Dawud.

Chapter 35: The Dent in the Door

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

"Hello." Dawud greeted him, casually wearing his pajamas. Rahman gave me a strange look and I turned away from him. "I'm the husband." Dawud told him, shaking his hand. I died inside...

Jannah's P.O.V

Rahman smiled then, revealing all his luminous teeth. It was one of those picture book smiles, so perfect it almost looked unreal. It was obvious how the corners of his mouth pulled upwards forcefully but I was shocked to see how oblivious Dawud was. My husband simply set the heavy bottle of laundry detergent down next to me and gave me a pure-hearted smile. Upon seeing my expression, he lifted a hand and motioned between the two of us. "Do you two know each other?" he asked innocently.

The way he unintentionally batted his eyelashes set my heart at ease and gave me enough strength to formulate a response. As I opened my mouth to speak, lies dripped off of Rahman's tongue, shaking my core. "No, we don't." He said quickly. "I know you, though. Grayfield High School, right?" He asked Dawud. My husband laughed, turning his back to me. His height blocked Rahman from seeing the way I clutched my stomach in confusion. There wasn't an exact sentiment I was feeling, it was more like a mixture of all types of anxiety, hysteria, and anger. Not only did he lie, but now he was befriending my husband. I forced myself to concentrate on the conversation between the two. I heard Rahman tell Dawud that they were on the basketball team together when he was a junior and Dawud was a senior. I heard laughs and hollers and chuckles. "Those were the good old days." Rahman sighed.

I took ahold of the detergent and poured some in a cup with shaky hands. I then spilled it in the machine and shut the cover, pressing a few buttons to turn it on as well. Once the room was filled with the soft humming of the machine, Dawud cut the conversation short. "I'll see you soon, bro. We have to get dinner sometime. Me, you, Abdallah and our wives, It'll be wicked." he said excitedly. "Catch ya later."

"It'll be wicked, that's for sure." I murmured. Not too long after, Rahman left.

Dawud chuckled, rubbing his hands together. "It's always nice to run into people from the past." He sighed absentmindedly. If only he knew how terrible my past had been. If only he knew the things his 'friend from the past' had done to me.

I walked past Dawud, hauling the detergent with me. My head felt airy, like a feather and I felt like I was in a dream. Rahman was back. He lived in the same apartment building as I did and somehow, just somehow, he knew Dawud. My worst nightmare was coming true and I didn't know what to do. Dawud called my name but I ignored it and kept walking. I had no clue where I was going since I hurled myself past the elevator but I was fixed on getting out of here. To get some air. Rahman was back. Tears formed in the corners of my eyes and stung my cheeks. Every breath that escaped my lips came out scratchy and desperate as I searched for an exit. A metal door, tall and dented as if it had suffered from as much pain as I, emerged in front of me. With all the strength left in me, I pushed it open. I was caressed by a strong and chilly gust of wind. It wrapped my body with dense air, somewhat relieving me of the shock. I took a few wobbly steps from the doorway and gripped my stomach. Rahman was back. The same hand that clutched onto the detergent found it's way to a wall, freeing itself from the heavy weight that held it down. With a crash, the bottle emptied itself over the cold pavement, weaving itself around the pebbles. I watched it flow down the slanted concrete and stop at the large feet in Nike shoes. Dawud.

"Jannah..." he whispered, eyebrows knitting together in worry. He repeated my name once more, making his way over to where I was bent over, gasping for air. "What on earth is going on?" He begged, squatting in front of me. I closed my eyes, not wanting to look his way. I knew that the second I looked into his innocent eyes, I'd die of grief. "Look at me." He said sternly.

I peeled my eyes open to find him inches from my face, studying me with such emotion. The green of his eyes was now dark, lush with specks of dark brown and what looked like black. I covered my mouth, shaking my head. There was no way I could tell him. There was no way I could break his heart. Would he still love me? Would he look at me the same way? Worse of all, would he divorce me?

"If you love me," he said suddenly, looking away, "tell me."

Then, in that moment, I coughed out the words I will never in my life forget. "Rahman was my boyfriend. He did things to me I wasn't okay with. When he started to get too.." I couldn't finish my sentence. I was caught up in the way Dawud threw his face into his hands. Not seeing his eyes made it easier to continue. He deserved the truth. "When things started to get too carried away, I snapped. Then he disappeared. For the first time in.. what.. three years? For the first time in three years, I saw him."

Dawud trembled. In the moment, I wasn't sure whether it was out of rage or the cold wind whooshing around us. When he repeated the words "Too carried away." I knew it was out of rage. "How on earth could he do something like that?" He pressed, rising to his feet. I watched his hands as he extended his long fingers and withdrew them to make a fist. His chest rose with each sharp and deep breath he took and I couldn't help but feel small next to him. "He.. touched you?" He asked me in disbelief. I nodded. "How.. far.. did-"

"Stop. Please. I don't want to talk about it. I just wanted to let you know." I barely whispered. It was like the wind around us was growing in volume. "He is acting like he doesn't know me. I don't know why." I blurted. I regretted it immediately. The way Dawud growled with rage and punched the metal door I walked out from said enough.

"I am going to kill him." He snarled, eyes wide, intensifying in color. He laced his hand in my own and to my surprise, his touch was delicate and hesitant, contrasting against the dent gleaming in the door. "I am going to kill him." He said again, determined this time. I didn't want to believe him, but a small part of me did.