Life Under the Hijab | ✔

{24} Life Is a Bitter-Sweet Experience

Zaynub Khalid

The ride home was silent. I was so disgusted about the whole thing. I knew it wasn't my fault, but just maybe if I moved away from him faster this wouldn't have happened. I could feel Zakir's burning gaze on me. Finally, he decided to break the thin ice.

"Zaynub? Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I mumbled.

"Don't lie to me, kitten. I know something is wrong," he stated while glancing at me for a moment.

"It's just something that happened in school. Nothing to worry about," I muttered.

Zakir stayed silent. The rest of our ride was quiet. As soon as he pulled up in front of the house, I ran inside. I shut the door to our room close. Then, I leaned against it and slid down the door until I was sitting on the ground. 

How could I let that happen? I needed to tell Zakir before someone else tells him in the wrong way. but I was still horrified. I mean, I was sexually harassed! That still didn't give me the right to stay quiet about it. Zakir should know, but maybe not now. How should I bring this up? Should I tell him straight up? What's he going to think? Ugh! All this thinking was giving me a headache.

My mind kept spinning with the worst of thoughts when my phone rang. I checked the caller ID and saw that it was Bridget. I quickly answered the phone.

"Hey."

"Hey. I saw what happened. Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. I guess you could say that. Still a little upset about it though and embarrassed," I sighed.

"Don't beat yourself up about it. Let it be. It wasn't your fault. Zaid shouldn't have done that, but I think you should tell Zakir."

"What if he thinks bad about me? The whole situation makes Bahiya sound right about me. What if Zakir actually-"

"Stop right there. There is no 'what ifs'. You're just creating more stress by thinking about those. Hear me out when I say this, but you really need to tell Zakir about this. He deserves to know," she cut me off.

"What if he actually does something about this that results into him getting in a fight with Zaid?" I asked terrified. I love Zakir and I don't want to see him get hurt because of me.

"Didn't I just tell you to stop with the 'what ifs'? Anyway, just calm him down. You could also tie him down to the bed," she said suggestively.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, to tie him up is a perfect solution," I said sarcastically.

"What? Who knows what you could do to him then," she laughed.

"And I thought Zaid was the last pervert for the day," I shook my head.

"Okay okay. Just tell Zakir. The sooner the better. Bye," she said and then hung up before I could respond.

I put my phone down and leaned my head against the door. I should tell him. Zakir had the right to know. If he got mad, I should calm him down. Ya Allah, please don't let him be mad. Who am I kidding? If a man's wife was being sexually harassed, he would be upset. It's only natural for him to get upset. I'll just have to calm him.

With my decision set, I headed downstairs to find Zakir.

* * * * 

Zakir Khan

Zaynub started acting really weird since I picked her up. I wonder what happened? I decided to give her some space for a little bit. I remembered when I was little my father used to tell me if girls ever get mad, give them some space for a while so they can clear their thoughts before talking to them. I did it all the time with my sisters and it always worked.