Outloved

7.

'Ready?' Mister Irfan was waiting for me outside the office the day when I finished working. He told me yesterday we'd talk tomorrow, and when I tried to speak to him the next morning, he said to me that he'd pick me up from work. He was dressed in his usual business attire, looking serious but not as vigorous as before.

'Hello,' I greeted him with a smile.

'Let's go' He nodded and opened the car door for me.

'You know, usually when you see someone, you smile and say hello' I looked at him once he entered the car.

'We do that with strangers,' He remarked casually and pulled the car out of the driveway.

'So I am not a stranger,' I asked.

'No...you know too much about us' He cleared his throat and took a heavy breath. He seemed uncomfortable, a little disorientated.

'Where are we going?' I asked him as he continued driving.

'You'll see' He kept me guessing. A while later, he stopped a car near a beautiful entrance to the park.

'Vondelpark' I read on the gate as we entered inside a huge park.

'I thought we could walk around here,' He explained, watching my reaction.

'It's very beautiful' I smiled, and I stayed by his side while he took the lead of showing me around the park. After getting some coffee, we found a nice spot under the tea by the canal as the sun started to set.

'They must be wondering where I am...I should call Farah to inform her' I took out my phone to give her a call.

'I told her already; they know you're with me,' He assured me.

'You said we'll talk' I reminded him of our unfinished conversation from last night.

'I thought that's what we were doing since we got here' He shifted his gaze from the canal to look at me.

'Why did you bring me here?' I stared at him.

'To apologize,' He replied.

'Apologize?' I asked.

'I see the way you are with my family...how much your presence means to them...when you disappeared that day at the mall...I thought maybe if I talk to Hamza, he'll ask you to stay with us...I know it was a very self-centered thing to do...you came here to have privacy, but I haven't seen my family like this, they are happy around you' He said to me. I was taken back by his directness.

'I don't...' I opened my mouth to say it's okay, but before I could say that, he cut me off.

'I think it's best if you leave...they are all becoming too attached with you...I don't think it's good for Abeer to depend on you, and so is the rest of my family,' He added immediately, and I stopped.

'Yes,' I felt a lump in my throat. Why was I feeling emotional and sad when he said that?

'Right...I mean, I should go...yes, you're right' I broke our eye contact and got up.

'It's getting late; we should go,' I announced, and he got up. We walked to the car and rode back to the house in silence. Why was I expecting anything from Mister Irfan in the first place? A cup of coffee, a smile, and the tour of the park, and I thought we friends? At one moment, he said I was not a stranger, and the next, he asked me to leave.

'Thank you' I was about to get out of the car once we reached home, but he locked the door. I turned my head to look at him.

'We are okay, right?' He dared to ask.

'Can you unlock the door?' I glared at him. How could he even ask me such a hideous question?

He listened and opened the door. I got out and went to my room. The rest of the night went slow. Farah told me how happy she was that her brother apologized to me. Of course, she said no idea that he asked me to leave his house, and for the sake of their relationship, I decided not to tell her the upsetting things Mister Irfan said. Truthfully, asking me to leave was not a troublesome thing. The way he justified his action, first playing me into staying in his house for his family and then asking me to leave for his inconvenience, made me angry with him. I was so naïve that I thought he was a better person than I imagined, but I couldn't be more wrong. He only thought about himself.

'You're quiet this morning. Is everything okay?' Nano noticed the next morning while having breakfast. Farah went to drop off Abeer at school because he was running late, and Ruby Aunty was still asleep while Mister Irfan was getting ready for work.

'Commuting is giving me a hard time...it almost takes me an hour and a half to get to work, so I have decided to move out,' I informed her.

'What?' She asked with a concerning voice.

'Yes...you know I was going to leave...actually, I overstayed here,' I laughed. Just then, Farah entered the room and joined us at the table along with Mister Irfan. Great now, almost everyone was here.

'What's going on?' Farah sensed something strange and asked me.

'I was just telling Nano that I will be leaving soon...like moving out,' I quickly said without making it sound too big than it was.

'What?' She asked as if she misheard it.

'Commuting is too hard for me, Farah...I am going to find a place close to my internship...I have stayed here for too long already,' I said to her, hoping they'll understand.

'Did you say something to her?' Farah was too quick to point her fingers at Mister Irfan.

'Why would I say something to her?' He shrugged, not meeting his eyes.

'He didn't say anything... he was the one who allowed me to stay after the whole mall incident, but now it's all fine...I spoke with Hamza Bhai and Ayat, and it's all good now' I jumped in.

'I just thought you'd stay here for a while longer' Farah eyed me.

'I will come to visit for sure' I smiled at her, reaching out to touch her hand.

'Have you found a place already?' She inquired.

'No, I will do that today,' I informed her. After finishing breakfast, when I went outside to go to the bus station, Mister Irfan followed me out and stopped me in the parking lot.

'I'll drop you,' He offered.

'It's fine...and thanks for talking to Hamza Bhai, you sure don't waste time...well he called me, and I spoke with Ayat as well, they have allowed me to find a place and live alone so I should thank you' I tried to keep my calm.

'Are you upset?' He followed me again as I continued to walk.

'I have no reason to be upset with you, Mister Irfan; you are not my friend or family member or someone I care about so deeply that you can hurt me,' I blurted out.

'Haya' His eyes examined my face; what was he seeing?

'I was right about you the first time,' I mumbled to myself and continued to walk. Just my luck, it started raining soon after, but this time no one was there to call my name from across the street by the bus station.

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Hello everyone and happy Monday,

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, thanks for reading.

Catch you next week.

Love you all! xx