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                                                                   ~~READ THE AUTHOR NOTE IN THE END~~

                                                                                                            ENJOY

                                                                         ..................................

                                                                                Chapter Twelve

                                                                            Worth A Thousand Years

                                                                                  (Aayan Aslam)

Later that night, when the party ends with me and Darren on a time out by none other than my wife, the guests (or her friends leaving) with Darren's threat to 'Keep her safe and protected.' (Which by the way, made me growl at him for being protective over someone that is solely and legally MINE!!), she and I are ready to leave too.

I lean against the car, the engine purring behind me, and watch as Maahirah under the porch light bids farewell to her step-mother, who hugs her tightly. Her huge eyes suddenly become teary. I awkwardly hold the duffel bag in front of me and scratch my neck.

"Mom, I'll be back in a week. You pray that all will be right." I hear Maahirah say.

"InShaaAllah, darling." She sniffs.

When Maahirah pulls away from her, a look towards her father, sets her tears rolling down. Usman holds her gently, and kisses her head, whispering words in her ears.

"Take care, Dad." She pulls away.

"Be careful, you two." He nods at me. I straighten up, nodding back at him.

"Give Neez hug and a kiss, Mom." She wraps her hand around the scarf end as the wind plays with the tussles of it.

And with this, she glances at me, motioning for me to get in the car.

I throw the bag in the backseat, and open the passenger door for her. She sits slowly and I shut the door.

I give a tight lipped smile to her parents. "Goodbye Sir and Ma'am."

"Take care, son." Her father thumps me on the back.

When I'm on the wheel, Maahirah presses her cheeks to the window to wave at her family. The black tinted glass doesn't allow the outsiders to see in and yet they waved back like they know exactly what she's doing.

I reverse the car, and switch the gearstick to the third gear, speeding away. Maahirah mutters a curse (most probably directed at me.) as her back hits the seat with a thump. She quickly buckles the belt and folds her arms across her body.

Fifteen minutes later, when we've hit the highway, I expect her to say something but she doesn't. She is sitting the same way like a statue. Her brows flushed together, and her lips pouting. She is staring at the windshield with such an intensity that makes me wonder why hasn't the glass cracked yet?

Since, Maahirah is on the pledge of ignoring me, and this silence is deafening so I extend my hand to turn on the radio, just as I touch the knob, she leans forward and slaps my hand. I withdraw it back to the wheel, scowling at her.

"What the hell, dude?"

"What the hell? What the hell?" She throws her hands up and mimics me.

"Yeah, why did you do that?" I glance at her.

She glowers and before I know it, she punches me on the arm. The impact catches me off guard, making the car sway to the left. I grab on the wheel and keep it in the centre lane.

"Bloody hell! What's wrong with you?"

"Ugh," Stamping her shoes, she mutters profanities under her breath. "You clueless, brainless, retarded, idiotic jerkface you ruined the whole damn party and I hate you with all my heart for that. Without any reason you threw verbal abuses at Darren. What did he ever do to you?" Again, a punch on my arm.

"Excuse me? First off, stop practicing your blows on me. Secondly, didn't you see the way Darren was also involved in insulting me? That is what enunciated the fight. "

"Oh, right. You weren't the one bleeding. He was. For God's sake, you aimed at his nose."

"Okay, that was harsh, I admit." I sigh, defeated.

"Can you two not kill each other when you two are together?" I open my mouth to reply, she cuts me off. "No, I can't see that happening ever. God."

"You're done with your tantrums?" I smile.

She rolls her eyes. "It wasn't a tantrum, it was a debate with useless conclusion." She leans into her seat.

I press the accelerator, increasing the speed. The highway is almost empty with few cars lingering around. The weather is suddenly chilly as the roadside trees dance to the breeze in a continuous, perfect rhythm. I imagine shooting a music video with these trees singing along.

Cold wind follows in, when Maahirah rolls the window crank. "I've a feeling that the weather is about to get beautiful." She's gazing at the sky.

"No, it won't. It will put us way behind the schedule." I say.

She shakes her head and rolling the window up.

An hour later, with Maahirah munching on Doritos and me driving with full focus, the clouds decide to come together, by announcing a thunder followed by lightning. Maahirah jumps up while I sit up straight. Again, a thunderbolt shakes the inhabitants of this part of the world.

My grip on the wheel tightens as the clouds finally lose their fluffiness by letting the water pour out of them in the form of the rain. The droplets fall on the windshield, obstructing my view. I pull the stalk towards me starting the windshield wipers to wipe off the water.

Maahirah squeals when the rain gets heavy. "SubhanAllah."

"There is nothing wow about this. The rain has destroyed the whole plan." I yell over the loud splash of the rain.

"Don't curse a blessing that falls from the sky. And, can you park the car, you're heading too fast." Her eyes are glued to my speedometer.

I gaze at it. 140 MPH. The needle oscillates when I push down the accelerator to increase the speed up to 160 MPH.

My lady on right screams. "Aayan, I order you to stop right now. You will get us killed. Friction is minimal due to the wet road. This speed will cause havocs. STOP THE CAR."

I close my eyes, and press on the break and park the car to the side of the woods. Maahirah closes her eyes and calms her panting breaths.

"There is nothing dangerous...." I begin.

"Please, Aayan. Speeding frightens me."

I'm about to speak when I look at her face. Her eyes have tears dancing in them. The packet of Doritos lies on her lap, long forgotten. She looks away, taking in deep, calming breath. I guess there is another story I don't know.

"Sorry, I didn't know you had the Tachophobia. I'll wait for the rain to cease then." I unbuckle the belt, and pull down the seat recliner adjustment so that the seat can lean back.

I listen to the tip-top on the rooftop for few good seconds. I didn't know that I'm drumming my fingers against my thighs until I feel cold hands wrap around my finger. I look to my left to find her seat reclined too.

She pulls our intertwined hands between us, holding on tightly to mine. She closes her eyes and I assume she is listening to the rain sing.

"Aayan,"

I hum a reply.

"Can you not laugh at what am I about to say?"

I smile. "No, I won't."

"Okay. When I was a little girl, I used to think that rain was basically the sky crying. It was tired of the sun always stealing the whole of the sky, making the dark clouds go hide somewhere far away from their warmth, and when they just couldn't take much of the sun, they would burst into tears. Dad always agreed with me. In fact, we together used to curse the happy sun while Mum, she used to scold Dad on polluting my mind."

"That's a very, um, interesting theory." I chuckle.

She casts me a wry look. "You said you won't laugh."

"I'm not," I seal my lips into tightness.

"You're. I was just a child back then."

"Childhood was the best, right? Want to relive something else?" I sit up, winking at her.

"What?" Her eyes go huge with excitement.

"I'll show you. Just follow me." I take off my hoodie and get down from the car.

"Oh, my God, I love to stand in the rain." I hear her shriek.

The downpour immediately wets me completely. My shirt sticks to my skin and I thank Allah when Maahirah emerges out because her shirt is concealed by the maroon leather jacket she has on. I round the car and pull onto her hand.

"I'm gonna ask you something crazy, love, can I've this dance to the natural music?"

She laughs. "Sure,"

I put my hands on her waist, and I grab her right hand and hold it up at about shoulder-level so that our arms are bent upward from the elbow. She slowly places her other hand on my shoulder. I keep my eyes locked on her and we begin swaying back and forth in a circle.

The water hangs onto her eyelashes and she blinks to let it fall. Her high cheekbones tinted red with energy or a blush, I don't know. Her soft, delicate hands hold mine, while her eyes they keep on breaking the stare as if she's afraid of me..

"Maahirah, are you in any way frightened of me?"

My question doesn't surprise her but her answer surprises me.

"I'm scared to give you the control of my heart. I'm scared of falling for you. I'm scared to let you in because you somehow always left me alone in the middle of nowhere. You took my heart and then threw it away. Aayan, I'm terrified of you."

I swallow. "I made mistakes, Maahirah. I keep on making them. At some point, I left you because I didn't want anyone to use you as a baiter to get me. I guess that killed us both than anyone."

"I don't care, Aayan. I don't care who gets me, kills me. I want to die happily knowing that, that you and were good. I don't want to live a life where I'm constantly being reminded of how you left me." She whispers slowly with her voice hoarse.

"Maahirah," I lean down and drop a kiss on her moist lips. "I promise you I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you. I promise to spend every second I can with you for all the missed times. I'm sorry for hurting you that much that you had to receive attraction from Darren. I had reasons that I'm ashamed of."

"Clear of all charges, Aayan." She beams at me.

I smile back and twirl her around with her laughs ringing in my mind for years to come on. The rain falls down like bullets on our head. Time keeps on moving but the moment we are in right now is worth the thousand years

***************************

Four pages long on word. That's it. I could have had continued the chapter but it is way past midnight here and I need to get my sleep or I'll be sleeping through the lectures. I wrote this in two hours straight and now my back is aching. <_>

Anyways, this chapter showed you the side of Maahirah and Aayan relationship, and probably a new start that will make both of them to trust each other. This is an important part because because because something is gonna happen soon. What do ya think will happen? ;) An accident? An ambush? Kidnapping? What ya think? TELL ME IN THE COMMENT.

Also, thank you to everyone who waited patiently for the update. I'm sorry because I just couldn't sit and write anything. Second year isn't really going easy but I'll manage through it. It's just the start and I need your prayers. Keep my family in your prayers too.

InShaaAllah I'll try posting new updates every weekend now because I'm finally back on the track and I cannot wait for this book to end soon so I can start something else.

Take Care, My Lovely Friends,

I'll See You In The Comment Section. Do comment. Vote and Make Me Smile.

Goodnight~~

Yawnny Wardaaah~~

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