Fighting Fire With Ice (COMPLETE)

Chapter 25: Conversations

"kana ina?" Abdulmaleek asked him through the phone.

"wait for me ina zuwa"  he said and hung up the phone. He met Abdulzahir in his house, they sat in the parlor and Abdulzahir called Zainab when Abdulmaleek asked after her.

She looked so slim, skinny rather, she lost all the weight she gained when she was pregnant. Now she looked sick. "wanda ya baki shi zai kara baki wani, ki ci gaba da hakuri"

"na gode" she said through her soft voice. He felt sorry for her and then he felt guilty because he believes that her pain was partly his fault.

She quietly went to the kitchen and brought him a drink from the fridge and went back to her room. Abdulmaleek watched her as she moved slowly and weakly, all he could do was feel pity for her.

"let go outside, l don't want to be overheard" he demanded when she was out of range.

"alright"

When they were outside Abdulzahir asked "meke faruwa ne wai?"

Abdulmaleek sighs "ka bata tunanin ka, to say I'm disappointed would be an understatement."

"I'm not understanding"

"you promised me that you would at least treat her with respect, Abdulzahir ka ji tsoron Allah, look at how she is shrinking.. Yanda fa kake da hakki akan ta haka take da shi akan ka"

"I'm not doing anything to her fa, ever since the miscarriage she has been distant, so i gave her space..she wasn't the only one who lost a child, i did too"

"she doesn't need space she needs comfort, haba Abdulzahir, she faced a very traumatic situation, the baby might have been just a fetus but it lived in her for 3months, she needs closure"

"I thought she got closure when she demanded for the fetus and she was allowed to hold it" Abdulzahir said referring to the hospital incident.

"you need to find a way to bring her from the state she is in right now, ji yanda ta rame, kai yanzu kana jin dadi?"  Abdulmaleek asked him "and i found out that Fateema was in this house even after i warned you about the consequences of your actions after that gathering"

Abdulzahir look surprised to hear that from Abdulmaleel, he didn't think Zainab told anyone "she told you?"

"how would she tell me?? Look kai fa ba yaro bane, meyasa ka ke abu kaman wani mara tunani, what was she doing here?"

Abdulzahir was quiet, he had no excuse for bringing her home.

"how does she get her money?" Abdulmaleek asked him the one question he has been asking himself for a very long time

"I give it to her" Abdulzahir lied, well it wasn't all a lie he does give her money, just not enough to maintain her current lifestyle.

"karka mai da ni kara min yaro mana, have you ever stopped to wonder, all the time she's either in Abuja or Lagos, why?" Abdulzahir felt like an idiot, she never tells him anything, and in the end he still didn't know the answers to those questions.

"Toh bari in gaya maka wani abu tunda kai karamin kwakwaluwanka baya so ya gane, idan baka dena abunda kake yi ba zan je har Abuja in hada ka da Alhaji (Abdulzahir's father) Allah dai yasan nayi iya kokari na. You are like a brother to me, we grew up together, I have only ever look after your interest, kai ma kasan bazan cuce ka ba. And Teemah I've known her for almost as long as I've known you, she was a nice girl, until she became something else. We are talking about the same girl that tried to seduce me and you took her side"

Abdulzahir's defences were completely down, he could not defend her. He had no idea why he does the things he does for her "i don't know how to cut her off,  I've known her my whole life, it's like you and Tahira"

"this is nothing like me and Tahira, do not even compare this, Tahira is not Fateema, and i am not you, and you don't have to cut her off, just keep her at a distance. Fateema is family to you, i know that, shekaru sama da goma ba was bane. But right now start with giving your wife some comfort and respect, duk inda Fateema take keep Zainab away from her"

"In Shaa Allah I'll try, but i think I'm going to ask Teemah to marry me again" He wasn't giving up just yet, maybe now she won't refuse. He didn't want it to be like he used her, though they used each other.

"a'a mutum na mata biyu ne idan zai iya adalci tsakanin su, kai ma kasan kuma baza ka iya ba, tun yanzu ka riga ka bamban ta su"

"Every time i try to let her go, i think of someone else marrying her and i just cant bear it"

"toh Allah ya sa mufi karfin zukatan mu"

"Amin"
***
Adilah decided to chat up Tahira

"Hi
I've been wanting to call you amma I've been so busy
it's Adilah"

"Hello,
OK
When you walked up to me that day i got the impression it was urgent, guess I was wrong"

"What should i say to her " Adilah asked Lala "nigga i don't know, i don't even understand why you have her digits in the first place"

"i just liked you that day and thought we could be friends" Adilah texted

"Are you related to Abdulmaleek?"  She asked her

"errm something like that, but you cant tell him about this he doesn't like talking about you" Adilah replied.

Something felt off, why would she tell her not to tell him, she went to her logs and was about to dial Abdulmaleek to ask him about this Adilah when something told her to stop wait and see where it was going "ok" she replied

"So..." Adilah typed "tell me about yourself"

Tahira told her about herself in brief and Adilah retured the favour, they kept having small conversations from time to time and Adilah was taking her time to gain Tahira's trust before asking her what she really wanted to know.

"Zainab me ke damun ki ne?  What's going on with you and Abdul" asked Anty (Abdulzahir's mother) she's been having a feeling that something has been wrong but Zainab has always insisted otherwise.

"Anty wallahi ba komai, kawai dai I haven't fully recovered since the miscarriage" Anty is what Abdulzahir and his siblings call their mother.

"Ni fa uwa ce a wurin ki, akwai abinda yake miki ne?" She asked again, Zainab's answer was not satisfactory, you could tell she was hiding something.

"Wallahi ba komai, bari in kawo miki ruwa" she said standing up

"Toh shikenan"

That night when Abdulzahir came back he called for her, she sat down on the couch far from his. What he wanted to do was what his friend advised him to do, Abdulmaleek was right she looked terrible, her slim frame was slimmer. So he sat beside her so there was no space between them "Zainab!! I'm so sorry, I've been a jerk"

He held her hand "how do i say 'I'm sorry' when i know the words aren't enough, i don't know why i made you cry only that i did, can we please just start over again?"

His word came as a surprise to her, an apology was something he had never offered her. But when he wanted, he could be the sweetest thing, she knew better than to forget that when he wanted, he could also be the most inconsiderate of persons. "Saying you're sorry doesn't prove anything unless you mean it"

"I do" he cupped her face, and she knew what he wanted to do, when she remembered him with Teemah she felt a strange feeling of irritation, she didn't want to imagine what they did that day in her house when she left them, something about that just made her remove his hands.

"I'm sorry i don't believe you" she said in a thin, shy voice.

"I'm not perfect, I make mistakes, I hurt
people. But when I say sorry, I mean it."

He took her in his arms....

***