ivory
her knees are pressed against her chest as she lays against the ground, hands above her head as she murmurs the prayer of isha.
somewhere in the distance, her phone rings. she should ignore it, she knows, but it continues to go off and all she needs to do is answer it and hang up. she sighs, apologizing under her breath to allah, and lifts her phone to her ear. "hello?"
"i promise i'm not a creep, i got your number from portia." gus's voice floods through the speaker, and she almost shudders at the warmth, as if he's right next to her and whispering into her ear. "i just... wanted to talk to you."
"why?" she asks, and the right thing to do is to not lead him on even more or get his hopes up.
"you've been avoiding me, and you can deny it all you want, but..." he sighs, and there's a muffled sound as he seems to move, where he sounds clearer. "for what reason? i know we don't exactly seem like a normal pair, but—"
"but what?" she asks, nose flaring with anger even though it shouldn't. she needs to end the call before she betrays any feelings. they barely know each other, for goodness sake.
"but i—"
her phone vibrates again, and she glances at it to see that her dad is now calling. she swallows the thickness in her throat that has begun to form, and mutters a quick "sorry" before hanging up on gus and answering her father's call. her stomach sinks, because if her father knew...
she ignores the thought and answers.
