The Sultans

Chapter Fifteen

It felt different, sitting on the motorcycle behind Zain. He was silent the whole time although she occasionally caught him looking at her in the side mirrors as he drove. Nyla was grateful that Aliyaar had given her his sweater since she had left her coat inside her bag back at the party. She wondered who would bring her things home or if, anyone would bring it home at all. But that was the least of her worries. Asad and Aliyaar were still at the house where the party was at. Laila was sleeping after getting drunk and she was riding home safely, when she knew she didn't deserve it. It was all her fault. She had lied, deceived, and went behind her brothers' back when all along, they were only looking out for her. If Tony, hadn't come, and if her brothers hadn't come, she didn't know what would happen or what to do. Tears sprang to her eyes that had nothing to do with the wind.

She sniffled holding onto Zain's jacket. The cool wind whipped into her face and stung them. She was exhausted from all the events that took place that day, she leaned forward resting her head on the back of Zain's hood, not caring whether he minded or not. He stiffened but she stubbornly remained that way until they reached home.

Unlike the rest of her brothers, Zain's driving was smooth and controlled. She soon began to feel drowsy and her eyelids began to slowly shut before she jerked awake realizing she was still on the back of a motorcycle. She was relieved when she saw the familiar forestry by the side of her house and slid off the bike when Zain had stopped in the driveway.

Zain walked up to the door which swung open as if on cue and Anwar stepped out enveloping her into a hug. For some reason, that only made her feel worse and she began to sniffle as small tears dripped from her cheeks and onto Anwar's shirt. She covered her face with her hands melting into Anwar's embrace. She stuck to his side, not once lifting her head from his shirt as he guided her inside the house. He didn't seem to mind and she listened to the voices of the triplets who she was sure were looking at her.

"Why is she crying did they do anything to her?"

"Did she get drunk?"

"Is she wearing heels?"

"We'll talk about it later, right now though, just leave her alone." Anwar said as he sat down on the couch with her.

Nyla was grateful for his answer. She didn't want to face anyone just yet. She followed Anwar blindly, her face hidden in his embrace and she kicked her heels off as soon as she had sat down with him on the sofa. She could feel the triplet's eyes on her and she waited for them to make mockery out of the situation but they were surprisingly quiet except for a few whispers they were taking amongst themselves in. A few minutes later, they had gotten bored and left and she finally was able to completely relax after what happened.

Tears continued to spill from her eyes and Anwar handed her a few tissues which she took gratefully and wiped her nose. She didn't know how long she sat there with him. Her head was hurting from crying and her face and eyes were red and puffy. She closed her eyes leaning back into the soft couch cushions. A few minutes later, her fingers loosened their hold on Anwar's shirt and she fell into a deep sleep.

*********************************

It was noon when she woke up the next day. Her stomach growled with pangs of hunger and she lifted the comforter that lay atop her , slowly stepping onto the floor, or what she thought was the floor. She felt something soft and hard at the same time and she yelped, immediately falling back onto the sofa and peering down at her feet.  Anwar lay on the floor, he stirred, rolled over and looked at her grumpily.

"Sorry," she mumbled. She reached up and touched her face lightly, feeling the thick swollen skin under hear eyes from crying. The side of her head was also a bit swollen and hurt to the touch. Her face had been wiped clean and was free of any blood.