Scarred For Life

Chapter 52

*
Afrah glanced at the clock for the umpteenth time, wincing when she saw the time. Less than two hours from now, the sun would have risen fully in the sky. And yet, the house was as silent as it had been several hours ago.

Not exactly how she had expected her first night to go.

Her unease was mounting with every aggravating tick of the clock as the seconds dragged on.

Tick! Tick! Tick!

She stood up wearily, heading down to the kitchen. It was a mind-numbing chore to sit around and wait for Adnan's return. He had told her not to worry. Surely that should be enough consolation for her.

But then...

Tick! Tick! Tick!

Even here, she was ambushed by the sonorous ticking, which threatened to drive her insane. When he returned, she would talk to him about removing every single clock in the house.

She busied herself in the kitchen, washing everything they'd used earlier while she hummed to herself dryly, trying to drown out the maddening sound.

Tick! Tick! Tick!

She was surprised to find that Adnan had washed everything he had used. He had dried them all as well, returning everything to its proper place. She was impressed. Mostly because she didn't picture him as a man who knew his way around the kitchen. He would have been more at home in a gym or an immaculate office, but the kitchen was certainly not his territory.

Tick! Tick! Tick!

She trudged through the hallway half an hour later, her eyes downcast and a sickening feeling expanding in her chest. Where could he possibly be? She remembered the rage in his eyes when he had left earlier, and she undoubtedly knew that he was going to do something stupid. How could he not? But she had warned him not to, and a small part of her knew that he would listen to her. He had to. She knew that he was riled up only because it was her, and not someone else. It was probably vain of her to think of him as her own personal guardian angel, but she couldn't help the thoughts as they grew in her mind.

She paused suddenly, blinking as she realized where her feet had carried her.

Ever since they started the laborious task of moving in, she had only ever been in Adnan's room once. And even then, it had been called the master bedroom, not necessarily Adnan's bedroom.

At what point would it be considered creepy to stand in front of someone's door and simply stare at it? Whatever the verdict, Afrah had surely passed that time. For some reason, she couldn't get her feet to turn around and return to her room. And she couldn't summon the courage to open the door in front of her as well. It was mere inches from her hand, but those inches felt like hundreds of miles.

"What are you doing?" Adnan suddenly said behind her. Afrah screamed as she turned around, placing a hand on her chest as her heart rate shot through the roof.

Adnan stood behind her with a languid smile, his arms folded in front of him and his eyes focused on her. Afrah backed away from him, gulping copious amounts of air to steady herself.

"Why would you sneak up on me like that?" she gasped, staring at him like he had sprouted a second head on his shoulders. Or a third nostril.

"I wasn't sneaking," he said. "You were just lost in your thoughts."

Afrah glowered at him, realizing he was probably right. Relief washed over her at the sight of him, even in his disheveled state. He looked worn out, like he hadn't slept in days. Tonight seemed to have dragged on for several days, and she desperately wanted it to be over.