With clutter, Aariz places a small tray with a teacup on a round glass table on the lounge. He goes back to the kitchen, rolls his sleeves up, and grabs the yellow sponge dipping it into the fairy liquid dishwasher. Before rubbing it on the pan he smells the liquid closing his eyes.

Being done he walks up to her room. The door is peaked open. He knocks and pushes it open and finds her lab coat laying on the study chair armrest with her bag tossed on the sofa. He turns around to find her mom's room closed. He stands outside leaning against the wall. His eyes catch the gold Arabic letters. Surah Fatiha, the first chapter of the Quran, in golden calligraphic letters.

His eyes move into her room. The paintings. The abstract flowers that she once had explained to Nooran. Beside her abstract flowers are the splatters of vibrant paint with a black background. Amelia's art. He recalls Amelia chasing Nooran as he mocked her and her guitar in his hand.

He misses this. He was just a wallflower observing silently everyone. His thoughts try to find the reasons for his plain personality. No. He can't just spiral into that thought. The Aariz who was outspoken hates him. The past behind the doors of seriousness. The past behind patches.

When Selena gets up from the toilet seat a sudden she glances inside, a tinge of blood makes her frown. A twisted cramp throws her against the wall. She pushes the lid down and flushes, "Welcome home, aunt flow!", she pats her bloated abdomen and pulls her panties up, "It's been a long time. 2 months.", she wears her pants and dashes out of the bathroom and opens the room. They both jump back.

She fixes her hijab and dashes into her room, opens her wardrobe, and pulls her pad.

"What happened?", he slowly walks in, "Everything is fine?"

"Now.", she turns around, "I am bleeding.", Selena dramatically sings Cardigan.

"w-what? WHERE?", he walks up to her and scans her up and down. She shoves her pad in his face and walks out of the room.

"God!", he face-palms, "You scared me."

She bangs her mom's room door before he could even finish his sentence. He goes into the lounge and drags the round table near the sofa and sits down. The cars rushing past on the road caught his attention.

The buses that stop for 2 minutes are always on time. Regular. Punctual. This is what life must be. Organized. Systematic. Unlike people walking. Chaotic. Haphazard. He presses the cup of tea against his lips. But doesn't sip. The warmth of the cardamon tea fogs his glasses but he doesn't care because he is in love with the aroma although it is not the same as the one small desi cafeterias make and label it as Karak. 

Selena's vibrating phone makes him jump out of his thought wagon. The tea dares to spill over onto the tray when he slams the cup in it on the table. The rushing footsteps enter the lounge. Although he can't see what she is wearing through his fogged-up vision he can make out that Selena has changed.

"Assalam o alikum, mom.", she moves back into her room and closes the door in Aariz's face not knowing he was following her. Her lips curl into a frown as her mom asks her to fry some kebabs and get some parathas from Pak Darbar nearby. She is not getting in the kitchen. And frying? A big fat no.

"But I am tired!", she whines to which her mom sighs and pauses. Selena knows how to get on her mom's nerves by bringing up how much she loathes the idea of cooking. She waits for the response.

"Okay. Order whatever Aariz wants.", she wants to argue with her mom's grave reply to her tantrum. Why not what she like? But realizing she has gotten this chance as booty of the war with her mom's silence objecting to it will not be in her favor, she remains shut.

Selena opens her laptop after she ends the call. Her mom had informed her that they would be late. She opens the door screaming for Aariz; her voice fades into silence as she finds him standing in front of the door.

"You are creepy.", she points a finger at him, "what do you want to eat apart from eating my brain."

He almost laughs knowing she wouldn't have stopped at what you want to eat. Selena feels a sudden jab in her pelvis which makes her clench her hand into a fist, "Jeez!", she kneels on the floor placing her laptop on the carpet floor.

"You okay?", he bends down and gives her a hand. She picks up her laptop and puts it in his offering hands and stands up. He looks blankly at the laptop and then at her. He motions her to sit and hands her laptop and gets to fetch a glass of water.

Selena walks out of the room switching off the light. She sinks into the sofa in the lounge. Her phone buzzes again. He hands her a glass of water, "drink.", His stern look isn't commanding enough to control her. 

"order anything you want. Just don't go beyond 50 dirhams.", she hands him her laptop, "there is no password.", she points at the laptop with the glass in her hand.

"Aloo!", Selena's accent changes, she smiles as she moves back to her room, "How are you?", she giggles, "Yeah, no I could not see your message earlier."

Aariz stares at the screen taking forever to load. When it finally loads the wallpaper has a table with a heading you rule with nothing under it and you suck with six lines. Robin from stranger things that he would have identified if he had watched Stranger Things. He switches off the laptop and puts his feet in Saad's slippers since both of them have almost the same height.

As he gets out of the building he walks to the left and spots the newly opened branch of Papa Murphy's. The aroma of freshly baked dough makes his stomach grumble. The smell of melting cheese lingers in the air. When he reaches back home her room is still closed.

"Anyways, big stuff happened today. I'll give you deets tomorrow.", after half an hour of discussion over the speeches Selena sighs.

"What happened? You okay?"

"I might be okay...", Selena almost sings  "All too Well'' but stops herself, "but I am not fine at all."

"Omgaad. What? Is it related to Mr. Doctor?"

"Yeah..." Selena stares at her fingernails that she has to cut before they grow out of the nail bed.

"I low-key ship you two. But like pour the tea in."

"no...  Not in the mood now. I am having aunt flow."

"OUCH!", Yelin remarks, "take care of yourself. Don't be so hard on yourself. It's okay if you haven't finished your part yet."

Selena's anxiety kicks in again. She is done with speech but she has to memorize it. She has to learn the pending lectures. Not to forget about the comprehensive coming up.

She feels like drowning in the dark sea again. The bubbles of air escape out her mouth. Her lungs fight for breath as the water pours into them. A sudden pang of uterine cramp makes her curl. She stands up pacing to and fro.

Aariz, finally not hearing Selena's voice on the other side, gets the hint she is done. Selena on the other hand can feel the water she drank rise up in her throat mixed with the gastric acid.

Over salivation is the cue for Selena to rush to the bathroom. She flings her door open this time not flinching back seeing Aariz. Her hands jammed against her mouth to prevent herself from throwing up anywhere but in the bathroom. He moves out of the way and rushes to place the pizza box on the table. She rushes into the common bathroom. Selena slams her hand on the switch and kneels.

Blegh!

Not again. She heaves. The spasmodic contractions make Selena squeeze her abdomen in pain.

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