After Midnight

Chapter 18

The next morning I woke up to the sound of dishes clattering and muffled voices. Despite sharing a narrow bed with Aaila, and having to sleep in a small space, I slept pretty well. I only had to wake up twice in the middle of the night to use the loo.

Loo? Snorttt. When did I become British?

My feet were freezing. I walked across the room and pulled open Aaila’s cupboard. It was such a mess that it took me several minutes to find the same pair of socks without letting her clothes fall at my feet in a heap. Then just when I was about to close the doors shut, a red folded paper fell to the ground and I frowned.

It looked like a love letter with its edges lined with glitter glue.

I opened it (I know I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t help it).

My eyes widened in horror as I read the first three words. ‘Hey baby girl’.

IT WAS A LOVE LETTER!

I quickly folded it back. Although I had just read a few words and not the whole thing, there was still a tinge of guilt inside me. Who had given her this letter? My step brother? God. I hope not!

Wait. . .could it be Aaila’s mother’s best friend’s son?

My fingers twitched with the need to just read the name at the end. But should I really? I mean, it still meant snooping around her stuff. Extremely private stuff.

UGH. WHATEVER!

Slowly opening the letter, I quickly skimmed the beginning till the end and read the name.

Ahsan.

Is that him?

“What are you doing?”

I jumped, dropping the letter on the floor. My heart was in my throat and I tried to calm it down.

“Um, nothing. Sorry. Sorry.”

She stepped up to me and picked up the paper from the ground. “Did you read it?” she asked, straightening up and looking at me.

“Only the part where he called you baby girl and his name. Nothing else.”

And then she burst out laughing. “Why do you look like you might puke? I don’t mind. You can read whole of it. It’s stupid, really.” She held out the paper to me.

I shook my head. It felt too personal to read something someone had written from their heart. And on a red colored paper. He must be knee deep in love. “I can’t. Too personal. You get what I mean?”

“Yeaaa,” she smiled. She leaned against the cupboard and gave me a wink.

“Is he—“

“Yup. The guy my Mom wants me to get married to.”

“Then why don’t you? I mean he really likes you or love you. Maybe!” I added, seeing the horrified expression on her face. She wants to fall in love after getting married. So the fact that Ahsan might already be in love with her really turns her off.

“EWWWWWW!” She fake gagged. “He wrote me this when we were, like, twelve. He and I both were going through major puberty, and I was the only girl at that time who liked him while he had braces till the time he grew into this. . . this narcissistic handsome jerk.”

For whatever reason, she was breathless. Which could only be because: she was madly in love with him too but it was a love hate relationship and she would never admit that she had feelings for him from the beginning till now.

“Narcissistic handsome jerk? Sounds about right to me.” I smirked in her direction.

“Ha ha. You’re very funny.”

I laughed.

She nibbled on her bottom lip. Sighed. “Mom invited them over today. Gosh. I don’t know why she does this to me.”

I couldn’t control the gasp. “OhmyGod! So I will finally meet my best friend’s lover today! Is that what the loud voices were about?”

“Yeah, I was arguing with Mom, and trying to stop the inevitable from happening. Sorry if that woke you up. Are you hungry? Mom made lasagna. A very bad choice for breakfast, but it’s alright sometimes.”

“Nah, it’s fine. You go, I’ll be back. Need to brush my teeth.”

She gave me a little pat on the shoulder and threw the letter in the drawer before skipping out of the room.

I smiled to myself. She’s happy to see him after whatever long time.

“Aaila! Come out, right now!”

I gave Aaila’s mother a small smile. She was getting so mad because Aaila was taking forever to come out of her room and the guests would be here any second now.

“Gosh. STOP YELLING MOM.”

I gasped. Aaila looked utterly beautiful. She stood, huffing and puffing in a dress I had never seen before. It was both beautiful and elegant that reached just above her ankles, showing skin tights she wore underneath. The dress had pearls and glitter all over it; perfect for a dinner. Her makeup was barely visible.

She caught me smiling and rolled her eyes as she took a seat next to me. I tucked a perfect curl behind her ears and noticed she was blushing. He wasn’t even here yet!

“And here I was, thinking you don’t like him,” I whispered.

“Oh shut up. Don’t start now. I got ready because. . .” she trailed off.

Of course she couldn’t finish her sentence. She got ready to impress that boy, but would she ever agree to that? No.

I was about to open my mouth to tell her how beautiful she looked when the door bell rang and her mother all but sprinted downstairs.

“Careful!” Aaila called after her but woof. Her mother had already welcomed in the guests and they were coming upstairs.

And then we both heard this voice between the laughing and giggling.

“I know right? I bet she is still a stubborn gal.” And then his deep laugh echoed everywhere.

“OHMYGOD, you didn’t tell me he is British!” I whispered in Aaila’s direction who was frozen. Literally—like no joke frozen.

Then I finally saw him.

He was tall. Very tall. Tall enough to make me stretch my neck to look at him.  He has eyes that remind me of a lovely green forest with a sparkle in them. He also has a killer smirk, which, by the way is directed at Aaila.

Oof. Aaila. She looked. . .shocked. No joke, I thought she wasn’t breathing at all.

“My God!” A woman in her mid thirties or early forties rushed to Aaila, her eyes and physique the same as Ahsan; green and lean. “You’ve grown into such a beautiful lady! Oh, how time flies!”

I almost choke at what he said then, with his eyes dancing with delight as he stared Aaila down. “Indeed. I think she can be called a woman now.”

Despite the sour expression on Aaila’s face, she gave the woman (prolly his Mom) a pained smile and then snorted to his comment, though deep down I knew she liked the attention she got from him.  Because duh. She’s still a teenager.

“And you can still be called a jerk,” Aaila spat back, making us all gasp in surprise.

He really does spark anger inside her.

“Aaila,” her mother warned with narrowed eyes.

I smiled at the two of them. “I am Aaila’s best friend. It’s nice to meet you, Miss. . .”

“Aeline,” the woman replied cheerfully. “I have seen you before. You and that boy. . .Ah! I remember you and Haaris. I heard you both got married?”

So news travels faster than I thought it does. “Yes, that would be me.” Ahsan’s eyes travelled down to my growing belly and I explained it to the two of them before he formed theories of his own. “We’re having a baby soon. Allah willing.”

“Oh, that’s amazing!” Ahsan chirped, giving me a toothy grin. “I love babies. I’ll surely visit him or her quite often. If you don’t think that’s creepy or anything. . .” He was pretty sweet, but probably sarcasm was his only way how he talked to Aaila.

“No no not at all. You can visit however many times you want,” I replied quickly.

The door bell rang again.

“Aaila sweetie, would you take that?” Aaila’s mother looked at me expectantly.

“Of course.”

I carefully stepped down, and yelled, “Coming!” to whoever was on the other side of the door. Were we expecting more guests? I hoped not, because I didn’t want things to get more awkward. I barely even know these people.

My confusion was short lived and replaced with panic when I opened the door and saw him.

Harry.

For whatever reason, I gasped. “What are you doing here?”

Gosh. He looked beautiful as always in jeans and a shirt with a denim jacket on top of it. His hair were messy, just the way I liked them.

“I was invited to this epic dinner. But I can go if you don’t want me here,” he added quickly, seeing the panic on my face.  Was it that bad?

“You’re here now. it’s fine. Come in.” I stepped aside, leaving space for him to get through. Why did the doorway had to be so narrow?

I caught a whiff of his cologne and memories flashed through my eyes. The moments which are so dear to me and near my heart. No matter how angry or mad I was with Harry, I still love him. A lot. More than words can explain.

“You coming?”

I blinked. He was staring at me with worried eyes. “Yeah.” Locking the door behind me, I climbed the stairs with Harry trailing behind me.