Scarred For Life

Chapter 50

*
There should have been a ceremony.

Adnan didn't bother to bring up the topic as they drove into the house. There should have been a ceremony where the bride's family would bring her to his house, and he would arrive afterwards with his friends in tow. Her friends would have stayed with her until he came, and they would have refused to let him see her until he paid them off. It was all tradition, and Adnan had planned it all out so meticulously in his head.

But everything had gone downhill in an instant.

He turned to glance at Afrah, and a stab shot through his heart when he saw the pain surrounding her. She was staring out the window, resting her chin on her palm which she had propped up on the door. Her breathing was slow, almost silent. The sight made him want to hurt someone.

"Afrah?"

She didn't reply. She seemed to have floated away from the car, leaving only her body there. He could guess where her mind truly was. Even after he parked the car in front of the house, she still didn't say a word.

Sighing, Adnan reached for her hand and tried to interlace their fingers together. Afrah flinched at the contact, but she relaxed when she realized it was him.

"Do you want to talk?" he asked, keeping his voice calm.

Afrah stared at their hands together, a blank expression on her face. Slowly, she withdrew her hand from his. The gesture wrung his heart, more than he was willing to admit.

"I'm fine," she said in a raspy voice. "I... just want to rest."

"You understand why I'm not taking you back to your parents house, don't you?" he said. "Your dad asked me to keep you safe, and I don't..."

"Adnan," she cut him off, "please don't. I'm not in the mood to talk right now."

She turned and hopped out of the car, heading to the house. Adnan watched as she walked away with a wounded expression in his eyes.

She was hurt. He understood that. Perhaps this wasn't the right time to push her. Sighing, he stepped out of the car. Afrah's car would be brought afterwards. He had given Yusuf the keys, and told him to bring it afterwards. Her other car was still at her parents house. He would talk to her in the morning about bringing it here.

This wasn't at all how he had planned the night to go. He should be out with his friends right now, contemplating whether Afrah had been brought home yet. He sighed as he scratched his jaw, heading up to the door.

He took a long shower after praying Isha, allowing the warm water to seep into every nook and cranny of his body. He felt marginally better afterwards, remaining in the bathroom while he trimmed the edges of his beard. It was unnecessary, but he wanted something to do. Anything to prevent him from seeking her out in the house. He knew she would be in her room, which was exactly fifteen steps from his own room. He had counted.

A part of him desperately wanted to go to her. To comfort her, and tell her that everything would be fine. But he wasn't about to invade her privacy. Today was the first day of the rest of their lives, and he had to make it work. Unspoken boundaries had been set, and he had to respect them.

When he emerged from the bathroom, it was nearly midnight. His stomach grumbled the moment he glanced at the clock, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything solid in hours.

Was Afrah feeling hungry too?

Damn it! He was thinking about her again. He groaned as he headed to his closet, grabbing a pair of grey sweatpants and a loose white t-shirt. He would make her something to eat, and perhaps she would want to talk to him then.