Embraced (#2 Natives series) #ProjectNigeria

Chapter Fifteen

*Chapter dedicated to oyiza27.*

Chapter Fifteen

            FATIHA WAITED WITH BATED BREATH for what Munir had to say. A strong wave of unsettlement rested at the apex of her stomach, taking away the calm she had been feeling just seconds ago.

What else was there to say? She pondered,  restlessly shifting from one foot to the other. She hoped Basmah really didn't need the drugs at the moment because it looked like whatever Munir had to say was going to be a long one.

Fatiha glanced briefly at her companion as she wondered what the delay could possibly be.

She had known Munir since she was little and all through her entire life she'd never seen him so anxious before. Back when they were younger and he had been nicer, Munir had been confidence itself. She had never seen anyone other than him at that age who was so full of assertiveness; be it in his looks or brains. Seeing him struggling for what to say now left Fatiha baffled. So much so it made her wonder what could cause him such distress.

Other than being overly confident, Munir had never liked involving himself in difficult situations. It wasn't just part of his carefree nature. But, Fatiha thought with a pause, the last time she'd seen him was years ago. Who knows what traits he'd picked up during that time?

Tired of waiting, she opened her mouth to say something when he suddenly—and finally, Alhamdulillahi—spoke up.

"I know you might not believe me but..."

Fatiha stared befuddled for a moment at his unusual reaction. It was so confusing she had to ask him what it was he wanted to tell her.

Fatiha watched the way his eyes wandered and his brows knitted as he thought of the best way to say what he had to say. The light and chirpy tone he'd been using earlier was gone and a heaviness settled around them like a cloak.

"We were children," he began afresh as he looked her in the face.

Fatiha looked back at him, silently encouraging him to go on.

"I'm not saying what we did back then was right, in fact it was terrible and I should have told you this a lot sooner. I wanted to do so so many times but I just..." He shook his head.

The perplexity he was feeling probably reflected itself onto Fatiha's face because Munir tried again. 

"What I'm trying to say is... I'm sorry, Fatiha. I want to apologize for what I and the guys did to you. For what I did to you and how I treated you. For everything."

Fatiha's eyes popped in surprise as a small gasp left her parted lips. An apology was not what she had been expecting to hear from him. Her heart beat madly against her ribcage. Was she dreaming, right now? She was probably going to wake up any second now because there was no way Munir was apologizing to her. It was all in her head, she told herself.

She looked at her companion and he seemed to be waiting for her to say something and when she didn't he went on with his speech.

"You are a close family–friend and you're my sister's best friend, Fatiha. You should have been like a sister to me. If  I had treated you like a sister maybe we would have had a normal relationship, instead of this tug of war hate relationship."