Behind A Smile ✔

55

For two consecutive days, Bilal was being sedated at the hospital for his wounds to heal properly. It was a request from Rashida. She told her dad it was a mere accident and oblivious to the truth, he bought her story.

Immediately the last sedative given to him had worn off, Bilal sprung up from bed. His held his head as he instantly felt dizzy again. He attempted to get down from the bed, but out of nowhere, Nazmeera appeared and stopped him.

"Where is my cellphone?" He asked her.

"Here." She handed it over to him.

He collected it and the first thing he did was to check the date and time, before going through his messages and call logs, with the hopes of finding Zynah's messages or call, but to his disappointment, he found none.

"You were expecting her call, weren't you?" Nazmeera asked. "Too bad she didn't call or send any messages and you know why? That's because she doesn't care about you."

"Can you please excuse me? My head hurts. I want to be alone right now." He dismissed her.

"Should I call the doctor?" She asked.

"I'll be fine." He responded.

Immediately she walked out of the room, Bilal took his cellphone again and dialed Zynah's number. His heartbeat increased tremendously as she didn't pick up. Was she with someone else at the moment? No! He shook his head, but the feeling still didn't go away. The seed of doubt had already been planted in his heart and had began to slowly grow.

Still engrossed in his reverie, his phone began to ring. Zynah was calling back. Uneasily, he picked up.

"Assalamu'alaykum, my love." Came the sound of her angelic voice which he loved magnanimously. He felt his insides whirl at just the sound of her voice. It had only been three days, but he missed her terribly already. He missed her breathtaking smile, her doe eyes, her plump, scrumptious lips. He missed every single thing about her. He couldn't wait to get home so she could shower his unending love on her and make her assure him what he heard wasn't true. Her words was all he needed to go back to normal.

"Wa'alaykum salam." He mumbled, resisting the urge to confront her over the phone. He needed answers.

"What happened to you? I have been trying to call you for days now, but your number hasn't been going through. I was worried about you. Are you doing alright? When are you coming home?" She asked.

"Lies." He muttered underneath his breath. His heart clenched even tighter. She said she had been calling him, but he hadn't been picking up, meanwhile his cellphone had been on throughout. "I called earlier. Why didn't you pick up?" He asked, visibly afraid of what her answer would be.

"I'm sorry for that, I was in the kitchen." She responded.

"You didn't go anywhere? No one visited?" Bilal was aware of what he was doing, but he couldn't stop himself. The seed of doubt had already began to germinate.

"No one." She replied. "I don't even mingle with the neighbors that much. What's with the questions anyways?"

"I miss you." He voiced, his eyes shut and he visualised her smiling brightly at her. "I miss you terribly."

"Aww!" Zynah cooed. "I miss you more, my big baby. This house isn't a home without you. I feel lonely in this big house. Please come home soon. I love you."

Without giving her a reply, he ended the call. He heard exactly what he wanted to hear. "She loves me so much. It's impossible for her to cheat on me."