The Memory Of Us

Chapter 9

"Hi." Khalil was the first to break the awkward, deafening silence between the pair of them as they slid into an open, empty booth adjacent to the front door. As usual, he was dressed in baggy pants that hung low on his waist, a large, brown oversized t-shirt, and the same beat-up trainers he always wore.

"You brought body-guards." He observed after Mina continued to remain silent, nodding his chin towards Noah and Sahil's figures slowly making their way across the street outside, each of them throwing a wary glance back over their shoulders every so often as if to check that she was still alive.

Neither of them had wanted to leave the premises at all, but Mina had practically forced them out, assuring them with each push towards the double doors that she would be fine on her own.

"You don't trust me?" He asked.

"No." She laughed humorlessly and, unexplainable to her, Khalil let a laugh of his own slip past his lips. Mina found the contents of her stomach somersaulting at the familiar sound.

"Then why am I here?" He inquired with an expectant tilt of his head, his tongue darting out to wet his lips.

Mina's eyes darted down to follow the movement."Because-" She stuttered, suddenly overwhelmingly hot and extremely flustered, these emotions only growing as she realized Khalil was enjoying her reaction.

"-because-" She tried again, forcing her eyes away from Khalil's lips. "-because I need answers." She said as firmly as she could.

"Answers?" Khalil echoed, his voice rising slightly in intonation.

"Do you feel any kind of remorse?" Mina blurted, unsure where the sudden question had come from.

Khalil's eyes widened at her forwardness and he heaved a long breath, readjusting on his side of the booth. "I suppose it's best we get this conversation out of the way up front." He said, before answering, "Yes and no."

"What do you mean yes and no?" Mina asked in confusion. "How can you simultaneously feel remorse and not feel remorse?"

He scooted closer to the edge of the table until his chest was pressed firmly against the metal frame, lowering his voice slightly, his signature smile gone. "I feel remorse because I hurt you." He confessed with unbelievable sincerity.

"But not that you killed-."

"No." He interjected before she could even finish her thought.

"What?" She leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms firmly over her chest. Khalil's eyes flickered down to follow the movement before meeting her eyes once more. "You can't even say their names?"

Khalil wet his lips, leaning even closer to her across the table if that was even possible.

"I don't feel bad." He repeated. "I don't feel bad that I killed Asher, or your dad, or pushed Chris off a balcony Mina. Is that what you want to hear? Mhm?"

"Did they even mean anything to you?"

"Nothing means more to me than my family." He said. "Except you maybe."

Mina turned away, her eyes cast to the window and the world slowly coming alive on the other side of it.

"It's true." He said. "We can go back and forth about this all day Mina, but I love you." He confessed.

"I loved you then, and I still love you now."

Mina dug her teeth into the skin of her cheeks to hide an outward reaction at Khalil's words.

"Forgive me for doubting you." She said snarkily, though she didn't believe the words even as she said them and, judging by the look on Khalil's face, neither did he. "Why did you even agree to meet me?" She asked, turning back to face him once more.