Jealous?

Ameerah called Zarak a couple of times, but he didn’t pick up. After about fifteen minutes, he called back.

“Hey, sorry I was busy, didn’t hear the phone ring. What’s up?” He asked casually.

“Zarak,” she paused and let out a deep breath keeping the phone away from her face to stop herself from crying again, “can I come over?” she asked him softly.

“Is everything alright?” He asked getting slightly worried at the tone of her voice.

“Yes. I just miss you. I wanted to see you,” she stated.

“I miss you too. I am not at home right now. We are in the auditorium. We decided to practice here today. If you want, you can come over here. Do you have the car?”

“Yes I do. I am coming,” she said excitedly and got up to leave.

About fifteen minutes later, she reached the auditorium.

“AMEEEERAH,” she was greeted by Saleem, one of the band members. He had recently joined the band a few months ago, just for the show, as one of the members had left the band. “It’s so nice to see you. You look so good,” he said cheerfully.

“Nice to see you too, and thank you,” she said casually.

“Zarak’s in the backstage. He went to use the washroom. Come, I’ll take you to him.”

“Okay,” she said and started following him.

He put his arm around her shoulder, and descended the stairs to the backstage.

Zarak was wiping his hands on a towel, when he saw them coming down.

He saw Saleem’s arm around Ameerah’s bare arm. He suddenly stopped what he was doing, stared hard at Saleem for two seconds before throwing the towel on the chair angrily and moving toward them.

He took a few quick strides to where they were standing, and pulled Ameerah out of his grasp.

He then turned towards Saleem. His jaw was clenched and she could see a vein on his forehead pulsating. She had never seen him this angry.

“Saleem, I’ve warned you before. DON’T ever touch her again,” he said looking at him furiously.

“Okay dude, calm down,” Saleem replied calmly and turned around to leave.

Ameerah stood there dazed. He was furious. He took a deep breath and wiped a hand on his hair.

Ameerah didn’t understand what the big deal was. He was never like that. She was a little scared by his attitude. A minute later, when he had slightly calmed down, she gently touched his shoulder and called him, “Zarak,” she said softly.

He turned around to face her. His features softened when he looked at how worried she was.

“Hey, I am so sorry to react this way. I probably scared you. Come here, just sit down.”

She sat on the chair in the corner of the room, and he brought a stool, to sit facing towards her.

He took her hand in his gently, and looked at her. “Ameerah dear, what are you wearing?”

To say that Ameerah was surprised was an understatement. She was shocked. She had always worn sleeveless shirts, and he never commented on anything she wore. She was so confused. She blinked her eyes a few times, and looked down at her shirt. It was a short pink shirt with spaghetti sleeves. Maybe, the neck line was a little too deep, she thought.

“Zarak, I was..I don’t..,” she didn’t know what to say, and looked down at her hand on her lap.

“Ameerah, look at me. I know that you do not understand. Saleem is not a good person. I don’t trust him at all. I have seen the way he looks at you, and it makes my blood boil. He goes out with a different girl every night. His gang, the one that he hangs out with, is dealing with a rape case in court these days. When I saw his arm around you, I don’t know what happened. I just lost it. And the way you were dressed, I don’t know it just didn’t seem right to me at the moment. I know I have never commented on what you wear, and it is of course completely your choice, but just please keep this in mind when you come for the show too, okay?”

Ameerah just nodded her head slightly. She was surprised to hear about Saleem. She didn’t know he was this kind of a person. But how did he look at me? What did Zarak mean by that? She thought. Did he look at me in a disgusting way? She never noticed that before. Suddenly, she felt sick at the way he was touching her. She had the urge to cover herself before she had to face him again.

She looked at Zarak who was looking at her tenderly. “Zarak, I didn’t know he was such a sick person. I shouldn’t have let him touch me. I am sorry.”

“It’s not your fault Ameera. I don’t want you to feel bad. I just wanted you to know the truth.”

Ameerah hugged herself, trying to cover her arms with her hands and pulled her shirt back from the neck line. Zarak looked at her and smiled.

“Here,” he removed his shirt, and handed it to her. “Just wear this for now, if you want.” He was wearing a T-shirt underneath. Ameerah took his shirt and wore it. She felt much better, like there was a protective covering over her now.

“You look adorable in my shirt,” he said and gently kissed her forehead.

“Thank you for understanding,” he whispered, holding her hand again and bringing it to his lips. Ameerah smiled sweetly at this.

“You sounded tensed on the phone. Did something happen?” He asked changing the topic.

“Yeah. I met dad.” She started playing with the hem of the shirt nervously.

“Really? What did he say?”

“He told me about Aaliya, that’s her name. He said things couldn’t get right with mom now. Mom thinks it’s her fault. He looked quite distressed as well. He was crying. I know he did wrong, but it hurt to see him in that state,” she said remembering the meeting again, and her eyes filled with tears.

“Hey, it’s okay. Just keep reminding him that its wrong and he might come back to his senses. Just don’t cry again okay?” She nodded her head in reply.

“Its time for the nurse to leave. I must go home now. Mom’s pretty sick.”

“Okay. I am so glad you came to see me. I missed you. I have been so busy lately, I just don’t get any spare time. It’s getting dark out. Be careful, and call me when you get home. Okay?”

“Okay,” she said and got up. She stood by his side and rested her head on his shoulder.

He placed an arm around her shoulder and bringing her closer, kissed the top of her head. “Everything will be fine. Don’t worry. Just wait, and everything will fall into place,” he said.

She looked up to meet his eyes and nodded her head.

“Come, I’ll take you from the back door.”