Rafas pov
Mikhail stopped the car with an odd expression on his face. The day's worth of facial hair had thickened within the time span and I couldn't help but admire how it framed his face. His hair fell into his eyes and he ran a hand through it slowly and kept it on the back of his head as he looked over at me and said, "this is apparently where he called from."
I stopped looking at him and blinked trying to see through the snowed up windows. We were on open road, no cars to be seen anywhere, after all nobody sane would travel in this weather. "Maybe he was going down this road and picked up." I said as Mikhail activated the windshield wipers and slowly rolled over to the side of the road.
The sky had thickened with storm clouds of what seemed like an upcoming blizzard, the only flakes we could see however were the ones that happened to fall in front of the headlights. I caught Mikhail's emerald eyes as he looked at me with a worried expression. "I'm going to call him, if he picks up I'll try to find the location again but if he doesn't we'll figure something out."
I started stringing my fingers out hoping he would pick up. We were in a car with the heater at max and still shivering. I had given Mikhail his jacket back and he had it zipped up all the way while his teeth still chattered from time to time. If Raif was out in this weather he'd probably be more frozen than a Popsicle.
"My brothers a nutcase," I said as Mikhail dialled in the number again. He solemnly nodded before throwing his phone into his lap in frustration. "My battery died." He mumbled looking away.
"Well no duh, you've been playing on it for ages." I said crossing my arms over my chest. "I've been driving for your information."
"Before that you dumbo." I scowled rubbing my cheeks and loosening my scarf, there was no one else here and Mikhail already saw my hair.
"What are you trying to say?" He questioned turning his body towards me with a glare on his face. I raised my eyebrows and shrugged, "nothing."
"Are you implying that I've done nothing to find Raif because that's what it sure sounds like." He accused scrunching his eyebrows at me.
I gave him a perplexed look, completely baffled at where this sudden anger came from. "I never said that Mikhail calm down."
He rolled his eyes and turned away placing his head in his hands. I could tell that he was more worried about Raif than me but I didn't know how to comfort him.
"Look, how about we find some place to stay and then we can look in his journa--"
"No Rafa you don't get it! My father expects me to be home in a few days, if I'm not there all of hell will break loose he's going to take it out on me he's going to de- he's goi-.." Mikhail suddenly started breathing rapidly, his forehead tensed up and his hands tightened.
"Mikhail, " I said as he pushed his head against the steering wheel . He suddenly started mumbling incoherent things, and I realized he couldn't even hear me. I gently grabbed his hand and tried to turn him towards me but he pushed me off him and got out of the car, into the snow.
I quickly rushed out of my door and around the car and towards him, he was walking back and forth on the road pulling at his hair and shivering. "Mikhail stop, come here!" I yelled over the rush of the wind, pulling him towards the front of the car so any cars passing by wouldn't hit him.
He still continued panicking in my arms and I quickly wrapped them around him, pushing my head into his neck. "Nothing's going to happen Mikhail, calm down."
"How do you know that." He mumbled stilling and I gave a sigh of relief not letting go, instead I pushed myself up against him harder. He wrapped his own arms around my waist and breathed hard onto my neck, I gave a light shiver as his wisp of hot air travelled down my spine before whispering, "because I'm here for you."
He suddenly let go and took two steps away from me. He shook his head and said, "don't lie." I took a step forward but he put his hand out stopping me, "no, don't..lets go," he said before getting into the jeep. I looked down at my feet before going over to my side.
I turned to him in the car, my mouth slipping open but when no words came out I turned back. He put the car in drive and slowly rolled onto the road again. "I wasn't lying." I mumbled and he tilted his head towards me before staring out onto the road in front of him again.
"Mikhail I care ab--" his phone started blaring and I looked at it in confusion, didn't he say it died? The name on the screen was Mahra and I turned to stare out the window. "It receives calls from others but doesn't do anything else when dead." Mikhail mumbled and I looked at him as he picked the call up.
"Hey," he said into the phone clearing his throat to make it lighter. I looked at my hands in my lap not wanting to seem like I was hearing and clinging onto any word he said, even though that's what I was doing. I wanted to do know who this Mahra girl was. I let the subject go last time but now my curiousness was high.
"Uh yeah I'm trying t- no no I'll be there." He said. A light voice came from the other end but I couldn't catch what she said, usually Mikhail is strict about phoning while driving and puts it on speaker but he didn't seem to want to right now which threw me off a bit.
"No I won't," he mumbled into the phone and I caught him glancing at me before looking back at the road. I gestured for me to hold his phone to his ear but he shook his head and switched it to his other hand.
"Yeah I know," he said suddenly giving a laugh and my face fell.
If this girl could make Mikhail laugh so easily; after he was in the worst mood possible, she must be really special. But what he said next brightened my spirits up, "huh? Oh Rafa my cat, uhm no I can't send a pic but she's gorgeous, her fur is the most silkiest and soft, it's different colours, weird I know."
I blushed as he winked at me. His words were starting to affect me when before I'd get mad at him for saying the corniest things. Maybe it's the cold. My father said that when you're cold your emotions are all over the place. My mother had rolled her eyes at him and had told him to be quiet. So he could've been right but the look my mother gave him made it seem as if he made it up. Right now I was counting on it being right.
Mikhail was my best friend and apart from our so called marriage that made him my legal husband he was nothing else. But why my anger was heating up as he cracked jokes with the girl over the phone was unknown to me.
"My phones in overdrive right now so I'll talk to you some other time okay?" He said into it and I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding.
"Yeah...yeah, bye, Asalam Alai-" he looked at the phone, "no Salam eh." He mumbled before throwing the flashing red phone back onto his lap.
We drove in silence, him in his own thoughts while I was contemplating if I should ask about who she was again or continue what I was saying before. Which was basically me explaining how I cared about him because he was one good friend and I meant when I said I'd always be there for him. Every problem I've went through in my life, Raif and Mikhail have helped me through.
When my teacher was criticizing me about my hijab, Raif contacted the school board while Mikhail sent death threats to that teacher and 'accidentally' ran into him with his bike.
When those two guys blackmailed me so I could do their homework (ww1 people that's the easiest), Raif tried to talk with them: most of the talk included inspirational quotes. When that didn't work and Raif warned them one last time, Mikhail beat 'em up.
And last year when those girls threatened me because they thought I was 'stealing' Mikhail and Raif (my own brother for goodness sakes) from them. Raif didn't do anything other than laughing and saying, "which ones? Let me see if they're hot or not" but Mikhail had said, "if they threaten you again just say you have every right over me because I'm the love of your life." And surprisingly when I had stuttered that (very awkwardly) when they once again cornered me in the bathroom, it worked. They scowled and left me alone.
"Why are you so quiet?" Mikhail asked as we rolled off the highway and stopped at a red light. It could barely be seen by the heavy snowfall but maybe that's why they made it bright red. I shrugged and he continued, "what were you saying before?"
I blinked for a couple seconds before shaking my head, "nothing of importance." He looked me over before clearing his throat and looking forward again.
---------
"Who's Mahra?" I asked as I sat on the edge of the bed. It was getting late and we decided that Raif is probably somewhere near because his journal had shown a road that was curved over a hill and rounded a bend, he had written the name of the place beside it but it was so rushed that we couldn't make it out. Mikhail had drove us past that road though and didn't notice until I had pointed it out.
That's where he agreed with me to find a place to rest for the night. He had been driving all day I didn't know how he had it within him to keep driving.
"What?" He said turning away from fussing with his charger and looking at me, I rocked my feet back and fourth. The bed was high yet smaller than the one in the cabin. Mikhail suggested that he could get me another room if I wanted but I had declined, I didn't want to be alone.
"Who's Mahra?" I repeated and he sighed shaking his head and sitting on the small sofa beside the socket where his phone was plugged in. He didn't make eye contact and remained silent so I whined, "Mikhail tell mee."
"Don't whine princess my head hurts." He said putting his phone down and leaning back on the sofa.
"Then tell me who she is," I said getting grumpy, if she was nobody as he had said the last time then why couldn't he just explain who she was to him.
He peaked through his fingers at me before covering them again and remaining silent. I growled as I turned away from and walked towards the dressing table. I took my scarf off and saw him uncovering his eyes through the mirror. Rolling my eyes I let my hair unravel and combed it out. Mikhail suddenly got up from the couch.
"Can I braid it!" He said like a little kid, coming up behind me, I glared at him, my hair wasn't long enough to be braided properly but I didn't say that instead I said, "not until you tell me who Mahra is."
"She's my father's friends daughter, her father is a loyal shareholder of my father's company. There happy?" He said taking a couple more steps towards me. I leaned back against the dresser as he placed his palms around me flat on the wood. But I shook my head stubbornly, "that's not enough information, you were sharing jokes with he--"
"Only to keep her entertained so my dad doesn't get mad." He said grouchily before putting his head on my shoulder, I felt the heat of his head and awkwardly stood, "my head hurts princess."
I pushed his head up and felt his forehead, "you're hot." I mumbled as he placed his arms around me again, caging me between the dresser, he drowsily smirked and said, "I know, thanks."
I rolled my eyes chuckling before turning him around and leading him towards the bathroom. "Go get ready for bed, you need sleep and warmth or else you'll be in full fever stage tomorrow morning." He lazily saluted at me before going in and closing the door after him. I took the time to quickly change into my own pjs, which consisted of a black t-shirt and leggings. I had already prayed Isha (fifth prayer of the day, the night time one) and washed up in the bathroom.
I zipped up my backpack and turned on my phone, seeing billions upon billions of missed calls from my mother and uncle Laith who texted me continuous times to not be haram. I closed it after getting a laugh or two from them.
Mikhail sluggishly walked out and was in nothing but sweats. I looked him up and down before saying Astaghfirullah but then I remembered he was my husband and I could stare, so I then said MashAllah 'cuz woah..
This exactly proved one of my reasons for getting married before going on this expedition, imagine the sins I'd be committing if we weren't married, my uncle Laith would've made me write fifty essays on them. Although my mother told me that when he was younger he had the hugest crush on my Aunty Zermeen and was very haram before marriage.
"Tuck me in!" Mikhail called out from the bed and I got up from the sofa, he had his eyes closed and I'm glad he didn't comment on me staring- "Stop staring princess,"- I thought too soon.
"Pfft there's nothin to stare at." I scoffed as I turned off the lights leaving the little lamp on the far corner on because I hated sleeping in the dark. "Yeah sure." Mikhail mumbled.
I rolled my eyes with a cheeky grin before grabbing the comforter and flapping it up and over him, I gave his forehead another feel and he held my hand there, "I like you playing nurse." I chuckled and said, "don't get so used to it, I'm only doing this because I need you--"
"To find Raif," he said and I smiled. "No I wasn't going to say that."
He let my hand go and I crawled over him to get to my side, I used the extra pillows to set a border but before I could place the last one Mikhail leaned over and said, "then what were you going to say?"
"I need you to buy me food." I said and he chuckled rolling his eyes. "Lies," he mumbled and I blushed not saying anything before placing the pillow and laying down.
Mikhail sneezed and started coughing, "this is why you don't go panicking out in the snow dumbo." I mumbled, leaning over and grabbing a water bottle from my side table and passing it over to him. He took a few gulps before getting one pillow from our barrier and placing it under his head.
"I'm cold." He said and I sighed getting up and looking in the small closet the motel had to see if they had spare blankets but Mikhail stopped me and mumbled something. I leaned closer to hear what he said and he repeated what he was trying to say, "I need human warmth."
"What do you want me to do about that? Get the receptionist in here?" I said sarcastically and laid back down on my side of the bed.
"Rafa," Mikhail whined and I sighed.
"Wear your shirt Mikhail," I mumbled, I felt him moving around and putting it on before tucking himself deeper into his pillow.
A few minutes later he was peacefully snoring and I let out a sigh about to go to sleep myself, but then I saw how even under the huge comforter he was shivering slightly. I bit my lip in sympathy. It wasn't cold in the room but he was starting to show symptoms of a fever and feeling all your nerves cold was the worst. He was actually right when he said he needed human warmth, no blanket could warm the insides up as much as the blood of a fellow mammal.
His hair fell into his eyes and I pushed it back before slowly moving closer to his shivering form, he gave a shudder and I wrapped my arms around his waist placing my leg over his two pretending he was a teddy bear. That made me feel less awkward.
But when I felt his lips form a smile against my forehead and his arm moved to wrap around my own waist, his shivering calmed down and I felt a little less awkward and a lot more warm. On the outside and inside.
-------------------------
*cries as she wishes she was Rafa*