"Aaaaaah!" Maleeha screamed as she jumped up on the hotel's cheap bed. "Get away from me! Get away from me!" she yelled in fear, repeatedly.
Hearing her screams, Zaakir rushed out of the bathroom only wearing his pyjama pants and surveyed the room trying to assess the danger she was in. His eyes scanned the room just to come up with nothing. "What are you screaming for?" he questioned her irritably. "I thought someone was trying to kill you." Not that I would mind, he thought, but then he realised that he actually would mind. He grew accustomed to her annoying presence. But it truly went deeper than that, Islamically he was taught to be a generous and thoughtful person.
Maleeha ignored his jibe at her, she even ignored his sarcasm and mean words. Her fear went far deeper than her dislike for him. Her skin flushed at the thought of that thing being near to her. Her heart was beating an unsteady rhythm against her chest, frighteningly fast she was caught in a net of fear that gripped her so tightly that she could not think straight. "Zaakir watch out! It is right behind you!" she said fear palpable in her voice.
That haunting sound of its stick-like feet hitting the wall behind Zaakir only furthered her fear of it. Each tap-tap sound embedded itself deeply into her brain, replaying the sound over and over to torture her.
"What?" Zaakir asked as he turned around. His eyes followed the sound that was obvious in the room with them and it landed on a cockroach that was quite the biggest he had seen. With a yelp, he jumped in the bed next to Maleeha and as she tottered unsteadily, she grabbed onto him. He held her waist tightly an eyed the little critter with hatred he had never felt before.
The offending cockroach was at least seven and a half centimetres long and roughly one centimetre wide and it was moving at an astoundingly fast pace up the wall.
"I hate those things!" Zaakir said angrily.
"M-me too!" Maleeha stuttered. "Is there any bug spray?" she asked as she held his bare back in a tensed grip.
"No, there isn't," he answered her civilly.
"There is no broom here either," she said upset, yet the fear never left her voice. The bug disappeared for a minute and Maleeha's heart started beating even faster. It was one thing to be looking at the annoying critter, yet it was completely another thing altogether when it hid. "We have to call room service, or maintenance, or something!" she said irritable.
"Go get dressed," he told her as he unwound his arms from her waist, but yet held onto her hand as he helped her down from the bed. "I'll call them in the meantime."
She nodded and grabbed the closest thing to her, which happened to be her abaya and deep maroon scarf. Walking into the small bathroom she splashed water on her face, then frowned at her reflection as most of it landed on her chest area of her t-shirt. "Such foolery, those stupid adverts promote senseless lies," she muttered angrily. It was her fault she had even attempted to copy their idiotic methods of advertising.
Once she threw her abaya over her pyjamas and tied her scarf neatly, she walked out of the bathroom to find Zaakir looking at her expectantly. "We are getting a new room as an apology. Get your things, we'll move as soon as someone comes," he told her emotionlessly.
She grabbed her things and shoved them into the bag and looked at him to find him already in a jeans and a t-shirt that matched her scarf. Before she could make a wise crack, simultaneously they both heard the horrifying sound of the critter that terrorised them and then the sound of someone knocking on the door. "Come in!" Zaakir yelled as he made Maleeha stand behind him, conveniently hiding her from the man that entered as well as the cockroach.
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Okay, so the promised sneak peek is up! Please do vote and comment and let me know what you think? Hate it? Love it? Did you laugh? Are you excited? I am! I can't wait to write this story!