Extrication

Chapter 13"A spark in hearts"

The next two weeks blew by like a cool breeze in a burning hot desert, finally life was becoming stable. There was a hope and a motive to live for Allonia, a hope of freedom and a motive to fulfill her dad's unfinished wishes. Over the course of the week, Abdullah had only visited Becca and Allonia once and had ended up having a fight with Becca so he quit coming to the house for the rest of the two weeks. The last time Abdullah had come, he was just asking Allonia for some basic information, her grade etc. Becca had just made fresh tea for Abdullah and brewed a steaming cup of coffee for herself and Allonia. Allonia was slowly catching onto Becca's habits, one of them being drinking a lot of coffee, actually not just drinking but passionately loving coffee. Becca quietly sat on the chair adjacent to the sofa after serving everyone their hot drinks. As Becca handed Abdullah his tea, their hands brushed off each other's, inhaling the smell of the strong coffee Abdullah complimented Becca for it. But she didn't smile back, she had a look of unfamiliarity in her eyes when they collided with Abdullah. Looking in Becca's eyes Abdullah's expressions changed too, Allonia quickly realized what was going on so she excused from the situation telling the two of them she needed some sugar in her coffee, she headed towards the kitchen. She didn't want to eavesdrop or interrupt their conversation so she ignored what they said and just drank her coffee, sitting on the stool placed underneath the sink.

While Allonia was enjoying her coffee, Abdullah finally got the courage to break the awkward silence that was slowly consuming him. He looked deeply into Becca's eyes asking, "Is everything okay?" Becca remained quiet for a while, running her finger over the brim of her coffee cup. Abdullah placed his cup of tea on the wooden table in front, his eyes glued at Becca, demanding an answer. Finally her melodic voice ran through his ears,

"Do you really care about me? Shouldn't you be caring about your secrets?" she rhetorically asked. Abdullah looked at her confusedly, he placed his hand over Becca's trying to cool the situation down he began,

"I obviously care for you and what secrets are you talking about? Get to the point please," he pleaded eagerly.

"Oh please, stop lying to me!" she exclaimed looking away in disgust.

"Why do you think I've been helping you? Do you think a guy just leaves his job to help a girl if he doesn't care for her?" he replied disappointedly.

" I saw you shove some documents in your bag the day we went to Allonia's house, before I could ask you we had to evacuate and since then I've been waiting for you to tell me what those papers were," she replied moving her eyes from her lap to Abdullah, the colour from his face drained. She saw his neck bone flex as he said,

"So if I don't give you an answer for a question you never asked, you are going to question my love for you?" he questioned. "Do you realize how much I care for you? his voice rose a little as he said the last part. "You are my best friend," his voice calm and soothing again. He ran his fingers through looking at the hard concrete floor underneath.

"Am I just a best friend to you?" she asked hoping to contain herself and stay calm. "We are more than friends and I'm pretty sure you know that," she replied in her voice that was now crackly and filled with sadness. Abdullah didn't dare meet her eyes and left without saying goodbye.

A week after their fight, Abdullah called Becca hoping to find Becca's friendly voice play a rhythm in his heart. Becca finally picked up after two rings, as she said hello, Abdullah's heart immediately beat faster but he could still hear the disappointment in her voice that soon halted his heart a bit.

"Ummmm I just wanted... to tell you that Allonia's flight is booked for the day after tomorrow. I'll come over today to give the tickets and explain the bagging restrictions," he said trying to act normal."Also...can you call Garcia, your friend in Canada about Allonia's arrival so she can get her bed and stuff ready in the orphange," he ended quickly hoping to not make the situation awkward or odd.