Swipe Of Love

24

♕ A N T O N I A P O V ♕

"Salam Bhai. Please come in. Coffee or tea?" I offered, taking out two cups from the cabinet.

"I didn't come here to eat or drink anything, Antonia. You very well know what I came here to do. I want to talk about the incident that happened yesterday. That's all," he answered, taking a seat on the stool.

Releasing a breath, I sat on the stool that was in front of him, "I'm listening."

"Yesterday was shocking to you; I completely understand. We were shocked ourselves. I know you are confused. However, the thing is, you need to listen to our reason for doing this," Khalid bro explained.

"I already know the reason, so there is no point of you telling me," I shrugged.

"Please elaborate on how you know about our reason," he raised his eyebrow.

"The only reason is that you want me to forgive him and bring him close to me even after you knew how much I dislike that man," I spat.

"Antonia, you have to forgive people. We are never perfect. We have to make mistakes to correct ourselves from the errors. Deep down, inside your heart, you still love Walid. You are just too foolish to accepts it," he uttered in a firm voice.

"You are talking just like your wife. How many times do I have to remind you all that I am in this situation because of him? My son lived 17 years of his life without a father because his father was too much of a coward to see his son. Let me not forget about how I lost my first child because of him. I am not going back to that man...Ever," I guaranteed.

"You're letting the Shatan get to you. You're not the same little sister that I have. The one who taught people to forgive and love each other. The one that would sacrifice anything to bring joy and happiness into a family. You have changed. A lot," he stood up from his seat.

"People change, and it's because of their life experience. They change due to the cause of other people. I never understood that, but now I do. That's what happened to me," I explained as I looked out the window.

"I hope you come to your senses soon. Because if not, then you might lose Walid right under your very nose, and you won't know it at all," he shook his head.

"Can you at least trust me? I know what I am doing. I just need support from my big brother. I need you to trust me on this. I just need time. I mean, he just popped back into my life out of nowhere. Just trust me on this. Please," I pleaded.

"You are a brilliant girl, MashAllah. I know you have your own reason for doing this. I trust you. I trust you with anything. I know you won't do anything dumb. Just try not to take forever with this plan of yours. Why don't I help you?" he suggested

"Thanks, but I want to do this alone."

"I am okay with that. By the way, mom and dad are coming over," he poured himself a glass of water.

"When?"

"This week sometimes," he gulped down the water.

"I'll send a car as soon as they land," I offered.

"No need for that. Everything is under control. Now, mind telling that idiotic son of yours to control his anger," he said.

"What did he do now?" I questioned, looking confused

"He will meet his father, soo. He will be insane; I just know it. He will get into a lot of trouble because of this hatred that he has, which is not good. And besides, he made Noor cry yesterday night," he retook a seat on the stool.

"Again?" I gasped in horror.

"Yeah. Noor came home with tears in her eyes. She wouldn't talk to anyone," he sighs.

"How do you know it wasn't just something else that made her cry," I suggested.

"Your son had a terrifying face last night. He looked as if he was ready to tear someone up," he answered.

"I made them both go together for a reason. I wanted them to get along. Especially Omar," I muttered.

"I have to leave now. Duty calls," he rubbed his eyes.

He didn't look very well. Dark circles were under his eyes. Even though he was wearing a suit, he still looked like a massy man.

"You should get some sleep. You seem tired."

"I couldn't sleep last night knowing that you were enraged at me," he stated

"Let's be honest, okay. You deserved it, and besides, who said I forgive you," I crossed my arms.

"Ya Allah! Why are females so hard to understand? How can I seek your forgiveness, your highness," he bowed down.

"Umm...Let's see," I tapped my chin as if I was thinking, "you have to buy me 2 buckets full of ice cream."

"Yes. I'll send them right away. I am very sorry for doing this to you, Antonia. I just wanted to help you. It kills me seeing my baby sis like that," he smiled.

"I was joking. I forgive you. Besides, I can't stay furious at you for too long," I kissed Bro's cheek.

"Come here and give your big brother a hug," he extended his hand out. I ran up to him and hugged him tightly.

"What is taking you so long?" came a voice, "you left me in the car, freezing to death; I come here to see you having a brother and sister moment."

"You left her in the car. How could you do that, bro? You can't leave a lady in a car all by herself!" I exclaimed, grabbing the blanket that was on the table and wrapped it around her

"I am pretty sure that I left the heater on," he mumbled.

"Mind checking your pant pocket," she snapped.

He put his hand in his pocket. His eyes widened as he took the keys out. "Oh, crap!" he whispered. I started to let go of the laughter that I was holding back. I clenched my stomach.

"You can say that again. Guess what, honey? Tonight you are sleeping on the floor," she smirked.

"Lord have mercy on me," he groaned.

"Do you have to go to work today? I am alone at home," she pouted.

"Sorry, hun. I have to," he pecked her cheek.

"Eww! You guys keep that in your room, not in front of me. You can stay with me. I am home alone," I offered. Without a single word, she pushed Khalid bro away and tackled me to a tight hug.

"Jeez. And here I thought I was special," Khalid bro muttered, "whatever. I'll pick you up as soon as I am out of my office."

We walked up to the door; Khalid bro turned around and hugged us. We waved at him as he drove away. I smiled at Amina; we walked toward the kitchen.

"Antonia, I am 100% sure that you are-"

"I forgive you," I cut her off.

"I totally understand-wait. What?" Amina looked at me with shock.

"I said, I forgive you," I smiled.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!!" she held me.

I handed her the plate. I opened the dishwasher and grabbed a fork. By the time I turned around, Amina was finished with the food. You gotta be kidding me! She finished the whole plate. How can she do that? Is she pra- Nah! She can't be! Can she?

"What?"

"Dude, you just finished a full plate of scrambled egg and the two-piece of bread, and you are asking me, what?" I sigh

"Sorry, I am just so hungry. I don't know why. I did eat a plate full of pancakes for breakfast, but I am still hungry," Amina started to cry. What the actual heck?! Why is she behaving like that? Something is definitely wrong with her.

"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned about her. Her normal behavior is not crazy. She is a little crazy, yes but not this crazy.

"Yes, I am fine. I just feel sad all of a sudden," she pouted.

"Dude, you are freaking me out! Something is wrong with you. I mean, you ate a plate full of pancakes and then scrambled the egg. A couple of minutes ago, you were happy, and now you are crying. Are you pra-"

"I can not be! I am too old for that!" she exclaimed

"Are you serious?! You are not that old. You are two years younger than me. You are only 30 years old. Have you heard about Daljinder Kaur?" I asked

"Who is the world is that?" she questioned, opening the fridge doors.

"She is the oldest woman to have a baby. She gave birth to a baby when she was 79 years old. Allah can give babies to anyone. It doesn't matter how old you are! Allah has the power to do anything," I reminded.

"Oh my god!! You have ice cream!" she squealed excitedly.

"Ice cream can wait. But finding out whether you're prego or not can not," I grabbed her hand.

"But I want ice cream!!" She whined.

How does my brother deal with these women? She is so bothersome. I turned off the radio. This was not a good idea because she gave me a death glare; I can not concentrate on driving when someone is looking at me like that.

"Allah forbids that I get into a car accident when you are staring at me like a creep," I exhale, trying to focus on my driving.

"Then put my music back on," she demanded.

"If I do that, will you please stop looking at me like that?" I pleaded.

"Yes," she answered. Thank Allah, she stopped looking at me. I put on the music back on. Taylor Swift, trouble song came on the radio.

Flew me to places I'd never been//Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground.

Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble//Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble.

She sang out loud.

That's it!

I couldn't handle it anymore. Amina's voice was raspy, like older women, even though her face was young. A rough voice is not soft and is unpleasant to listen to, which was in Amina's case. She sounds like a dying duck. I shut the radio off.

"Hey!" she yelled.

"We are here," I pointed toward the shop.

"Oh! " she mumbled

We walked into the store and bought the test. We then went to the bathroom. Before Amina went to the bathroom, we waited for everyone to get out. Once everyone was out, I gave her the box. She looked at me. I know she is nervous; still, we have to do this. Grabbing Amina's hand, I placed the box on top of her hand. Then shoved her inside the bathroom.

"I am super nervous," she called out from the bathroom.

"I know you are, and that's why I am doing this to you," I replied, pulling out my phone.

"I hate you," she yelled.

"You will love me after this," I said, looking through Walid's schedule.

She got out of the bathroom and washed her hand. "According to the box, we have to wait for 1 to 2 minutes," I said, turning my phone off.

"This is the longest 2 minutes of my life," she sighs, trying to pop acne.

I smacked her hand away, "don't do that, or else there will be more."

"Yes, mother!" she mocked.

♕ O M A R P O V ♕

"Nerd!" I called out.

She decided to ignore me. What's wrong with this girl? What did I do now? I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. Is she still mad at me? I really didn't mean all those things that I said. I was angry. I ran up to her. She totally ignored me as if I didn't affect her, which irritated me so much.

"I am talking to you, Nerd," I grabbed her elbow.

"Well, I am not," she snapped back.

"What's wrong with you?" I questioned.

She stopped walking and turned around, "really? You are seriously asking me that!"

"Well yeah!" I nodded my head, trying to figure out what's wrong with her.

"When you figure out what you did wrong, come see me," she shot back and stormed away.

I looked at her. Scratching myself on the head, I walked toward the boys. She definitely looked hot when she is fierce. However, what in the world did I do wrong? Can't a guy make a mistake! Girls these days! All they want is attention—nothing else.

In the Nerds case, it was different. She doesn't like attention. She despises it; She tries to stay as far as away from dramas. She keeps herself busy with either schoolwork or a book. My thought was interrupted when Hakeem came running toward me. He slammed against the locker as he tried to catch his breath.

"Yo bro, help me," he looked around the hallway, "coach! He is after me. Oh, s**t, he is right there.".

As he ran behind me, I turned around to see a coach with a baseball bat in his hand. He looks outraged while he walked toward us.

"Where is that moron friend of yours?" he asked, looking around us.

"Who?" Alex asked.

"Don't play dumb with me, boy. Where is he?" he asked.

"Don't know. Haven't seen Hakeem," Jack lied.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you carrying around a baseball bat, Coach?" I pointed at the bat

"So I can beat up his an*s," he yelled.

"Okay. Well, we will let Hakeem know that you were looking for him to beat his as* with a baseball bat. I am sure that he will show up to practice today," Jacob laughed, giving us a high-five.

"Shut up!" Coach barked.

We all shut up. As soon as Coach walked away, Hakeem came out from behind us, and we couldn't help but laugh. Was Coach that stupid? He didn't even see Hakeem right behind us. That man is old. Old enough to lose his eyesight.

"Why did he want to beat your ass?" Alex inquired.

"I fooled him. We all know he likes Ms. Flower even though he is so old. I told him that if he gives me 20 bucks, I will tell him what Ms. Flower said about him," he started to laugh.

"For real? What happened next?"

"Ye-yes. And t-then" he couldn't stop laughing.

"Dude, come one. Following information," I said.

"Without even arguing, he gave me 20 bucks, and then I told him how Ms.Flower thinks he is handsome. He fooled enough actually to believe me, and he went to Ms. Flower. Out of nowhere, he came out of the classroom with a red handprint on his face. Man, you should have seen his face," he clenched his stomach.

"Man, I should have done it. You could have at least told me that you were going to do it," I sighed.

"Next time, bro," He smiled.

"Well, there does the ball. Lunch is over, and I need to go to math class. God! Gotta hate math!" Alex banged his head on the locker.

"Look at the good side. Your crush is going to be there," Jack reminded.

"That's the only reason I go to that class. Or else I would have skipped a very long time ago," Hakeem smiled.

"Of course, you would. You cheap-as* boy," I patted his back.

"See ya!' He said

I turned around and started to walk toward my history class. Hakeem came up to me and asked, "bro, I asked Noor if she has seen you. Man, her face was all enraged right after hearing your name. Did something happen?"

"Let's just say, last night didn't go so well," I shrugged.

"Gotta get your girl back fast then, cause someone else is trying to hit on her," he pointed toward the class.

"That guy doesn't get that he needs to stay away from her, does he," I clenched my fist.

"I don't think so. See ya after school," Hakeem said, giving a bro handshake.

I looked back at them too. Noor seems quite comfortable around him, which makes me mad. I walked toward her. She just shrugged me off. Savage much! I gave Justin a "get lost" glare. I grabbed her by her elbow and dragged her to the classroom. We have a history together. She slapped my hand, making me pull away. This woman smacks like a man.

"What is wrong with you?" she questioned.

"Oh, nothing is wrong with me besides that; you are giggling with that bastard," I sarcastically said.

"Justin is not that bad. He is funny. He makes me smile. Unlike you," she mumbled, sitting down.

"I can be funny. I just chose not to," I took a seat next to her.

"Your right! You're a boring person in this world. Why are you sitting here? This is not your seat. It's over there with that girl," she spat.

"Do I sense jealousy" I smirked.

"No," she answered quickly. Way quickly for me. I knew Noor was lying. She would always answer quickly when she is lying or is nervous.

"No need to lie, kitten. I am all yours," I whispered in Noor's ears, making her shiver.

"Keep your space. I need my personal space," she shoved me back.

"Nah!! I like being close to you." I smirked, seeing her cheek blush

The teacher soon walked in. I paid no attention to her. I just looked at Nerd. My Nerd.

"Today, we are partnering up for your project. This is a partner project, but you will be graded based on your own work. I will be assigning you apart. You must do it, or else you get a 0. This project is summative. Remember summative's are 50% of your grade. If you don't do this, you can fail my class," she said, handing out the papers.

"Do we get to chose our own partner?" Andrew asked from the back

"No! I'll be sighing you all with a partner," she answered. Everyone groaned. I pray to Allah that I am partnered up with Nerd.

"Sophia with Zoe. Ava with Lily. Emma, you're partnered with Jackson," she announced

"Can I change my partner? Because I know that this dumbass won't do anything because apparently, he is stupid," Emma asked.

"No, you can not. And please be nice to other children," she remained.

"A child can be better than this moron," she mumbled, getting 'oh' from everyone.

"That's enough. Aiden pares up with Liam. Abby with Andrew," she sighs.

"Eyyy," Andrew said, making everyone laugh.

"Aaliyah, your partner is Micky. Micky, please try to go easy on Aaliya," She looked up at him.

"Don't worry, Ms. Flower. Our big guy will take good care of her. Right, Micky?" I turned my back to look at him.

"You got it, bro," he gave me a thumbs up.

"Last but not least, Omar with Noor," she smiled at Noor. She groaned, throwing her head back. She put her head down on the desk. "Looks like you're stuck with me," I put my hand behind my back, smirked at her.

"Please get to about each other. And then you can start working on your project," she took her glasses off.

"Well, let's get this over with," Noor said, grabbing a purple flower pen.

This is going to be amazing, I smiled.