With You

Chapter 11

The wintery scent of the air hit his nostrils as Ryan closed the door with a thud. The curtains were opened and that was why he could feel the chilly air seeping inside his room, Hamida's ways to annoy him. She perfectly knew how he hated winter and those winds and she always used to open the windows of his room to frustrate him. 

His vision was becoming blurry and Ryan couldn't have decipher soon if he hadn't felt the wetness on his cheek from his tears. No, he didn't want to cry. He slowly sat on the wooden floor, resting his back with the closed door as the tears itched his eyes. 

"Hamida, I hate when you do this. You know I hate these winter and these winds..." Ryan blabbered, irritated on the fact that his sister always had something in her sleeves to tease him.

His blood boiled in frustration as Hamida's laugh echoed around him. "Awww, my lil bro. It's just because you don't want to see the beauty around you."

"I have many good things to do rather than becoming a lost fellow of nature."

Another whiff of wind entered in his room to remind him of his sister. Ryan stood in a quick motion unbalancing his own being and as a result got hit with the cupboard beside him. A tiny stream of blood didn't wait to slide down from his forehead but he strode towards the opened window without paying any heed to it. Closing the window he pulled the curtain to close, resulting the curtain rod to fall down. 

Didn't know was it his thoughts or just the anger on everything which was going downhill that Ryan was getting frustrated with every passing second? The blood oozing out from his forehead, that fallen curtain rod every single thing was testing his patience. 

A loud knock sounded on the door of his room followed by a soft voice, "Ryan, are you okay?" It was Zarah. That girl who always had to say something awful to him, who didn't think about his emotions when she got honest with him, who didn't have any kind of sense of his emotions, his loss. 

"Yeah. I'm alive. Now go away." Ryan yelled, hitting the bed foot with his shoe. Freaking fake care! 

"I heard some noises..." 

Ryan gritted his teeth on Zarah's stubborn nature. He already told her that everything was fine then why she had to show some fake concerns to him. He was already disturbed to no end and now didn't want to face her. Despite his thoughts, he opened the door quickly as Zarah took two steps back from his door on sudden intrusion.

"I said I'm fine. Doesn't it make sense to yo-"  

"Ryan, blood." He saw her eyes widening for a split second and when her eyes clashed with his-he didn't want to admit but Ryan liked that concern which was a part of her orbs. "You are bleeding and you are saying that everything is fine." 

Zarah chided him as she carefully placed Maira in her other arm. The kid shook her head at him as if she too was lecturing him that he was wrong. 

"Tell me where the first aid box is?" 

Was it the presence of Zarah in front of him or her words? Ryan felt his anger getting melted away in a strange manner. Or it was just his mind got carried away in other stuff that he lost his trail of thoughts. 

******

Zarah opened the bedside drawer to fetch out the first aid box for Ryan. That man was freaking crazy. The blood was sliding down from his forehead, he hit his head somewhere but had to pretend that he was the strongest man living on earth. Weirdo! Firstly she was weakening due to the hunger and this man had to do some new stuff, such as hitting his forehead! 

"Sit down." She gestured Ryan who was still standing on the threshold of the room watching Maira playing on his wooden floor. 

Zarah observed him with furrowed brows as he took his seat on the edge of the bed. She just wanted that curfew to end quickly, she didn't even want to stay near him anywhere. Shoving out a small piece of cotton, Zarah gently placed it on the wound after dropping some antibiotic on it pushing out a wince from Ryan. 

"Should have been careful when you were harming yourself..." 

She didn't stop the taunt that left the territory of her lips while Zarah cleaned his wound. It was not deep but blood was still little wet that meant it would take some time to heal. 

"I have no intention of harming myself. It was just an accident." 

"Whatever. Just be careful, you have to look after Maira when I'll go back." 

She mumbled, her heart dropping its beating as Zarah didn't like the idea of leaving Maira. The love and care she was feeling in her heart for that kid was growing every day and now it was becoming a little haunting. She didn't want to get stuck in any kind of obsession or possessiveness. 

"There's no need for you to go-" Her hand which was now opening the packet of band aid stopped and she looked at Ryan with questioning gaze. Her heart suddenly jumped to some threshold listening to his words. What he was trying to say? "I mean, the curfew is still on and by the time everything will be fine, Hanan will come back so I don't have to look after Maira." 

Zarah opened the packet and gingerly placed the bandage on Ryan's forehead, "Good for you. Then you will be free to do anything." She closed the first aid box and placed it in the drawer. "Look, I'm really famished now. Tell me what you want to eat and I'll prepare our food." 

Zarah said, the hunger inside her consuming her some brain cells. She really needed some food soon or else she would faint there itself. 

"Anything will be okay." Thank God! That man didn't put up some of his conditions on it. She would just prepare some easy recipe and would eat to her heart's content. 

"Come downstairs. I'll not bring your food here." 

Zarah ordered while exiting his room, taking Maira with her in her arms without looking at Ryan whose eyes were stuck on her leaving figure. 

******

"Here." 

After putting the rice in his plate, Zarah placed the bowl of dal beside him and quickly started her own dinner. She was really hungry, he could see that in the speed of her eating. 

"Slow." Ryan said while pouring the dal on the rice in his plate. 

"I was famished from today morning. Let me eat as I want." Zarah said before taking a big gulp from her glass. Maira was sleeping on the sofa behind them and that was why it was only them. 

"Thanks for this." 

Ryan said when he remembered her help, her task of aiding his wound. His heart had started beating in an unusual manner whenever he would look at Zarah. Didn't know what was it but he didn't want to think about it. That was why he was refraining himself from looking at this girl. 

"What?"

"First aid. "

"No problem. Be careful next time." Zarah said putting a morsel in her mouth, "Pain will never be an answer for pain. Just remember that." 

How simple those words were and why he felt at so ease when he heard them. Ryan felt like Zarah understood whatever was running inside his mind and being grateful was an understatement. 

"The room in front of the kitchen, you can rest there. It was Hamida-"

"Okay thanks." Zarah nodded with a tight lipped smile. "She really spent a great time here."

"Yeah. Hanan always has business trips so he used to take her with him but after Maira, Hamida decided to stay with me when Hanan would be on his business trips." 

Ryan said, little surprised on the fact that he so easily told her a part of his family, of his life. Zarah nodded, putting some more rice in his plate despite of his denial. 

"Eat big fellow. How will you handle your business if you won't eat properly?"

"Now there's no need for you to become my grandma." 

"I have no intention." 

Zarah returned his words to him with some weird face while grabbing her plate and bowl to the sink. Ryan slowly poured a spoonful of dal in his plate, Zarah's face moving in his mind. No he didn't want to think about anything let alone the new feelings which were creeping near the closed door of his heart. His heart was closed, an iron wall was placed around it then why he was feeling like Zarah's gestures held the power to melt that iron wall?

"I'm bringing the dessert."

Zarah's voice came from the kitchen snatching him back to present. He was right!