themselves to put their hands on me.” I breathed, finally ending my lengthy recount of the story.

          “That is true Daleela but you know that violence is prohibited here, is it not?” He asked me quietly. I nodded in understanding.

          “I’ll take whatever punishment you address to me even though I don’t think I’ve committed any wrong today.” I said with the utmost respect. The principal looked at me for a long while, assessing me, before turning to Erik.

          “Now, I want you to be honest with me Erik. What happened?” Mr. Washington asked him. Erik looked like a cornered dog but he quickly pulled himself together.

          “Well she obviously hit me for no reason! Look at my face!” Erik shouted, nearly rising out of his seat.

          “Erik! Don’t you dare raise your voice at me, do you understand? I’m not your friend, I am your principal and I will not tolerate such disrespect.” He growled at him. “Now, is that all you have to say about what happened?”

          Erik had an ugly grimace on his face as he stayed silent for a moment. “I was only kidding around with her when I pinned her hands behind her. She took it seriously and all hell broke loose. It was a joke. The girl has problems. I don’t know if she’s being beaten at home or not but maybe that’s what makes her so defensive.” Erik stated, smirking at me. I gripped my chair tightly.

          “It’s amazing how well you speak out of your butt Erik.” I murmured, glaring at a random spot on the desk in front of me. All of a sudden, I let out a scream as I was being yanked of my seat.

          “I dare you to say that again you little b----.” He growled. The smell of his hot breath made me want to puke.

          “Put her down right now!” Mr. Washington shouted in panic. I whimpered in pain as Erik squeezed my arm tightly.

          “You just proved m-my point that you’re guilty of harassing me.” I managed to say in a whisper. Erik’s blue eyes turned dark with anger before he roughly released me. I hit the chair behind me and fell to the floor.

          “Get out of my office, now!” The principal bellowed. The secretary came rushing in. He soaked in the scene before him.

          “What the-” He started but was interrupted.

          “Keep this boy outside until his father comes. See to it that someone watches him closely. Call the school guard if you have to.” He commanded, making his way to me. The principal tried to help me rise from the floor. I stood up on my own and told him that I was fine so I wouldn’t have to make unnecessary contact. Gladly, he didn’t take offense. “Take down their names and send everyone else to their classes, I’ll question them later.”

          “Yes Mr. Washington,” The secretary said before scurrying outside with Erik in tow. Erik looked back at me and said three simple words: “You’re dead Lewis.”

          The way he said it made a shiver run through me. It wasn’t just a threat, nothing as simple as that. It was an absolute promise. Somehow, someway, one of these days…he’d try to hurt me badly. I was more afraid of the fact that I could not predict his actions than the fact that he would hurt me. I sat back down and the principal returned to his seat as well.

          “Are you okay young lady?” He asked me softly. I nodded slowly and tried to swallow but my throat was abnormally dry. “Your parents are on their way here.”

          “Am I in a lot of trouble?” I asked, biting my lip nervously. So far I’d kept my parents out of this craziness but now they were on their way here. It set an alarm off within me.

          “No, I just want to talk with them briefly.” He sighed deeply, massaging his temples. “Most of your teachers tell me you’re a good student who doesn’t retaliate unless you’re being bothered. Even then I hear you have an unbelievable amount of patience. I also remember that Erik was the same person who’d taken off your headscarf and tried to do really bad things to you.” I looked at the rug beneath my feet as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

          “I couldn’t do much back then because the incident happened off of school grounds.” He continued, not completely oblivious to the awkward air I was putting off. “I’m very sorry we couldn’t do anything. I definitely don’t allow this type of thing to happen, not in my school. However recently, your friend Jade has reported to me several incidents where Erik has harassed you on school grounds. I’ve known Erik since he first arrived here and he’s had an unbelievable history of lying. He’s also been bullying kids for years but I could never catch him in the act. The kids he’d bullied were too afraid to speak up. I think you’re my proof and I’m going to need the truth from you. Do you think you can be honest with me?”

          My hands shook in my lap as I fought myself mentally. Do I tell him and risk making Erik even angrier? I didn’t want anyone I cared about to be in danger. It would break my heart to pieces if someone got hurt because I spoke up. Then again, it would kill me to know that they got hurt because I didn’t speak up. My heart, as well as my mind, could not come to make a choice. So, I forced myself to do it. I forced myself to tell him because apparently, he was the only sane adult in this school who didn’t adore Erik and knew the truth about him. I couldn’t possibly piss Erik off any more than he already was.

          But he could hurt Ummi next, I thought with clenched fists. And then Zayna, Noor, Zayan, or Rafiq.

          “If I tell you, Mr. Washington, can you make sure it doesn’t get out that I was the one who told you?” I asked quietly. I was scared. After what had just happened to Abi…it was painful to imagine what could happen next.

          “I will keep your identity, as well anyone else who has something to say against him, a secret.” He replied and when he saw the worried look on my face, he continued. “I’ve always been one to keep the confidentiality of my students safe. You can trust that I’ll do everything in my power, even if that means keeping information from my staff.”

          He tried to sound as reassuring as he could but nothing could stay truly confidential. Not when Erik had taken so many under his wing. “Alright, I’ll tell you what I know.” I said, finally looking up at him.

          “Good,” Mr. Washington commended me. “Excellent! Do you want to wait until your parents arrive?”

          “No!” I responded with alarm. I had to force myself to calm down again. “I’m sorry; I would just prefer that I tell them in private. My parents don’t take kindly to people hurting me or any of their kids for that matter.” I mumbled, my heart racing a little.

          “That’s…perfectly fine.” He agreed, looking me over worriedly. “Just be sure you tell them everything as well.”

          “I will.” I replied. One of these days, I added mentally.

          “Okay,” He said, pulling a notepad out and then folding his hands on top of his desk. “Shall we get started?”

          I closed my eyes and nodded somberly.

          * * *

          I walked out of the principal’s office feeling regretful. As I walked out, Erik was smirking evilly as if he knew everything that had went on inside the office. I’d told the principal a lot of things. I hadn’t mentioned a lot of key points like the fact that Cole was majorly involved in certain events. I also didn’t mention the fact that Erik was involved in my father’s accident. I had no proof of that. I did mention him threatening my life on more than one account as well as the safety of my family.

          I’d gotten a pass from two classes fortunately enough. I walked to the girl’s bathroom with jelly-like steps. When I got inside, all I could do was stumble over to the sink and wash Erik’s dried blood from my hands. I didn’t feel the same liberation I’d felt earlier. Now I felt sick to my stomach. It felt like I had the nastiest stuff on earth drying onto my skin. I scrubbed at the blood with soap and warm water with eagerness. I wanted it off of me and luckily enough, it was not on my clothes or at least not from what I could see.

          I heard sobbing from one of the brown stalls behind me. I turned slowly, shutting off the water and drying my hands. “Hello?” I called out, my voice echoing. No response came. I followed the direction of the sobs to the last stall in the bathroom. I knocked softly. “Are you okay in there?” I asked gently. I heard a few sniffles and some shuffling around.

          “I’m fine,” A shaky voice responded. “Leave me alone.”

          Wait, I recognized that voice. I knew it from somewhere…except the last time I’d heard it, the voice had been a lot stronger. “M-Mariam?” I asked, very unsure of myself. There was no answer. “It is you, isn’t it? It’s me, Daleela. Are you okay?”

          After a few seconds the stall door opened and Mariam was standing in front of me. I looked her over in shock. Her belly wasn’t big yet but you could tell it was there. That wasn’t what surprised me though. It was the dark tear streaks on her cheeks and the baby pink scarf that was wrapped around her head wildly. I could see her dark wavy hair peeking out from underneath it. When she saw me standing there she started crying again. “I can’t do this.” She cried, pointing to the scarf and then her clothes, which were if I might add, a lot looser than they used to be.

          “I don’t understand. Tell me what happened.” I said, taking her hand in mine gently. Even though Mariam has done some very un-Muslim-like things in her past, she was still the only other Muslim in this school besides Rafiq and I. I was still willing to help her, as long as she was willing to help herself. Although she was crying her eyes out, she did look like she’d been trying to help herself. Sometimes it takes us making our biggest mistakes to realize what’s right and what’s wrong. At least she was trying to figure that out.

          “I’m just having a really bad day. “ She whispered, wiping her eyes and squeezing my hand lightly. “I decided to put on this stupid scarf for the first time today and all of my friends were being so…mean. Do you know what they said to me? ‘Putting on a scarf and loose clothes won’t change the fact that you’re a slut Mariam.’ And it’s true. I’ve always disrespected myself and now they’re treating me this way because of it. No scarf in this world is going to change this.” Mariam shouted angrily, pointing to her stomach. I shook my head trying to ward off her previous words.

          “No Mariam, you are not any of those things.” I said with a fierce sense of care. “You’re a beautiful, intelligent, Muslim girl who made a few really big mistakes. Forget all of those people. What they say doesn’t matter. Did you ask Allah’s forgiveness?”

          She nodded, as pearl sized tears fell from her round brown eyes. “Then they can’t say anything to you. You’ve asked God’s forgiveness and you’re trying to become a better person. All of those people picking on you only hate you because they see that you’re trying to be better and do better. May Allah guide them and if not, screw them. They suck and they aren’t worth your time or attention.” I finished, breathing deeply.

          Mariam looked me in the eyes and she was not crying as hard as before. “Even my parents don’t want me to wear the hijab. My father thinks I’m dishonoring the hijab as an act of worship.” She said and it scared me that she believed it. I could see it in her eyes.

          “That is not true. I can’t believe he would say that.” I muttered, hugging her to me. I knew we weren’t close but she just looked like she needed it. “Doing what Allah commanded, even under your circumstances, is not wrong and your parents should support the fact that you’re trying be a better Muslim.”

          I pulled away and took her hand again. I pulled her to the sinks and then proceeded to collect some paper towels to clean her face. I wet them and set to work on the task at hand. She watched me in silence before finally saying something. “You’re a good person. Even after how I treated you when you first came, you care about me more than my own family. May Allah bless you. May he shower you in glory, giving you the beauty in this life and the hereafter.”

          I could tell she meant every word. I could also tell that she had changed so much. “Thank you,” I replied with a smile. “I wish the same for you. May Allah protect your baby as well and make him, or her, a righteous Muslim.”

          She smiled softly but sadly. “That’s all I could ever hope for.” Mariam sighed. “I don’t want my child to go wrong in all the ways that I have. That’s what I’m most afraid of. I’m afraid I’ll raise a child like me.”

          “Everyone has to learn certain things along the way. This is one of those things.” I assured her, wiping away the rest of the eyeliner marks. “You’re bringing another generation into this world. Raising a child is no joke. But if you really put your heart into it, inshallah you’ll have very few troubles.”

          “Maybe you’re right, maybe I can do this.” She said, trying to motivate herself.

          “Of course you can,” I said, patting her shoulder. “Now, what do you say I help you with this scarf business, hmm?”

          “Yeah, you can probably tell that I really couldn’t figure out how to put it on.” She admitted with a laugh of embarrassment.

          I took the pink scarf off of her head and placed it over my shoulder, then combed her hair into a low bun with my fingers. After her hair was smoothed back completely, I started wrapping the scarf for her. “What’d I tell you? We have to learn certain things over time.” I repeated with a smile. She smiled back through the mirror as I placed the last pin in her hijab. “Would you look at that? You’re absolutely beautiful both with and without hijab mashallah. But faith is an age old beauty secret if I do say so myself.”

          “Thank you,” She said, turning around to look me in the eye.

          “It was nothing-” I tried to say but she stopped me mid-sentence.

          “No I mean it Daleela,” She said, biting her lips as she tried not to cry. “You’ve done so much for me by doing so little and I’ll never forget that. No one has ever cared enough to put this much effort towards me. You barely know me yet you make me feel like I’m somebody, you know?”

          “Aww, Mariam. I’m just being a good friend.” I claimed with a grin. “Everyone deserves to have one good friend in their life.”

          “Friend? You still want to be my friend?” She asked, as if she really couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

          “Of course, I told you that if you needed me you could always come to me. That’s Daleela terms for; we can be besties if you’re up for it.” I declared with a chuckle. She looked at me and smiled once more.

          “You know, you’ve really got to me. You made me want to understand my reason for being here, alive and breathing.” She admitted, the smile never leaving her face. “I’ve started praying again because I understand that I don’t just pray so I won’t end up in hell. I pray because Allah is merciful and he listens to me. I pray because only he can solve my problems and give me the right answers to them. I’ve even broken up with my boyfriend in an attempt to better myself for me and this child. He’s backed off a lot and has also been understanding of the reason I’m being this way. I don’t know if Jackson will ever be Muslim but he likes the change in me. He told me so. It has taken me a long time to realize that I don’t have to be Muslim to please my parents or anyone else. I can be Muslim because I want to be Muslim. I can be Muslim because it is the one thing that is getting me through this. I’ve finally chosen Islam for myself and I want to follow through with it.”

          I could feel my eyes prickling with tears as I listened to her. “Mariam, I am so proud of you. I honestly never would have thought to see you change so much.” I laughed with happy tears.

          “To tell you the truth…me either.” She laughed in return.

          We talked for a little while longer and exchanged numbers before she hurried off to class. She had an extra pep in her step and I liked that. I wanted her to be happy. We all deserve happiness if we have what it takes to fight hard for it. I really believe that.

          I left the bathroom, my bag slung over my shoulder. I’d almost forgotten about Erik…almost. As I was walking I heard footsteps behind me. I kept walking, trying not to be paranoid. “Daleela, wait!” A female voice yelled. I stopped walking and turned to look. When I saw who it was, the pain was instant. “Can I talk to you for a second?” She asked. At first I didn’t know what to do or how I should react. I wanted to be diplomatic. I’d planned to be diplomatic about this but that’s not always an easy option.

          “No thank you Charice,” I snapped and continued walking. I felt her grab me, turning me to face her. I yanked my arm away angrily. “Don’t touch me. Don’t you dare put your hands on me!” I choked, my heart clenching painfully. Charice looked shock. Yeah, so much for being diplomatic.

          “Give me a chance to explain why I was with Aimee today.” She begged, reaching out to me. I snatched away again.

          “You think this is about Aimee,” I said in utter disbelief. I was breathing hard as I shook my head slowly. “That’s total BS. I think you know exactly why I’m pissed off. I can’t believe you have the nerve to act like you don’t know.” I muttered in an exasperated tone.

          Charice’s face changed and she knew the game was up. She knew that she couldn’t play her way out of this one. “Daleela, I had no choice. None…I had to do it.” She sputtered quickly.

          “You had no choice?” I scoffed, throwing my bag onto the ground. “Everyone has a choice! You could’ve told me that something was wrong. You could have told me!” I shouted, my voice breaking. She looked so broken over the fact that I was screaming at her but I didn’t care. I’d held this in for four days and I was going to let it out.

          “Daleela, you have to believe me.” Charice said quietly. “You have to. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I didn’t know he would do that to your dad. You know how evil Erik is. You know what they do.”

          “I have to believe you?” I snapped, stalking toward her. She took a timid step back. “You obviously don’t remember me trusting you the whole time you were acting like a total jerk to Jade and me. I believed you when everyone else doubted you. Come to find out that all the while I was watching your back, you had no one’s back but your own.”

         “I didn’t know!” She exclaimed, breathing just as hard as I was.

          “You didn’t know?” I repeated lamely. She shook her head. I pulled my phone out and dialed my father’s number. The phone rang, echoing through the empty hall. “You didn’t know huh?” I asked, yanking her purse from her shoulder. I opened it and started going through it as she watched me, horrified.

          “No,’ Charice whispered.

          “You know Char, my dad told us a funny story.” I fumed as I ransacked her bag. Sure enough, I found my father’s phone at the bottom of it. I dropped her purse on the ground, its contents spilling onto the floor. I held the phone up to her face. “He told us that someone stole his phone right after the accident. But I’m sure you knew that already, right Char?”

          “I used it to call the ambulance.” She said but her voice betrayed the fact that she was lying.

          “You’re talking about 911? You called 911?” I asked, my jaw clenching.

          “Yeah,” She said in a very small voice.

          “Then why isn’t it in the call history?” I demanded, showing her the phone. She shook her head, tears falling from her eyes.

          “Daleela-”

          “Please just shut up,” I said quietly, unable to take anymore of her lies. “I don’t want to hate you anymore than I do right now so please, just shut the hell up.” I muttered, cold tears trailing over my cheeks. No words could express how hurt I was. I tried to hide my shock and pain over the fact that my dad’s phone had actually been with her. I had prayed that I was being presumptuous but I was right.

          “There is no reason you can give to justify you trying to hurt my father. He’s my dad and I’ll only ever have one dad.” I cried, wiping my face with the back of my hand. “I just can’t wrap my mind around the fact that you were okay with taking away one of the few people I care about in this world so readily. If you cared about me, I mean really cared…the thought of betraying me would have never crossed your mind. You would have fought a lot harder.”

          I turned to walk away and again she grabbed me. “Daleela please, Aimee had nude pictures of me that I sent to one of my past boyfriends! I couldn’t let them get out. Please just try to hear me out for a minute! You’re not letting me tell my side of the story!” She sobbed. I looked at her for a long moment, the tears suddenly dry in my eyes, before peeling her hands off of me coldly. Her arms dropped to her sides in defeat.

          “I really wish you hadn’t told me that. I really wish you hadn’t.” I replied, the cold feeling in my heart echoing in my words. “You’re basically telling me that your social reputation is more important than my father’s life. I can’t tell you how disgusted I feel by that.” I said sharply. Her mouth fell open slightly and she looked as if I’d sliced her in half. “I could have helped you get those pictures back. I would have done everything it took to help you. Why? Because that is what friends do. But that doesn’t matter now since we are no longer friends in my book. You have a nice life Charice and if you can help it, stay out of my sight.”

          I turned then and walked down the hallway. This time Charice did not attempt to stop me. And if she had, I probably would have fallen apart. It scared me how much hate had its claws around my heart now. I’d never hated anyone until I’d gotten here.

          Erik.

 

          Aimee.

 

          Charice…

          I couldn’t stand any of them. But the fact that I hated Charice didn’t stop me from crouching on the floor and forcing myself to cry quietly as soon as I was out of Charice’s sight. I’d lost a friend, a person I cared about a tremendous deal. Even though I’d said all those things, it didn’t numb the hurt that I felt from such a loss. My soul wept and no matter how hard I tried to stop the tears, they would not cease. After a time, I finally found it in myself to stand. I’d had my good cry and now it was time to suck it up again. I had business to take care of and a necklace to get open. But all of that aside, I came to one conclusion as I picked myself up, gathered all of the broken pieces of me, and put them back in place.

          This would be the first and last time I shed tears over Charice O’paul.

          * * *

          Discussing what had happened with Erik to my parents was hard work. They had a lot of questions and there were a lot of them that I had to avoid answering completely. Did I feel like an enormous pile of dog crap for lying to them? Yes, yes I did. However until I could guarantee their safety, lying to them was the best way to keep them alive and well. I prayed that Allah forgave me every single day. The guilt sometimes ate me up alive. I knew I would feel so much better when all of this was over.

          After I’d explained the reason I had punched Erik in the face, my parents looked sort of…impressed. My dad was pissed at Erik of course. He’d already wanted to kill the boy when he’d taken off my hijab and now I could tell he was on his last straw. As usual, the only thing that held him back was my mother’s soft reassurance, although I knew for sure she was angry too. Ummi had told Abi that he was of no use to his family sitting in a jail cell somewhere for beating a teenage boy half to death. Abi cooled down after about four hours and I know that may seem like a ridiculously long time to be angry but my father has never played around when it came to his girls. It was reassuring to know that my father had my back forever and always. They both did.

          Rafiq had expectantly been outraged when he had caught ahold of the news that I’d been in a fight. After he had the chance to cool off, I told him what happened. When I finished the story he’d been grinning so widely that I couldn’t help but do the same. Rafiq has that adorable, I’m a total dork, type of grin that just makes it impossible not to grin back. “So you kicked him, kneed him, and hit him square in the face?” He asked me for the fourth time.

          “Ugh, yes Raf.” I replied in annoyance, although I couldn’t help but feel a little exhilarated. Rafiq gave me a sideways hug.

          “I wish I had been there,” He’d murmured, wiping his tears from laughing. After we’d had our good laugh, a somber mood settled over us. We both knew that Erik wouldn’t take this lightly. He wouldn’t sit back and say that he deserved it. He would do everything he could to hurt me. Nothing was safe anymore. I wasn’t safe anymore.

          I hadn’t told anyone about Charice. Jade didn’t know but she was already upset over the fact that Charice was suddenly part of Aimee’s little group. I wouldn’t tell her until I was ready. I didn’t want to be biased in telling what happened, I wanted to tell her the right way. I’d thought of sending her straight to Charice but that seemed petty because I would have only done it to spite her. So for now, I’d stay quiet when it came to telling Jade. On the other hand, I had to tell Rafiq. I promised to be honest with him and I do sincerely hate breaking promises.

          So I told him. He was furious about what she’d done but at the same time I could tell he felt really bad for me. He kissed the side of my head through my scarf and told me that these things happen. I played the whole situation off by laughing and shrugging and telling him I was okay. Being my childhood best friend, as well as the boy who nursed from the same mother as me, he knew me well. I was far from okay. But Rafiq being the kind of guy he is, understood that I just really didn’t want to linger on it. What had happened, happened. You cry, you mope, and then you get over it. That’s just the way it is.

          Rafiq and I spent our time in the mall with permission from my parents. We didn’t shop; Rafiq hates that just as much as Zayan. We mainly hung out and ate dinner at one of the buffet restaurants inside right after he’d picked me up from work. When we finally left Kings Plaza mall, I was stuffed. The food was great. We got on the bus to get home. Mashallah, it was only two miles from the mall. We sat at the back of the bus talking and laughing. I caught a woman smiling at us and I couldn’t help but smile back. She returned to minding her own business soon after. When we finally made it to our stop, I was so sleepy and achy. Then the aches and exhaustion were suddenly on the back burner because I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that Clover hadn’t been at the day care for at least three days. It worried me sick.

          Rafiq and I got off of the bus with relief. It was getting even more crowded on that thing with every stop. We walked side by side under the dark city sky, our hands stuck inside our pockets because of the cold. We would have to walk three and a half blocks in order to get home. We stayed silent on the way but it was a comfortable and much needed silence. We were both stuck inside our own thoughts. I was working out another way to interpret the instructions for opening the necklace when my phone rang. I stopped walking, slipping my phone out of my pocket.

          Unknown Number

          I stared down at the phone, my brows knitting together. Rafiq looked back at me in confusion. “What’s wrong?” He asked casually. “Why aren’t you answering the phone?”

          “Nothing,” I replied before attempting to calm myself. Was it him? It couldn’t be. He only texts me, he never calls. I pressed the talk button out of plain curiosity. “Hello,”

          Sure enough that same deep voice answered me. “Daleela, you’re in danger.” He informed me, as if he were telling me the weather.

          “Yes I know, I’m always in danger.” I muttered, watching Rafiq watch me closely. He made a face at my words.

          “No, I mean there are three men following you and your brother right now.” He snapped urgently.

          “Wha-” I started, about to turn and see.

          “Don’t look, they’ll only hide. Pretend you don’t know anything. Grab your brother’s arm and keep walking.” He insisted. I knew better than to not take the threat of danger seriously so I grabbed Rafiq’s arm, the phone still pressed against my ear, and started walking again. “Good job. Cross the street now!”

          I dragged Rafiq along with me as we crossed the street. “Daleela, this isn’t the way to the house.” Raf protested, wondering what the hell I was doing. I kept looking straight ahead, waiting for the next direction.

          “Just trust me.” I whispered, squeezing his arm lightly. “Be ready to run Rafiq.”

          Rafiq looked alarmed and confused but I couldn’t explain yet. I had to be sure we were safe first. “Daleela, are you there?” The man asked through the phone.

          “Yes,” I replied, my breathing unsteady.

          “Twelve feet ahead of you, there’ll be an alley on your left. Enter it and hide behind the dumpsters. When I tell you to run, run to the alley.” He said, whispering now. I held Rafiq tightly as I waited for the sign to run. He was walking a lot faster now and nearly surpassing my urgent pace. I could see the alley entrance way now. “Run!” He shouted and I clasped Rafiq’s hand, taking off.

          I could hear them now. Their breathing was loud and their running steps heavy. I pretended that we were running straight then cut left into the alley as suddenly as I could. I pulled Rafiq behind a nearby dumpster. We faced each other, crouching on the dirty ground, our hearts racing. I kept the phone against my ear. I raised my index finger slowly and placed it against my lips. My eyes communicated that this was serious but he had understood that much earlier.

          “No…no!” Aiken’s friend said through the phone. I wanted to ask what was wrong but I could hear the men coming into the alley. “More are coming in on the other side of the alley. Damn it!” He shouted through the receiver. My mouth dropped and I slowly lowered the phone from my face. I looked up at Rafiq and he was trying to read my expression.

          I felt tears well in my eyes as the footsteps got closer to our hiding spot. “They went this way. I’m sure of it.” A husky man’s voice said. I clutched Rafiq’s arm tightly, trying to convey the fact that I’d messed up and I was sorry. If only it were that simple.

          “I don’t understand why we have to take orders from that little Howard bastard anyway. We work for his father and the little punk pisses me off the way he is always talking down at us.” A guy with a thick Irish accent mumbled.

          “We get paid for this sh—so I wouldn’t be one to complain Thirteen.” Another said. I was literally shaking from head to toe and that’s when it happened. I was yanked from my hiding place. I tried to hang onto Rafiq but he was being yanked away too. I screamed so loudly that my throat burned.

          “Would you look at this Nine, we found our little mouse.” The man with the Irish accent muttered.

          “Where’s the boy?” The man called Nine snapped. Two new men stepped out of the shadows holding Rafiq by his hair. My brother winced but the anger at seeing them holding me overpowered his discomfort. Rafiq spat in one guys face and punched the other one. He’d pulled a knife off of one of the men somehow and pointed it at one of the three guys standing around me.

          “Get your filthy hands off of my sister or I’ll kill you.” Rafiq growled, his eyes swirling with anger.

          Nine laughed darkly, looking Rafiq over in amusement. “Guess you’re going to have to kill me kid.” He hissed before grabbing my shoulder tightly and pushing me to the ground roughly. Rafiq threw the knife in his hand perfectly, nailing the man in the shoulder. Nine looked down at the knife in his shoulder with a grin. He pulled the knife out without a grunt and threw it to the ground. I gasped, looking at the man in horror. He’d just pulled a freaking knife out of his shoulder like it was a splinter. Who the hell does that? “You’re going to have to do a lot better than that if you want to kill me boy.”

          The leader snapped his fingers and before I could comprehend what was happening, another man stepped out of the shadows and knocked Rafiq across the head. He fell to the ground, unconscious. “Rafiq!” I cried out, reaching for him. They lifted me from the ground in a vice grip, causing me to lose against their brute strength. Tears filled my eyes as one guy grabbed Rafiq, his body limp, and prepared to choke him out.

          “Stop,” Nine growled.

          “But boss,” The man said stupidly. “He saw our faces.”

          “Bring him, don’t kill him here.” The leader snapped, glaring down at his comrade. “Does this look like the proper place to deal with him? The cops would be all over it.”

          “You can take me,” I murmured, staring at Rafiq’s still body in shock. “Not him. He doesn’t know anything and he won’t remember your faces, it’s too dark. Just leave him and I’ll come peacefully.”

          They all turned to me, surprised at the sound of my very feminine voice, and then began to cackle loudly. “Grab her and bag her,” The leader said before turning to walk away.

          “No!” I screamed as they grabbed my arms.

          “Shut her up,” Another muttered angrily. “I can’t stand when b----es scream.”

          Before I knew it, a dirty rag was being tied into my mouth and the world went blacker than it already had been. They’d put something over my head. I kicked and punched, trying to break free and only earned a hard slap across the head. It made my dark world spin in a sea of stars. Then the sound of breaking glass met my ears. It was close, near my feet. “Who’s there?” One of the men shouted. I tried to listen closely. Breathing, there was plenty of that going on. I moved my feet forward and felt glass under them. The man holding my left side yanked me violently and I stumbled. Another glass broke nearby and I panicked, trying to back away.

          “Find out who it is now!” Someone shouted. I could hear at most, three pairs of feet taking off.

          Crack!

          A gun went off somewhere close by, the hands that bound me lost their grip, and I did the first thing I could think of; I dropped to my stomach. The sound deafened me and my heart hammered in my chest. The sound rattled within me before my ears met dead silence once more. I was going to die.

          Crack! Crack!

          Two more gunshots sounded off. I pulled off the black bag that had been over my head and untied the gag in my mouth. When that was over and done with, I crawled over to the slump on the ground that was Rafiq, crying. “Raf,” I whispered, shaking him. “Please wake up! We have to get out of here.”

          I tried my best to lift him off the ground as the sound of big men fighting met my ears. I strained as he slumped against my side and tried to start walking. I barely got two feet before his weight caused me to fall to the ground once more. I felt a pain in my leg as it hit the concrete. I was afraid to move it and when I finally did, I was relieved to find out that any damage was minor.

               I realized it was quiet now, so I stayed still and tried to listen in the pitch black darkness.

          All of a sudden a nearby street light flickered on, illuminating the alleyway. I gasped at what I saw. All of the men that had surrounded us were on the ground, some groaning, others dead silent. About twelve feet ahead of me, a tall man in all black stood there with a gun in his hand. My heart dropped as the person started walking toward me. I grabbed a pipe off the ground nearby and stood in front of Rafiq defensively. “Don’t move!” I shouted loudly, my heart feeling as if it were about to pop out of my chest and run in the opposite direction. “W-who are you? I-I don’t want any trouble. I just want to go home.” I stuttered, unable to stop the sob from ripping free at the end of my last sentence.

          The man stopped and slowly placed the gun on the ground. He held his hands up by his head in surrender. “Daleela it’s me, Aiken’s friend from the diner.” That recognizably unique, smooth as velvet voice, let me know it was truly him. I let out a shaky sigh of relief, allowing the pipe to drop to the ground. He picked the gun back up, unloaded it, ran forward, and dropped to the ground beside Rafiq.

          “Did you just kill those men?” I asked, my voice shaking hard. He looked up at me, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses and partial darkness.

          “No. The shots I fired weren’t lethal. I shot two of them in the foot and one in the knee cap. The rest, I knocked out in the confusion.” He replied quietly, returning his attention to my brother. I saw him feeling Raf’s neck for a pulse and checking his breathing. All of a sudden, he looked extremely familiar.

          “Were…were you at my winter dance?” I asked in disbelief. He stopped what he was doing but didn’t turn to look at me. That was answer enough for me. “You were, weren’t you? You were the man that gave Charice CPR.”

          “Yeah,” He finally muttered, shining a flashlight on Rafiq’s scalp. “Your brother will be fine. He’ll wake up in no time. But we need to get out of here.” He said, looking around while lifting Rafiq over his shoulder with a grunt.

          “Thank you for saving Char,” I said as we walked, trying to see his face as we made our way to the opposite end of the alley. “Although I’m still kind of freaked as to why you’ve been following me. I’m pretty sure that’s called stalking buddy.”

          He stopped walking and turned to look at me. The light shined fully on his face now. I gasped, my hands involuntarily covering my mouth. “I wasn’t following you kid, I was following Cole.”

          “Y-you’re,” I started, pointing to his scar. “Mr. Black!”

          He sighed, a smile playing on his lips. Then he laughed aloud and I looked on at him in bewilderment. “Let me let you in on a little secret,” Mr. Black murmured with a grin. “I’m nameless at the moment and Mr. Black is definitely not my name.”

          “Well, who the bleep are you then?” I snapped, looking at him incredulously. Before he could respond a black Camaro pulled up in front of us. The driver window came down and inside was an olive skinned woman donned in a black hijab. She smiled at me and I stared at her in confusion, lifting an awkward hand in greeting.

          “I see you and your brother have the same taste in women,” She said jokingly, looking up at Mr. Black…or whoever he was.

          “What?” I asked, looking at both of them in confusion.

          “Nothing,” He muttered and opened the door to the backseat, placing Rafiq inside. I climbed in after my brother. Mr. Black ran around to the other side of the car and got into the passenger seat. “Assalamu Alaikum,”

          “Wa alaikum assalam,” She replied and they kissed briefly before she began to drive. I noticed she kept looking back at me through the rear view mirror before she finally spoke. “My name is Badriyah. I’m this crazy man’s wife.”

          “I’m Daleela,” I murmured, staring at the back of Mr. Black’s head. “Does your crazy husband have a real name by chance?”

          Mr. Black glared out the window as his wife smiled lightly. “I guess you could say he’s named after a ghost.”

          I made a face at her words. “What is it, Casper or something?” I asked sarcastically, tired of them beating around the bush. I saw the Muslimah crack a small smile.

          “Badriyah,” Mr. Black said in warning.

          “At least the girl deserves to know, even if you can’t tell the rest of them. After all, you’re the one that involved her. She deserves to know.” Badriyah argued. We were parked a little ways from my house now. They both looked at each other for a long while before Mr. Black sighed deeply.

          “Alright, okay I get it.” He growled, wiping a hand over his face. He turned on the car light above his head and pulled down his sun visor in order to use the mirror. I looked at his face through the mirror in curiosity. As usual I saw his dark sunglasses and deep slash-like scar. “Daleela, I lied to you. I’m not…I’m not a friend of Aiken’s.” He finally muttered.

          “What do you mean?” I said, my hand on the door handle, preparing to run. Then I looked down at Rafiq’s unconscious body and groaned inwardly. Where the heck was I going to go? “I trusted you.”

          “I know, let me explain.” He said quietly. I watched him through the mirror as he took his shades off. Brown eyes met my own. Finally I was seeing this man’s full face. The scar that ran up his cheek did go all the way up to the outer corner of his eye. But that’s not where my interest was. The features of his face were so familiar it was insane. Certain things about his appearance weren’t allowing me to remember who he was. The black hair and brown eyes didn’t fit somehow. But I had seen him; I knew for sure I had seen him. “There may be some things you won’t get immediately.”

          “I don’t understand,” I whispered, shaking my head. All of a sudden, he was holding one of his eyes open and grabbing something out of it. I was about to freak out at how strange it looked but then I realized they were just contacts. When Mr. Black looked up again, he wasn’t Mr. Black. I held back a gasp at the sight of breathtaking green eyes with bright gold flecks staring at me. I knew right then who he was. I was literally seeing a ghost. “There’s no way…it’s not possible. You’re-”

          “Dead,” He said, somberly finishing my sentence. “It’s only by Allah’s will that I’m still alive. I should be dead but I guess it wasn’t my time to go.”

          “You’re really him,” I said in disbelief. It took me a long minute to really believe it. I’d had a feeling that maybe it was possible but I’d let it go as being ridiculous. Suddenly, a bright smile spread across my face. “You’re really Aiken!” I sniffed, unable to contain my joy. I was at the point of tears, I was so freaking relieved. “We all thought you were dead. Cole was devastated and he’s completely gone off the rocker now. And Rafiq has missed you so much. When you disappeared, he was just so sad. They’re going to be so happy to see you.”

          I noticed Aiken and Badriyah exchanging a very sad look. “Daleela,” They said in unison.

          “What is it?” I asked, looking back and forth between them.

          Aiken Brackson turned around to look at me, his green eyes very serious. “There’s a reason I haven’t shown my face to them and I’m pretty sure you know that.” He said with a depressed look in his eyes. “You cannot tell my brother or Rafiq anything about me. As far as you know, I am still dead.”

          I stared at them for a minute, letting Aiken’s words sink in. I felt tears stinging in my eyes. “No, you don’t understand. Cole needs this. He needs to see your face, now more than ever.” I sputtered, trying to make him see reason. “He’s basically gone crazy because your psycho mom has made him believe things about himself that aren’t true. You’re the only one who can fix him. You have to help him because I can’t stand seeing him like this!”

          “You think I can?” He shouted at me, his voice breaking. I jumped at the rise in his voice. Rafiq stirred but did not wake up. Aiken’s eyes cut to him with a short longing regret. His wife held his hand tightly, trying to calm him. “I have watched them from afar for almost a year Daleela. You think I haven’t thought about revealing myself to Cole and saving him from the situation he’s in?”

          “Why can’t you just do it? He’ll understand you leaving if that’s what you’re afraid of.” I sniffed, wiping my eyes. “You’re literally all he has left. I don’t get why you’d continue to hide like this. It makes no sense.”

          “They tried to kill me and they think they succeeded. That’s the greatest advantage I could ever achieve Daleela. You think that if I tell Cole I’m alive, everything will be wonderful but it won’t. I’ve watched Jim Howards’ people trail my brother for months now. They watch his every move to assure that he doesn’t spill the beans about their illegal operations. If I were to start appearing around Cole, they wouldn’t know who I was at first. Then they would get an inkling of suspicion and start investigating me. Before you know it, they’d figure out who I am and kill both me and Cole out of fear that I’ll ruin it all. I can’t let that happen. No, I won’t let it happen.”

          As I listened to him, I could feel every ounce of love Aiken held for his younger brother oozing from his tone. It pained him more than me to see his family so torn apart, yet here I was acting like I had the right to tell him what was best for his family’s wellbeing. “I don’t understand why they want to kill you so badly.” I murmured, looking down at my hands. “I get that you have information they don’t want you having but it just seems like there is more.”

          “That’s because there is a lot more to this.” Aiken confirmed with a sigh. “I’m pretty sure you know by now how unfaithful my mom can be, even to her own children.” I nodded awkwardly in response. “My father was an artist and the CEO of a multimillion dollar interior design company. He made most of his money abroad. He was almost unrealistically famous in his craft and a lot of wealthy people loved his work. Even though my father made so much money, we lived a very middle class life. And although my father doted on her and gave her everything she wanted, my mother hated the fact that my father refused to spend his money as if he made how much he did in income. She didn’t like the idea that he was always saving majority of our money. The thing was that my father knew he was sick for a long time and he was secretly treating his illness behind our backs. He had a fund set for each of us that we’d be allotted when we turned twenty one. He even had one for my mother for after he…passed. When my father was in the last months of his life, he found out she was having an affair with his best friend. It tore him apart to know that while he was dying in a hospital, she was out seeing the town and enjoying Jim’s wealth.”

          I listened quietly as he went on with the story. I’d always been curious and now Cole’s brother was finally telling me what I wanted to know. “So, when my dad found out. He took all the money from all of her accounts and distributed it between Cole and me. A few days before he died, he told me what was going on. He told me about the money we would receive and he also told me to always be good to my mother even after all she’d done. But he made me promise not to allow her to manipulate the money he’d left me. So after my father died, my mother played the part of the mourning widow even though we all knew she probably didn’t care. She got married to Jim Howards a few months later.”

          “They enjoyed their money and she always left me to take care of my siblings. Erik used to torment Cole and one day I slapped him around a little bit and told him to keep his hands off my brother. Long story short Erik told Jim and Jim beat me, finally revealing his violent side. Of course my mom kept Cole in the dark about it. Just like my dad warned, she tried to manipulate him and make him do whatever she wanted. She needed him to be naïve. Then the kicker came in. Jim Howards went bankrupt. My mom, being as crazy about him as she was, found out about our funds through a lawyer and they’ve been trying to make grabs at my money. My own mother went as far as allowing him to ‘do whatever was necessary’ to get the money. So Jim framed me for a murder he committed and I went into hiding. Some of my dad’s closest friends got me to Europe but somehow Jim got wind of that news two years later.”

          “So that’s when he sent them to kill you. That’s why you left Rafiq so suddenly?” I whispered, finally seeing how crazy all of this really was.

          “Yes,” Aiken said quietly. “I had to leave Rafiq. I couldn’t drag him into the mess I was in. I couldn’t allow another one of my little brothers to get hurt. I left my necklace with him because I knew he’d keep it safe.”

          He glanced at my brother briefly before looking back at me. “How did you survive?” I asked out of plain awe.

          “They beat me, shot me, and threw me in a river thinking they were rid of me for good. I just made du’aa and tried my best to keep from drowning.” Aiken reminisced before looking at his wife keenly. “Some fishermen found me and rushed me to the hospital. I kept thinking, why have I not died yet? Why am I still alive? And that’s when Badriyah was called to do surgery on me. I don’t know how she did it but she saved me. Every doctor in there thought for sure I’d die on the operating table. They didn’t know that my future wife was so brilliant and strong willed, not to mention the fact that she had a higher power on her side alhamdullilah. When I woke up, she was right there in her blue hijab grinning at me with a beautiful white smile. I thought she was so strange at the time. But during my days of recuperation, she made things comfortable for me and brought me Islamic books when she found out I was a new Muslim. She was my light in a time when I lost everything. I fell in love with her and told her about everything going on in my life. She still wanted to marry me anyway.”

          “That’s unbelievable.” I responded in amazement. They both nodded and smiled slightly.

          “We’ve been watching out for my brothers and my little sister from a distance. But somehow we ended up looking out for you too. When I found out Rafiq was friends with Cole, you could imagine how astounded I was. I thought I’d never see that little runt again.” Aiken said in a strangely affectionate tone. I couldn’t help but smile a little. “He’s a good kid. I’m glad to know he’s doing alright without me.”

          I stared down at Rafiq. He was sprawled across the seat messily. I prayed he would just wake up all of a sudden and see Aiken sitting in the front seat. That would make his year and it would make mine to see him that happy. Sadly, Rafiq did not wake up and it didn’t look like he would for a little while. “When will you tell them? I don’t know if I can keep a secret like this from them.”

          “I promise you, I’m almost there. This will be over soon and I’ll tell them everything from beginning to end. I just have to fix this. My father left it up to me to make everything right and I will. Even if it kills me, I’ll make this right.” He promised me, his eyes painfully sincere. “I want you to know that I never intended to involve you in this. It was literally the last thing to cross my mind and I know it’s wrong to ask this of you. You’re just a child Daleela…but you’re my last hope. You’re my little brother’s last hope.”

          I looked at him in deep confusion. “I…I don’t understand what you want me to do exactly.” I replied in distress, biting my bottom lip anxiously. “I don’t mind helping you but I really don’t see how I’m useful at all.”

          “The necklace, have you opened it yet?” Aiken asked, although he seemed to know the answer.

          “No…other things have been preoccupying my mind. And it’s been too difficult to open every time I’ve tried to follow your directions.” I mumbled, kind of embarrassed.

          “The drive on the necklace is very important. I left it with Rafiq when Howards’ people came for me in Europe for a reason. There is incriminating documents on that drive that can possibly put Jim and his son in jail for a very long time. After he went bankrupt, he did anything and everything to get money. I already know Cole has enough evidence to put Erik away. I have all the evidence needed to win the law’s favor but Jim Howard’s older brother is a senator. Just like Jim will do anything to keep Erik out of the public eye with his antics, the senator will do anything to keep his brother’s misdemeanors out of the public eye. All I need is for you to do one thing so I can set the trap.” Aiken explained, his green eyes nervous.

          “What?” I asked, not liking the look in his eyes.

          “I need you to take this,” He began, holding up a little chip. “-and plant it into Jim Howards’ phone.”

          I looked at him for a second, dumbfounded. “You want me to what?” I questioned, mortified. There was no way, absolutely no way, I could do that. Jim Howards was the scariest man I’d ever met in my life and yet Aiken expected me to just slip his cell phone off of him somehow? I couldn’t do it. Even if I tried, the man would be able to tell something was up by the way I wouldn’t be able to stop shaking. I couldn’t do it.

          “Daleela,” Aiken sighed. My phone chimed and I jumped at the sound. It was a text message from my mother.

          Are you and Rafiq home yet? Your father took me out on a surprise date mashallah. I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you and Rafiq.

 

          I stared at the phone blankly and slowly my eyes began to burn. My parents were so oblivious to what I was doing behind their backs. I was in a car with two strangers and my unconscious brother for God’s sake! I sucked back my emotions and replied to my mother’s message, clearing my dry throat.

          Don’t worry. We’re home safe and sound. Rafiq fell asleep as soon as we got in and I think I’m about to hit the hay myself inshallah.

 

          I pressed send and then looked up at Aiken. “I’ll do it.” I whispered, regret already pooling in the pit of my stomach. “I just want all of this to be over…”

          Aiken’s face lit up with hope. “You don’t have to worry. He’ll keep you safe.” Badriyah added with encouragement. I nodded, not feeling the least bit encouraged.

          Aiken smirked with a new light in his eyes that reminded me so much of Cole. “So here’s what we’ll do…”

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Assalamu Alaikum & Hello!

Okay so I know you guys are really impatient with me taking so long to upload and I’m sorry. I wish I could replay everything that has happened to me in the past month so you all could see why this took forever and a day to finish. I’m really disappointed in myself because I had planned to be finish with this story by this month. However life has given me a hard punch back into reality. School really sucks for me right now and I have one more month left so I’m really just trying to do well and pass these stupid classes. I’m just exhausted as always and I don’t even have time to rant about it to release my pent up frustrations. But anyway, to my new fans, dudes and dudettes, I have a life outside wattpad and I really wish I could upload every few days but that’s obviously impossible. I thank you guys for enjoying my story and wanting faster uploads but please have patience. I’m just one person, you know?

On a happy note, I’ve hit 3,000 votes and almost 500 fans mashallah. I cannot express my gratitude except through this way, giving you a chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I absolutely love how almost all of you had suspicions about Aiken being alive. You know I couldn’t kill off a Brackson bro for good ;D

Tell me what you liked by commenting below. Heck tell me what you hated too!

And if you don’t like commenting (which I hope you do lol) don’t forget to at least vote if you enjoyed it.

Vote! Vote! Vote!

Thank you!

Sincerely,

The author of this book, Jameelah L.

~PurityInMyHeart

P.S. If you have personally messaged me, I’m so sorry for not being able to respond. I know about thirty of you have asked me to check out your stories and I have actually written the names of your stories down. I do plan on reading them but spare time is so far and in between for me. I was supposed to read them over my spring break but my mom ended up having an unexpected surgery and she needed me around the house. I promise I will read them as soon as I can and thank you for the dedications, I was really touched by them.

Shoutout: Amirasayid asks that you guys check out her story inshallah. Thank You!