The Avenue

She stood outside a very busy renowned restaurant a sense of foreboding washing over her as she closed her black umbrella and made her way towards the entrance. She was used to visiting Al-Noor so bracing herself she stepped in, feeling the many eyes of the restaurateurs turn towards her. She was well known here; everyone knew her or knew of her. After all this time she still felt uncomfortable with the attention but that had more to do with the fact that she was unaware of who they were whereas they could name even the details on her birth certificate. The uncomfortable feeling spread as she noticed a very familiar looking employee make his way towards her.

“Madam,” he nodded slightly a smirk plastered on his face, the girl frowned slightly and allowed him to guide her to a quite area near the back of the restaurant. He motioned towards an empty seat across from a boy with black, emotionless eyes fixed in a hard glare, his jawline prominent as he was gritting his teeth in suppressed anger.She turned to the still smirking employee summoning up the confidence that came with years of security and self assurance as she ordered him to find her a better seat.

To any third party observer nothing less would be expected of a Raja. But in reality she did not want to sit with a man known not only to be unpredictable and cold  but also someone she could not be seen meeting privately away from the public eye. She was very much aware that everyone in this restaurant knew why she had come. Why she was even willing to risk meeting him alone. She much preferred to give them a show then let them wonder for themselves.

The boy frowned at her behaviour and sighed heavily, “For fucks sake Mal, what do you think I’m going to do to you? Are you really that far gone? I’m not the bad guy here.”

She finally allowed herself to look the boy in the eye as she fixed him with a sharp glare, “Yes you are.” She replied in a cold detached voice not once letting her harsh gaze slip; he didn’t deserve much more of a response. Not from her. She had the self-worth and pride to accept that. She saw hurt in his eyes that he didn’t even attempt to mask before he got up to move to the more populated area of the restaurant. She refused to allow herself to feel anything even though she knew she would later.

It had never been in her nature to be cruel. But then nature had never forced her to deal with a force as cruel as him. 

She took her seat opposite him, not bothering with making herself comfortable. She wouldn’t be staying long. It was her compassion and need to hear all sides of a story that led her to meet him. The silence at the table was icy and tense worsened considerably by the unsuccessful secretive glances sent their way from the other diners.

Any other couple at a table would refuse to let the piercing silence drag on for any longer, a silence so great it was almost painful to bear like a nail on chalkboard. But it was her stubbornness as well as his that forced them into this situation and she knew she would not be the one to break the silence.

The boy searched the girl’s face for any emotion. Anything other than the aloof sub-zero exterior she had developed. So cold he could almost feel the metaphorical chills sweeping over his body. But nothing, he found nothing. Not even anger. The girl who he believed at one point he could read like an open book, whose ability to empathise with even her worst enemy and believe in seeing the world through the eyes of an innocent newborn child as the norm was shutting him out.

She loved greatly. She loved them all without questioning it. They could break her if they so wished or betray her but at the end of the day she would stick by them. Why?

The silence was started to consume him as he realised that he needed to be the first to speak. His mouth suddenly felt as dry as the Sahara, he reached for his glass of lemon water and cleared his throat as he arranged his words in his head.

“I’m not going to apologise. I can’t.” he stated as clearly as confidently as he could. He needed to be honest now, he owed her that much.

He sighed meeting her hostile gaze. This was not as easy as he thought it was going to be. Looking away he concluded that he needed her to know that hurting her was not what he wanted.

Not in the end.

It hurt him to do it but how could he explain that? She wouldn't be able to believe him. They wouldn't let her.

He looked back up at her. The eyes he had always likened to melted chocolate were now as dark and cold as the starless sky of winter that loomed behind her through the cold restaurant window.

This was definitely going to be a lot more difficult because he knew better than anyone that as sweet as this girl was, making an enemy out of her was never the wisest move. He now understood his cousin's words back when he first came here. 

Back to when he first met them. Met her.