It was Saturday morning and Cassie decided to come to my house as well as visit her mom, while she was here. It had been five days since I moved out of the apartment, I didn't want to tell anyone why I had left for a while because they would see Nathaniel in a different light. Adam and my dad were still unaware of the fact I was pregnant, I can't tell if they'd freak out or party. Having my mom by my side right now was the most important thing because I was struggling to look after myself and this baby.
"I don't understand why you just didn't come stay with me." Cassie says putting a spoonful of froyo in her mouth.
I roll my eyes. "Because I'd be literally next door of him? How is he going to miss me and want me if I'm like literally next door." I say shaking my head.
"Yeah but now you're a whole hour away from me and from school." Cassie huffs.
"With the bus, yeah, but Adam gave me his old car, so it's like forty-five minutes." I say feeling happy about the fact I had my own car finally.
Cassie groans pushing her froyo aside and looks at me. "Have you spoken to him yet?"
I shrug. "No." I murmur. "He hasn't messaged me at all, you'd think he would even say 'are you alright' or 'did you get home safe'." I say rolling my eyes.
"I haven't seen him at all, I haven't even heard the doors being open or closed." Cassie says shaking her head. "It's like he's not even in the apartment, I can't hear a peep from there." Cassie says sounding concerned.
"You think he's alright?" I ask. "I want to message him but then I don't want to at the same time." I shrug. "'cause that kind of defeats the purpose of me trying to make him win me back."
"I messaged him, but the message hasn't even sent. I'm guessing his phone is turned off." Cassie says. "And this was a couple of days ago."
I shake my head. "Let's stop thinking about him, if he really wants me he'll fight for me." I say with a tight smile, trying to convince myself Nathaniel wasn't going to give up on me.
"Right, so I need to tell you something so important!" Cassie says with a wide smile looking flustered.
"Go on..." I say slowly.
"Jacob messaged me again." She says with a grin.
My smile fades and turns into a neutral expression. "Really?"
"I know he was a jerk for leaving me like that, but I think he really wants to try this whole long distance thing." Cassie says shrugging while grabbing her phone.
"Here." She says passing me her phone and a text message from Jacob which she hasn't responded to yet.
"Hi Cassie, I know it's been a while and I know I left without even trying with you. But I seriously miss you and haven't been able to stop thinking about you throughout the whole summer, I think we should give our relationship another go. What do you say?" I read the text message out loud in a dry tone.
"Really? That's the best he could do?" I say raising my eyebrows at her. "He wasn't even being cute or saying how he still loved you." I shake my head. "Honestly, you can do so much better, Duke is full of handsome sweet guys who would be perfect for you, who's close to home you know?" I say rubbing her shoulders.
Cassie huffs. "I don't know Asi, I just really love him." Cassie murmurs.
"Maybe you don't, maybe you just miss the things you guys did and how you were, I'm sure if you moved on, found someone new you'd totally forget about him." I say reassuringly.
"Are you sure Asi?" She asks.
"It's up to you, I just think you deserve someone who knows your worth, someone that isn't afraid of bumps along the way, someone that'll never doubt your relationship."
Cassie nods her head. "You're right Asi, I do deserve better." She murmurs. "I think I'm not going to reply to him." Cassie nods to herself.
I smile. "You know I heard there's a little party going on in the campus area in the arcade?" I say with a devious smile.
"Party? Since when did you like parties?" Cassie says furrowing her eyebrows in suspicion.
I laugh. "I haven't gone rogue now that I am no longer with Nathaniel, but I could always play in the arcade with Tobias or alone, while you go and do your thing." I say with a grin.
"My thing?"
"Yeah like go find someone Cassie, forget about Jacob." I say nodding my head supportively.
Cassie's nods excitedly. "Right but first let's go downstairs and you can maybe make me a coffee..." Cassie says with a sly smile, biting down on her lips.
I nodded getting up slowly, but when I realise what she was saying I immediately freeze. "YOU want to go down for my brother!" I squeal. "Ya nasty." I laugh, walking out of my room.
"No, I swear it's not because of him." Cassie says in an extremely unbelievable tone, giggling while she skips down the stairs.
I roll my eyes walking into the kitchen. Adam was sitting down having a sandwich, it was only half past one in the afternoon. Cassie takes a seat opposite Adam while I bring out the coffee and milk.
"How's college, Adam?" Cassie asks Adam.
Adam puts his sandwich down and smiles at Cassie. "Great. What about you? How's first year treating you?" Adam asks.
"Great." Cassie says with a small smile. "I see you around sometime, in campus." Cassie says eyeing my brother up while he eats. "We should hang out sometime." Cassie says with a flushed smile.
I roll my eyes. Adam was busy eating his sandwich that he didn't even realise Cassie was melting in front of him. "Yeah that'd be cool." Adam says as he gets up from the seat and places the plates in the sink. "Asi, tell mama I left alright." Adam says, pulling me into a side hug and pecking the side of my head.
"Alright and bye Adam." I say with a smile going to the table with Cassie's coffee while Adam leaves the house.
"Ergh why didn't he kiss me before leaving?" Cassie huffs like a child.
I laugh cringing my face. "Ew." I shake my head. "You're literally drooling for my brother in front of me and him!" I say chuckling.
"I was not drooling!" Cassie objects. "I was merely appreciating." Cassie says with a tight smile nodding to herself.
"Yeah whatever, we'll leave for the party at seven?" I say cleaning the dishes in the sink.
Cassie nods taking a sip from her cup. "Yep, it starts at six so we leave at seven." She says nodding to herself. "What are you going to wear?" She asks looking down at her current outfit.
I shrug. "My regular clothes. I'm going there to chill like I would if I were at home, you, on the other hand, is going to party." I say wriggling my eyebrows.
Cassie laughs. "You're right. Is Tobias on board?" Cassie asks.
I nod. "Yeah, I think he's going to bring his girlfriend too." I say with a cheeky smile. "I wonder if Nathan would be there." I say rolling my eyes. Although I could never see Nathan in such an environment, who knows with the way he's been acting recently.
"Imagine he turns up with Sam." Cassie says squirming. "I'd kill him and her." She says nodding in approval.
"Not if I get to them first." I say with a bitter laugh.
***
It was almost eight o clock and the arcade was packed with people, most people were playing on the games and nobody actually partying. Maybe college parties weren't as wild as everyone said it was. Me and Cassie walk over to the pool table area where we told Tobias we would meet him.
"You excited?" I ask Cassie.
"For our first college party?" She raises her eyebrows. "Hell yeah." She shrieks excitedly over the loud music. I laugh nodding to her, I wish we were all that excited. In all honesty, I slightly regretted taking a break from Nathaniel, missing him was an understatement.
"Oh look, Tobias is there." I say pointing ahead of us. Tobias was hand in hand with Leila, his girlfriend.
"Damn Leila is beautiful." Cassie says quietly, loud enough for me to hear. She really was, she had pitch black hair that stopped just above her shoulders. She had a grunge look going on in comparison to Tobias, who wore a baby blue shirt and denim shorts.
"Asi! Cassie!" Tobias says excitedly walking towards us with a beaming smile.
We mirror his smile. "Hey Tobias!" We reply excitedly.
"Girls, this is Leila my beautiful little lady as you all know." Tobias says with a warm smile looking at his girlfriend. "Leila my love, this is Aasia and Cassie." Tobias points at each of us.
"Hey Leila, nice to meet you." I say warmly.
"Hey!" Cassie says cheerfully. "Love those boots." Cassie says pointing at Leila's Dr Martens.
Leila laughs. "Thank you." She says in a blushed tone. "It's nice to meet you guys too!" She says mirroring our tone. "So who's going to be partying here?" She asks.
"Me." Cassie says smiling deviously. "Aasia's going to be a little boring and play arcade games." She says whilst shrugging.
"No matter, I'll join you on the dance floor because Tobias sucks at parties." Leila rolls her eyes humorously.
"Hey, who'd choose to party over playing arcade games?" Tobias says gawking at Leila. I laugh and agree with him.
*
"Think I'm getting tired." I say yawing slightly, sliding off the seats.
"It's like ten pm?" Tobias says chuckling getting off the machine and walking with me to the exit area where it was much quieter and emptier.
"I didn't sleep much last night." I lie. The baby bump was starting to get bigger and heavier, making me feel exhausted after walking for ten minutes.
*Ping*
I look down at my phone and see its a message from Nathaniel. My heart starts to flutter slightly, I haven't heard from him in so long. Excitedly I click the message without waiting a while to not look desperate.
Nate: "You alright..."
I reply immediately.
ME: "Yeah... Haven't heard from you in a while."
Nate: "Been busy. Wanna meet up?"
Nate: "I miss you."
A smile forms on my lips, feeling warm over the fact he misses me I carry on smiling.
ME: "Sure."
Nate: "Where are you? I'll come to you... you kind of turned your snapchat location off lol."
I laugh, I had done that. I did that the night I left him, because I wanted him to check up on me properly not just look at my snapchat location to see if I was alive or not.
ME: "I'm in the arcade on campus."
Nate: "You went to that party?"
Me: "For Cassie, but I'm in the arcade area, by the door."
Nate: "Cool, I'll be there in five."
Excitedly I wait by the door, feeling butterflies in my stomach like I used to when I first fell for him I smile from eye to eye. "Hey Tobias, I'm going to leave alright?" I say to Tobias who was playing snooker.
"What? Why?" He asks coming towards me.
"I'm going to see Nathan." I say with a tight smile, trying to contain my excitement.
Tobias chuckles. "About time he hollered you, you guys just need to get back together already." Tobias nods his head. "My all-time favourite couple." He says with a warm smile.
I laugh clutching my stomach feeling warm from thinking about how me and Nathaniel were when we weren't on a break. "I just want him to love me like he used too."
"Girl, he does." Tobias says firmly. "How could someone not love you?" Tobias barges me playfully.
I roll my eyes on the verge of replying, but I stop when I hear a car drive up to the curb. It was Nathaniel's, I wonder who's car he was driving. "Gotta go, Nathan's here." I say with a grin, waving bye to Tobias and skipping towards the car.
"Bye Asi," Tobias chuckles.
I open the door and take a seat in the passenger sear. "Nice truck." I say nodding letting out a brief laugh.
Nathaniel reveals his face from the shadow and chuckles. "I borrowed it from a guy." He say's with a soft smile. His voice was slower and gentler than usual. "Was that Tobias you were with?" Nathaniel asks awkwardly, biting down on his bottom lip.
I move my gaze from Nathaniel and look inside the arcade, Tobias was still sitting there on the snooker table. "Yeah." I say quietly. "He came with his girlfriend. She's nice." I say with a small smile, trying to cover up the awkwardness.
"Cool." Nathaniel says with his voice trailing off. Gulping, he turns back to me and gives me a small smile. "So." He chuckles. "I was awol the last few days, I'm sorry about that." Nathaniel says holding his hand up in surrender. I nod with a small smile. "I was a wreck when you left, I didn't know how to handle it." He says shrugging.
"So I went to the mosque and was there for most of the last few days, Ibrahim was there." Nathaniel says with a slight smile. Ibrahim was one of Nathaniel's first Muslim friend, Ibrahim was only a few years older than us so Nathaniel found it easy to connect with him.
"He gave me a lot of advice about us and I guess being there and praying and reading the Quran really helped me through the last few days." Nathaniel says with a small smile. "I mean I am quite behind in work, but that doesn't matter." Nathaniel chuckles.
I laugh placing a hand over his. "I'm glad you're feeling better."
"Yeah, so I thought about our break up for a long time." Nathaniel says awkwardly.
"Break." I say. "Not break up."
He nods. "Break, yeah. I came up with so many ways to tell you how much I love you and how in love I am with you." Nathaniel shakes his head with a smile tugging at his lips. "But I knew you weren't going to completely trust me and believe me." He shrugs.
"So, I thought I'd show you that I'm still in love with you and maybe make you fall more in love with me." Nathaniel says piercing his eyes to me.
I laugh softly. "How are you going to do that?"
"Ibrahim said to do this all within a month, but the thought of being without you for four whole weeks drove me insane, so I shortened it to two weeks." Nathaniel says grinning. "Three dates, in the next two weeks." He says nodding. "And within those two weeks, I'll prove I love you and I will never put anything before you, 'cause you're my everything." Nathaniel says flicking my nose softly. "Two week is long enough not having you near me, but for the sake of our relationship, I'm going to do it."
I nod softly. "Two weeks sounds fair."