Twice His Age

4: Adamawa

She didn't know when she had lost her breath after sensing the Barkindo's mansion. Every organ in her body moved with the knowledge of what had happened and would likely repeat itself in this same mansion. She didn't know what the heavens had in store for her, but how could she let the same thing happen to her twice? It was said, once beaten, twice shy, right? Then why didn't she pay heed to that.

At first, she really thought that she could be adamant enough for Anas to leave her in Damaturu. But instead, he chose to manipulate his ways into bringing her back to the hell specifically created for her, all thanks to his family. And he used Waleed as his arrow to shoot at her, which worked, by the way.

She sighed and palmed her face. In less than two minutes, she'd be in that house and everything would be back as it used to be. From where would she start creating the thick skin she could use to endure all there was to come? Yes, she knew she had endured enough from Dahiru himself, but what she had endured from him was so much different from what she'd have to encounter now, just that the emotional pain might or mightn't be on the same level.

To her surprise, Zaid parked by the side and turned to Anas with a knowing look in his eyes. Anas nodded and got out of the car. At first, she thought they were coming back home with only Anas but he surprised her by driving them there himself and what was the meaning of what he was doing now? In this neighborhood?

"Waleed? Come let's stretch our legs for a minute, we're almost home." She abruptly turned to where Anas stood by Waleed's door as he waited for the boy to come out so they could leave. Which was a planned thing because she saw the look exchanged between the two guys.

"Where are you taking him?" She couldn't help but ask, and her voice nearly scared her. She was so exhausted to the core that she couldn't even blame herself for sounding this way. And then there was the pain.

"I'm not going to kidnap him, Beeha. Not when we're few feet away from home." He answered her with a soft and cajoling smile. "Come on, Waleed, I'd buy you some chocolate from that shop, okay?" She watched, wordlessly, as Waleed got off the car and they walked away, leaving just the two of them.

And what was the meaning of this? She wondered. And right now, she didn't even want to associate with this guy, she simply wanted to be on her own. But when he turned from the driver's seat and their eyes mistakenly met, she felt as the hatred she had for him recoiled in her chest. He caused everything for her. It felt a bit better, for at least, she had someone to blame now.

"What's the meaning of all this?" She asked with a serious expression, with her eyes that had turned puffy and he gulped down a lump in his throat.

"I wanted to have a talk with you. Can you please listen to me for a minute?" He spoke with so much authority laced on his tone that she wondered who the hell this boy thought she was.

Yes, she might've been a people's pleaser so far. No, that was an even better word for the kind of person she had been so far. But she only become that when she knew being submissive was the only way she could survive from the hands of those people. And who was he in her life? No one. Pretty much a life destroyer and a presenter of agony.

"And who do you think you're speaking to in that tone?" Because she needed to know how he got the nerve to speak to her in that manner. He might've seen her at her worse, but there was no way she could take so much from him. "In case Anas didn't tell you, I'm ten years older than him. I don't care whether you're older than him or not, what I do know is, I'm older than you at any cost. And you can't speak to me in such manner, not after you've destroyed my life and bought me a ticket of misery for the next only god knows years, okay?"

Speaking about it brought tears to her eyes, but she needed to make her point clear with this guy, so she gulped her tears down and faced him with so much determination and will to portray her anger and hatred through her eyes.