"I can't wait to see Ahmed after all these years," Zoya was saying happily as they stood at the bus stop one afternoon after classes and it began to rain heavily. "He's picking me up from here and we're going for coffee. Hey, make sure you cover for me."
Jasmine nodded, looking away towards the rain and feeling a strange sense of dread creep up on her. She hated lying to Hamza but Zoya was her best friend who really wanted to meet her half-brother, the son of the British lady, and she had every right. Why couldn't Hamza understand something so simple?
Her phone vibrated a few times and she knew it was him trying to call her but she ignored it because she didn't want Zoya to get suspicious.
"All right, he's here. I'm going," Zoya suddenly announced, jumping up from her seat happily. "Hey, do you want to meet him? He's really cool you know. I'd love for you to-"
"Maybe some other time," Jasmine quickly interrupted. No, she didn't want to meet any guy because over the past several months, she'd discovered Hamza's jealous and distrustful side which came alive whenever a boy so much as looked at her. It wasn't her fault but he somehow found a way to blame her for it anyway.
"See you later, then," Zoya called out, sprinting away and hurriedly getting into the waiting car which Jasmine assumed was her half-brother's.
Removing her phone from her pocket at last, she gasped at the numerous missed calls and text messages from Hamza. Her heart thumped wildly and she chewed on her lips, feeling miserable all of a sudden. He was a man who didn't like being ignored even if there was a perfectly good explanation for it.
"Hey," someone breathed in her ear suddenly, startling her. It was Rizwaan, Zoya's boyfriend, who stood there with a cheerful grin on his face. "Where's Zo? My phone's battery died so I couldn't reach her."
Rizwaan was such a nice guy. Jasmine really liked seeing them together because he cared for Zoya a lot and she knew he'd never hurt her best friend. It was another reason why she had covered for them for so long.
"You just missed her, Riz," she said ruefully. "She went to see her brother. The other one who lives in Milan."
"Damn it." Riz sighed and settled in the seat next to her, spreading out his legs. "I never got to kiss her goodbye." He slid a glance at her. "Could you do that for me? Let me kiss you and then you can convey exactly how I-"
"Eeuw. Shut up." She giggled at his suggestion, knowing full well that he was teasing. Riz only had eyes for Zoya. It was so cute.
"Oh, boy. Mr. Qureshi is here. I better go. Bye, Jasmine."
He disappeared so quickly, she hardly registered what he had said but when she glanced up and saw Hamza's car parked a few feet away, her stomach knotted up in dread. He was simply watching her from the driver's seat, probably having arrived to pick up her and Zoya in this rain. Instead, he'd seen her sitting there giggling with another guy after ignoring his calls.
Jasmine did not smile at him like she usually did while heading towards the car. After getting in, she thought about what to say as Hamza started to drive in the direction of home.
"Zoya had some extra classes so she said she'd come home later," Jasmine spoke up carefully after a few minutes of dead silence in the car.
"I know where my sister is."
Oh no. His tone was so clipped and formal. She felt worried and could feel his anger simmering beneath the calm façade.
"Baby...," she began slowly but he did not let her finish.
"Why the hell didn't you answer your phone?" he snapped at her and she jumped.
"Zoya was right there-"
"I was calling for so long, damn it. Were you so busy thinking of what lies to tell me about Zoya and enjoying yourself with that boy that you could not be bothered?" His voice had risen an octave and she swallowed.
"No-"
"What do you think I am, Jasmine? An idiot?!" he yelled and she started breathing heavily. "You think I don't know why he is always hanging around you at the university?!"
"Please, Hamza, listen to me," she implored, openly crying now.
"Stop fucking crying," he said coldly. "Don't waste your tears on a guy like me. There are other deserving guys around."
"But I love you. I'm not interested in him, okay. You're my whole life," she sobbed.
He simply ignored her.
~~~~
"He's such an awesome guy, you know. He even offered to fly me to Milan in the summer but I was like, 'yeah right. I don't have a death wish.' But I like him, Jas. He won't get along with Hamza though. They are like totally opposite. And the funniest thing was, every time I called him 'Ahmed' because that's what I'm used to, he would literally flinch. Jasmine, are you listening to me? Hello?"
Jasmine turned her gaze on her best friend and blinked. "Sorry, what?"
Frowning, Zoya moved over to where Jasmine was sitting on her bed. "First you asked me to tell you what my half-brother is like and then you zoned out on me. What's wrong?" she demanded.
Jasmine forced herself to smile and lie as convincingly as possible. She had not eaten in two days and had not slept much either. She knew she looked terrible and Zoya would never believe her if she pretended to be okay.
"I'll be graduating next year, Zo," she said miserably. "It's all so much to deal with. My parents aren't here. I don't even know where I'm going to end up. I'm feeling kind of lost."
It was all true but the reason she really felt lost was
