Faith

Chapter 10

NASIHAH'S POV:

And my eyes were open. I hated waking up like that: when you suddenly jerk into consciousness. It always happened in the middle of some amazing dream that I completely forget after waking up. Frustrated, I attempted to turn over to coax myself to sleep more, but there was a weight on my waist. Confused, I look down to see Zaidan's arm curled around me. 

What?

My eyebrows furrowed. Was he holding me? I slowly turned my head and felt something softly brush the back of my neck. I realized it was Zaidan's nose, followed by realizing how close we were. The last time we were this close was... that night, and that wasn't very pleasant. 

But this? I felt so warm and safe somehow ensconced next to Zaidan like that, with his forehead softly pressed in between my shoulder blades. Lately his repudiation towards me made me felt like he didn't want me. Like I was just there. I had no significance to him whatsoever. And now I felt like he actually liked me. 

And just like that, the moment was over. Zaidan's arm lifted and he slowly turned over, his back facing me. Now I sat up. 

The room was glowing in the faint sunlight that protruded from the covered windows. Everything was silent and calm and placid. I suddenly felt like I was at home. 

A small smile formed on my face. I looked at the alarm clock on my nightstand but then remembered I had no work today and leaned back down onto the bed. 

Wait. 

I sat back up again. It was 8:30. Didn't Zaidan have to go to work at 8:45? I sighed. The right thing to do would be to wake up my husband and tell him he's going to be late for work. The alternative: nuzzling into him and feeling that wonderful feeling that I had before. 

Was I seriously considering making him late for work? On the bright side I would get to relax again...

No. 

Hesitantly, I put my hand on Zaidan's back and shook him. He moaned sleepily and shoved his head into his pillow. 

"Zaidan," I said softly. He turned over and came close to me again. I swallowed. 

"Zaidan," I repeated a little harsher. 

Slowly, his eyes opened and he blinked. He looked utterly inattentive, like he could care less about anything right now. 

"It's 8:30." 

Zaidan simply closed his eyes once again. Huffing, I was about to say his name again when he bounded up. 

"Crap. I'm late," he mumbled, throwing the blanket off of him and leaping out of bed. He ran to his closet and pulled the door open. After randomly selecting a blue dress shirt, black pants, and a blue tie, he ran into the bathroom.

The door shut with a loud thump behind him. Deciding to be a good wife, I got out of bed too. I tied my hair up in a ponytail and left the room. 

ZAIDAN'S POV:

Not even bothering to put effort into my usual routine, I squeezed a lump of toothpaste onto my toothbrush and shoved it into my mouth. With one hand I brushed my teeth, and with the other I attempted to pull off the clothes I wore. 

I ended up getting a smudge of toothpaste onto my shirt, but that didn't matter now. Throwing my clothes onto the tiled floor of the bathroom, I quickly rinsed my mouth before dragging on my pants, buttoning up my shirt, and hastily fixated my tie so it looked even the slightest bit professional. Lastly, I hauled a brush through my hair, skipping the gel, and left the bathroom. 

As I ran for the front door, Nasihah stepped in front of me. She held out a small Ziploc bag in front of me with tho tiny blueberry muffins inside. 

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't think you'd have time for toast or something." 

"It's fine. Thanks." I took the bag from her and slipped on my shoes before something came to my mind. 

She just apologized for not making me breakfast, which I never even asked her to do. 

And I still hand even apologized to her for striking at her the other night. 

Suddenly, work didn't seem that important to me anymore. I turned back to Nasihah, who was about to walk into the kitchen again. 

"Nasihah," I called. She spun around. 

"What are you waiting for, Zaidan, you're already really late!" she said, gesturing to the door. 

"It doesn't matter." I walked to her. "I have to tell you something." 

"Well whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait. Go, Zaidan. You're going to get in trouble." 

"I don't care, Nasihah. Look. I know I apologized about last night but--"

"Zaidan, you don't have to do this right now," she intervened hastily. 

"Yeah, actually I do, Nasihah. You don't understand. Every time I see you, I remember what I did. I- I remember how scared and upset and small you looked. You were terrified, and I was the one who caused that." Her lips parted momentarily, but I continued talking before she could say anything. "I felt horrible after doing that do you. You did nothing wrong and I punished you anyway. I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry, Nasihah. You don't have to forgive me if you don't think I deserve it, and I most definitely don't, but I just want you to know that I'm sorry anyway."

She looked at me incredulously, like she couldn't believe what I was saying. Then a faint smile twitched on her mouth. 

"Of course I forgive you. It's okay, really." 

I nodded shakily. "Okay. Good. I'm going now then." Just as I'd faced away from her, I felt her grab my hand. 

When I was facing her, she closed her eyes and her lips moved, but I couldn't hear what she was saying. In less that twenty seconds, her eyes were open again and her lips stopped moving. 

"What was that?" I asked. 

"Nothing," she said brightly. I furrowed my eyebrows but she didn't say anything. 

"Oh, wait. One more thing," she added. 

"What?"

She bit her lip and look at me hesitantly. But gently, she put her hands on my chest and gave me a small kiss on my right cheek. Apparently, I wasn't the only one surprised by this action; when she pulled away her cheeks were flushed. In fact, she didn't even look like she was aware of what she did. 

Once again, her lips parted, but she shook her head and pushed me, not meeting my eyes, but a small smile hinting on her face. 

"Go to work, Zaidan. I'll see you later." 

Without replying, I left, feeling better than I ever had before.