Where the heart belongs

Chapter 6

Any mistakes would be edited later, in currently very busy I didn't get time to revise this chapter and look through the details

....

The next day after breakfast Laiba and her family were ready with their bags to return to their home. Her family lived a good six hours distance from where they stayed currently- with Taahir and his parents. Initially Laiba tried to persuade her parents into renting a hotel room for them but was rejected immediately.

'Home sweet home' Aliha exclaimed running with her shoes on towards her room

'I'll go to my room too' Laiba told her parents before taking her tired steps towards the very end of the hall. A sudden overwhelming feeling washed over her, her room which she hasn't been in for years, didn't change in the slightest except for the white coverings over her furniture. It was small with a king sized bed placed beside the large window, blue curtains blinding it from the outside world. A bookshelve- about a height of her own-stood next to the window. Her favorite novels and academic books from her high school arranged nearly on the racks.

Laiba ran her fingers through the spine of her math textbook, it's tattered condition reminding her of the hell she went through everyday just because she wore a scarf and a pair of glasses- or perhaps there was more to the hate she received which she didn't know of till today

Clutching tighter on to her books, Laiba trudged towards her classroom hoping none of her tormentors interrupt her peaceful morning- but of course her wishes were never heard, before she could blink she was on the ground, her books littered across the hall, and her bag held by none other than her own cousin Maheen. The said brunette emptied her bag throwing out all its content, and not being satisfied with her findings she threw it on her face.

'Everything after we did yesterday you still have the courage to show your face in this school huh' Laiba ceased her eyes, a futile attempt to not cry, when she opened them and looked around a few tears slipped, students from all classes surrounded her, enjoying the free show of humiliation. No hand ever comes to help her not when Maheen's minions mess with her hijab, pulling it harshly from her neck, or spilling their leftover cokes over her neatly ironed uniform. It was the same everyday, the same bullying and the same people followed her like bad luck.

'Why do you even wear that' Maheen sneered, disgust evident in her voice at the sight of her scarf, 'You look ugly either way, with or without the cloth so why bother?' naive Laiba then didn't had any courage in her to defend herself, drowned in self loath she took her cousin's words to be true and let her classmates degrade her

And when Maheen would get her daily dose of entertainment they would leave her to continue with their lives like they didn't watch a girl's life get crushed before their eyes. To them it was just harmless bullying the exact same words told to her by the school's principle when she first complained. Laiba found suffering in silence to be better than receiving comfort laced with lies and fake pity.

A hand holding on to what looks like a handkerchief comes into her view, she lifts her gaze to find Taahir looking at her with slight comfort, pity and a mix of guilt reflecting in his eyes, 'I'm sorry' his voice so low that if it wasn't for the dead silence in the hallway Laiba wouldn't hear him.

'Why are you apologizing?' her voice comes out in a low whisper, her throat burning from the bottles tears making her words to come out rather rough

'I can't do anything to stop them even if they're my friends, my cousins' for her Taahir was innocent, and even if he didn't stop his group he was at least helping her wiping the juice stains from her face and giving her a shirt- which Laiba had politely rejected as she always carried a spare uniform with her knowing her everyday events.

Up this close Laiba could see the freckles on his chubby face, pretty little dots scattered over his nose and cheeks giving him an overall cute face. With the way she always watched Taahir with heart eyes anyone could say she was whipped for the boy- only if they cared enough to pay attention to her.

It was as if Taahir had taken the role of being her helping hand every time she was left crying in the empty classrooms, corridors or the girls bathroom, giving her a portion of his lunch (because her seniors always stole hers), helping her to redo her homeworks or at times simply sit beside her and let her cry till she felt numb and tired to stress over anything. It made her fall for him even more, being too young to put a name on her feelings, Laiba never approached him, her insecurities always looming over her head like the angel and devil on one's shoulder

Shaking her head, laiba flushed out the thoughts from her past and replaced them with Hina, her friend back in Cali that helped her throughout the process of her settling down in a completely foreign country. She was like a warm hug, a little ray of sunshine that had casted away all her dark memories. Deciding to message her after taking a shower, Laiba unpacked her luggage then proceeding to take a bath.

...

A short update because I've a pile of assignments I have to complete before college starts

Don't be surprised if the story proceeds quickly in the coming chapters because this book is supposed to be a short story so I won't include any major character developments or stretch the story any longer.

My aim is to complete this book before 16th of Aug, please cheer up on me!!!

Love Alia