HER CRUSH

Chapter13

Abdullah..
"I came back from school yesterday and, to say the least, I caught a cold. However, my bonding with Zara is becoming stronger; the girl is really nice and friendly. And Asma, she traveled to Dubai with her family. I just called her now, telling her that I'm going to Kaduna tomorrow. She seems mad at me, but I told her that she's just a friend of mine. We talked for some hours, and I started feeling sleepy.

We came back together with Sufyan, and he just left here a few minutes ago. I don't actually know where he went. We just had a small fight between us - you know how we are. Seriously, Sufyan is like me because he hates the fact that the person he loves or likes is very close to someone else. He's a jealous type, so whenever I call Zarah my best friend, he gets angry, and it leads to a fight. And I always do this intentionally, just to annoy him, knowing he hates the fact that I should call someone my best friend... don't blame him, same goes for me here." Closing my eyes, I ended up sleeping.

***

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing beside me. I didn't pick up the call, and instead, lazily opened my eyes and got out of bed. I stretched and headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. "Alhamdulillah, I'm feeling much better now," I thought, "but still having a bit of a headache."

I came out and settled on the edge of my bed, closing my eyes. When I opened them again, I picked up my phone and saw many missed calls: "

Abba, one missed call;
Asma, five missed calls;
Bro, six missed calls;
Ukhti, one missed call; and a new message from Zarah." I thought, "Did I oversleep or what?"

I took a glance at the clock and saw it's 2:30 pm. I had actually overslept! I immediately stood up from the bed, realizing why my stomach is growling. I thought it was maybe 12:00 pm or something. Just then, the phone started ringing again, with "Bro" written on the caller ID. I picked up the call and heard him take a deep breath...

There's a silence before I spoke, "What's with you and calling me?" I muttered, rolling my eyes. "We just slept in the same house, and I've seen you today."

He started to explain, "I just went somewhere and..." but I cut the call before he could continue. "He's not serious at all," I thought.

I called my sister and Asma, but I didn't call my father because we have issues with him, and I knew there is something behind his call. Lastly, I checked Zarah's message, "Hey, how's your health? I hope you're feeling much better now." I smiled, replying, "Alhamdulillah, I'm feeling much better now! Thank you."

After that, I took a bath, slipped into black jeans and a white shirt, and put on my hoodie. I slid my legs into my sleepers and shoved my phone into the pocket of my jeans. Then, I made my way to Ummi's part of the house, where I spotted her sitting on the couch with my sister.

After exchanging greetings, my mother and sister asked about my health, and I reassured them, "I'm feeling better." I then headed to the dining area to grab some lunch.

As I sat down, I mentioned to my mother, "

Ummi, I'm going to Kaduna tomorrow." My sister's curiosity was piqued, and she asked, "What's the plan there?"

, "I'm meeting a friend." I replied

, "Come on, Akhi, tell the truth! You're going to meet your girlfriend, right?"

I clarified, "God, she's just a friend, and nothing more. Please stop teasing me about it. I'm not cheating on Asma; she's just a friend, and that's it." I appealed to my mother, "Ummi, please tell her to stop; this isn't funny anymore. Even if I have a girlfriend, what's the issue? Men have the right to marry four wives, after all."