Twice Upon Them

Chapter 11 | Kayla | Hurt

"Chocolate?"

"Chocolate," I confirm. My dad hands me an unopened bar of milk chocolate. I grab it, not as eagerly as I would if I weren't so depressed right now. I decided to spend a few days at my dad's new house after I heard he arrived from his honeymoon with Georgia. He still lives a city away from us; two hours to be exact. But since my mother noticed that there was something really bugging me, she was very generous by letting me stay at his place for a few days.

He sits down next to me while looking at me intently. He has a mug of dark coffee within his hand - we've been talking for hours, since it is something we rarely have the chance to do - and he must have been getting very weary at this point. I suddenly find myself telling him about what happened a few days ago. "I might have been an accident. Whoever was driving seemed to be in a rush."

"Let me guess...You didn't tell your mother. She wouldn't have let you come over if she knew about it," my father says reasonably. He was always the laidback parent, while my mother was the uptight one. Their differences in their personalities might have played a factor in their divorce. But while they were still married, they seemed to balance each other out.

"How can I? She's still worried sick about me after the whole kidnapping situation..." I tear open the packaging of the chocolate. I tear a huge chunk off and bite into it somberly.

He sits up straightly, looking at me seriously. "There's something else bothering you."

"Oh, um...I'm just thinking about college applications and such," I lie. "I will be a senior, so I better start looking now."

"You should get some sleep. It's well past midnight." He rises from his seat while taking one last sip from his mug. "I have a meeting tomorrow at work. I'll see you in the afternoon." I don't move until his footsteps fade away up the stairs.

I let out a sigh before I reach into the pocket of my jeans. I pull out my phone, which I turned off since I was receiving so many calls and texts from Nick. I turn it on and wait patiently for a few moments before the screen turns on. I unlock my phone, then go through my contacts' list. I scroll through it before I land on a vaguely familiar number. The name above it reads "Harun."

I find myself considering to call him, or even send him a text. But then I remind myself that he didn't bother to contact me for four months. I even start wondering why I still kept his number in my phone. I sigh before I scroll down to Maymunah's number. I call it, only ending up to be sent straight to voicemail. I send her a text asking if she would like to reschedule our lunch meeting. Afterwards, I call Zahra, since what I really need right now is to talk to her. I stand up from the sofa before turning off the lights of the living room. I use the light from my phone to guide myself up the stairs and into the guest room. Just as she picks up, I already settle into a warm and comfy bed. I place my half-eaten bar of chocolate on the nightstand adjacent to the bed.

"Were you asleep?" I inquire after hearing her yawn.

"No. I just got back home after shopping with my mom. Ramadan starts in a few days, so we needed to restock our kitchen after my older brother devoured everything in the house." I wonder why she just got back home at one in the morning. I dismiss the thought; she must have been busy with other things as well.

I smile. "How is he doing nowadays?"

"Not well. He's stressing over college and he refuses to listen to any of us. I guess he's revisiting his emo phase from when he was fifteen." I hear a hint of seriousness within her voice, but I decide not to question her about it.

"Aren't all college students like that?"

"He's in a wheelchair and the one thing he's worrying about is whether he'll be able to be a doctor when he needs to take care of himself first. I think his case is an exception to the norm." Zahra pauses for a few seconds before she says, "You don't sound like your usual self. Did something happen?"