Sabr.

Sabr 9

                

          It's been almost two weeks since I started tutoring Chelsy. There were rarely any people in the house other than Chelsy's second eldest brother, Zach. He'd greet me every now and then. As for the other one, he usually popped his head in the room to check on Chelsy. I get it that he was protective of her: in a good way. However, I noticed the strangeness in Chelsy's behaviour.

         Whispering, "Assalamualaikum" I closed the door behind me. As I entered the house, I was engulfed with a strange kind of smell. I sniffed in the air, trying to differentiate the smell through my senses. Out of curiosity, I start walking towards the source and I see what I least expected. 

"Eh?" My mouth twists and my eyes start to blink. He stops and looks at me. Astonished, he drops the vessel from his hold. 

"Oh! I am so sorry to startle you." I say in a sheepish tone. He shook his head and bends to clean the floor. 

I wanted to help him. But his formality made me hesitant. Especially after the last time I talked to him, things got awkward. Or so I felt. 

"I better get going..." I muse and steadily walk towards Chelsy's room without sparing another glance backwards. As I reach, the room was unusually cold. When I had a look inside, it seemed nobody was there. Confused, I start calling out her name loud enough for my sound to resonate through the walls of the room.

While I was searching for any sign of her, I bump my head on to the wall. Unconsciously, an yelp escapes from my throat. It hurt a lot. Somehow, I manage to stand on my feet and walk downstairs with the support of the wall and the reeling of the stairs. But it so happened, while I was taking my last step down, I tripped. 

"Woah! Easy there." Comes a voice. The person with the same voice helping me to stand back. 

"I am sorry. I hit my head sometime before." I say as I struggle to get up. I dust my dress and straighten it.

"Wait. Please take a seat on the sofa. I'll get you an icepack." 

I nod my head in response and do as he say. He comes back with an icepack which he hands to me saying, "Here, this should work." 

 Firm yet quiet hesitant, I take it from him and place the cool solid on the bump formed on my forehead. The coldness numbed the skin and soothed the pain I felt.

 I sighed in relief.

"Should I get you a doctor?" He concerns.

"Nah. I am fine. It was just a bump." I smile assuringly.

"Good." He smiles back.

"Between, where's Chelsy? I couldn't find her." I talk as normally as I could.

"I am sorry. I wanted to tell you before but you were already gone." 

"Yeah." I lower my head, trying to hide the embarrassment I felt at that moment.

"She's out with Zach. She should be back within 15 minutes." He looked at his wrist watch.

I nod wondering what I would do for the next 15 minutes. Just when I took in a deep breath to sigh yet once more, I inhaled the strange smell mingled in the pure air again.

"I think something is burning." At my words, his eyes went wide. I bet he wanted to say 'oh shit!'. (Lol)

"I am sorry. I'll be back." He turns his back towards me and rushes to the kitchen.

"Would you like some help, Mr.Hayden." I keep the icepack on the table in front of the sofa and stand up.

He thinks for a while before answering "Sure. That'd be a great help."