chapter 32

i felt the blood drain from my face.

layan looked at the tv. i knew it was time to make a move.

me:"lay lay i have to go sleep im beat"

layan breifly looks at me and smiles, she looked sleepy too

"ok you go ill catch up after this movie i love it i never get sick of 27 dresses."

i hugged her and left to go downstairs.

i went downstairs.

i went and saw faisal in the living room downstairs,.

he was giving me his back

i went and sat infront of him, he was in a master armchair

i sat in front of him.

he looked at a glass of water on the table.

he didnt look at me.

"shsima3tay bilthab6?" he asked
willa chan i look at him dead in the eye and tell him "shinu illy ma kint tabeeny isma3a?" i asked

he held the glass
faisal:"ilkalam illy gilna ma kan 7agich, fee ashya2 ilmaftrooth ma to9al layan, moo min 9ali7ha lo tadry" he said calmly

i huffed
me"illy mo min 9ali7ha illy ga3d tsawoona-" i satrted to say chan isakitny

faisal:"oboy ga3d isawi kil hatha 3alashan tigdar torath kil ilshareekat, nu9 ahya o nu9 ana bidal ma ikoon bas ana" he said.


i gave him a look
"you know thats not what im talking about" i said.




he looked at me

faisal:"you heard about the options" he guessed

me:"the hell i did!! isma3ny faisal itha inta 3abalik tigdar til3ab-"

chan i6ig il6awla and i shut up

he looked at me in all seriousness

faisal:"this is all for her" he said.

me:"BULLSHIT!! making her fall in love with you is not for her sake its for yours, your so cruel enough as to make her fall inlove with you when you dont give a shit and then you pack up and leave" i said.

me:"you just want someone to love you because your not capable of loving anoyone, your emotionless."
faisals nostrils flared and the glass in his hands shattered




i yelped.



bas i wasnt done

"5af rabik, lo 3indik tharat ra7ma, you would pick the first option, the one were she never finds outm the one were you stay the hell away from her. instead of making her fall in love with you" i said.


faisal:"shhal 5arabee6, im not making her do anything, and she doesnt care that way"

he said it then regretted it because we were both there when she confessed to him

me:"lets make a deal, you go with the first option, you stay away from her, or just make her hate you, and i wont tell her"

blood was coming out from the cuts min the glass he broke.

faisal:"you dont threaten me reem, thats not the deal. the deal is, you shut your mouth about this and i wont tell fahad how u feel. " he said.

my mouth gaped

me:"thats not good enough a deal"

faisal:"then trust me to do the right thing" when he said it i looked into the black holes layan thinks are so beautiful and i see that faisal doesnt have a soul, they say the eyes are the windows to the soul,

what is faisal? a monster. it seems like it

me":the thing is faisal, i dont trust you"

faisal grimaced.

faisal:"last deal, i pick the first one and you shut your mouth about this to anyone,"

me:"and you stay away" i said.

he looked at me intensly

faisal:"ill try"

we nodded to eachother.

me:"oh and faisal, if you care at all, stay away from her" i said.

faisal looked at me and smirked

faisal:"whatve i been trying to do these past few months?" he asked.

i nodded
me:"try harder" i said.

but his phone rang and he started walking to the door and as he walked i heard who he was talking to.

faisal:"halla yuma, shlonich 3asa ma shar"

i felt a pang of regret o t7asaft shway 3ala how mean i was to him.

after all i can only imagine what hes going through.....

i went to layans room and found that she wasnt there.

i guess she was still watching her movie.

i lied down on her bed and slept.

----------------------------------------------------------------

-layan-

i was so into the movie that i lost myself in it.

i laughed my ass off when she wore the dresses and he commented on them, his comments were so funny.

i was eating some cookies and i was comfy on the couch with a shawl.

faisal walked in..................

he looked at me,

his eyes looked tired. he looked at me with a sad expression.

i stopped smiling and i looked at him worriedly.

me:"fasial are you ok?" i asked.

he smiled a tired smile. and nodded

faisal:"its nothing" he said bas his voice was so dry, it broke and i looked at him, his eyes were far away.

and thats when i saw something.

i gasped his hand was covered in blood.

i stood up and walked to faisal.

me:"fasial, what happened to your hand?" i said and grabbed it.

he winced.

i looked him in the eye

faisal:"gizaz, bas its nothing, just a scrach" he said,

i shook my head

me:"roo7 ig3ad 3ala il8anafa, ill go brign my first aid kit." i said.

faisal:"la la layan shda3wa 3ady" he said.

bas i pointed to the couch and went to get my first aid kit.

i came back five minutes later to find him watching the movie intensely with a pained expression

faisal:"why does she like that stupid boss of hers, ya3ni ma tifham?? ma yabeech lo kan yabeech chan ma 5atha i5tich" he said to the tv and i laughed

me:"oh my god your just like me i talk to the tv"  i laughed and took his hand

faisal shook his head

faisal:"la hatha killa min fahad, min kithir ma he talks to the tv, ana ta2athart minna" he said

and i laughed again,

i patched up his hand and patted the back of his hand

i looked up at him to find him looking at me.

me:"your all done, bas layl7een bachir troo7 ilmostashfa" i said,

faisal:"is that what you want to be? a doctor?" he asked wonderingly

i smiled.

me:"i like making people feel better, if its min il nafsiya ow physically" i said,

he smiled

we both turned to the tv

me:"do you like 27 dresses too?" i asked

he looked at me o kan fee ilthi7ka,

he coughed. i think he was covering a laugh.

thats the closest thing faisal ever came to a laugh in front of me.

he shook his head.

i laughed

me:"laish its romantic"

faisal:"romance is nothing if you dont know who your falling for,its not worth it" he said,

i was shocked bas i wanted to know more.

me (while looking at the tv):"what do you think makes love worth it" i asked

faisal:"risks, taking risks, even though your expected to be someone or do things, you take the risk knowing you could lose it all" he said.

he was looking at the tv.

i dont think he realized he was even talking to me.

so i looked at him

me:"what do you know about taking risks?

he was still watching the movie. bas he smiled to himself.

 faisal:"i dont know becasue ive never taken one, ive never found someone worth the risk"

he said it and i knew what i had to do

i had to say this

me:"your worth the risk faisal" i said it in such a low voice,

 and i didnt think he heard me at first because he was watching the movie so intensely with a small smile. bas then i saw the smile along with the cluelesnness drain from his face and he looked.............. mu 3ajba

faisal looked at me with serious eyes
faisal:"no im not"

 me:"i care about you, and your important to me, i dont know, dont ask me why i care faisal, i dont know why, whether its how clueless you are, or how different, its not important you dont have to care-" i started to say.

he stood up. and walked to the door

faisal:"no i dont think so layan, im not worth the risk, im not, trust me" he said and walked out and went to his room and slept,

i slapped my head.

i watched another movie bas i wasnt really into it i was too busy thinking about him

so i stayed up for two more hours.

then i went to the kitchen,

i went there and saw faisal, he was looking into the fridge,

i turned around and left.

i didnt know where to go so i walked outside into our garden, its in our backyard people cant see us.

i sat down on a hammock

i sat there and thought.

i fell asleep on it,

i dont know how long i stayed bas i felt strong arms lock around me carrying me i opened my eyes and saw faisal.

i stared up at him

me:"faisal im sorr-" i started to say bas he talked right over me without looking at me

faisal:"just close your eyes  layan" he said it emotionally

me:"doesnt change the fact that im sorry, you know what? im not sorry" i said,

he sighed

faisal:"why are you making this hard for me?" he asked

me:"because, your faisal" i said in a really low voice.

he stopped in his tracks and put me down. we were in between my room and his so its in the hallway both of our rooms were kinda far.
i stood up.

faisal:"whats that supposed to mean?" he asked. his eyes hard


me:"it means your special."



faisals eyes softened

faisal:"amout wa3arif layan shitshofeen feeny?" he asked

i smiled.

me:"your there for me when i need you, you never let anyone hurt me, you make me feel safe from everyone" i said,

faisal:"except me, your safe from everyone except me" he said, then he walked to his room.

but i said something

me:"you wouldnt hurt me" i said.

he stopped in his tracks and turned to me

faisal:"and why is that?" he asked with a smirk

me:"because despirt your bad boy act, your a good person, your caring" i said.

faisals smile fell

faisal:"you expect too much out of me" he said,

me:"thats just what i see, " i said.

we were quite far apart from eachother,

i was in the middle and he was at his door bas when i said those words.....

faisals walls fell and i saw all the pain in his eyes

he closed the distance between us. and stood right infront of me

faisal:"lets make one thing clear layan, i dont care about you, i never have and i never will" he said, bas his eyes spoke differently.

and do you know what i did?

me:"i care" i said.

he shook his head. and i saw his eyes full of pain and sorow, and pleading, he looked at me and his eyes were asking me to back down,and at the same time to hold on.

me:"i love you"


 he held my face between his hands

,  bent and looked me in the eye, emotions swirled, and his fingeres felt like fire on my skin


 then he raised his lips to my forehead and kissed it

then he left bas before he entered his room he wished me goodnight.

i stood the for five minutes asking myself if that really just happened.

chapter 31

when we saw them fahad and i stood up.


we were still looking at eachother as we walked towards them
fahad:"no one should get too close to faisal because faisal is like fire if you get too close youll burn"
reem:"bas your close to him"


he laughed a dry laugh that had no trace of humour


fahad:"faisal and i are more alike than you think, both of us caught fire together".


i wanted to know moore, bas 9irna too close to faisal, so we shut up.


bas rakazna 3ala layan o faisal, we realised inna layan mtan7a fee o ohwa hes looking at her with a confused expression


faisal:"you can stare all you want" he said in his low voice , bas there was a trace of humor,


layan snapped out of it and looked the other way



we said our goodbyes and left.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


when we got home layan hit the showers since she only towel dried when we got home from ilba7ar.


she offered me her bathroom and she went to her parents bathroom.


im supposed to take a shower or take out my pjs


but i went to look for faisal, and thank him for coming out there, aaaaannd maybe apoligizing for being so stubborn today.


i walked across the house but somrthing caught my eye from outside. it was faisal on his way out.


he had a phone out, so i quickly went down the stairs and to faisal.


but as i was almost walking into view i heard something


"how long is it gonna take" someone said on speaker from faisals phone i think he was skyping his dad. it was 3amy s3ood


faisal had his back to me and i was a reallly silent listener, and a good hider.


"madry, bas garabna, ihya tathi8 feeny 7ail" faisal said.
his dad laughed
"faisal, ilthi8a mo kfaya, ana ga3d as2ilik itha ahya t7ibik." 3amy s3ood asked


"yuba madry" faisal said.


"lazim it7ibik, lazim wala mara7 twa8iz 3a8d ilzawaj" his dad said


i felt cold, my body lost all sense of feeling


"ana aby ilfaka" faisal said.

"you know im doing this for both of you, inta o layan rab7aneen, awal ma ilsharika itkoon ib asma2kum, tigdar i6aligha.if you want she doesnt even have to know you were married in the first place." his father said.

"o agdar asafir wain ma aby, far far away from here, bas thats not gonna happen illa itha tgooly shlon a5aleeha twa8i3....min doon ma tadry?" faisal said.

his father laughed again.

"7alain, faisal you do what you do best, and trick her t7i6 iwriga 3an a feild trip and make her sign..........................or you make her fall so in love with you then shell do it willingly. bas hal ashya2 ma to9al 7ag obooha, 3ugb ilzawaj ingool."

faisal nods.

"bas yuba min waraha kilshay yintihee" faisal said

"ee" his father said.

then his father said something, something i didnt expect from him

"you know faisal.if you pick the second option layan ra7 tit2atha wayid....... shell love someone who will never love her back, ma tistahal hal shay, ilbnaya zaina, bas shinsawi ba3ad........its for her own good, without this she wouldnt get anything from the company. so its whats best" 3amy s3ood said.

when he said it i started crying.. for layan, for how clueless she is, for everything. i knew there was something wrong even fahad knew.


faisals shoulders tensed i guess that means hes angry
"yuba, inta illy gayilly asawi kil hatha mo ana, ana ma kint aby akoon mawjood, min lama wi9aly il5abar inna ilchemotherapy illy omy ta5tha mara7 ifeed o bit roo7 ana kint nawy aroo7, bas inta illy 5alaitny ig3ad mo ana. so dont even think inny ra7 andam, ana ma 3indy thameer. you know i dont......................... 6ali3 3alaikom" he said and shut the phone. he huffed out a breathe..

i felt as if i was holding in my breathe.

i heard his car door slam shut and his engine come to life.

i couldnt move long after his car left.

i was thinking about the mess layan is in

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

at one point i got up and went to the shower then i went to the upper living room. i sat down and started to drink some tea

i just.. i just dont know what to do.

i should tell her.

but how am i supposed to say it.

"hey layan, whats up? ya by the way, the guy your half in love with is tricking you into marrying him... ooo but dont worry its for your own good"

how would she look at me.

with her puppy dog eyes.

i just couldnt.

faisal: "hala reem" he said in a low voice.

i jumped. he came into view and sat down in an armchair across from me

me: "you scared me" i said to him and looked at him but smiled as to not show him how freaked out i was.

his eyes were reading mine

faisal:"reem.. did you get along ok? take a shower unpack and all that stuff?" he asked.

me:"ya it was all ok i unpacked and stuff" i said.

he smiled

and i felt numbness.

faisal:"thats funny, cuz layan said you didnt shower yet" he said.

i wanted to run. he looked at the tv

"fine i was in the kitchen eating, are you happy??? im off my diet, so dont tell layan-" i said. bas faisal cut me off

his eyes shot back to me

faisal:"you know whats funny?" he said.

i shook my head.

faisal:"secrets, as long as theres a secret life gets a little more interesting , the more secrets the more fun. but you see reem, as much as i love secrets, i hate it when people keep them from me" he said.

bas chan i look at him

reem:"everyone has secrets faisal, you dont have to know everything not everything has to do with you" i sai

faisal:"but you see reem, when they do have to do with me i tend to find out...................., and you wouldnt know any secrets reem, right?" he said.

he leaned forward

faisal:"so are you going to tell me were you really were reem?" he said

i gulped

he grinned ............more like bared his teeth.

"im just messing with you, i didnt call layan, i bet shes still in her room but you shouldve seen how funny your face was hah!!" he said.

i was shocked, thats the closest to a laugh faisal has ever come to. bas it was more of an aha!!

i laughed nervously

thats when layan came into view.

she smiled.

she came and sat next to me on the sofa.

layan:"anything good on tv?" she asked and i handed her the remote

me:"layan i have to talk to you about my eating habits" i said.

my concience won out, i couldnt keep this from her,

faisal:"well i dont want to stick around for that" he said his goodnights and left

layan turned her smile to me she looked so happy.

"layan i have to tell you something" i said.

layan:"ok what is it about?"

thats when i received a text

me:"its about fa-" i started to say when i read the message

it was from faisal

"say one word to layan, i DARE you........ orr you can come downstairs in five minutes and ill tell you exactly what happens"

i couldnt breathe


"its up to you reem, but think fast, you dont have much time "

chapter 30

-REEM-










when i saw who it was that was calling i looked at faisal.

but he wasnt looking at the phone, he was looking out at layan, he forgot about the phone completely when she came out.

so i quickly snatched the phone and pressed the busy button.

layan got in the car and we were on our way to the airport.

"layan" i said,

she turned to me

"na3am" she said, and i gave her her phone.

she saw the missed call and a shocked look crossed her face.

faisal was looking out the window.

he opened the radio, and we went in silence.

when we got to the aiirport i held layan back

me:"layan, tell all".

she nodded . faisal was walking ahead

"yalla inroo7 starbucks nan6irhom fee delay there coming in half an hour inshallah" he said

me:"la khan roo7 pinkberry"

"walay, matooboon?,,, mako" he said and we walked to starbucks

faisal went to got the order, we sat on the top floor.

"i was going to tell you bas its not the right time or place bas you need to know one thing, fahad and i are not close and-" is aid bas reem kicked me under the table telling me inna faisal came

he sat down with the receipt.

"layan you go down in five" faisal said.

"ok" she said and left min il7een

so it was just faisal and i

chan his phone rings.

"hala fhaid, la la tyee. la ana hnee ma3a ilbanat,.................. la la, ana ashoofik ba3dain......................shinu yay?! bismilah ma midaak," faisal said.

he paused
"la la tyee,.................... shinu laish? ana ma3ay banat o yay a5ith ahaly........................................ la mako. la tyee....................................... ay 6ireej fahad." he said.

faisal looked a little troubled
''3ala ra7tik a7na ib starbucks" he said. he shut the phone and looked at me.

layan did tell me about his eyes.

they were black, but his eyes were scary.

they looked either cold, or on fire.

theres no middle with faisal.

why did layan have to like him, how could i keep her safe from him,

faisal bro7a army, ana thida shinu

i realised we were both looking at eachother in silence and that i was staring, so i tried to act nuetral

"save us the trouble reem your like a book, illy da5lich ibayin ib waihich, no bother hiding it" he said.

oookkk

"laish ma tabee fahad yee?" i asked

"mo inna ana ila5ir mara giltlich inna fahad ma titkalimayn 3ana ow ma3a? " he said and looked at the table

chan faj2a his eyes shoot back to me
"la7tha intow o layan ma tiboon 6ariya 9a7?" he asked
his body tense
"la2" i said.
 bas i was stubborn ma sikat

what was his problem why doesnt he want us to talk about fahad
"bas i dont get why" i said.

he sighed
"just do as  i say" he said.

"no, no i wont, im not layan faisal, you cant bully me or boss me around, " i said in a rush

faisal just sat there, he didnt even look suprised.
no he looked a little pissed
"ok i know you just helped me, so dont get me wrong im greateful, but why can you be his friend, bas we cant?" i said.
"because i know whats best, rasich laish yabis?" he said
 then layan came up, and he gave me the shut up look.

layan got the orders and passed them around when faisal looked up at her.

"fahads coming, hes probably outside" he said.

layan looked at him, and acted normal, bas i knew layan, as soon as she sat she flinched.

she couldnt help it bas faisal didnt notice thankfully,

he excused himself so that he could go check the arrival time again.

fahad walked in two minutes later i held my breathe.

he came in and smiled at layan and me.

"hey guys" he said o 8amazata 6la3at.
"hey fahad" layan said and grinned back. her 8amazat 6la3at too.

talk about deja vu

i felt so shy that i couldnt reply.

"so reem, whats up? how is everything" he asked

he came and sat on oure square table.

he sat next to me which means he was directly infront of layan, faisals seat was closer to layan and directly infornt of me.

"la wala shay il7amdulillah, kilshay zain" i said.

bas layans eye twiched faj2a, and fahad saw it.

"your eye twiches too? wait that means something happened what happened?" he said.

"nothing its ok" layan sid.

he was about to say more, bas faisal came back up

more like ran

"there here " he said breathelessy his eyes were wide




-LAYAN-



i stood up and walked next to faisal.

both reem and fahad were taller than me, and faisal was taller than both of them,

so i felt reallly short walking next to faisal.

reem and fahad were walking behind us talking about how the school would change now that he runs things and stuff.

faisal and i walked in silence,

"mistanis?" i asked

he looked at me from the corner of his eye without moving his head.

"this counts as another one of your questions" he said

i sighed

"not fair, bas ok" i said.

"ana mo yahil 3ashani astanas, bas i am happy inna there coming back home" he said.

i nodded.

we reached the gate and saw his mom and gramma.

they screamed and ran to faisal

faisal looked a little embarresed and both fahad and reem looked shocked

they stopped talking and stared at the scene.

"salim galb wlaidy!!" his gramma said and gave him a hug. he hugged her back and kissed her head

his mom came in next.

i was shocked

she was really short just like me and she had his eyes, or should i say he had hers.

she was gorgeous in a white dress.

she gave him a huge hug and he kissed her head. she pulled his face down and kissed his head

"la yuma may 9eer " he said.

she laughed and he grinned,

i was awestruck

his grin was so beautiful, huge straight white teeth.

he was gorgeuos.
faisal should be arrested, he is a danger to all girls.

i didnt know how my face looked, bas i was staring at faisal.

his mom saw me and they both turned to me

faisal caught my loook. chan his eyes change

"la tistansain 3ala roo7ich. lat 9adgeen" ( i dont know if that was him or my concience)

she came over to me
"hathy layan illy tgooly 3anha??? faisal itshawig!!! cute nafs ma inta gilt" then she hugged me.

my face was red and my mouth was open.

reem and fahad ran away

faisal looked uncertain, i looked at him,

he looked away and talked with his gramma

"hala khalty shlonich, il7amdulillah 3ala ilsalama, " i said.

"allah yisalmich" she said and patted my cheak.

i smiled.

they all hugged faisal.

"faisal tara a7na binroo7 ma3a ilsayig dam inna layan o rab3ik mawjoodeen" she said and walked away

faisal looked at me.

"you said good things about me?" i said and laughed out loud. my face was still red
"dont believe everything you hear" he said in a straight face
i shrugged

"are you calling your mom a liar?" i said.

"no im just saying shes being polite" he said.

i nodded

"ya thats believable" i said.

we started walking side by side.

we were looking for fahad and reem

as we walked through the airport i remembered the last time we were here

"do you miss your dad?" i said in a voice, that i couldnt even hear.

i didnt think he heard

"doesnt matter " he said.



i looked towards pinkberry
"kahum!!!" i said.

and pointed at the two sitting in pinkberry

they were deep in conversation

"pinkberry waray waray? mara7 aftak min hal pinkberry ista8farallah" he said and i laughed

fahad and reem heard us and stood up .

why did they stop talking

they could at least act normal

suddenly i got a text, from reem

"faisals m...................."

i couldnt believe my eyes i read it three times

i looked at him and at his eyes, he didnt even notice,



-REEM-

when we left to go to pinkberry fahad and i went to take our orders.

"ladies first" he said to me.

i laughed "ok" i said

i went in front and ordered passion fruit since it was my fav i didnt put any toppings on it

"thats it??!! nothing else?" he asked eyes wide.

i laughed and nodded

he shrugged

"yes sir what would you like?" the woman asked him

"him id like a large one with all the flavors, and i want the chocolate shavings, both dark and white chocolate, and i want the raspberrys splattered with m n ms.........................wait i also want peanuts and chocolate chips........can you cross out the raspberry and put blueberrys instead? you know what put both" he said.

the woman looked at him like he was crazy, i looked at him in awe too.

he looked at me "you like yours plain and i like mines full option" he said.

i smiled.

fahad really does make me happy, hes sweet and funny and everything rolled up in one


we picked seats and sat down.

"its nice to see that faisals mom and gramma are back" he said.

i smiled "ya it sounds fun for them" i said.

his smile fell

"you dont know?" he asked and looked at me with questioning eyes
"know what?" i asked

his eyes twiched. walain he said himself eye twiches are bad signals

"his mom is slowly dieng..............she has cancer" he said.

my mouth fell open,

"what?" i said. not believing it

"he hides it well" fahad said with a ruefull smile

"and do you know whats worse? though his mom is actually dieng, everyday bit by bit , faisals is dieng inside with her, hes changing, no emotions, just games, its all a game to him" he said almost to himself

his eyes were far away

"its almost as if he has nothing to lose anymore" he said.
"next year hell start fresh, in a new country far from here, far from anyone who reminds him of her," he said.

"im surprised how he keeps it all inside, how he just keeps his secrets from everyone" he said and his voice got even lower

"even himself"


thats when i heard a familiar laugh and saw layan next to a very quiet faisal,

though he was standing right here he looked miles away............

i sent the message to layan, and saw her face change, as she found out his mom was dieng

(Love Is A Fire - Courrier )
(can you hear my heart now? love is like a fire and its burning me down)

chapter 29

as i fell i could hear reem shouting my name, and i could feel fays grip tighten on my leg as she pulled me to the unknown,

i knew when we hit the water, because i couldnt see anything though i could still feel fay
letting go
i couldnt breathe

-REEM-

"LAYAAAAAAAN" i shouted over and over

"reem!!!!! calm down" i heard faisal say and come up to me

"SHE CANT SWIM, SHES DDROWNING" i said.

faisals eyes went wide bas he didnt waist time,

he took off his shirt and jumped off the peir.

it was a long drop, and you couldnt see that well considering it was night and mako illa cham layt

bas i ran to shore and looked for them, i couldnt see them or hear them
wait
whats going on? i see a dot.


-LAYAN-

i started to struggle. i bashed at the water. and screamed

and then i couldnt struggle anymore,

i didnt give up, i just lost all energy and the tide was pulling me under the water.

i closed my eyes.

when i felt strong arms lock around my waist pulling me above.

"LAYAN, FICHAY 3YOONICH"  i heard faisal say. bas it was too hard
i couldnt open them
he swam and pushed me with him, bas it was a long way.

he stopped and we were still in the water

he shook me over and over again.

i started coughing.

more like spitting out water

then i slowly opened my water logged stinging eyes.

i saw faisal shirtless holding me against his chest.
his eyes were wide and frightened.

i opened my eyes fully

"faisal, im scared get me out of the water get me out!" i said. and started to cry

i was freaking out.

he looked at me

"layan its ok, your ok, im here , its ok" he said.

he started to let go
and i shouted
"fa9al la thidy!!!" i said and threw my arms around his chest

"layan its ok i was just going to hold your hands instead of your.. um waist," he said

and i realised, how tightly he was holding me before

i wasnt about to take that risk


"faisal i dont care, just dont let go, dont let go, promise me you wont let go" i said, and started to shiver

he looked at me worriedly,

he put his arms around me

and bent to eye level


"your going to be ok, dont you trust me?" he said. in a low voice, his voice was serious bas his eyes were unexpectedly full of warmth

i nodded.

he gave me a tiny smile

"then i promise i wont let go" he said.

and we swam back to shore.

when we got there and walked out of the water he let go.

bas then we got out and we looked at eachother.

i was uncontrollably shaking

he looked at me with warm eyes

"its ok layan" he said in a barely audible voice

new tears fell

and i walked up to him and gave him a huge hug.

the only difference between this hug and the other hug was that he hugged me back

i cried into his chest

and he bent down and whisered in my ear as his arms tightened around me

"your ok layan, its ok, you did it, you got out, your ok" he kept on murmuring in my ear..

and then i heard footsteps from behind us

"layan are you ok?!" i heard someone say and faisal let go.

and i looked at him

i looked into his eyes, as all the emotions that just came over him began to drain

all the warmth in his eyes, melted away, and fell like drops off water.

faisals walls were back down,

he hid his emotions from me

he locked them up and kept them inside for only him to see

i heard someone clear there thoats and both of us broke out of our trance and looked at fay and reem who were standing side by side

"if you woulndt have pushed me i wouldnt have pulled you along with me" fay said

faisals eyes looked threw her like knives, reem handed him his shirt and he put it on

"in9i7ich tiskiteen gabil ma asawi feech shay,reem yallah imshay ma3ana your sleeping over with layan " he said and reem scurried over to me.

"IB KAIFIK ITSAWI ILLY TABEE AHYA I5TY MO I5TIK 3ASHAN-" she said bas faisal looked at her quietly and calmly

i knew this side of faisal


"chithy itsaween fee i5tich? you terrify her? you make her cry? o ba3dain tig3ideen tith7ikeen 3alaiha? o ba3dain minu ilkbeer intay willa ahya?" he said in a calm voice

fay looked shocked and outraged

"ILLY ANA ASAWI FEE I5TY MO SHIGHLIK" she said

he looked at her with an expression that reminded me of a wolf playing a game
"inzain, tabeena nil3abha chithy? o illy sawaity ib layan mo shighly?" he said in a verrrrry calm voice
void of emotion

her face slowly drained of color

(why was everyone so threatened by him)
"ee bas-" she started to say

"3ayal 7sabich 3indy" he said and turned

we all went to the car and left fay on the shore

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

when we were in the car faisal got a phone call
"ee yuma ana kani 1 wayi ilma6ar, shlon yadity" he said.

he smiled

me and reem gaped at him

"goleelaha iny imjahizlaha saikal tirkiba ma3ay laman to9loon" he said
pause
"ok, yalla ma3salama" he said.

he realized we were staring
"omy o yadity byo9loon min ilsoo3odiya ilyom" he said.

me and reem looked at eachother
"wanasa!!!!" reem and i said
reem nodded

faisal staright face

 "ee ra7 aroo7 a5ithhom 3ugub ma awa9ilkom" he said

"no way were coming!!!" i said
~_~
his face
:D :D
our faces
"7ada, o inroo7 pinkberry 3ala ma yi6li3oon"
reem said

faisal glanced at her

"ana shgayil likom 3an pinkberry??? il7mdilla wishikir" he said
reem looked at him
"ma gilt shay!!!" she fired back
"ee shoofay bachir, laman t9eereeen akbar min feel" he said
"shako a9lan pinkberry is low fat" she said
"you dont need any type of fat la low wala high" he said
i laughed.
chan i cough
both faisal and reem looked worried
"tabeen inwadeech ildiktor?" reem said
"la 5an roo7 na5ith ahal faisal."
faisal nodded "ok, inroo7 ilbait badlow o inroo7" he said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-REEM-

layan dashat itbadi o ana ga3da wara.

awal ma layan 6la3at faisal took a deep breathe, put his head down for a minute..........madry for ra7a maybe
.......i just sat down and took a small nap, it was quiet

faj2a his phone rings

ba6alt 3ainy, his ringtone shwaya dafsha or thats what u think,

"aloo halla yal ghalya........ha wi9altaw?" he said
"ee...........ee....... 8a9dech layan.  ra7 it7ibenha 5osh wa7da"

hny ana in9idamt.........faisal doesnt sound like faisal

"ooookkkhhh" i said to my self

faisal turned around
"yuma a7acheech ba3dain ma3asalama"

"reeem?" - faisal

weeeeeee sima3ny ............my comments to myself need  to stop

"ooh.hala faisal...." i said... very awkward

"shtsaween hny?laish intay mu da5il ma3a layan?" he said

"layan ra7at itbadil , ma giltly adish ma3aha...." i said
then i gave him a smile that that we used to give to our friend in middle school when we found out she-he has a crush o 9idnaha.

faisal looked at me 3afas wayha bas faham 8a9dy "reem shfeech it6a3eeny chithy?"
he said in a low voice

"since were both close with layanwe are going to see eachother, bas2ilik so2al" i said

"laish, reem a7na wain? ta78ee8?" he said.

"layan's 'cute' 9a7? " i said

faisal ignored me... shaf inny ma 3indi salfa

"la min9ijy are you serious about layan?" i asked

"shilly i5aleech itfakreen chithy" he said.

me: "a girl knows, o ba3dain la tankir iny tawni sima3tik tgol 3anha 5osh wa7da o enta ma tamshee o temda7 bil awadim"

kamalt kalamy

"i need an honest answer please , layan mara7 tadre 3an shay bas i need to know enta nawy titzawajha?" i said

faisal glanced at me. "zawaj mara wa7da? reem 3irfay shay, ana mo nawy atzawaj a7ad, o ba3dain illy yisma3na igool a7na 9irna best friends"

chan ilif 3alay
"shofay .. ana ma akrah layan, o i didnt say  ilove her 3ashan tis2ileen itha batzawajha-"

suddenly a phone rang in between me and faisal, i was in the back and he was in the front so it was on the armrest. chan layan ti6la3 min ilbait and walks over to the car.

it was layans phone

it flashed

the caller i d said

fahad

Twitter

Hiii for all of you that dont know ,

Yes we do have a twitter acount

@waveringletters

We would love to hear your thoughts,

Thanks for ur support, its kept us going

Love,
The three ( tb, tc, tr)

chapter 28

I picked up my phone and called layan

I was freaking out and sobbing

She picked up. Seeda
" halaaa reeeem!!" she said with a singsong voice

" layan!" i said then i chocked on a sob " ana ib il ba7ar bro7y fai madry wainha madry shasawi " i said while looking around

" kany yaya digeega illa ana minak! FAIAaaaaaL!!!!" i caould hear her trip over her self and run
" FAAAAISaaaaal" she shouted again


And then the phone went deAd

-LAYAN-

" FAAAiiiii999999aLLLLLLLLL" i shouted yet again as i ran and bolted through the house.

i tripped on my self and fell chan amsik the table lamp, o ee6ee7 ma3ay.

"ulla layan, haday haday, bismillah shhal energy illy feech, hyperactive, intay mo bnaya, intay
tornado" he said and stood there infront of me.

i looked at him, he was smirking, chan ishoof my facial expression and he turns serious
"sh9ayir layan" he said.

"reem, ib wi9t ilba7ar kanat ma3a fay bas tha3at o il7een reem broo7ha itgool yimkin fay ghrigat aw 9ar feeha shay, dagat 3alay, lazim inroo7 ibsur3a!!!!!!" i shouted and grabbed his arm and yanked him to the door.

chan he yanks me right back


"layan, la7tha la2 intay mo ray7a, bas goleeli wayn o ana aroo7 ashoof shilssafa" he said.

"LA2, AHYA AKTHAR MIN I5TY O LAZIM ASA3IDHA, ANA RAY7A MA3AK" i shouted with a threat in my voice. faisal looked at me

ib kul birood he said "itha bityeen ma3ay libsay jooty 3adil" he said and left "ana bilsayara " he said over his shoulder.
as i was ran to my room i looked at what i was wearing,

hollister sweatpants, black, and a pink shirt, bas i was wearing bunny slippers.
my face turned red.
i quickly ran and got my shoes and ran to the car.

i gave him the directions and we went really fast.

during the car ride kan fee hido2

faisal glanced at me.

bas he didnt say anything.

he sighed and gripped the wheel harder.

i put my face between my hands.

"faisal walla i know inik lail7een im3a9ib 3alay min ili 9ar ams, bas lo tigdar 7i6 hatha killa 3ala
jamb ileen nilga reem o fay, laman nilgahom, rid o 3a9ib o 9ari5 3ala kaifik " i said.

bas chiiny ga3d a7achy nafsy, la2ana hes not replying, and i couldnt see his facial expression cuz i had my face between my hands fa lafayt 3ala faisal and i saw him looking at me.and then he looked at the rooad

"layan, intay t3arfeen laish 3a9abt 3alaich 9a7??? dam inna intay 3arfa nafsich 3ayal ana mo za3lan, min ams, tkalamna o itifa8na" he said,

wait a second, ya3ni hes not mad?

"ya3ni hatha o inta 6abee3y, ok, mashy faisal" i said, and looked out my window.
"its nothing personal" he said.

and i looked at him.

he was half smiling at the road, and i gave him a death stare. he caught it.

"layan hal mawthoo3 laish ihimitch, mita ana kint sweet o 7anoon, oo 6ayoob??" he said.

"madry, bas i thought we were friends at least." i said.

he gave me a dangerous look illy ohwa, la ti3adayn 7iddoodich, man rid 7ag salfat my feelings.

"im not your friend i was never your friend and i never will be" he said.
"3ayal why did you transfer to my school" i asked.
"because your father wanted me to keep you safe" he said.
thats when i got a text from my dad.

daddy : ahlan wa sahlan, ib layoonti, shlonich yuba ?

i glimpsed at faisal bas i replied , i took the risk

so i replied:
laylay: ib 5air il7amdulillah, baba 3adi so2al?

daddy: ana fee mara rifathtich, ask away

laylay: did you make faisal transfer to my school?

daddy: no its was all his idea, hes just like his father, always looking out for peoople :) meeting, see you soon baba

ana waihi 9ar :O

laylay: thanks love you baba

faisal saw my face

"shfeech, kana ra7 no9al" he said. he thought i was reacting from panic, min reem

i called reem

"reemo wainich? ligaytay fay?!"
i said

"LA2 madry shasawi, i should go back in " she started to say when faisal snatched the phone from my hand

"tig3ideen mukanitch ma tit7arikayn a7na kana digeega o no9al" he said and shut the phone

"faisal i wasnt done talking" i said.

"la2, your just gonna panic and if you panic, ahya ra7 ti5tiri3 o itrid i6ub bil ba7ar mara thanya." he said.

we came to a stop

i looked out and saw someone from far away shivering.

i jumped out of the car and ran to reem, she was soaked head to toe with water bas i didnt care, i hugged her hard, and faisal came,

he had three flashlights in his hands.

"ibchow ba3dain, il7een lazim indawir i5tich, " he said.

we both looked at him.

3adeem ili7sas


"when and were was the last place you saw her?" he said.

reem pointed a shaky finger in the sea "mina bilba7ar, willa chan ti5tify, 15 minutes ago" she said.

i shivered, i hated the sea and the ocean and everything that had to do with swimming, because i couldnt swim........

"inzain 5alkom ihny ana adawir, bas keep your lights open, 3alashan itshoof inna fee nas" he said.

faisal jogged off bas i ran after him and reem came in behind me.

"la2 indawir ma3a-" i started chan askit . faisal held a finger to his lips
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

because
.
.
.
.
.

i hear giggling

hysterical giggling.

you know,... the crazy kind.

it came from the peir

it was a white peir, we went on it, we saw fai behind a life preserver, she was dripping wet and she was laughing her ass off.

even when she saw us, bas 7asait fee a7ad nagi9, its just reem and i, wain faisal, hes not on the peir, bas he knew we were here, what was he plaaning.... so i opened my flashlight at fay

"WAIHICH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHH lo tshofeen nafsich, faaaaaay faayyyyy, wainich, wainich, HAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHA" she said. her hair was plastered to her face and her maacara was drpping

"jad ma tisti7een 3ala waihich, fee bany adam 9a7y chithy isawi ib i5ta?" faisal came up from behind.

fay SUDDENLY stopped giggling chan ti5tiri3

"O int shitsawi hnee, mo kfaya inik ma3ana bil madrisa?! kfaya inik imashy fahad, taby teyi tit7akam feeny ana ba3ad,? la shukran this is my life, and my family i can do whatever-" she started to say bas faisal shut her uup

"she may be your family bas layan is a part of mine, o intay ga3d t2athreen 3alayha " he said.

WHAT??

NO KIDDING

did he just ADMIT that i was a part of hiis family?

did that just happen? reem elbowed me, i looked at her and she winked.

i blushed. chan i elbow her back

"MA7AD GAL 7AG LAYAN TIYEE, O INTA FAJ2A RAZ WAIHIK ASHKARA INTA HER BOYFR--" she satarted and stood up

"CHUB!" he shouted. he looked at her. and fay actually looked terrified.

"7asafa 3ala ahalich illy imrabeenich, 7asafa walla" he said. "alhamdulillah reem ghair." he said.

in a calm voice, fay looked shocked, reem and me were grabbing eachother

"tara 3ala fikrah a7na mo yayeen 3alashanich, la roo7ay mootay. i dont care. no, thats putting it nicely, i dont give a fuck what happens to you. bas layan cares about reem, so it makes it my bussiness. "he said.

EVERYONE WAS QUIET

he then turned to me and reem

we were grabbing on to eachother.

if only i icould describe in words how he looked right now....

hatha illy jidami mo faisal il barid. hatha the incredible hulk

he looked at reem

"mara7 itbardeen galbich?? ahya mo i5ty o ANA mi7tirig, intay shloon?" he said to reem.

"saway feeha nafs ma sawat feech" he said.

reem took her hands away from me and walked up to fai, fai was at the edge of the peir.

"go ahead reem bit6ay7eeny? you dont have the guts," she said and laughed. "yalla reem, dizeeny, i dare you"

anger flashed on reems face bas it turned to sadness

"no, im not going to, because because your my sister and i owe it to you" reem said.

an expression of doubt passed over fays face

"well i owe her nothing and im not her sister" i said and pushed fay off the peir, bas fay pulled me with her.

and i fell

all

the

way

down

Chapter 27

reem

It was a long tiring day for me, I came back from the salon I manicured my nails and put on the newest nail polish color they had and I felt good having to have pretty nails. it's the simple things that make me happy.

i went uo to my room, checked my twitter sonce i have nothing better to do 9ara7a.
o garait a tweet faja2ny 7ail

" @LayanAl- : @FahaDalflani follow back please "

layan tweeted this to Fahad?!?!? follow back 7ag shnuu

i called her seeda.

she was busy. way layan please pick up!

i called again, shes still on the phone!?!?!

i checked fahads twitter wela he followed her back..
whats going on.

Doesnt matter now. its time for me to go to bed bas for sure ra7 a3arf shisalfa.

--:" sh3ndch dasha his profile?"
faj2a i turned around willa..

me :" fay? bismila khara3teny"

fay:" i knew it wallah , men nathrata 7agch o men a tsolfoon ma3a ba3ath "

what does she mean?

fay:" adry inch ga3da tsa3dena."

aham Shay inha ma iktashfat 3an what's the group about. 9ij in a I don't really love Fay bas she's my sister! o ma 3ndy ghairha o methel ma mama tgool ikhty ilwa7eda o ihya illy ra7 tinfa3ny 6ool 3mry lazim dayeman a7sen 3ela8ty ma3aha la2ana bas falat we're heading to college. plus I don't want to be the girl who choses her crush over her only sister.


fa she doesnt have proof. agdar arag3 elwth3


Fay: " shfech sakta chethy? Tara aadryy inah intay ma3a Fahad"

she looked at me with that sad look , straight face ....

Me: " Fay! awalannn entay malich 7ag you sneak up on me!! oo thany Shay Fahad offered oo shlone tabeny agool la2"

I can feel fire flames coming from her eyes. Ana 9ara7atan i5tera3t.

Fay :" chethy.... LA2!!!!!!!!"

ok she just yelled at me 9rakh,ha we9al ilsika

Me :" MU T9ARKHEN 3ALAY FAY!! A9LAN...."

Fay:" ANA !!!!! Ana mahamny ghair inch chathabtay b wayhy!! oo ma 8aharny ill a in a I thought I could give you a chance cuz u were nice to me!! bas wallah I feel sorry for you ma t3arfen tgolen kilmatt la2 3ndch entay lazim itratheen innas kilahaaa. bas shnsawy bit.tgolen 6oul 3mrch coward"

Those words really hurt me ! she's my only sister and she hates me so much oo ilmshkila I have to deal with her everyday o Ana ma arta7 a7ad yt.thayeg men af3aly bas what to do. Fay got out i shut the door and started crying

---------------

next day.


i tried to forget about fay and start a new day.

It was finally election day at school! Fahads campaign rocked! I only helped him by making him a poster and the rest copied it oo sawaw kilshay..

Fay's campaign was over the top.. she promised the school everything o kilman yathe8 fe kilmat.ha la2ana ma3rpof 3nha itha 7a6at Shay b ras,ha tsawee.

The principle assembled us in the auditorium for 4 hours. I sat with my class third row and ever class in high school attended it was something to look forward to . Hearing their speeches is always fun.

Fahad was at my left while Fay was at my right. here's what i see,

Fahad tshoofonah mtayme3 ma3a rab3a o rab3a y6afroona oo they punch him oo ytha7kona, ya3ne fahad kan wayed mistaanis mbayen men his gorgeous face , you can feel fahad in the room. ohwa dayman yswe jaw plus hes veryy attractive, ya3ne try NOT looking. can you ?

an on the ther side 6ab3an .. Fay.

Fay looked cute, she better, she tries hard to.. oo ana ash,had hal shay !
oo she has the most sophosticated look o ehya t7achy her friends .. ilseriousness imbayen.

PRINCIPLE: " Ok highschool! we are done with what we had to say now its FINALLY time to hear your speeches.. so please, lets just get this over with. First up its Fay AlFlany"

Fay 3ndaha jmhooor kilman cheering ... she went up the stage b kil the8at.ha o she was very professional about it. oo very inspiring qoutes 7a6at,hum too. ya3ne 9ara7a layeglaha t9eer leader. and she ended her speech with " Thanks everyone! and mqy the best win"

PRINCIPLE :" okay! thank you Fay that was really something . i am proud to have an over achiever such as yourself in my school. so, next up, Fahad alFlany"

Jimhoor fahad nafs fay bas inna Fahad cham wa7d men rab3a shaddaw 7ailhom and gave him a great cheer.

Fahad was nothing near being proffesional. bas he was a competition. isloobah bilkalam makes u want to hear more of what he has to say. his voice is very relaxing, it7isona ma5eth ra7ta. ya3ne lo ysb masabah it would sound nice. o broo7a hes goodlooking. fa yathmin most of the girls votes. oh, and ofcourse he does make sence.

next up were more speeches of student council,volley ball tournamints winning cup speeches, student appreciation committee, senior and juniors committees as well. ya3ne it was long four hours.


lama i got out of the audotorium i saw Fahad with all the people illy bil bbm group.

"Reeeem! " fahad
" oh halla fahad ! your speech was great inshallah itfooz" reem
" mashkoora o haman ikhtch mbad3a mashallaa" fahad
" eeeh mashkoor"
" bas 7abait ashkrkom o enshallah awal ma afooz nakshit bilmadresa o nroo7 feildrip bas a7na ns7ab 3al madrsa "

its funny ina he doesnt make sence, ya3ne bkaifk ? loool bas thats adorable we LOVE his randomness we all laughed.

" shfeekom t,th7koon? 9ij" -fahad
" 9ij" Zaid.
" la ya athwal" -fahad

------
BACK AT HOME

Fay and i kinna broo7na bilbait .

Faj2a o ana ga3da bil9ala she calls my mobile .

tawa m9arkha 3alay?

i picked up.

me " ana bil9ala"

fay " o ana bissayara ta3alay bara"

me " u dont have a car and ur still seventeen tben itfahmeny inch bara o b sayartch"

fay " la ya thakeya sayarat ilbait o ana a3arf asoog imshay bara wela gi3day bro7ch ma3a ilyinny"

me " seriously? yinny? ok ra7 aye dgega bas abadl o agol 7ag the maid tagfil ilbab.. oh 9a7 wain bnro7?"

fay " la ya thakeya intay ma tgolen 7ag a7ad mara7 n6awel bas libsay ay jeans and tshirt o 6l3ay."


she drove me lay share3 illy jidam ilshi3ib i think, 9ob fridays and kfc 3ala ilba7ar and lenotre,

fay " reem khalnsawy shay maynon"

reem " ghair ina a7na 6al3en bdon ma ahalna yadron o entay ga3da tsogen without a license? "

fay " wayyy 3ade shfech!! stop trying to be a goodytwoshoes"

me " im not entay stop trying to be a badass"

fay " chinnich ga3da tma95enha"

iff. whatever.

she turned on " turn up the music" by chris brown 7a6enha on 99.7 .. 7ail layga hal ighnya b ta9arof fay al7een...

Fay i9fi6at jidam ilba7ar..

me " fay shwaya ana mkhtr3a la tgolen ench men ino3 ily twa3deen ily sha3arhum spikey illy kila ygzoon bilmarina"

fay " la u idiot"

me " 3ayal btnta7rain? wela t7achen yananwa? ilsa3a 7;40 oo a7na b ba7r mal kfs?"

fay 6l3at men the car and irkethat lay ilba7ar ana li7agt.ha

" FAY!!!!!!!"

she laughed oo ra7at lay the shore oo thalma and i lost her!! thalait 15 minutes o ana adawrha ! i dont even have the car keys!!!! i cat believe ana in7a6ayt ib hal maw8if i acted like crazy

" Fay!!!! Fay yal maynona yal mu 9a7ya hathy mu ghashmara!!"

bas theres no sign of fay.



" FAYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!" i yelled over and over...

Thats where i called layan...

chapter 26

salam!!! this post is extra long, thank you for supporting us and pushing us on. thanks!!! hope you like, please comment on the bottom of the blog -tb, tc, and tr



-LAYAN-

i quickly got out of my car and walked into the streets with cook (maria)

i could hear music, we were ib 3arth il ma3arith, and there were many other expos and ma3arith here other than ghizlans.

i found gizlans booth and rushed over to her.

the ma3rath was outside bilail o fee dj, a teenage kuwaiti dj ma3a rab3a.

salamt 3ala ghizlan o lamaitha la2ana 9arly fatra 6iweela mo shayfatha.

she pulled me back and looked at me

"shfeech laylay shaklich mi5tar3a o 3ala a39abich, 7adich alert. hahaha" she said and hugged me again.

"la la ma feeny shay lat5afeen" i said and she cleared a seat next to her for me to sit on,
her co booth owners came by and said hi to me, salimo 3alay o ra7o so they could give me and my cuzin some privacy,

tawni hadait and i started having fun, willa chan faj2a i see someone shooting through the crowd, power walking. o he was walking straight towards me.

waiha bayanli inna ohwa im3a9ib. he stared holes into me. and he looked anything but calm.

min 3yona, min the blackness of his eyes, it couldnt be anyone other than faisal

i stood up in a rush

when suddenly 5 guys came infront of faisal and hugged him and shouted and laughed

"hala hala , shlonik, fa9ool manshoofik" they said. so i ran through the huge ma3rath trying to find a place far enough to escape in when suddenly i bump into a wall of muscle.

i look up and see fahad

shako fahad

hatha min wain 6ila3ly.

he looked down at me and smiled.

"deeray balich la t6ee7een, u look like youve seen a ghost shfeech??!" he said

hatha wayid im6ayi7 ilmiyana

"a3arfik?" i said

he looked a little taken a back and embarresed

"no bas i know you, your reems friends, and your faisals friend. so we have those two in common plus they always talk about you" he said.

i cracked a smile.

"faisal talks about you all the time too fahad" i said.

wila chan fahad laughs and looks at somone behind me

"speak of the devil" he said and i started to run when faisal yanked me from behind by my arm.

then he looks at fahad.

faisal o fahad same height.

same broad shoulders.

completely different faces and facial expressions.

"fahad inta shimsawy hnee, you know this isnt the place or time. ana gayilik" faisal whispered in a loud angry voice.


a look of complete birood passed over fahads face. chan yibtisim


"we know them and they know us" fahad whispered.

what the hell???
"will someone tell me whats going on ?" i said.

fahad looked at me with an expression that told me i shouldve kept quiet. min the fear on his face
cuz faisal is going to blow up
and faisal looked at me with angry intense eyes
"you want to know whats going on?!ha?! fahad roo7 yeeb ilsayara" he said and took his car keys from his pocket and threw them over at fahad. fahad caught them bas looked at faisal

"faisal-" he started to say bas faisal gave him a look that stopped him

"LA2" faisal said and fahad walked out of view.

faisal grabbed my arm and yanked dragged me behind him.
we went in the middle of the ma3rath were everything is happeneing.

faisal placed me infront of him meaning my back was to him bas he put both hand on my shoulder and bent down to whisper in my ears from behind
"you wanted to know why i didnt want to bring you here?" he said "just watch"
his breathe tickled my neck and i tried not to shiver

chan faj2a the kuwaiti dj stood up and held the mic

and a group of guys from every corner materialized.

from behind booths, from 9ob ta7t il dj and from al around came into view

the dj spoke"kilikom ithidoon your booths o ti6li3oon ib hido2, in sima3t hal 7achy yi6la3, itshoofoon" he said.

the guys walked over to every booth and every person thats buying

they were holding swiss knives and guns.

one of the guys came over to us and stood infront of me he had a straight face, bas he saw faisal he smiled.

oh my god this is the same guy i heard talking to faisal imsa3

" faisal ma kint mitwa8i3 inik yayib i5tik ma3aak, dereeballik 3alaiha, mako aman il7een, fa 5alik ma3aha. " he said
"inshallah wala yihimik" he said, and they parted ways, faisl turned me around and held my shoulders min jidam, he bent down so that we were eye level

he was treating me like a kid.

his eyes were scary

kan 7ail im3a9ib
"fahamtay laish ana ma kint abeech tiyeen, sim3ay ilkalam, fee consequences to your actions. fe thaman tidfi3eena 7ag a8la6ich, dont let it be your life" he said.

tears came to my eyes cuz i realized something.

"GHIZLAAN DA5il!!!" i shouted.
faisal looked at me with a dissaproving stare, and he looked calm.

"o5ooha wa7id minhom 6ala3ha gabil may 9eer shay, o la2 she doesnt know whats going on" he said.
he bent back and grabbed my arm and we started walking.
the mustang came into view and fahad hopped out.
he looked shocked and went to the passengers seat
faisal got into the drivers seat and i got into the middle seat in the back
faisal started the car and we got out.

we got outside and drove. when we were a safe distance faisal glanced at fahad while driving

"inta maynoon wala 9a7y, fhaid, inta shlon troo7 w int 3arif inna fee gameplan ilyom?" he said.
bas faisal kamal kalam
"ya3ni inta bitdish ma3ahom?" he shouted
fahad sat up straight
"la2 ma kint ba9eer" he shouted and faisal shouted on top of him
"3ayal laish?!!" he shouted.
"ma a3eesh illa mara o dam inna infitha7t--" he started shouting
"ma infitha7t, I TOLD YOU ID TAKE CARE OF IT AND I DID!!" he shouted and pushed the stearing wheel hard
fahad looked at him with sad eyes
"faisal why is it that your way of taking care of it always involves hurting people-" he started in a low voice
"OFCOURSE I HURT THEM BUT ITS BECAUSE THEY HURT YOU, AND YOU DONT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT" faisal shouted
la7tha why did this sound familiar to me
....

"LA7THA hatha ohwa ilmowthoo3 illy we had a fight about!!!!! ANA SHDA5ALNY ib ILLY GA3D I9EER" i shouted

faj2a kil man sikat.

chan i look at the rearview mirror just in time to seee faisal giving me the shut up look.

fahad looked at faisal

"ee ahya shako maskeena" he said

i looked at faisal

faisal took a deep sigh

"layan i said i was sorry" he said in a low voice

"and i still am " he said and tightened his grip on the stearing will

fahad looked at faisal and smiled in shock
"faisal you never apologize" he said amazed

"yes i do, cham mara ta2asaftlik?" he said

"e bas ana ghair, ana ma3ak min w a7na 7 kinna inseperable" he said.

"la7tha you two knew eachother since you were seven?" i said.
fahad nodded and turned back and smiled at me
"yup, since my dad left" he said.

and faisal stiffened.

the car bilghala6 swerved and i fell 3ala jamb

fahad turned to faisal
"woah are you ok?" he said.

bas faisal wasnt looking at fahad he was looking at me from the rearview with a searching expression in his eyes that confused me

"ya,the wheel just slipped" he said.

and we stayed quiet til we got to fahads place
when fahad got out he got out infront of a large house as big as mine.
i got out too cuz i was planning on interrogating the hell out of faisal
when both of us got out. fahad smiled and said

"yalla ma3asalama layan, its been a pleasure"

i smiled.

"the pleasure is all mine" i said. and got in the car with faisal, bas i saw faisal and fahad look at eachother and fahad wink at faisal.

faisals face turned red, i dont know if he was blushing or if it was red min how mad he was

"tell me everything, start from how you know about what happened tonight and how you know the guys" i said. and turned my whole body around in the seat to look at faisal

he sighed

"the guys you just saw, steal and sell, its called a game plan because they dont actually need the money, its just for fun. " he said

he looked at the road in a calm manner

he didnt glance at me

"what about the innocent people?" i said

"none of them are innocent, all of them have gotten on there bad sides or are there to pay them, some like your cuzin ghizlan are there from a little persuasion from her brother, she doesnt know her brother is using her, just to fill up the place," he said.

he looked at the road in silence, he looked calm bas his hand were gripping the stearing wheel so hard. i thought the wheel was about to break

"faisal im not gonna ask about fahad, because i owe that much to you, if you want i wont even ask why you blamed me" i said and his hands lost tension and he breathed.
" bas ib one condition" i said. and he gave me the first look in the car. he gave me the i hate you look

"ilmofrooth-" he said, then he shut up and thought to himself for a second
"lets hear it" he said.
"you tell me the truth from now on" i said.

"i dont owe you anything" he said.
i looked at him bas i didnt say anything, so i turned to my window
we stayed silent for a few minutes
"how about a bargain" he said. at last

i looked at him suspiciously
"you dont ask me about what happened with fahad, you dont talk about fahad with anyone and by anyone i mean reem. o ba3dain, you listen to me, you understand that i have reasons, and......" he said. a look of sadness quickly came and went.
"you promised you would tell me when youd run away, and you broke that promise. i need you to keep it this time layan" he said.
"and in return, ill answer 10 questions truthfully" he said.

i looked at him in disbelief
"wayid 3alaik ten questions faisal, kil hatha o i only get ten questions?" i said.

"7imday rabich layan" he said,
i thought about it
"ok its a deal" i said
he looked a little surprised but nodded,
we got home and before i got out of the car
"faisal, ee ma giltly how did you find me?! ib hal sur3a" i said.
he looked at me and smiled a wide smile bas it was sarcastic
"four square" he said.
:O
i felt so stupid,
i literally smacked a hand over my head

"that counts as a question layan, you have nine more" he said, before he disapeared into the house,
i got in, and walked to my room.
then i thought better of it, and looked out my window, faisal left to god knows were
so i did something i shouldnt have done
i went to fahads twitter and asked him to call.
my number
my phone vibrated in a matter of seconds

chapter 25

-REEM-

i woke up, i picked up my phone

and i saw all of layans mixed calls

so i called her o ana mi5tar3a

"reem" layan says ans breathes a sigh of relief

"shfeech 5ara3teeni, shisalfa daga 3alay 15 missed call" i say in a fraked out voice

"you wont believe what friggin happened yesterday. ana kint bil ma6ba5 gam akil barid chan faisal yidish o yaglib il bait fog ta7at o yi9ari5 3ala salfa, madry shigool bas hes blaming me 3ala 9adee8a hatha illy t7ibeena fahad, ana ga3adt sakta the whole time bas ga3d a7awil afham shisalfa. chan yi6ayir kirsy o yigool, allahu a3lam how im going to fix this. madry shasawi ib 3omri hes blaming me 3ala ayshay" layans voice shocked me o 6ayar il nom min bali.

"ee layan ana -"

i didnt know if i should tell her or not because i remeber faisal making me promise to keep this secret from everyone especially llayan. so i shut up

"intay shinu" layan says

((layan will find out about this whole thing sooner or later bas i choose later))

"tabeen information si2lay faisal ana ma a3arif shay" i said.

"hatha itha i7acheeni ba3d, o ana bilyalla ashofa hal ayam, to tell u the truth were both avoiding eacother min wara illy 9ar"

we quickly said my goodbys and shut the phone.

i cant believe faisal made me keep a secret from my best friend.

=========================================================================

-LAYAN-

i got up from bed
i put one of my favorite songs on the speaker

come back down - greg laswell

we didnt have school today. so i guess it was just going to be me

i changed and looked at myself in the mirror.

i didnt sleep well last night

thats an understatement, i didnt sleep period.

lafayt rasy o shuft my long curly black hair.

i left it open, its not like i cared how anyone saw me plus this is my house and if i cant feel comfortable here then were can i?

so i wore my favorite purple free city sweatpants and a white shirt.

thats when the song changed and i heard  a song that suddenly brought an instant smile to my face

(olly murs-busy)

i dedicate this song to....
why do i always have to think of faisal?
why does it always come back to faisal.???

i started singing at the top of my lungs and while i was brushing my hair i used the brush as a mic.
i sang chinni adele.

willa suddenly i hear a knock on my door.

"na3am!!?" i shouted above the music.

"layan 6il3ay bakalmich" .........................................................

even though his voice was so low and calm,
you could hear the intensity radiationg from a million miles away.

i shut the music and opened my door.

he was there wearing a black t and grey a and f sweatspants.

i looked up at him. cuz if i just stared straight ahead i would be staring at his chest... o ana mo nagi9ny.

it was hard for me,,,, looking at him in the eye, and knowing that he rejected me and that he has and will always dislike me, he could be laughing at me right now. but no

not right now

right now hes mad

i can see it in his eyes

and that stupid look of dissapointment hes been looking at me with since that day.

the day i told him how i felt.

5 days ago.

i dont regret it. im actually happy that i told him. it puts the weight off my chest,

"layan, i shouldnt have over reacted ams " he said.

and that shocked me. he must have something he wants.

"bas ilyom chinny sami3 inna 3indich ma3rath?? wala shay chithy,ana 9a7 wala kalami 8ala6?"
was he seriously playing this game with me? he wasnt asking me, a7is he was threatening.

"ee walla ana ray7a to support my cusin ghizlan, shes raising money for her graduation this year." i said in a calm voice.

"mako" he said. and briskly turned walked out

:o

so i walked out after him .

"faisal" i said. bas he ignored

"faisal " i repeated.....

"FAISAL GA3D A7ACHEEK" i shouted. bas kamal 6ireeja to the garage im guessing.

so i blurted out the first words that came out of my mouth



"IB KAIF OMIK ITGOOLY WAIN IGDAR O MA IGDAR AROO7?!!" i said

he stopped in his tracks.

o laf 3alay

"shgiltay?" he said.

i5tira3t willa chan i see the side of his lip twich, and i knew he was trying hard not to smile

bas he held it down

"ma tro7een layan" he said with a straight face

" laish ?min gal" i shot back

"ana" he said. with defiance

he smirked into a half sarcastic smile

 and with that he walked out.

-----------------------------

at 7 i talked to cook and the driver and we got into the car and went to the ma3rath without faisal
knowing.
he hasnt been back home all day.

i was wearing a white shirt tucked into a beautiful black skirt that reached my knee

my hair was curly as usual.

so while i was on my way i heard my phone ring.

and i saw caller id

the snake

it said. meaning it was faisal.... ya faisal in his own way is a snake

i told the driver to shut the wondows to make it sound like home.

i picked up

"aloo?" i said.

"wainich?" he said waiiiiii faisal btithba7ny min biroodtik.

"bil bait laish?" i said.

lay koon hes on to me

"la bas kint aby at2akad" he said.

"ok zain if thats all thenn-" i started bas he cut me off

"ee layan agool, intay ib ay ghurfa bilthab6" he said.

SHIT!!! he knows!!!!!!!!!!!!!

act calm

"im in my room" i said.

"i just checked your room layan. wanna try again?" he asked

SSSHHIIIITTTT im dead im friggin dead. mu kfaya il9ra5 illy ams?

"o did i say i was in my room? i meant i was in the GUEST room" i said with a nervous laugh

"if by guest room you mean my room then i would hope not layan la2ana fee shay isma privacy, bas besides that im in my room right now. want to stop playing this game layan? cuz i havent started. and if your going to play games with me, 3ayal min il7een bagoolich, inna no one beats me, ever" he said. and as he spoke anger gradually picked up, bas he kept his voice low the whole time.

faisal is one of a kind

"what game faisal-" i started innocently

"your game, gam til3ibeen hide and seek nafs ilyahal" he pointed out.


the car slowly came to a stop. wi9alt

"now are you going to tell me were you really are, or do you want me to count to ten and come find you? cuz i warn you, when i do find you, ill bring you back kicking and screaming"
he said in a voice as smooth as velet.

i gulped and took my chances.

i shut the phone in his face.

Chapter 24

　

-REEM-

During Dinner.

Mom: " Reema 7abeebty, ashoof Layan kanat 3ndch ilyom?"

Me: " Ee mama, kanat 3ndy"

Fay:" Ee shfeha Layan mu 3ala ba3th,ha ma yat tsalm 3alay"

Concieted much Fay? ... I didn't answer her. I continued eating my organic food that I'm obsessed with.

Mama sits 3ala ras il6awla. kilyom tes2alna 3an how are days are going and what we did, it like she's our daily journal. Fay tells mama literelly everything! Her darkest secrets are with her. But ofcourse not that I know of any secrets. Being the second child is not the best when your elder sibling is a girl. I only tell Layan my darkest secrets. I love my mom, but I'm ok with not sharing my deep secrets with her

Mom: " Fayona, how are your elections going mama?"

Fay : " Fine. illa wa7ed mnarfzny b9afy 7ail!"

Mom : " Wee , haw laish!"

" 3ala shnu shayef 3omrah madry! ohwa mrashe7 nafsa thidy and all the seniors think we are competing 3adel ... Fahad.. ma awa6na kilish"

Uh-oh. Fay is really jelous. No one thinks its a competition its only Fay that thinks Fahad is better than her. Everyone in school likes Fahad exept her.

"Men wilda?"

"Weld alflany ..."

"Yoma, hathail winni3m fehom 5osh nas o ma3rof 3anhom open minded 7abebty, ethaher intay ma5tha ilmas2ala jad. Honey, I know you will win. Bas mo tensain have fun, its just the school elections. Wela shraych Ryooma?"

Thankk you Mama for pointing that out !!!Fahmatny!

My mom lazim tabeeny a3ali8,

" e 9a7.. "

My phone started to vibrate.

A BBM group requested me to join them.

" FREINDS AND VOLUNTEERS ILWE7OOOSH "

Sarah and her bro are in the group. So I joined them.

Uh-oh the group was made by Fahad !!

Oh god! 9a7! I promised I would help him!

Fay is staring at me. she freaked me out it was as if she knows whats going. Ilthag6 ina i5ty jidamy agolaha shay, and my mobile Fahad o I promised both I'de help them. If Fay finds out I'm helping him, our relationship will sink and becomes worse. She hates him!

" Feeh shay Fay?"

"La Reem mafe shay, sorry tana7t"

wehhww , for a second i thought she did something crazy like read my mind .

*AT SCHOOL*

I was in the car 6;30 in the morning, Layan had to call. Typicall.

" Alo Reem"

"Hala gorgeous "

" Hala feech, Reem Faisal mu bilmadresa"

After that day, what Faisal did to Layan. I think he's crazy I hate him so much, akrah asma3 ismah. Insan mu 9a7y!!

Ya3ne lazim my day gets ruined lama a9abi7 ib ismah!

" What's your point exactly Layan. 7asasteeny he's into school and education."

" Reem, madry I know something is going on"

" I'm glad he's not in school ! You should enjoy your day without seeing his face. istaghferallah , ok I have to go now bye akalmch b3dain."

I walked in the emty hallway. No one was in school its wayy to early. Awal mara ashouf ilwath3 chethy. Awal mara agoom hal 7azza!

I saw Fatma, the girl who sent me Fahad's pic. , at the corner. Twitching her eyes.

I quickly got inside the bathroom. the bathroom had this open mrwa7a it6il 3ala that hallway. I can hear everything clearly.

Fatma maynona, I knew it.

But wait........ There's someone talking to hear. So I made sure I concentrated to hear what he's telling her.

" Haa? Shgelna ? Shtgolen 7ag Reem?"

" That.... that I'm sorry..."

"La2!"

"That I photoshoped his picture! Ok ! And I'm sorry! Oo you can't keep threatning me !!"

" Laa I'm gonna keep threatning and blackmailing you ... Mu tensain elfthaye7 , iladela, the memory sticks kilhom mawjooda 3indy .. "

"You can't keep doing this for the rest of my life! You can't ruin my life!! terthaha b e5tiik??"

" Ana agool teskteen wayed a7san, just like how you tried ruining Fahad's life I'm going to ruin yours. Watch me! ... sim3eeny, tgoolen 7ag Reem ina the picture is fake wellaaa wallah...."

" OK ! OK! I will!!!"

Is that Faisal................? 7aljy 6a7 mba6al!!! Oh my god... mo 9a7y mo 9a7y ! He's crazy... I need to find Fahad ! Now!! The pictures are real and Faisal isn't dealing with it the right way!

I got furious! Faisal gally Fahad's past, and I believed him, now he's telling Fatma to tell me they are fake??? Shnu shayefny? I can't trust Faisal. Fahad khosh wa7ed o etha b3arf the truth o ahtam ib som3ta lazim i face him.

Bas wain a7a9la? I don't have my elective ilyom.

I pin-messaged him. since I have his pin men the group.

" Hala Fahad , it's Reem :D ! Please meet me in mister Tareq's room at homeroom thanks!"

* At mister Tareq's homeroom*

It was an emty class.

Dashait wela ashouf Fahad ga3d.

He was tanner than usual, he smelled like Fahrenhiet by Dior. Aaah a classic.

Doesn't matter now.

"Halla Reem ! How's it going??"

"Hala, tamam"

"how's your weekend?"

" Il7emdela and you?"

" el7emdellaa, it was okayy"

Fahad was alll smiles.

Fahad: "Soo , I got your pin message"

Reem: " Aaaah. eeeh. Fahad... Lazim afat7ik ib mawthoo3."

Fahad i5tera3, he crossed his arms. And looked at the ground.

"Ee?"

" Ma agdar ashra7lik, bas shoof hal 9ora tgol kilishay. oo hal 9ora one of the girls dazatly eyaha."

I handed my mobile to him.

" 9oooraa?" He said mistaghreb.

Shaf il9ora. oo 3aina tba6ilat wide open. His eyebrows went up the roof O he streight faced.. Awal mara !

" Fahad..... You can trust me. Adry ina inta ma 3endik hal swalif, o Faisal threatened the girl to send it.. "

I told him 3an Faisal o shno gally, oo 3an what i whitnessed. I talked & talked without him saying a word.

" Oo men chethy I don't trust Faisal.. O aby asma3 ilsalfa minik"

" La Faisal illy galich eyah 9a7." He finally spoke!

" Thanks for caring, bas illy agdar agoolich eyah ina i'm not that guy anymore, o I'm sorry you had to see that picture. "

Fahad said with sad eyes, serious face. Wow. I know how to deal with him. I deal with Layan everyday don't I? They almost have the same responses.

" Fahad, we can't erase the past, il9ora sheft.ha o 5ala9. As we all know, Faisal did not trust me, and I don't care. I need YOU to trust me"

Okkkkkk , that came out wrong !! indimajt

ilmafrooth Fahad illy ytkalam o ana a9eer the monosymbollic... bas now Fahad is another person, he's shocked and he's not himself.

Fahad excused himself and left the class. He ran away didn't he.

7asayt nafsy ghabya. 7asayt inna I shouldn't have done that. 7asait ina he hates me . I hate me.

I don't know why I got emotional and started crying. I went to the bathroom washed my face. It's hard seeing Fahad's other face, kisar 5a6ry . I never saw the smile tfarg his face. Seeing him like this made me feel like I ruined his year.

----

*At home*

I felt like shit 6ab3an. I suggested i log on to twitter or anything just to get my mind of things.

I saw a message .

It was a bbm message from Fahad.

" Dear Reem. I trust you, ofcourse! Thank you for telling me. The thing is ana min7erij mench & since we're being honest here. Ur the last person I want to find out about this.. Thank you again for believing in the new me :D"

THIS !!!! Made me sleep with A SMILE ON MY FACE !! <3 <3 <3

_-NARRATOR-

While Reem was sleeping.

Layan would call her 5 times in a row.

Her screen would show a whatsapp message from Layan:

"REEM! SH9AYER!! CALL ME BSR3A!!!!!"

　

　

　

chapter 23

LAYAN-

"no one is as,confusing, tiring, mean, coniving,sinister, and clueless as you. you dont even try. and yet everyone is half in love with you from how you look and you dont even know. your too busy in your own dark place to even open your eyes. so no im not like you faisal but truthfully i dont think anyone in the world is, bas despite everything. i have FEELINGS FOR YOU " i said.


step 3: face him

when i got the words out i watched him

he looked at the ground. his face was straight suddenly. he looked at the car.

"ana bilmadrisa itha tabeen shay-" he said while turning giving me his back and walking to his car

i blew up

"NOW WHO'S RUNNING AWAY FAISAL?" i shouted.

he stopped dead in his tracks

he stood tall.

i though he would ignore me and walk away

bas instead he wipped around to face me.

his eyes large black holes.

3a9ab.

"YA3NI WHAT DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO?? LOVE YOU BACK? HOLD YOUR HANDS, GIVE YOU A HUG? DO YOU KNOW HOW WRONG THAT IS? WHAT DO YOU TAKE ME FOR LAYAN INTAY SHAYFATNY??? I MADE A LOT OF PROMISES, I MADE YOUR DAD A PROMISE, IM PLANNING ON KEEPING IT. I DONT CARE HOW YOU FEEEEL ABOUT ME." he said.

and then he shut up when he saw the look on my face.

i was about to cry.

so i did - for the very first time- what i wanted to do not what i had to do.
i let myself cry infront of faisal

"ha shgiltay layan?! lail7een t7ibeeni?" he said in his threatening voice and looked at me expecting an answer

he looked at me daring me to not play along.

no one controls me

"e" i said.

and turned to climb my car.

i got in and was starting the car. tawni nazla min lilparking willa faisal runs infront of my car. thirabt brake, 7ail

i opened my door

chan a3a9ib i walked up to him

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING YOU COULDVE GOTTEN HURT" i said.

bas he looked at me in his calm straight face.

bas his eyes were so tense

they looked at me
and we stayed there quietly staring at eachother

i knew this look

its the same look he gave me when he made me make the promise,

faisal wanted to tell me something

we looked at eachother,

if any other person was there they would have said it was dead silence.

even though we spoke no words.

our eyes spoke volumes.

"intay shunu tabeen to9leenla layan?" he said in a cold voice. his voice was rough and dry, you had to listen close to hear him


i looked at him in shock

so he talked

"farathan i felt the same way layan shinu kintay nawya 3alay? shinu kintay tabeen yi9eer?" he said.

he looked so cold and lost and i just realized howw tired he looks. how long has he been waiting outside for me?
i looked at him. i was paralyzed from the lok in his eyes

"ii dontt knnow ii " i stuttered.

he shut me up with a look.

he cleared his throat.


"you have bad taste," he said.

was he joking.

he gave me a crack of his old smile

and i realized what he was doing.

he was giving me a chance to get back to normal to forget this ever happened.

"you told my dad you dont remember me when we were kids bas bil bar you told me how i acted when we were 6" i said.

his smile dissapeared.

he got a pained look in his eyes. hes had it since he came infornt of my car.

faisal looks really tired. he looked up towards the sky the way he did when he was mad or frustrated.

when he couldnt control something

"layan, your never going to be with me. because you dont know whats good for you, luckily im here to make sure you do the right thing and go on the right path.
6al3ay hal fikra min balich" he said

then he looked at me in the eye

"ni6ray sina, o 6al33eeeny min balich, insay 3any, la2ana thi8ay o ta2akiday, ana ra7 insaach" he said.

and walked away to his car. i stood there staring at the empty space he had just occupied.

i stood there.

i heard footsteps and felt rreeems arms come around me.

bas i kept hearing the words over and over in my head

ana ra7 insaach..

chapter 22

-LAYAN-

2;30 a.m

(in my pjs listening from behind the wall, mouth wide open. eyes wide, hands pressed to my mouth)

i stood there shocked...

i was horrified

and for one moment i felt stuck in a moment

its not like i like him

.......that much

faisal just said that if he stays here he'll hate himself.

that he can't take it anymore

that im not like him.

i went to my room and stood outside my door

was i really just going to cry?

no im stronger

stop looking at it as if it was black and white its not.

your so stupid so stupid and foolish for thinking that a guy like faisal could ever love me

"venus flytrap"' i said to myself. and smiled through my tears.

it made me feel a little better.

thinking about faisal while crying over him.

ya i know its messed up

but i have to get my mind straight

so i vent.

i always face someone when i feel this way

but how could i ever face faisal.

thats when i decided to get in the room.

"toxic" i said before entering my room.

i had to face this

and in order to do so i needed to put some space between me and faisal

so step one: put some distance between me and faisal

i packed  a bag put my pajamas in it and a few clothes and stuff and my sunglasses on . cuz i didnt want to take any chances

step two:

piss him off

its not revenge,

i got into the car and drove.

i have never driven alone before, but i knew how to drive, and reems house is close to mines, so i took the spare key in the garage and left.

i got in and went to reems house,

i was still wearing my pjs.

i got to reems house and rang the bell i forgot to call and everything but its like my second home,

the nanny lachmi opened the door, when she knew it was me she let me  in,

lachmi had curlers in her hair, and i almost smiled. she was shorter than me.


so i went upstairs and got into reems room

"reem reem wake up" i said in a low voice.

she shook shway

"na3am, layan????" she said and got up

she opened her lamp and saw my tearstreaked cheaks from under my glasses. i took my sunglasses off and she hugged me.

"why are you crying?" she said.

and i told her everything.

the look on her face was shock and confusion and at last anger

its as if she didnt expect faisal to be this mean

"layan may5alif intay il7een namay 3indy bas at one point ra7 itrideen ilbait. and you have to face him" she said, and patted my hair.

"ok"

i said in a small voice

i hugged her

and i fell asleep

PING!!! PING!!! PING!!! PING!!!

I heard my phone ring half an hour later, i barely shut my eyes. its 4:30 am

i checked my phone and saw faisals number

i sighed.

"aloo" i said.

"LAYAN WAINICH!!!!! ILSA3A 4:30 ILFAYIR, WAINICH???!!!!!" his voice 6ayar ilnom min 3ayni

"malik shi8il ma3a salama" i said. bas i didnt shut it

cuz i heard him say " O BA3D ITSIDEENA??!!! ABASHRICH LAYAN TARA ANA ADRY INICH IB BAIT REEM, KANY YAY" he said,

why is it that faisal talks so much when hes mad bas when hes happy or normal (in faisal standards because faisal is anything but normal) hes quiet.

i just  shut the phone and looked around to tell reem, but she was already sitting up eyes wide.

so i stood up and went into her coset and put on my uniform, the i went to the bathroom and washed my face. my hair was unnaturally na3im today, 3ala wavy

by the time i was done. i heard reem calling out my name

"layan faisal 3ala il5a6." she said.

"umbay hatha min 9ija yay??" i said when i got in her room

"what if your parents saw him?" i said and put on my shoes,

i planned on getting out before he reached her house.

"laa 3adi my parents ra7o ilshalet o fay ib 3ashir noma" reem said and held out my phone.


i looked at it in silence and looked at reem
"u pick  up" i said.

she shook her head and her finger

"laa shukran 7abeebti ana ma abi akoon hnak laman faisal yinfijir, 5aleeha 3alaich. im not the one that ran away" she said

"fine!! shhal best friend!!!" i said

and she threw a pillow at me

"im the very best" she huffed and stood infront of me

"yalla 3ad sheeli" she said.

i took a deep breathe.

"aloo"  i said

"ana ta7at, ta3alay aw ana ra7 ayeelich" he said in a calm voice, the voice that could cut through you.

i could just imagine his eyes right now, burning holes into me..

i shivered.

i shut the phone and went downstairs.

i hugged reem and took my bag

i took a deep breathe

"wish me luck" i said to reem before i opened the door

she almost laughed

"its faisal, you have no hope" she said

i got out.

i saw him leaning against his mustang outside.

his arms were crossed against his chest and he was looking at me min ta7at so his head was tilted up and his eyes were looking down.

i knew this expression well,  he was seething.

though he looked calm, i knew inside he was probably thinking of a million ways to kill me

i looked at him and walked away towards my car which was a short distance away from his.

"ya layan run away just like you always do." he said. in a harsh brushed tone.

he was barely talking from how dry his voice was.

i didnt look at him,

bas i did pause at my door.

"what happened to the promise. ha layan?" he said. i could here him from behind.

he was close standing behind me 6 feet away crossing his arms

i turned to face him bas i paused

"the promise? i didnt run away-" i started bas he came up to my face and his eyes blazed

"dont you dare lie to me" he said in a steal voice.

i stepped back and hit my back against the car.

i turned and opened the door to put my bag in it.

"layan look at me" he said bas his anger was building up

"THE LEAST YOU COULD DO IS FACE ME" he shouted and held my amr, he spun me around.

i didnt say a word. but my eyes betrayed me. i looked into his unforgiving eyes, and my eyes filled with tears. faisals anger wavered momentarily.

"you heard what i said didnt you" he said. in understanding he backed away a little.

"every single word" i spat out.

he stood quietly.

"arent you going to deny it or fix it?"

he didnt say a word, just looked at me with an unreadable expression.

"IF YOU HATE ME THAT MUCH THEN WHY DID YOU COME AFTER ME!" i shouted out

and tears leaked bas i wiped them off

"its better you heard it from me now" he said in a low voice.

"LA O BA3D YOU ADMIT IT!! WHY DID YOU COME WHY? " i said out loud.

he took it like a man and stood there
"arent you gonna say anything??" i said miserably.

he looked at me intensely.

"i came after you because i promised your dad id keep you safe. and unlike you i keep my promises."

he said

i was about to scream

"PROMISES?! NO FAISAL NO-" i started bas he cut me off

"no?  so are you just gonna run away again? is that wat your gonna do, yalla roo7ay allah ma3ach " he said in a voice that made me want to slap me. how could he be so calm at a time like this.

thats when i figured it out,

i smiled.
"no im not gonna run away, you want me to face you i will." i said.

he looked at me intenselybut mostly dissaprovingly.

his eyes burned me over and over again with anger.

i hate him.

live in the moment. no consequences

but i figured it out

"i''m crying, over you," i said.

he looked taken aback,

"i have never met anyone in this world like you and im crying because i have feelings for you. i havent ever felt this way about anyone. i dont see guys and like them i dont know why. but i realize now. that i didnt like anyone because they werent you " i said.

faisals eyes where about to pop out

"no one is as,confusing, tiring, mean, coniving,sinister, and clueless as you.  you dont even try. and yet everyone is half in love with you from how you look and you dont even know. your too busy in your own dark place to even open your eyes. so no im not like you faisal but truthfully i dont think anyone in the world is, bas despite everything. i have FEELINGS FOR YOU " i said.

step 3: face him