Choices

Chapter 7(Nurrain)

"you can't be serious!" Ammi snapped at me, arms folded and pissed as hell. I didn't want to do anything that will displease Ammi or Baffa but what's the point in coming clean now, all it will do is complicate the situation further at least this way Nurah still has a chance of getting Maya someday and the beating won't be for nothing,while Maya's family will think they have successfully put an end to our relationship they won't pay any attention to her and Nurah. Maya was looking at me like I've lost my mind and maybe I have for continuing with this ruse but I'm not dragging Nurah into this drama not with all he's dealing with right now with his mom. When we spoke last night he insisted on coming back but I told him no, his mom is still in a critical condition and it's not looking good, I can't look him in the eye and tell him he might loose Maya too because of me not after he asked me to look out for her, so i looked at Ammi and told her "I'm serious Ammi, Maya and I are dati......" "Don't you dare finish that sentence!""" Ammi cut me off so harshly khursum at my side gave a little squeak of fright. She pointed at me and said "you will never ever think of having any relationship with that girl! Only over my dead body will you date her and if you dare disobey me Allah ya Isa ban yafe ba!" Ammi turned away and headed for the door in anger but Maya's dad chose that moment to speak, Stopping her in her steps "my daughter never wanted anything to do with your son anyways so you don't need to stress yourself! Inde ni na haifi Maya she'll never even walk the same path as your son not to talk of dating him!"
She turned and faced him with a deadpan expression on her face and gave him a fitting reply "then I guess we are all on the same page, now kindly take your daughter and leave the room, we will see you in court!" He did just that, Kawu tried to protest but he wasn't listening. He grabbed Maya by the arm and left angrily, all Kawu could do was offer one more quick apology before following after the two of us quickly. Ammi calmly closed the door behind them and came back to take a seat next to my bed, she used both hands to cover her eyes and took a calming breathe before addressing me "Nurrain why! Of all the girls why did you go for Maya, I know you more than anyone at least I'd like to think so , I raised you, watched you grow up! And up until yesterday I'll have sworn Maya is not even a smidge like any girl you might like enough to consider dating but it turns out I'm wrong and I don't even know my son at all. How could you keep this from me, I thought we had no secrets! You knew how I felt about that girl so please help me understand why you're chasing after her!"
Yah Umar tried to speak up for me but was quickly shut down by Baffa who looks more angry than I have ever seen him been before.
"I agree with your mother, I want to hear the rationale behind all this. We spoke about this a couple months back remember I asked you if there was any girl you were interested in and you told me there isn't, that you didn't have time for girls right now since you wanted to start your business as soon as you're done with school and that was your priority so what changed or did you lie to me even back then?" Baffa asked and I couldn't find anything to say to that. Ammi went on before I could come up with something "it's not even about you dating or not dating without telling us! The issue I have is with the girl! Maya really! That mannerless girl that wouldn't hesitate to slap a grown up in public! Is the girl you choose! Really Nurrain, you know you can do better than that! Or is that why you didn't tell us because you knew we wouldn't approve huh!"
I decided the best option was to go for apologetic rather than defensive so I let them know I was sorry and I wasn't thinking straight "I know you don't like her and I never liked her as well but things changed between us and I didn't know how to come up to you and tell you because I knew you'd react this way but be assured Ammi after what her family did to me I'm not going to pursue her any more, I promise you Maya and I are done forever!"
"You're damn right you are done with her! Forget her family if I see you anywhere near her I'll beat you up myself!" Yah Umar proclaimed so seriously I almost laughed but managed to stop myself in time. He didn't stop there as he continued ranting about how he was going to hire the best lawyer to make sure Maya's uncle are put in prison coz no one assaults his brother and gets away with it. Baffa jumped on board as well and took out his phone to start making calls to that effect but I stopped him "Baffa please just let it go, I'm fine now and there's no use dragging this issue out, a court case will drag on and it will become a media circus and I really don't want our family's name to be dragged through the mud, you know how her dad is I wouldn't put it past him to fight dirty and make up some bogus story about how I asulted his daughter first, the court might discredit it with proper investigation but once a rumour is started there's no controlling it. I just want to close this chapter, heal in peace and forget it ever happened. They've all been sitting in a jail cell for 3 days now I think it's enough to teach them a lesson so please let it go now" he didn't agree with me at first neither did Ammi but after a heavy amount of cajoling they agreed to drop the charges.
"On one condition though, Nurrain you and that girl are done and I never want to hear you mention her name ever again!" Baffa said and I quickly agreed. If only he knew he didn't have to warn me anyways Maya and I will never speak again not after what she did. I waited until after Baffa left for the police station and Ammi and yah Umar went home so she can make lunch for me and he can wash up and relax a bit,he had a long flight and came straight to the hospital without even taking his luggage home. I was left with khursum until they were back and It didn't take much to convince her to step out of the room for awhile despite Ammi's strict warning for her to watch me like a hawk until she returns, all I had to do was tell her I'm craving ice cream and convince her to quickly go and get us some before Ammi got back. She was off at the speed of light taking any excuse to cause mischief and satisfy her sweet tooth at the same time.
I called up Maya once she was out of earshot. I didn't let her say a word after hello,who's this?
"It's Nurrain, I want you to know I didn't do it for you, I did it for Nurah. I've sorted everything out here and your family members will be released soon all you have to do is stick to the story, it shouldn't be that hard since you were the one that came up with the script in the first place"
"I'm so sorry Nurrain, I never meant for any of this to happen and you don't need to do this, I'll tell them the truth I'm ready to bear the consequences" she replied
"You'll do no such thing! What's the point of telling the truth now, we are long past that now! Do you think anyone will believe you, they'll all think you're just shifting blame or playing game. Just do as I say and keep your mouth shut you owe me that much!" I cut the call with out waiting for her reply, I didn't need to hear another insincere apology out of her lying mouth.
I called up Nurah after that and filled him in on what went down.
"Why did you go along with this charade man not after what they did to you!"
"Better me than you right" I joked but he didn't laugh along "wow! Tough crowd. it's fine man you don't need to worry about being found out by her family anymore since they already think they've dealt with the bastard that dares to date their precious daughter. Just focus on your mom once the dust has settled you two can continue your Romeo and Juliet love story"
"You're crazy! You know that, I don't know whether to thank you or punch you through the screen right now. My girlfriend's family put you in the hospital and you turn around and joke about it"
"It's not that deep Man, I'll be right as rain in a day or two. Ka duba hajiya and tell her I'm sorry I can't be there, I don't think I can fly yet until they take out the cast on my foot and I don't have to use crutches to move around!"
"I'm so sorry Man, this is all my fault if I listened to you and broke up with Maya you won't be in the hospital with most of your bones broken!"
"When have you ever listened to my advice about girls,I told you not to date that crazy chick in secondary  School either but you didn't listen back then" I reminded him.
"Come on Jamila might have been crazy but she could cook like a chef don't forget all the free lunches she gave us, don't pretend you didn't enjoy it!" He replied and I had to laugh at the memory.
"You're right she was a dope cook but my point is my opinion should never influence your choices! The heart wants what it wants and your weird heart wants Maya so what can we do"
He took a small pause before replying "I'm really sorry though if I could let her go and stop myself from loving her I'll have done it in a heartbeat just for the stunt she pulled and hurt you" he said in a somber mood.
"I know, and I'll never ask you to give up you love for my sake you know that. Besides I'm not defending her but I know she did it to protect you from her family and I respect that kind of loyalty and devotion"
"Wow! I never thought I'd hear the day Nurrain praises Maya for anything say it again so I can record it!" He teased
"Shut up idiot and go and take care of Hajiya I'm too tired to talk to your stupid ass" we said our goodbyes in high spirits and with nothing to do and no one to talk to, I fell back asleep in no time.
It took a week before I was released from the hospital and when we reached home the first thing I did was fall flat on my bed,I almost wept with joy, I missed my bed so much. I heard soft chuckles from behind me and turned to see Yah Umar standing at the door, I rolled on my side to face him but I landed on the wrong angle and my ribs protested I had to bite down on my lips to ride out the pain.
"Are you okay? He asked in concern "if you're in pain we can go back to the hospital,maybe you pulled something when you fell onto the bed like a little kid" he helped me adjust my position and then smacked me on the back of the head.
"What the hell! I'm already in pain!"
"That's for being stupid and putting yourself in danger in the first place" he restorts before sitting on Nurah's bed and facing me.
"When are you going back to school as you can see I'm perfectly fine now so you can go!" I told him
"I'm sticking around, Baffa needs help with the business and since you're laid up I have to step in until you get back on your feet, besides I don't need to be in school to complete my research, I've already compiled all the data all I need is to write up the report and my supervisor agreed to continue working with me virtually so you're stuck with me now"
"It's good to have you back, I wanted a break from the business anyways so I can focus on perfecting my plans for my business"
He frowns just like i know he will before saying "why are you so set on doing your own thing, we already have a successful family business I know you don't care much for the import-export side just like I don't, that's Abdul's thing but what about the construction side of things. You and I can take over when Baffa retires you know he's been waiting for ages for us to finish school so he can finally rest. You are finally done and I'll soon have my complete MBA, you and I can take the company to the next level"
"Yah Umar, it's not that I don't want to help out the family but you know ever since I was a kid my passion was to have my own airline, a safe airline with good quality planes so passenger safety will always be guaranteed. That is all I've ever wanted and Baffa has finally agreed to let me Branch out on my own, you and Yah Abdul are more than capable of running this business, you don't need me so please just support me on this. I need to do this and you know why so please let it go"
He sighs and I can see the pity in his eyes for a slight second before he replaced it with a forced smile "I know why but I just want you to know you always have options and you can change your mind at anytime, you hear"
"Yeah, I hear you" I answered him my happy mood having plummet to the ground with memories of the past assaulting me but he was quick to start of another conversation and get me out of that head space.
"So your girl Maya is pretty cute! I can see why you'd risk Ammi's wrath for that!" I pulled out the pillow I was lounging on from behind me and threw it at his head. Of course he evaded my flimsy attack and burst out laughing.
"We are not allowed to mention her name again remember!" I told him
"I know, I just wanted to see the look on your face but you can be honest with me it's just us are you really okay with ending your relationship. You know Ammi and Baffa might be mad at you now but they'll get over it eventually, if you still love this girl down the line you can.....
"I'm fine Yah Umar, really it's over between us anyway I was the one pining for her and she never wanted me the bruises on my face are proof of that"
"Her loss then! My brother is a catch!" He declares and all I could do was nod along in agreement. I feel bad for lying to my family like that but it's not like I can tell him the truth, Yah Umar is terrible with secrets Ammi will take one look at him and he will spill everything. I just hope it works out for Nurah and Maya at the end because Lord knows I've done the best I can for their relationship.