From Aliya to Hafiz

Forty-four.

Hafiz.

I paced back and forth in front of Aliya's door.

It was easy enough to access it using my thumbprint but I was afraid that would set her off considering the worrying state I saw her in earlier. So I could only switch between pacing back and forth and leaning against her door in hopes that she would come out by herself.

She didn't.

It had been almost ten hours since she locked herself in there and there were no signs of movement. Wasn't she hungry? Was she still pissed?

What if she has fainted?

That thought was the straw that broke the camel's back and I reached to unblock the door with my thumb before entering the room. The room was lit with warm lighting, the curtains hanging over the balcony door bellowing with the night breeze. I caught sight of her lying down on the couch, fast asleep.

I smiled at the bear print pyjama shirt and shorts she wore but it dropped when I caught sight of her arm. The wound that was scabbed over had tiny cracks in between the scabs where she pulled it when she fell. The sight of the wound pale and red made me want to stab my throat.

Was I crazy?

I leaned forward wanting to skim my lips across the length of the cut but thought better of it. What if I infected it? I stood up to get the healing cream from her bedside and then gently used a swab to cover the wound. When I finished, I threw the swab away and sat cross-legged in front of the couch, studying her.

I reached out to caress her face only to flinch from how hot her body was. Alarmed, I reached for my phone in my pocket and called Mitch, then headed to the bathroom to get a hot towel. I laid the towel across her forehead and she murmured intangibly, turning from her back to lay sideways.

My gaze remained glued on her, surveying her features. It was something I did an uncountable number of times and yet I always managed to notice something new. Sometimes it was a flaw, others a perfection akin to the beauty of moonlight; illuminating and serene, breathtaking.

She was beautiful.

And not just physically, and definitely not sexually, but just, her, Aliya. Slowly and unknowingly, she had sunk her claws into me. Tight and powerful.

"Aliya."

"Mmm."

Her moan startled me and I almost hightailed out of the room in fear of upsetting her, but I held myself back. "How are you feeling?" I caressed her face.

"Hm?" Her eyes cracked open before falling back close. "...Auntie?"

I froze.

"Can I come...home? Please? I'm so tired here," she whispered, muddled, and something in my chest shattered at the sight of the tears streaming out of her eyes. For a brief moment, her image overlapped with another, this one in a dark room filled with pants and moans as I towered over her. But just as fast as it came, it was gone. Before I could ask myself what that was, her voice distracted me.

"...please let me come home," she mumbled, the tears coming out harder. "I-I can't do this anymore."

My hand fell from her face as a cold feeling crashed into me like a wave. Leave? Go home? Leave...me?

What?

"You can't," I snapped, agitated. "You're not going anywhere."

She sniffed. "You're mean to me even in my dreams," she said. "Why are you and Elfain hurting me? Ummi too, I don't want to do this anymore."