My Dunya (NEEDS EDITING)

Chapter 14- Cameron's POV

"And the way he looked at her was so intense, his big green eyes probiing into her, like he approved of everything she held inside."

~Lauren Kate

CHAPTER 14- CAMERON'S POV

I woke up groggily from a deep nap to see Maxy jump on me begging to play firefighter. Last night when she was crying about having a boo-boo, I picked her up and started spinning her like she was Simba. She called it firefighter, I called it not crying anymore, so it was a win win situation.

"Maxy, let me wake up," I begged her scooping her little body and putting it on the side. She humphed but thankfully she complied.

"Can I go play with Malik and Dunya then?" she asked lip quivering and I sighed as she was referring to the last time we went over.

"Nah, kiddo," I ruffled her hair. "She's probably busy studying or reading a book, or something nerdy like that," I told her and smiled at the thought. She was so cute when she was reading.

That night when she was in the hospital, I grabbed the book that was perched on the table beside her and took a look at it. "Cameron, are you actually holding a book?" she sarcastically gasped and I laughed.

"Would it kill ya to be a little supportive here?" I asked and she smiled. She smiled and I saw rainbows and unicorns, sunshine, and everything else that defines beautiful. I could see her smile all day long, and if it took reading a book to do that, I'd do it.

"Say you'll marry me when I come back or, before God, I won't go. I'll stay around here and play a guitar under your window every night and sing at the top of my voice and compromise you, so you'll have to marry me to save your reputation," I started reading from where the bookmark left off.

"Yes," Dunya whispered and my head shot up. Wh-what?

"Keep on reading, Scarlett eventually says yes," she smiled again and my heart stopped pounding like it was on fast forward. Did I actually think she was really saying yes for marriage? I could be such an idiot sometimes. It's not that I would oppose such a thing, heck, I'd be on cloud nine, but she would never do anything like that? Would she? I mean she only turned 18 several months ago. Plus, Casey told me that she would only be with a guy who was a Muslim. That day of the school barbeque when I wrecked her face painting, I took Casey on the side and asked her to do me a favour. And she indeed did ask Dunya for me, what she would do if she ever fell in love with me. Why was I overthinking this? She was just reciting from the book.

"You've read this book before?" I asked trying to clear my mind and she nodded. "Why would you read it again?"

"Because Cameron, there are some things in life that just stick with you. They move you in ways that you never knew could happen. Books do that to me. They're like a world of their own that I get lost in, and they change the way I look at things, they open my mind, and the books that I really, really like? I reread them."

"You, you highlighted the passage I just wrote," I noted, but then regretted it feeling stupid. So what if she highlighted it?

"Yeah, it's one of my favorite parts of the book," she sighed dreamily and then blushed, her creamy white cheeks turning a faint shade of pink.

"Thanks for the spoiler alert," I said and kept on reading to keep myself from saying anything else I'd regret. I have a tendency to do that.

I got up and headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower. I put a towel around my waist and headed back to my room when I saw Chase sitting on my bed. I greeted him with a head nod that he returned.