Muslimah Next Door { Editing }

{ 10 } Remarried?

{ James }

As I make my way towards my mother's house, my fingers fidget like a little girl's

Man up, dude. So what if your father became a Muslim? I'm pretty sure he did it for a good reason. Besides, how many people convert to Islam every year?

I knock on the door and wait.

"Oh, hello James! Come in! I'm surprised to see you here," my mother says once she opens the door.

She brings me in for an embrace and gives me a peck on my cheek.

I wipe my cheek and mumble a quiet greeting.

"I just made lunch, come in," she walks into the house and I follow behind her.

I didn't come here to eat.

But I'm hungry.

No. No food.

I follow my mom to the kitchen. The person sitting at the bar counter takes me by surprise.

I see my father.

He's not my father anymore, he is a Muslim. He is a disgrace to our family.

"Good afternoon, Mike," I say coldly to him.

"James, please don't do this," he shakes his head and rubs his eyes tiredly. His eyes are red and look sore.

Who cares.

I look at my mother, who's sitting on the other side of the bar from Mike. She looks angry.

"Don't do what, Mike? " I say, taking a seat next to my mother.

"I'm your father. You never called me by my name before. You always called me father or dad, nothing else. Why now?" He makes dramatic hand gestures as he talks. So annoying.

"Things changed, I guess," I try to seem normal to my oblivious mother. "You've changed too," I mumble.

"Yeah, I changed for the better, son. You could too," he gives me a weak smile.

"Enough! You can leave me, but you can't take my son away from me too!" My -dear- mother speaks up for the first time, slapping the counter as she yells.

Leave me? What does she mean, 'leave me?'

"Mom, what are you talking about?" I ask, really confused.

"You didn't tell him?" She asks Mike, her voice still raised.

"I told him everything. We're divorced, don't you remember, son?" He starts nodding, acting like I'm a little kid.

I ignore the son part.

"Yes, how could I forget? I'm just confused about why I wasn't informed that you converted to that religion two years ago? You even told mom!"

"And you just kept your mouth shut, what's going on with you?" I yell, pointing my finger at my mother.

"James, calm down, I told your mother the same day I told you, we just didn't tell you about the divorce part. Also, the religion is called Islam, and it's the best thing that happened to me," he repeats while glaring at me and then at my mother.

"Mike, I think you should tell him," my mother says in a low whisper voice. You really think I can't hear you?

"Tell me what?" I ask, giving a confused look to my fat- Mike.

"I'm getting remarried," he gives me a shy smile. My head starts to hurt.

What the fuck is up with this guy, giving me a shy smile?

"What else did you not tell me? Have you a twin brother? Do I have a twin brothe-" I get cut off by my mother.

"Calm down, James. We don't need him in our family, we can manage on our own," she tries to calm me down.

"No, Linda, you can manage on your own," I start walking backward, shaking my head at my parents

"Son, please," she goes to grab my arm, but I pull it away before she can touch me.

"Linda, listen, I don't need you guys in my life anymore. Growing up, it was repeated over and over that I can't become a Muslim because of what it did to her. What it did to this family. Then, one of my 'parents' becomes the monster that he said not to become. I'm not going to forget to mention that he's divorcing my 'mother' and then marrying one of his own kind."

"Son-" Mike starts with tears in his eyes. I cut him off.

"I feel like giving up, okay?" Tears start to form in my eyes. "If you find me hanging from the ceiling of a dinky apartment I can hardly pay for-" I sob and turn to walk away from the people I loved, wiping the flowing tears from my face.

◈

"I'll have another shot please," I swing the cup to the bartender.

I'm beginning to forget what had happened earlier today, but I can still sort of remember. I'm going to need a few more shots.

"Here," he gives me the shot cup.

I put the cup up to my mouth tip it up, finishing it in a matter of seconds.

"One more, and you're out," a small voice says in my ear.

I look behind me and find a red-headed girl giving me a nice sweet smile and a cup in her hand.

"I'm a big boy, I can take it," I smirk at her taking the cup from her and drinking the beer in it.

"Well, big boy, you owe me another shot since you just drank my drink," she sits next to me bumping her shoulder with mine.

Shit, I have college tomorrow. I can't miss two consecutive days.

"Sorry, redhead. I can't have a nice night tonight," patting her back and heading out of the bar.

Even though I'm pretty much drunk, I get in my car and swerve out of the bar parking lot.

◈

Derek's voice yells in my ear walking, me up from my beut- sleep.

"I hear you, gosh, get away from me," I shout, smacking his face with my pillow.

"Well, if you don't get your lazy ass up, you will be late to class, and we don't want that, do we?" He slowly shakes his head at me with wide eyes.

He's a child stuck in the body of a man, I swear.

"Also, your breath stinks. Go brush your teeth if you don't want to kill people every time you breathe out," he says, pinching his nose.

"Hey, I have an idea," I say, giving him a happy smile.

"Really what are you going to do... brush your teeth?" He jumps up and down.

Ladies and gentleman, a six-foot-tall four-year-old!

"No. Get out of my room," I say with a straight face.

"It's not your room, it's mine," he flicks my forehead, scratching his ass as he leaves the room.

I quickly go to the bathroom and brush away my stinky breath.