HER CRUSH

Chapter15

Zarah..
"He laughed, "He didn't even know I am coming; he's out. Wait, let me FaceTime him, so you can finally see him today."

He picked up his phone and dialed the number. After a few rings, the person on the other end answered, "ma aladhi 'akhadhak kaduna?" (What the heck took you to Kaduna today?) His voice boomed through the phone.

Abdul burst out laughing. "Dhahabat liruyat munafisik" (I went to see your rival)

he chuckle. Oh nice! Bro.

I want to introduce you to her." Sufyan replied with a simple , "No, I don't want! Just extend my greetings to her, and please tell her she can't snatch my friend away from me." Abdul cut the call, saying, "Sorry, he's just kidding."

I understand and smiled, "You two are funny. Not like you, eating four freaking chilies; you try..." Abdul bit his lips to hold back his laughter.

Our order was placed on our table, but I didn't eat much, seeing Abdul take only a bite of his shawarma.

"Did you hear the audio?" He asked,His eyes were fixed on mine,

God, I actually forgot about it." "No sorry, I..."

"No, it's fine!" he muttered, leaning back in his chair and gazing at me with those adorable eyes of his. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, and it took me a few seconds to realize he was actually checking me out. That made me feel uncomfortable and nervous. After he finished his subtle scrutiny, he returned to his normal position.

"Are you here with your earphones?" he asked, and I replied, "Yeah!" He handed me his phone, saying, "Listen and tell me exactly what was said." I plugged in the earphones and listened to the audio.

I pressed my lips together, avoiding his intense gaze. "If I'm not mistaken, this is definitely his father's voice. I've heard him in TV interviews during news hours." I thought to myself, "This is so bad. How could his father insult him like that?"

After finishing the audio, I handed his phone back to him. He looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to elaborate. I cleared my throat and began narrating everything I have heard.

His face was a mask of neutrality, making it impossible for me to discern what he is going through. Despite my intuition telling me he's hurting deep down, I knew it's their family's private matter, and I have no right to pry or ask questions about what I'd heard in the audio.

Breaking the silence, he asked with a hint of amusement, "Why did you eat chilies today?"

I murmured, looking down at my fingers, "Because of you!"

He raised an eyebrow, "Me?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I promised myself that whenever you said you'd come to my place, I'd eat four chilies." He burst out laughing, his teeth gleaming, "You're definitely crazy, Zarah!"

As his attention wandered, I seized the opportunity to steal a glance at his handsome face. He glanced at his wristwatch and asked, "Are you done?" I furrowed my brow, "Done what?" He chuckled, "Zarah, I said you've finished staring at me. Can we go?"

Oh God, he actually caught me staring at him - this is embarrassing! I quickly grabbed my bag as we made our way out of the restaurant, and he drove us back to my house. , he turned towards me with a sly smile and arched eyebrows. "You haven't given me anything, and I'm going back now," he said, holding my hand and playfully tracing my fingers. I felt an electric shock run through my body when he did that.

"W-what did you want?" I stuttered, trying to hide my discomfort.

He smiled and quickly removed his hand from mine, perhaps noticing my unease. "This ring!" he exclaimed, his eyes fixed on the ring on my finger. I immediately looked at the ring and then back at him, hesitant to give it up. Ammi had bought it for my sister and me, and I couldn't just give it away. Besides, I am afraid Ammi would notice if the ring went missing.

"Hey, what are you thinking?" he asked, noticing my hesitation.

I shook my head, trying to brush it off. But then, I slid the ring off my finger and handed it to him, feeling a mix of emotions.

"Thank you!" he said with a smile, gazing at the ring. "My regards to Ammi and your sister; I'll get going." I smiled and replied, "My regards to Ummi and your sister too." He smiled back and drove off, leaving me with a lingering scent of his perfume on my hand as I climbed out of the car.

I headed straight to my room, performed ablution, and prayed. Afterwards, I rushed out to the living room, where I find Chuchu engrossed in a cartoon. "Chuchu, where's that bag I asked you about?" I inquired. He mumbled with a mouthful of who-knows-what, "Which bag?"

"The one Abdul gave you," I clarified. He hesitated, "Oh...I hid it in Ammi's wardrobe."

I instructed him, "Go bring it; let's see what's inside." Chuchu replied, "Aunty Zarah, it's just chocolates...no big deal." I knew he is  lying, so I insisted, "Go bring it; let me see for myself."

He went and brought the bag, spreading its contents on the carpet - chocolates, lollipops, cookies, and more. I picked five chocolates and cookies and handed him his bag, and he looked like he is about to cry.

I called out to him, "Immediately collect your things; you will come and meet me."

He hesitantly reached out to gather his treats, and I added, "Sorry, my Chuchu, autan Ammi; I'll definitely bake you a cake." After much pleading, he finally agreed and even added some chocolates for me. "Yauwa, thank you, lil; I would definitely bake the cake for you.

And if you don't, wallah, I will tell Ammi that you ate chilies today!"

I reassured him, "I will bake it, don't worry."

After that, I headed to Ammi's room, only to find her fast asleep. I decided to let her rest, and skipped ahead in time to 9:30 pm.

Both of us, Chuchu and I, were sitting on the couch, while Ammi is  engrossed in watching the news. Chuchu is  focused on his homework, and Anty Ramla was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen. Meanwhile, I was supposed to be studying my books, but instead, I was preoccupied with my phone. I am chatting with Ama and Farida, and they were both inquiring about Abdul. I kept telling them that I would share all the details with them tomorrow, but they continued to pester me with messages. Eventually, I decided to ignore their messages and focus on something else.

I message Abdul since I saw him online
Me
Hey how did you reach home?...😊
                                            Crush❤️
Alhamdulillah
Me
Thank you for coming
                                       Crush❤️
Don't mention!! By the way you
                                   Look beautiful today 🥰
Me
Thank you ❤️
He just send me a smiling emoji...😊

Anty ramla finished cooking we ate then I went to my room and slept off

Ummeetarh05