Second hand hearts

Chapter 7 (A step foward)

Guys I'm deeply sorry about not updating on Wednesday as scheduled cos i was kinda sick-ish. But I'm better now and here goes a new instalment. 

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Amal was seated on the rug in the centre of the small room of her apartment that was made up of a small sized bed,a dresser and a small chair. With midterms examinations approaching,she had textbooks and lecture notes sprawled in front of her studying. But she couldn't bring herself to focus on the paper work in front of her as her mind kept drifting towards her cell phone which earned her a good distraction from what she was actually supposed to be doing, studying.

Earlier that day,after a mental battle between the two sides of her mind she had come to a final decision to return Bassam's calls. She had gave it a clear thought that if she wants to get back on her feet again,move forward as she promised Hafsah a couple of days ago then she might as well acknowledge her present and start up with a clean start by returning those missed calls. Or at least to shake the guilt off her and clear her conscience.  So she brought out her phone and searched for his number through her contact list, upon finding it,she immidiately dialed and the call began to go through. On the first ring,her heart plumeted in her chest and the paranoia side of her kicked as she thought about what she might be getting herself into. Quite sure,her past has been long gone but that doesn't mean she will sweep it under the rug and not consider it in her present and even the future.

She had almost given up when the person at the other end of the line picked up. Now the thumping in her heart grew louder and faster and she breathed in and out through her mouth in an attempt to calm her nerves which seemed futile.

"Hello" ,they answered, and for a moment she felt like a bucket of ice cold water has been splashed on her.

She sighed upon hearing a female voice and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. For a second,she thought she had called the wrong line but instead of just hanging up she decided she might as well put a final nail to the coffin. So she spoke too.

"Hello,good afternoon. Am i calling Bassam's phone  please? "

There was silence and not until when the woman spoke again,she thought the line went dead.

"Uh yes you're calling Muhamad Bassam's phone. But unfortunately he is a tad busy now. He will call you back as soon as he is free from his engagement ".

Wondering who that female might be,Amal politely gave her thanks and hung up. Tossing the phone away,she got back to studying with a little part of her mind anticipating his call.

Now it's been almost three hours since she'd called him but he still hasn't called back yet. She had taken a break fron studying and ended up rearranging her wardrobe to distract her gnawing thoughts.

Out of instinct and curiosity, she silently wished she had asked who the female was that she had access to his phone like this,answering his calls and maybe taking messages if necessary. The mere thought of if that female happens to be his wife,fiancé or any one he happens to be in a romantic relationship with made her stomach churn with the urgent urge to puke out it's contents. There's no way in hell she'll be going back to the same pit she got out from,letting her defenses down and being involved with a married man. Oh wait,who even said she was getting involved with Bassam? She was just returning the calls she deliberately missed.
"Mind too messed up" ,  she scolded herself  mentally as arranged the neatly folded clothes in rows inside the wardrobe.

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After that emergency meeting some days ago after he dropped Zara off,Bassam never got time for himself as he choked up with work right from the beginning of the week.

On Monday,he had been too busy developing , evaluating and testing a new software application for a major client ,  multi million tv game company. 
That day he had been so drained in work that even the chiming of his phone didn't get his attention. He simply asked one of his colleagues,a junior staff named Asia who happens to be of mixed race origin to answer his calls and provide that he will get back to the caller when he was less engaged. The young lady did a very good job at handling what he had asked of her and for a moment he felt bad for judging that she wasn't smart in the head based on her nerdy somewhat quirky appearance.

After the day weared off,and he was ready to head home it was already late  in the evening. Eleven,to be precise and he decided that it would be very much awkward to call Amal at that time of the night,even if she wasn't asleep by then she certainly wasn't expecting a call from him. So he let it slide with a mental note to give her a call the next day.

Tueday rolled in and after a quick breakfast of coffee and scrambled eggs with toast he took a quick shower,dressed into a pair of dark blue suit and dropped Zara off to school after which he turned and make his way to the art gallery. Almost a week after the exhibition,all of his paintings had sold out and he was taken by surprise the massive amount of money he made from those paintings. He had already decide that every penny from the proceedings of those paintings will go straight to charity.

Today,he needed to sign off the cheque to be presented to an orphanage hence his reason for being at the art gallery early that morning. By noon he was already feeling the tiredness resulting from sleep deprivation and much likely stress creeping up on him. He ran his hand through his face clutching the steering wheel tighter as he stepped on the gas a little more increasing  the speed of the car.

He immidiately made a turn and instead of going the way that led to his office, he followed the way that will take him to Birmingham University Campus.  He hadn't called back but he could certainly drop by and see her now before he goes back to office and get choked up with work again.

He took out his phone and dialed her number wondering why someone he barely knew will comfortably occupy a remarkable  portion of his mind. Because to be brutally honest, he can't seem to stop thinking about her.

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Amal was about to head  to her next class after a brief test to which she wasn't proud of her performance. She walked in tow with the numerous number of students who like her, had the test and were going  their next classes too.

She just wished she could go back home and sleep the day off as she felt the bright light from the sun slap her across the face. She adjusted the strap of the bag on her shoulder thankful that she didn't stuff the bag with so many books otherwise she would definately suffer from cramps in the upper arm region later on.

She felt her phone vibrate from inside her bag where she stuffed it earlier before the test so she pushed her hand in the bag to get it.

"No not now, why now?  It's not even a good time afterall " ,  she mumbled to herself under her breath on seeinh who the caller was.

She had wanted to not answer the call but she was tired of playing the cat and mouse game,the missed and returning your call game. So she slided and answered the call with a sharp intake of breath as her stomach summersaulted releasing a growl like she was hungry.

"Hello " ,she spoke.

"I'm so sorry for not returning your calls" ,they spoke almost in unison and that earned a deep throat  laugh from his side. She on the other hand only chuckled lightly a little amused.

"Where are you now? I am driving into your school campus now" , He went straight to the point. He had been matured enough that he considers beating around the bush a childish trait common to boys and not men.

She was taken aback by his straight forwardness but nevertheless she answered.

"I'm in school, actually on my way to class".

"Good. Can i see you please?".

Her eyes almost bulged out of their sockets courtesy of how she widened them. She contemplated in her mind whether to agree to see him or not.

"Yes i will wait for you then".
She caught herself saying as she gave him a description to where she will be awaiting him.

Not more than five minutes after the call,he spotted her and stopped the car killing the ignition.

Amal spotted Bassam drop out of his car and walking towards where she was waiting for him. He seemed confident enough like he was just came to see a colleague and not a stranger he barely knew.

The audacity of this man,she thought inwardly.

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