Tame | ✔

Chapter Fifteen

"There," Said the attendant as she handed Leila the mug of coffee she had ordered recently. She accepted it with shaking hands, almost spilling the hot liquid all over her pants. Swearing silently, she mumbled her gratitude and tightened her grasp on the cup, easing the tension that surged through her body. She inhaled the scent of the black coffee, reminding her instantly of her days back home. She used to gulp down one cup daily on her way to school, but as a result of their recent lack of money, she had to break that habit. It was more economic to have a home-made cup than buy one on the road.

Looking up, Leila noticed the attendant was still standing by her chair, a wary look plastered on her face.

"Is there something wrong?" Leila asked, but the woman seemed more interested in the back of Leila's seat than herself. She felt confused, if not slightly embarrassed, so she placed the mug carefully in the cup holder next to her, then shifted in her seat to get a good look at whatever was worth giving her undivided attention to.

"Sir, I'm sorry but you can't cross this line," A female voice announced.

And oh, how she wished she hadn't looked back.

Now that got a good view of the scenery, the voices were starting to become clearer in her head. There, at the far end of the reception, a couple of guards stood with their shoulders pressed together, their strong muscular backs facing her, blocking most of her view. One thing she was sure of, was the unmistakable angry voice she could recognize even from that long distance. And when she moved slightly forward, she was rewarded with a glimpse of messy brown hair, and those blue eyes that used to haunt her dreams.

She felt her breath hitch almost immediately.

He was here. God, he is actually really in here. Why is this happening to me?

Her grip on the arm of the chair tightened, and she struggled to even her breath. Calm down, She said to herself. It's no big deal. Pretend that you have never seen him and all will go fine.

But fate must've been against her today, as somehow, David showed them some identity proof that actually led them to believe he was trust-worthy enough to pass. God save me, this can't be happening. Just in time, she jumped back to her seat, sitting straighter than ever. The less he saw her, the better. He would think she had never got on this flight and he'd just leave her alone. Her heart was thumbing in her chest so loudly that she could hear it pumping boiling blood through her veins. Her fingers started to tip against the plastic of her seat arm. She could feel the sweat forming slowly on the insides of her hands, and a trickle of salty liquid slid down her forehead, tempting her to wipe it away. But she didn't dare move an inch. If she did, she would draw a lot more of unnecessary attention, that she totally didn't need right now.

But that sliding drop is so tempting.

Don't, Leila. Don't you dare do it.

"Sorry, I'm late."

That made her let out a squeak, and she practically jumped eight inches over her seat. Her body was all shaking from the tension. She recited whatever crossed over her mind at the moment from the Qur'an, trying to calm down.

She figured that David was the owner of the voice -who else could it be, huh? -. She tried her best to ignore him, but she couldn't mistake the look of triumph he had on his face when he appeared by her side, as if he had just found the treasure island. He grabbed her handbag from the spare seat and tucked it back at the empty space between the two chairs, then folded his body in the seat next to her without another word.

Deliberately, she focused her eyes on the window by her right, and tried to concentrate on the clusters of clouds that passed them as the plane flew over midnight California. She was sure it would have been magnificent, if only her mind wasn't pre-occupied with complicated thoughts of her future.