Love for Rent

x Roses x

'Sorry,' Shahzaib apologized as he pulled himself away from me the following day when we both woke up in each other's arms. He rushed out of bed and stood away from me, looking embarrassed.

'Me too,' I said right away. It wasn't all his fault. I should have slept on the floor.

'I should have slept on the floor,' We both said at the same time, and then a smile slowly appeared on his face. He sat on the corner of the bed and looked at me. I avoided meeting his eyes at first, but couldn't help it after he said my name.

'You might not believe it, and I don't expect you to...I haven't slept like this in a long time, thank you...even if this was a mistake, I am not really sorry,' He expressed clearly, and I opened my mouth to say something but didn't know what to say exactly. Even if this was a mistake, why wasn't I feeling all bad about it?

'I should get ready' I got out of the bed and went to pick my clothes from the closet. I had my back turned to him, but I could feel his eyes lingering on me before he started looking for something. I opened the same drawer, thinking I had stored my stuff there, but saw the same pictures of Shahzaib and the girl. This was my reminder. This was my reality. I was glad it was here to warn me this was all part of a bigger act. Once the curtains come down and the play will end, Shahzain will say cut, and this will all end. I smiled to myself and closed the drawer, gathered my things, and went to change. When I got out of the washroom, Shahzaib was not in the room.

After getting ready, I went to the living room and saw a beautiful bouquet of fresh roses in a vase in the middle of the table. I glanced around and heard some voices coming from the kitchen. Before going to check, I leaned to sniff the smell of the roses.

'They are not that beautiful' I didn't know Shahzaib was here until I heard his voice. I wasn't sure if he was being serious or not. I watched him as he entered through the main door holding a newspaper in his hands making his way in my direction.

'It's not about the beauty; it's the fragrance...even it grows out of dirt,' I said without thinking, then hurried to change the subject.

'You still read from a newspaper. How old are you?' I smirked, and he smiled widely, picking one of the roses from the vase, and offering me to take it.

'It takes courage to be tender even when surrounded by dirt,' He told me and placed the rose in my hand before going to the kitchen. Seconds later, I started hearing laughter coming out of the kitchen, and I knew it was probably because of Shahzaib; maybe he did or said something that made everyone start laughing. I smiled, thinking about what he said, but it also worried me, he was just himself, doing the ordinary, but his actions and words were starting to affect me more and more. If he was so nice and caring, then why was there still loneliness in his eyes? If he had so many relationships, why did he still look like he was stuck somewhere?

'Seher' I heard him calling from the kitchen, and I went to see him. Everyone was gathered in the kitchen, and it felt like a gathering altogether. His grandmother was reading the newspaper, Kanwal and Yusaf were cooking together, and Saif and Shahzaib were working on what seemed like a school's project.

'I hate school,' Saif complained when I joined him near the kitchen island.

'No school today?' I inquired, and Shahzaib said he called the school for a day off.

'Is it because you didn't complete this?' I asked Saif, staring at his project that was half-finished.

'He usually gets everything done, but because Shahzaib's uncle told him he will allow him some days off from school, so he is doing this,' Kanwal informed me. I could tell Shahzaib loved spoiling his nephew, perhaps being with him made him feel like a kid again.