The Two of Us

Chapter 15 - Rainy Days

Chapter Fifteen -  Rainy Days

"Osama?" Sabrina gasped, clapping her hand over her mouth. "You mean fly guy?"

"What?" Khalid blinked.

He took a breath and watched the horror and confusion cross her face. She was thinking about the time that she and Leila and Emaan had went to the mall and saw Osama there. His fly had been open as Emaan had pointed out. Ever since that day, the three girls had nicknamed him 'fly guy'. She found it unbelievable that it was Osama - the laid back, Arab guy with his silly snapback - who had shot Khalid's mom.

"Are you sure?" She asked, shaking her head slowly.

"Yes." He said, his eyes gliding past her. "It makes sense. Reed would never get his hands dirty. He'd make someone else do it."

Sabrina bit her lip and scowled. "That's disgusting."

"Welcome to my life." He chuckled dryly.

"Now what?" She asked. 

"What do you mean?" He asked her with a raised eyebrow.

For a moment, Sabrina couldn't speak. She could see Khalid trying so hard to hide from her. He was disappearing. His eyes were closed and inexpressive but she could see. He was trying to vanish.

"Now what will you do?" She managed. "About Osama."

His jaw worked. She saw his hands form fists under the bed sheets. He stared past her at the wall, his expression hard. It looked as if he was imagining what he'd do to Osama if he ever got his hands on him. Sabrina waved her hand in front of his face.

"Hey." She called, kindly. "Tell me."

Khalid focused on her face. "What do you think I should do?"

"I dont know." She answered, truthfully. "But I know what you shouldn't do. You shouldn't hunt him down and murder his family, for starters."

"Sabrina." Khalid said through clenched teeth. "He tried to kill me. But he ended up shooting my mother."

"I know!" She cried. "And it was wrong of him to! It was terrible and inhuman and absolutely unforgivable but tell me, what are you gonna get out of this, by going out there and bringing the past into the future?"

He stared at her. "He shot my mother!"

"That doesn't mean you should shoot his!" She cried. "Did you know that those who have the power to take revenge, but forgive instead, are the dearest to Allah?"

"I wasn't going to shoot his mother." He scowled. "How am I just supposed to forgive him?"

"Maybe you dont have to forgive him. Maybe you can just forget it and leave it in the past."

"That's like forgiveness." He hissed.

"Whats wrong with forgiveness!" Sabrina cried, throwing up her hands. "Its easier and wasn't it Reed that made him do it? Maybe he bribed Osama or-"

"I should be allowed revenge." Khalid interrupted. "Because he hurt me and I should be allowed to hurt him back." He whispered firecely, his blue eyes darkening. 

"That's not how it works, though." Sabrina said, sadly. "There'll only be more hurt in the end."

"So?" He screamed. "Who cares!"

"I care." She said, blinking back tears. "Because this hurts me, too."

Khalid sat back and heaved a defeated sigh. Running his hands through his hair, he looked up at Sabrina and she stared back at him, trying to stop her lips from quivering. Her throat ached, the way it did whenever she was about to burst into tears. It was the type of pain that she felt rise and, as if it seeked release, burst from within her. She choked it down, for Khalid's sake. She'd be strong for him, if he couldn't find strength.