Letters to Him#Wattys2016

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

He switched off the car and slumped on the car seat sighing out loud. He was outside his home, but for some reason going inside seemed like a tedious job for him. It wasn't like he didn't want to see his daughter and wife, he did. But for some reason his gut told him that everything was going to flip upside down, why he didn't know. He was sweating, his hands were clammy and his heart beat so fast that it felt like it would lurch out of his ribcage.

He sighed out loud, there was no use delaying the inevitable. He needed to get out of the car and go inside. He unfastened his seat belt, opened the door and stepped out of the car. He rang the doorbell and waited outside. A smile broke out when he heard his daughter squeal and a few moments later the door opened and he got bowled over as she came running towards and hugged the life out of him. Well whatever she could hug, since she only reached his knees. He picked her up and held her close.

"Hey princess." He said.

"Assalamualaikum daddy." She said looking at him with her doe like eyes.

"Walaikumasalam Zainab." He said to her, awe marring his face. He missed her so much.

"How are you kiddo?" He asked her dropping a kiss on her forehead.

"I am good Alhumdulillah. And you?" She asked him as he went inside and closed the door behind him.

"Alhumdulillah. Where is your mom?" He asked her looking around for his wife.

"I am here." She replied looking at them with a sad smile.

"Assalamualaikum." He said to her putting down Zainab and she dashed towards the living room.

"Walaikumasalam." She said walking towards them.

"How are you?" He asked her hugging her close to him.

"I am good Alhumdulillah." She mumbled sighing on his chest. And in that moment guilt rose in his heart. He felt bad for dragging her in a situation which wasn't her fault in anyway. She didn't deserve to suffer like this.

"Let's go inside." He told her. She pulled away from him, a frown marring her face. Before he could say anything she walked away from him and entered the kitchen. That was weird, something was bothering her that much he was sure of.

He walked towards the living room and watched his daughter singing out loud with whatever nursery rhyme was going on in the T.V. He chuckled at her trying to copy whatever they were doing in the T.V. He stood back and looked at how his daughter was growing up way too fast for his liking.

He shook his head at the thoughts that were swarming in his head and walked towards his daughter goofing around with her, making her laugh at his antics.

*

"I missed you so much dad." His daughter said as she sat on his lap, her head resting on his chest.

"I missed you too princess." He told her.

"Please don't leave me and go. It gets too boring without you." She told him pouting in his direction.

"Daddy had some work princess. He needs to be there too you know." He told her. His heart breaking at the thought of putting his daughter through this.

"But I miss you when you are gone." She told him.

"I promise I'll be there whenever I can." He said making another promise to another most important thing in his life.

"But I want you here with me all the time. I don't want to share you with anything." She told him aggressively.