ALMOST THERE

CHAPTER 33: Maybe I do...

Count On Me - Bruno Mars
🪐✨🤍🏹

The sun stayed high in the sky, dominating the whole existence with it's strong yet somehow comforting warmth.

A trickle sweat made it's way down the nape of my neck, drenching the fabric of my hijab crinkled up there.

I take that back, the heat wasn't comforting.

It was a classic Sunday. Market day. My least favorite day.

Walking home, I shifted the bag on my shoulder, full of stuff I'd picked out for Shahaan's gift. Beside me, Raahat walked in silence, matching my pace like some shadow. I didn't need him to come, but Maa insisted. Scratch that-ordered.

"You shouldn't walk alone," she said. As if I couldn't handle a 10-minute trip without supervision.

I glanced at Raahat. His face was its usual unreadable mask, cold as ever, though I'd grown used to it.

Weirdly enough, it didn't bother me anymore. I hated to admit it, but his presence wasn't... bad. There was something about him that made me feel like nothing could touch me when he was around.

"So, who's the gift for?" His voice cut through the silence, smooth but with that stern edge he always had.

"A friend," I said simply, hoping that would be the end of it.

He raised an eyebrow, clearly not satisfied. "What kind of a friend?"

"Why do you care?" I shot back, half-amused, half-annoyed.

"Making sure it's not for some idiot who doesn't deserve it," he said, his tone dead serious but with a protectiveness that almost made me laugh.

"Oh, trust me, he deserves it," I replied, rolling my eyes. Raahat didn't say anything, but I could feel him scrutinizing me. Like I was going to spill my life story or something which I certainly wasn't.

We got home, and I headed to my room, dumping everything on my desk. Time to tie the final ribbon.

This gift needed to be perfect. For him. Just like he was.

God, Saysha you're whipped.

Just as I was securing the bow, Raahat strolled into my room like he owned the place. No knock, nothing.

Typical.

"Do you even know how doors work?" I muttered, not bothering to look up.

"Do you even know how to lock them?" he shot back, sitting on the edge of my bed like he'd been doing this for years.

Honestly, he might as well have. Somehow, Raahat had become part of my life, part of my family, even. And I didn't mind. Not anymore.

But something about him still felt... off. Mysterious, I guess.

I tied the last knot, staring at the gift for a moment before blurting out, "Why do you live alone?"

The air shifted. His usual stoic face tensed, the slight change in his expression almost unnoticeable unless you'd been around him long enough-like I had.

I instantly regretted asking. "Sorry, nevermind," I mumbled, looking back at the gift.

He stayed quiet for a moment before speaking, his voice lower than usual. "Had my share of odds with my parents. Let's just say... it's complicated."

Complicated.

Right.

I didn't push, I knew better than that.

Nothing bothers a person more than being drowned in questions you didn't want to answer.

I, of all people, knew that all too well. That was the end of that.

"So, you done being nosy?" Raahat's voice lightened a bit, and he shot me a side-eye that almost looked... playful.

I smirked, deciding to throw back some attitude. "Yeah, and you done being a cryptic weirdo?"

He shrugged, his lips curving into the faintest smile. "Born with it."

I shook my head, tying the last ribbon tighter than I needed to. "You're impossible."

"And you're dramatic af," he shot back without missing a beat.

"Dramatic? Please. I'm the living definition of calm," I said, deadpan.

"Sure. And I'm a ray of sunshine." He faked a smile that reached his eyes to a point where his eyes were just two curved lines on his face. But soon enough, he cringed at himself, like I did just now.

We both snorted at that, and for a moment, the weight of everything-Shahaan, my gift, his "complicated" life-faded into the background. It was stupid. But somehow, it carried more weight than anything else.

"Seriously though, lock your door next time, you don't want a creep breaking in in the middle of the night." he said, standing up, his usual serious demeanor creeping back in.

"Seriously though, stop walking in like you own the place."

"Maybe I do."

We exchanged a glance-one of those rare moments where everything was said without a single word.

And then, just like that, he left, leaving the air in my room a little lighter. But not without that lingering feeling that maybe, we understood each other a little too well.