Against The Tide (Formerly Two Tribes)

18: Head Over Heels

Jameel's smile was so contagious that Najah found herself smiling too.

He was seated on Najah's bed with her right beside him.

Since he got a message from Amal about Afrah's arrival, he hadn't been able to keep his excitement at bay. He couldn't even conceal his joy in Najah's presence. He didn't bother to because he knew Najah didn't have a problem with it. In fact, she was just as happy.

His dream—becoming Afrah's life partner had come true. It still felt surreal to him. Having Afrah seemed like an impossible task to him. Despite how hard he tried to prove himself worthy to her parents, he failed each time and she was taken away from him, making him dwell in misery that lasted for years. And when their paths finally crossed again, although he was hell-bent on marrying her, he didn't know it would happen so easily, for to a fault, her parents hated him. Now that she was finally his, it had become a priority of his to give his all to her. Anything to prove to her parents that they didn't make a mistake by giving their beloved daughter to him.

"Are you that excited?" Najah raised a brow, teasingly. "Your jaw must be hurting from stretching so much. Poor jaw!"

Jameel chuckled. Najah wasn't entirely wrong. His jaw had indeed started to hurt. He couldn't remember when last he felt so happy. The excitement he felt was almost greater than the one he felt when he found out that his Afrah wasn't dead.

"I'm going to have to punish Afrah for this. She is to blame."

Again, Jameel chucked. "You will have to go through me to get to her."

"Oh, really?" Najah rose to her feet, at akimbo. "how about I start now?"

Jameel shook his head at Najah's playfulness. The fact that she was cool with him talking about Afrah never ceased to amaze him. It made him feel comfortable talking to her about absolutely anything. With her, he didn't have to bother filtering his words. If he says something he shouldn't, he knew she wouldn't hold it against him or judge him. He wanted a friend, and he found a good one in Najah. She understood his wants even without him having to mention them to her. Oftentimes, she provided him with words of encouragement, lent him her ears, and a shoulder to cry on. Undoubtedly, he would have given her a place in his heart if Afrah hadn't occupied every corner and if she wasn't in the picture—solely because he felt she deserved to be shown love.

"I hope hajiya isn't pressurizing her..." He voiced. It had been on his mind for a while, but he kept spurning it in hopes that his mother wouldn't do anything to hurt him. Hurting Afrah would automatically mean hurting him.

Najah shook her head. "Hajiya is like the warmest person I have met. I don't think she would do that."

"She is still mad at Afrah's family for..." he trailed off. "You know. That was why she didn't even go with us to see them in Minna. I'm afraid hajiya is going to say mean things to Afrah."

"That's impossible. Hajiya?" Najah narrowed her eyes at Jameel. "Seems I know your mother more than you do. One thing she would never do is make anyone feel uncomfortable. She's very hospitable."

"I hope," Jameel mumbled.

"Don't worry, Afrah is going to be just fine."

Jameel smiled. "Could you check for me if hajiya is still talking to her?"

"Sure."

Jameel heaved a sigh; his gaze trailing behind as Najah left the room.

He sat back down on Najah's bed and took out his phone to leave a message for Afrah. "She probably isn't with her phone right now." He figured.