"Hidaya spoke to her parents last night." I say while I clean the table, as Nathaniel washes the dishes.
"Yeah, how did that go?" He asks, wiping the dishes dry. He turns around and faces me, curiosity spread across his face.
I shrug, frowning. "It didn't go too well, she just sent me a text last night saying it didn't go well and that she doesn't know what to do." I sigh, taking a seat. "I feel terrible, I don't know what to do to make her feel better."
"Just be there for her. There's not much you can do to help the situation, but don't let her give up." Nathaniel says sitting beside me. "That if she really thinks Adam is worth it, not to give up because that will haunt her forever." Nathaniel says feeling bad, a small frown spread across his face.
"I got super lucky with you, because I understand where her parents are coming from, I don't agree with it, but I sympathise with her because even though I am half south Asian, I was not brought up in an south Asian household and even then my birth fathere was Turkish so, either way, I guess I would have been alright." I say glumly. "But sabr is key, and I know Adam makes her so happy so she'll do what's right." I nod firmly.
"I saw Adam yesterday, he did not look good. And your brother always looks good." Nathaniel shakes his head. "I feel terrible, but it'll be alright in the end, and we'll attend our first Asian wedding." Nathaniel says excitedly.
I laugh softly. "And eat lots of asian food." I grin, excitedly.
***
"I convinced my sister to meet you, to show her what kind of people you are." Hidaya says nervously. "That you're not just people who call themselves Muslim, but you're actually Muslim. Also, you're half Asian so it should help."
"Adam doesn't even look white though, he looks basically Arab." I say feeling slightly stressed by the thought of meeting her sister.
"It's not that." She sighs. "Actually it is, it's worse that it's a white guy I want to marry, but even if he was Arab they would have a problem with it. My parents are extremely cultural, they don't want me to marry outside of my race so this is going to be so hard."
"If you really love Adam, and you know he is worth it, you'll have patience." I nod softly.
"I really do love him and I know he is worth it. And I know he comes from such a great family, I mean just look at you and him, you guys are great kids. I wish they would just meet Adam, they would love him." Hidaya says distressed, resting her elbows on the table and pressing her palms against her cheeks.
"Let's meet your sister first, then I'll try convicing her that we're not so different." I say feeling nervous, I didn't knot what I was getting myself into.
Me and Hidaya walk into a starbucks, "My sister should be here, she texted me just five minutes ago." Hidaya says looking around, she eventually smiles and waves ahead of us. "She's there." She says pointing at a girl sitting in the far back, grabbing my wrist she directs me.
The girl was stunning, her long black hair fell that fell to her lower back was the first thing that caught my eyses, her thick dark brows and lashes were captivating. They really did have beautfiul features. As we walk closer her face becomes more warmer and a smile forms.
Warmly, I smile at her and she smiles back. "Aasia, this is Leena my sister, and Leena this is Aasia." Hidaya says excitedly taking a seat and guestering me to take a seat.
"Nice to meet you." I say with a warm smile.
"Nice to meet you." She replies.
***
"So how did the coffee date go with Leena?" Adam asks curiously, gripping onto my hand tightly waiting for me to answer.
I roll my eyes. "Calm down Adam, I just got in let me take my shoes off at least." I say shaking my hands from his grip and kicking my shoes off. I take my hijab off and place it on the kitchen table before walking into the living room.
"Well?" Adam asks worryingly, sitting beside me.
"It went really good." I say with a soft smile. "She loved me!" I say grin.
"Who cares if she loved you, did she love me?" Adam asks, with a furrowed brow and creased forward. "If only she could see my face, she'd see how handsome I am." He says shaking his head.
"And then what? She falls in love with your ever so beautiful face?" I say sarcastically.
"Exactly." Adam says sheepishly.
I roll my eyes, squeezing his hand. "She is willing to meet you, so I guess it went extremly great." I shrug. "Please stop stressing though, you look so rough. It's quite hard to see you in this state." I say sympatheticly, ruffling Adam's hair.
His eyes had sunken quite deep, he looked tired and stressed out. I could only imagine how much stress he was going through. "She won't fall in love with you, looking like this." I say humoursly.
"Is Nathan coming today?" Adam barges me.
"No, just me and you today." I say excitedly, taking a bite from the pizza slice that was sitting on a plate on the coffee table.
"That's mine?" Adam scoffs, snatching it off me and taking a bite himself.
"I'm pregnant, Adam. What's wrong with you." I roll my eyes annoyed, "please don't be stingy like this when you meet Leena for the first time, she'll hate you." I tease.
"Don't jinx it!" Adam says with worry in his tone. "She could never hate me." Adam whines, "right, Aasia?" He says worringly.
I laugh sheepishly. "Yes she could never hate you, does anyone in this world hate you?" I ask furrowing my brows playfully. "Exactly, you're the best, Adam." I say tapping his cheeks, before getting up to go to my room.
*Door bell rings*
I walk over to the door, I look through the hole to see who it was. It was Nathan? I open the door with a wide smile. "What are you doing here?" I say confused.
"I missed you, baby." He says with a soft smile, pulling me into a hug. "Thought I'd come hang out with you, maybe even stay the night if you don't mind." He says sheepishly.
"How could I ever mind." I say with blushed cheeks. "Adams in the living room, say hello. I'm going to go to my room for a bit." I say, letting him inside and closing the door behind him.
"And then I'll come join in your room." Nathaniel wiggles his eyebrows, I laugh, pushing him out of the way.
***
My eyes flutter open at the sharp pain I feel in my stomach. Groaning I sit up in an up-right position. "Argh." I grunt, clenching onto the back of my teeth. "Nathan." I say almost breathless in excrutiating pain.
Nathaniel jumps up awake, "What's wrong?" He says with worry in his tone, his cheeks bright red and his eyes still squinting. He grabs his phone to check the time. "It's four am, what's happening? Why aren't you asleep?" He asks, holding me by both of my arms.
"Something's wrong." I say whimpering, tears streaming down my eyes continously. "It hurt's so much, something is wrong." I say with worry rising in my tone.
"Baby, what is it." He says with watery eyes, he places his hand over mine on my stomach.
But I was in too much pain to reply.
Nathaniel jumps up from the bed and puts his trousers and t-shirt on. "Aasia, I'm calling the ambulance, don't move, we don't know what's happening." He says confused. "Or maybe you should move? I don't know." He starts pacing around the room, running his hand through his hair as he dials the ambulance.
"AHH." I almost shriek, clenching my teeth so hard I could've sworn I cracked them. The pain was too much to handle. "MAMA." I scream, I didn't know what to do, I was freaking out, I needed my mom.
Nathaniel was still on call with the ambulance, I don't know what was happening but he seemed angry with them, I push the duvet off me and get up from the bed and that's when I realise my entire trousers and sheets were stained in blood.
In shock, I look up at Nathaniel who's dropped his mobile phone now and the last thing I hear is Nathaniel screaming for my mum before I pass out.
***
"Water." I say feeling stiff against a bed that did not feel like my own, damp from what could only be my sweat. My throat hurts as I gulp, trying to open my eyes fully. I felt too tired to even move, but I needed water.
I feel a cup being placed to my lips. "Drink it baby." I hear Nathaniel say softly as the water goes down my mouth, slowly I sip the water. I groan as I lift myself up, I feel hands help me up.
"What happened?" I ask, looking around the four pale walls around me. The last thing I remember was feeling an excrutiating pain in my tummy whilst in bed and nothing else after that.
"Hi Aasia, how are you feeling?"
I turn to my right to see a nurse standing over me doing something with pipes beside me, she seemed to be changing something. I grunt from a spike of pain as she tugs a pipe off from my wrist which was stained in red. Without warning me she injects a clear one into my wrist again, placing cellotape on top of it. What the hell was she doing, am I dying?
"Aasia, you there?" She says gently, with a soft smile.
I blink slowly feeling like everything was in slow motion, though it probably isn't, it's probably just me. I finally open my mouth to say something but I close it again when I feel a kick to my stomach. Gasping, I place a hand over my belly, up until now I had completely forgot I was pregnant.
"What's wrong?" Nathaniel says worrying. I had also forgotten he was there.
"I'm sure there's nothing wrong, the baby must just have woken up and gave a little kick." I watch the nurse says to Nathaniel, I stare at the nurse.
"Aasia, can you hear me?" The nurse asks again once more, but with a more stern voice. She must be getting frustrated with me.
"Yes." I say with my voice broken, like I had a sore throat. Why do I sound like that? Why do I not have any energy to talk or ask questions, will someone explain what is going on.
"Perfect." She says checking my blood pressure and shining a light to my eyes. "Everything is great." She says with a smile.
"That's great." Nathaniel says with relief in his tone. "And the baby?" He asks, holding both my hands firmly.
"The baby is great, do not worry it was just a common accident in young pregnant women who are busy, it seems like Aasia just has been forgetting to drink enough water, remember Aasia you're drinking for two." The nurse says looking at me with a smile.
"You were severely dehydrated, you're doing much better now, but please sip a small glass of water every hour for the next three days whilst awake." She says as she writes notes. "Rest for perhaps another half an hour and you're good to go." The nurse says before she walks out.
I feel Nathaniel's arm being tightly wrapped around me, he rests his head on my neck and inhales. "God, I've been so worried my love, you're almost seven months, do you understand how worried I was?" He says with his voice almost broken.
"I'm sorry, I thought I had been drinking enough water." I say rubbing his hands.
"Don't apologise, it's my fault I should have been keeping an eye on you. Don't worry from now on you're drinking enough water, don't worry about needed the toilet, I'll bring the toilet to you myself if I have to." Nathaniel says huffing like an angry child.
I laugh softly.