A walk on thorns

Chapter 10| Nadeera Khaled

Sabrina's POV

"Where have you been?! And who is that guy you managed to trend with on Instagram?!" Anisha’s voice was like a crack of thunder as I walked past the kitchen, heading to my room. She was seated at the dining table, arms crossed, her stare piercing.

She looked wild and dangerous again. For the second time in as many days. God help me. I didn't have the strength for this; I was exhausted.

I stopped, looked back, then decided to walk away, knowing full well she would follow me. That’s exactly what I wanted. I reached my room, barely inside, when she barged in, fire in her eyes.

"Did you not hear me, Sabrina?! What's with this rude behavior? Why do you always make me drag words out of you?! Huh?"

I spun around, not even trying to hide my frustration. "Wai Dan Allah Anisha bakya gajiya da ihu da surutu ne? Must you always shout, Anisha? Can't you ever just take a breath? Everyone can hear you! Sarah and the other girls were in the kitchen, Rubina was in the living room with someone, do you always need an audience to yell at me? Why do you do this?!"

"Stop deflecting and talk to me!" she snapped, her voice rising.

"What do you want me to say, Anisha? Yes, I left. I left a note for you on the drawer, with everything you needed to know, but you were too busy being furious to see it, right? Of course, Sabrina went out, so it must be the end of the world! This house is suffocating, it sucks in here Anisha, I needed air. And if I had come to find you, where would I have gone first? You haven't shown me around, haven’t introduced me to a single soul in this house! You’re so blinded by your own misery that you can’t see anything else. All you think is 'Sabrina is wrong, let’s bury her alive!' But, honestly, is this even about me?"

"Cut the chatter, Sabrina, and go straight to the point! Where did you go? And why didn't you pick up my calls?"

"I went to the park, okay? Just the garden in the area. That’s it, Anisha. Now, please, leave me alone!"

"Oh, and you’re just going to ignore that guy you were trending with?! Who is he?" she demanded, hands thrown up in the air.

I held my ground, voice steady. "He is not 'that guy'; his name is AbdulMajeed, and he’s a friend. A photographer. We met yesterday, actually, when your tirades pushed me out of the house. We took some pictures, we posted them. People who understand the art appreciated them."

“Appreciated you?" She scoffed. "My foot, Sabrina! What if Baba sees it? Or the rest of the family? This is embarrassing and completely inappropriate! But, of course, you’re too shameless to see it. What do you think people will say about you? Those hailing you are just fooling you! Do you think they would cheer if it were their daughter’s picture trending with some random guy? Just because they lack common sense doesn't mean I’ll let you act like you don’t have any yourself!"

"Enough, Anisha! Enough with the insults!" I yelled back, my anger rising to match hers. "Just because I pretend not to care doesn't mean I don't feel it! I’m not made of stone. If anyone is to blame, it's you. You’re the one who made me leave this house barely two hours after I arrived! If you had treated me kindly, if you’d learned to let things go instead of immediately attacking me, none of this would have happened. But sure, go ahead and pat yourself on the back, because you’re doing great."

Anisha’s chest was heaving, her eyes blazing. I could see she was barely containing her anger. "Oh, of course, Sabrina. This is all my fault, right? As if I was the one snapping pictures of you two?"

"Just because you didn't hold the camera doesn't mean you didn't pull the trigger," I shot back, letting my anger fuel my words. "Your constant hostility pushed me away, Anisha. You pushed me out there."