The Memory Of Us

Chapter 32

Mina squeezed Khalil's hand tightly in her own as she used her free hand to tug the fronts of Khalil's oversized jacket around her and block out the bitingly frigid winter wind that was blowing around them. They stood as close together as was humanly possible, in an attempt to conserve body heat, as they stared in silence at their distorted reflections in the double glass doors of the recreation center towering above them.

At this hour, it was uncharacteristically dark, reminiscent of the expansive sky behind them whose sun was slowly beginning to set, and empty. There were no laughing children, there were no excited screams piercing the air, there was no chatter between neighbors who were catching up after a long week of school and sports practices.

There was nothing but eerie silence.

It was as if the world, like Mina, was holding its breath in preparation for what was soon to come.

Khalil didn't ask her if she was ready, she had a feeling that he had come to the same conclusion that she had: that she would never be ready. He didn't try to talk her out of the confrontation, in fact, he said nothing at all. He merely held her hand tightly, rubbing small and tantalizingly slow circles on the back of her hand with his thumb.

Gulping down as much air as possible in a painful swallow, Mina tugged Khalil after her and into the rec center.

Immediately, it was warmer, almost unbearably so and Mina could practically feel the sweat beginning to form on her brows and her upper lips. Though that could have also been due to Khalil's close proximity, the fact that they had slept together moments earlier, or her declaration of love for the boy beside her.

Mina shook her head free of the distracting thoughts, her eyes navigating towards Willow who was behind the counter of the small coffee shop, sliding a bright yellow rag across the surface of the countertop over and over again.

She hadn't noticed them yet.

Ignoring the sensation of Khalil's anxious eyes on her, Mina powered forward once more, dragging Khalil after her like a dog on a short lease. It wasn't until they were mere inches away from her that Willow looked up, yet there was no surprise written across her face.

Throwing the rag in her hand idly to the side, she crossed her arms tightly over her chest, pursing her lips even tighter. She looked furious, but Mina had remotely no idea why.

It was now that Khalil dropped her hand and nonchalantly stalked back across the shiny tiled floors to the front doors before disappearing into the night once more.

Willow's eyes flickered questioningly in his direction.

"Hi." Mina said, drawing her attention away from Khalil.

"I got a weird call from my mom today." Willow said in lieu of a typical greeting and Mina's eyes flashed in realization.

She tried to keep her features as placid as possible.

"She told me this girl wearing tights and a high-end luxury coat came into the office today and asked her about some checks, and that when she told the girl she didn't know anything about the checks that she had grabbed a pair of scissors and lunged at her over the counter." Willow relayed the events of earlier and everything in her tone suggested that she knew it was Mina, still, Mina refused to react.

"She was only saved when a tall, skinny boy wearing distressed jeans and an oversized jackets rushed in and pulled the girl off of her."

Though she was finished, Mina remained silent, neither confirming nor denying that she had any part in the story Willow's mother had told her daughter but only a few seconds of unbearably suffocating silence passed before Willow was speaking once more.