Converting to Islam

Chapter 24

Awareness crashes down on me. Only now I realise the knife in my hand, high in the air, ready to strike down and kill. Tyler’s life is in my hands. And I am about to end it.

“Amber?”

What am I doing? I stare into his eyes, then I stare at the knife so preciously grasped by my clenching fist. My body becomes weak as I realise what brought me here; Islam never taught me this!

Audhu billahi minashaitanir rajeem.

I seek refuge from the accursed Satan.

The knife falls to the ground with a clash. I gasp for air. Even if he did ruin my life, even if he did make me miserable, I couldn’t do this. It just wasn’t right. I remember a quote that I learnt a while ago: “No mercy will be shown to those who show no mercy, and no forgiveness will be given to those who cannot forgive others.”

Water splashes on the long white pyjama dress I am wearing from my cheeks. I clench the hem of the material.

“Am I dreaming?” Tyler mumbles and then rolls over to his side and closes his eyes again.

I let out a sigh of relief and then creep outside his room and then back into my own room. I sit myself down onto my bed and stare at the wall with a blank expression, trying to take in what happened just now.

I wanted to kill him. But thank God I realised I shouldn’t before I did it. Killing is not the way to get out of this. There must be some other way that I can free myself from Tyler. I'm sure God has left a path for me.

I first have to get my parents to agree with me. Now what do I have to do to do that? I slump my body on my bed and stare at the ceiling, trying hard to think of something, however my mind is blank. My parents thought Islam was trash, and no matter how many times I tried to explain to them the truth, they just wouldn't listen. I think about how I became so intrigued to Islam. 

What if... What if I get my parents to see Tyler being a douchebag in action? Then they would bound to disagree to the wedding. Even if they did hear about Tyler cheating on me with Lucy, but they didn't actually see it. I've got to get him to do something so bad, so incredibly bad, that my parents will be outraged.

I lie onto my bed and eventually fall asleep with these thoughts on my mind.

***

The first thing I see in the morning is the face of an angel. It’s eyes crinkle as it smiles, and for a second it looks so angelic that I completely forget who this individual actually is.  

"Ambeeer," he says playfully. "I made pancakes for breakfast for the two of us. It's a friday isn't it?" 

I blink at him several times shocked by his behavior. It was just yesterday that he was in a fit of rage. Why is he being so nice right now? Did he completely forget about what I did to him last night? Maybe he was only half awake and ended up thinking he was only dreaming. That’s the only reason I can come up with at the moment at least...

"Um...okay sure," I agree awkwardly. I mean pancakes were involved. Why would I say no to pancakes?

Hesitantly I get up and make my way to the kitchen, awkwardly smiling back at Tyler's beaming smile as I walk by him. The delicious smell of pancakes wafts in the air, making my mouth water.  Before I can do  anything Tyler pulls a chair out for me at the table and I nervously sit down. He hurries to put a plate with 3 pancakes on it in front of me, carefully showering it with maple syrup. His eyes looked at the pancakes passionately, and a genuine smile was still on his face. For a moment he looked gorgeous; his blonde hair was ruffled in a charismatic way, and his slender body was dressed in a cute yellow shirt. I shake my head to clear my thoughts.

"Eat up!" He says as he pushes the plate towards me. My mouth waters as  i examine the heavenly object and without further ado, I pick up a fork and dig in. 

A smile appears on his golden face as he watches me eat. It feels awkward but I push the thought aside and enjoy my delicious pancakes.

Suddenly the sound of a phone ringing is heard.  

Tyler sighs and gets up to answer it. He puts the phone to his ear and says, "Hello."

Something is said from the other side of the line, which I obviously can't hear, however Tyler's face scrunches into a disgusted expression. His eyes darken, and by this I can tell that the happy and kind Tyler is gone.

He shoves the phone away and bangs onto the phone stand. I cringe at the loud collision. He flings his body onto the couch and leans back and crosses his legs. What just happened?

 I rush towards the phone. "Who was that?"

His menacing eyes advert themselves from the floor to my eyes. He stares at me cold and hard. After a moment of receiving no answer, I give up and grab the phone to see what happened that caused Tyler to react in such a way. Before my hand can even make contact with the phone, Tyler's hand snatches my arm away. I gasp as I am pulled towards him and the next thing I know I am on the ground on my knees, my arm still in Tyler's hand. His dark eyes look into mine - so many emotions are hidden inside them, but I can't quite point them out. He pulls me up with his strong arms and before I know it I'm on his lap, my face inches away from his face and dark green eyes. 

In a cool monotone voice he says, "Daniel's dead."

I stare at him. What...did he just say...?

He bursts out laughing. His laugh is low and sinister. I just stare at him for a few moments until he brings his lips to my ear and whispers, "Just joking. He just recovered."

_________________________________________

A/N: Hey guuuys!!! I really don't know how to apologise to you for such a late update because I know, I know: I am a lazy-ass who deserves to be whacked on the head by all of you guys who have been patiently waiting. I'm soo sorry!! I hope you guys like this chapter though. Hopefully you are able to catch from the hints what's up with Tyler's strange behaviour. If you didn't just know that there's something special involved that you will soon find out about ;)