This Is It!

you're on your own

I tried hard not to bang the door as I entered the house. I knew Mom was sitting on the coach waiting for me.

"Asalam Alykum Mom."

"Where have you been? I have been worried." She asked angrily. I bent a little and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Don't you think you should answer my salaam first."

"Am serious Haytham. Do you want to kill me?"

Here we go again, she always exaggerates.

"Mom, I went to see Jem. His Mom invited me for dinner." I lied stupidly.

"Oh, really now?"

"Yeah you can actually call her." Dang it! Did I just say that?

"You are lying to me again." She chuckled. "Jem is upstairs, he has been waiting for you for the past three hours."

I opened my mouth to say something but couldn't.

"Am sorry Mom." I finally said and ran upstairs not giving her a chance to argue with me.

Jem was seated on my chair in my study room. He had stretched out his long feet on my desk and was busy looking at his phone.

"Where were you, mate?"

"Couldn't you tell me you were here? I used you as an excuse and Mom now knows that I have been lying to her."

"I would have, if you picked up my calls."

I hit him so that he could remove his feet from my desk. I look at him as I sit on my desk.

"Want to tell me what happened?"

"She threw me out of her office."

"Serves you right." His thick British accent sounded annoying all of a sudden.

"Why did you say that?"

"Because you deserve it. You really hurt her you know."

"That was four years ago, men." I hissed angrily.

"Well, you never apologised. Besides, you dumped her for no reason at all."

"No reason? I wanted to reform."

"I know that but she doesn't. All you had to do was explain to her that your religion doesn't allow it. I am pretty sure she would understand."

"No she wouldn't."

"In case you forgot she is the only one that really respected your religion. Even if she wouldn't understand, I know she would have at least pretended that she did. And may be she wouldn't have gotten hurt like she did."

"I get your point." I got up and walked past his to the window. "Now tell me what to do?"

"About what?"

"Ariana of course, you dummy!"

"No way I won't let you do that."

"Do what?" I asked a little puzzled.

"You can't just use her, that's not fair." I ran my fingers through my hair and gave Jem the I-am-hurt-by-what-you-said look. How could he think so lowly of me?

"I don't want to use her I just want her to stop hating me."

There was silence for a while. Jem was looking at me as if trying to read my mind as I stared back at him.

"She is not going to believe you. I wouldn't if I was her." I sighed loudly and my shoulders sank with disappointment.

"She will believe you, after all you're friends. Please -"

"No way mate, I am not gonna help you this time you are on your own." He said and got up from the chair.

"Wow, so now you are abandoning me. The hell happened to always got your back?"

"Chill mate, you can do this."