Unlikely To Happen

Part 16 - Ice Cream

Part 16 – Ice Cream

"Are you okay? Maleeha?" Zaakir let go of Maleeha and tried to sit up. His arms hurt from the way he tumbled out of the sky, like an injured bird and landed on his side. The sting of the landing was the focal point of his pain.

It was a few tensed seconds before Maleeha replied. "I'm okay." As Zaakir sat up, he groaned a couple of times. "My back hurts," he told her as he unzipped his hoodie. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

She sat up and looked over her body. There was no visible cuts or scratches, but her legs hurt from the way they were tangled with Zaakir's own legs as they fell from the sky. "My back hurts slightly, but I think that was the impact of the landing," she told him. "Are you okay?" Her eyes lifted to see several scratches on his face and his right elbow was bleeding. "No, you're not," she answered her own question.

She searched around for her handbag, forgetting it hung awkwardly off her shoulder. "Where's my hand bag?" she muttered. It was only as it knocked against her side that she realised it was always near her. She then rummaged through it looking for her bottle of hand sanitiser and tissues that she carried with her.

Maleeha then crawled to Zaakir, gently removed his hoodie off his body and then squeezed a generous amount of hand sanitiser on two tissues. "It might sting a bit," she warned him as she dabbed it on the wound.

"I'm okay," he denied, then hissed as it stung. "Really, Maleeha. You don't have to d – ouch! Ouch, ouch!"

As she gently dabbed at his wound, she looked at him with a soft smile on her face. He was childlike, his facial expressions were animated and comical and it tugged on her heart. He was innocent, in a sense, and at that moment, Maleeha realised that Zaakir's tough exterior was a result of his soft heart being hurt. She changed the tissues and squirted more of her hand sanitiser in a daze, still analysing Zaakir.

"Ouch!" he cried again, breaking her out of her thoughts.

She looked at the cut, blood was slowly trickling out of the wound but all the debris and dirt had been cleaned out of it. "I'm nearly done," she mumbled quietly as she ducked her head down. "I'm sorry, but I don't have anything to wrap your wound up with."

"It's fine," he said as he took another one of her tissues and cradled his scratched arm. "I'm okay."

She huffed as she prepared another one of her impromptu wet wipes. "Close your eyes," she ordered.

"Why? So you can kiss me?" he teased.

Maleeha rolled her eyes at him. "Is your conceit a way to hide your pain and insecurities?"

The offensive jibe was ignored by Zaakir, instead he gave her a flat and dull look. He was in no mood to argue with Maleeha. At first, Maleeha was surprised that he had not said anything, then the guilt settled in her heart and stomach, like a thick unwavering blanket. "I'm sorry," she apologised softly, but sincerely.

"You're in shock," he nodded understandingly. Which only made Maleeha feel worse. Zaakir was not usually and understanding person, he was not a calm person either. For him to brush off her undoubtedly rude remark was astounding, unless he was suffering from a concussion which in that case would make sense for him to be acting out of the ordinary.

"Did you knock your head?" Maleeha asked him confused, her mouth puckering.

He glared at her. "Obviously. We hit the ground, didn't we?" he asked sarcastically. "No, you didn't hit the ground. Your fall was cushioned by my perfect body!"