Falling Short

Six

Nevertheless, she went wild while you simply turned away in ignorance.

Now that she was wide awake, she tiptoed to her husband's room to check if he was up. Softly knocking on the door, she pushed the door open to reveal a sound-asleep Salih. She contemplated whether to wake him up, eventually deciding to sit on the edge of the bed, staring in thought.

As she zoned out, Salih's eyes fluttered open. Meeting his wife's gaze, he couldn't help that his heart sped up its pace. "S-salaam, I was just checking in on y-your temperature." She stuttered, obviously not intending to show him her soft side.

"I'm glad you're here..." He whispered in his croaky voice as if he had gone through puberty twice. Noor almost laughed, but she refrained from doing so. Instead, she reached for his prescription and a jug of water that she had filled up last night. Helping him sit up slightly, the tension caused them to be awkwardly still. "I missed you, Noor."

She couldn't help the butterflies that seemed to swarm inside her vigorously. She hated the fact that her feelings didn't dissipate with time. She hated that, whenever she looked at him in the eyes, she saw the innocence that he, in reality, lacks. "Don't do this now."

"I want you. I didn't mean for anything to happen. I love you. Always have, always will." That's when Noor came down back to reality with the ringing of his voice in the past. "I never liked you anyway... You're the selfish b*tch, not me!"

"That's a lie." Noor swiftly placed the glass of water on the bedside table and headed towards the door.

"I'm serious! Noor, wait!" As she continued walking, his voice became lower and lower. She stood in the hallway and kicked the air in frustration. Why do you have to be so weak, Noor? She scolded herself. Her rage fest was cut short by the rattle on the front door.

She ran to get a scarf, immediately tying it around her head loosely before opening the door so that only a small view could penetrate through. "Assalam Alaikum," the lady behind the door greeted. Noor wondered who it was, unable to properly view her through the door.

"Wa Alaikum Assalam, how may I help you?" As she opened the door wider, she recognised the smiley girl to be Malikeh, one of Salih's many cousins.

"It's unfortunate that you forgot about me." She pouted jokingly. Noor let her in immediately, embracing her in a tight hug. She had met Malikeh before her marriage to Salih on a FaceTime call, considering that she was in Lebanon studying university - Bachelor of Pharmacy.

"How have you been? Congrats on the job, by the way. Though, I'm a bit late, aren't I?" Noor put her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, I've been good Alhamdulilah. And thank you! I'm truly happy to be employed in an environment I'm passionate about, you know? But at the same time, it's pretty nerve-wracking."

"All the best with that, Insha Allah. Maybe Salih can advise you on that. He's pretty knowledgeable about the workforce in general, unlike me." Noor and Malikeh chuckled simultaneously as they made themselves comfortable on the couches.

"So, where is Salih?"

"Ah, he's in his room at the moment. Give me a second; I'll bring him here."

"Oh, you don't have to if it's a bother."

"No, of course not! Cousins must be reunited, right?" Noor smiled at her, though having an uneasy feeling, oddly enough. Making her way to his room, she couldn't help but feel nauseous, that she had to put up a good attitude with him, despite their broken status.

"Malikeh is here."

Salih's eyes widened with shock. "Really?" Noor didn't bother to respond. Instead, she brought his wheelchair and helped him upon it, tidying his clothes up. She quickly brushed his hair and overall made him look decent for the guest.

"Jazakillah Khairan."

"Wa Iyyak." She mumbled back. As they entered, the living room, Malikeh seemed to fly off of the couch as she caught a view of Salih with an overjoyed, yet sorrowful expression.

"Assalam Alaikum, Salih!"

"Wasalam," he smiled as brightly as he could. "What a surprise! It's great to have you here."

"Wallah, I've missed you so dearly! How long has it been? Like, what, 4 or 5 years?"

"I believe so. It has been a long time, Subhan Allah. I heard you got a job, Mabrouk!"

"Shukran. It means a lot that you had that in mind."

Noor felt like a third wheel, so she wheeled Salih towards the couches until he was at a proper distance from his cousin. "I'll leave you guys to catch up, Insha Allah. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

"Thank you, Noor." Malikeh expressed gratefully, resuming to chat with Salih about old memories.

Though Noor had nothing to worry about, she was awfully worried about leaving him alone with his cousin. What if they spoke about her? What if he tells her how bad her attitude has become? Should she listen in to their conversation, just in case? Noor mentally beat herself up. Whatever. If something were to happen, then so be it. Why would she have to continuously fear for her husband when she alone needs to be thought of? Despite her words of assurance, her heart still paced unstably. She is a woman after all. Maybe I shouldn't have left them together alone. I don't doubt what he's capable of at this point. Her mind continued with the recollection of the sour past.

"Stay for dinner," was what her husband had insisted upon before Noor distanced herself from their conversation.