Novels by muneeba_zulfiqar

“I was just thinking about coming home today.” She said on the phone. “You sure? Is there any problem?” Hailey said on the other side of the line. “No, I mean… I just— you know. How long can I stay here? And I miss you.” “I miss you too, love. Okay. Should I ask him to take you back here?” “No, no. I’ll just talk to him.” “Okay, hon. I love you.” “I love you too.” She smiled. She took support from the crutch and walked out of the room. She lightly knocked at the door to the study room and creaked it open. He was standing in front of the window, looking outside. She entered the room and looked around. The room had a dark ambiance just like the rest of the house. The whole room was carpeted. There were bookshelves on the front wall from top to bottom. A wooden ladder in the corner. The west wall was an accent wall with nothing but one gigantic painting of the back of a woman in a white dress. The details were incredible.

2:03 a.m. He got up to drink water. There was light coming out of her comforter. He poured water for himself and took his time to drink it. He kept standing there watching her shuffling under the sheet. He slowly stretched his arm and grabbed the comforter and then jerked it off from top of her. A shriek left from her mouth which he stopped by putting his hand over her mouth. He took her phone from her hand and faced the light towards the ceiling. “What do you think you are doing?” He turned on the screen and read the time. “It’s freaking 2 in the morning.” His eyes widened. “Why aren’t you asleep?” “I couldn’t sleep.” She said sheepishly. “It was just too dark for me to sleep.” He rolled his eyes. “Let me put you to sleep.” He jumped over the bed and laid down next to her. “Here.” He patted his shoulder. “Lay down.” She looked at him incredulously. “What?” He grabbed her arm and pulled her down. “Don’t rush your filthy brain.

“Here, take your medicines.” He came out of the kitchen with an apron around his waist. “Oh,” He stopped right in front of her chair. “She slept again?” He put his hands to his sides. Her mouth was slightly opened and she had her eyes closed. He waved his hand in front of her face. “Hey!” He poked her arm. “Penelope!” He tried again but there was no response. He sighed and put medicines in his apron’s pocket. “How is she always sleepy?” He shook his head and sighed again. The clouds had covered up the sky. He chose not to wake her up and sat on the chair beside her. He wiped his hands on the apron and leaned back. “I don’t want you to suffer.” He said in a hushed tone. Almost inaudible. “I know you don’t want me to help you. Still, you are stuck with me here.” He smiled sadly and looked at her. He slowly put a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He kept looking at her. Sadly. “I’m sorry you broke your foot because of me.” He said and leaned back in his chair

10:16 p.m. She didn’t say anything all the way back to his home. The car slowed down in front of his house. He parked it in the garage and moved out. He took out the suitcase and walked inside the house. After a minute or two, he came back. She was sitting still. He opened her door and bent down to pick her up. “I can just… walk.” She looked at him with no expressions. “Like that?” He gave her a disappointing look. “Yeah. I mean… just lend me your hand.” She stretched out her hand. He grabbed it and helped her in getting out of the car. She was leaning on him trying to walk but couldn’t. She couldn’t put pressure either on her toes or heel. He picked her up without letting her say anything. She put her arms around his neck awkwardly. He walked inside the house quietly. He entered his room and carefully dropped her on the bed, grabbed two pillows, put them under her foot, and stood straight. There was a moment of silence. He scratched his neck

4:47 p.m. All of her work was done by 5 in the evening. Damen hadn’t said anything to make her more nervous than she already was. He was trying to get work done as soon as possible. All the awkwardness and tension had settled down. “Should I send it just now or schedule it for tomorrow morning?” She looked at him. He was sitting beside her. “Schedule it.” There were empty noodle bowls, and some snacks lying on the table. She scheduled the email and powered off her laptop. She stretched her arms over her head and slouched back. “Thank you.” She put her glasses over her head. “For helping me. That too on the weekend.” He tilted his head to look at her. She was smiling at him. He gave her a half-smile, “It was nothing.” He looked away, “You are my friend.” “Let me treat you to a meal.” She excitedly said. He raised an eyebrow at her. “What?” “I’m gonna eat until you are broke.” He widened his eyes. She laughed in response.

Sunlight kissed her eyelids good morning. It was a bright day. Everything was looking more alive and fresher. She pulled sheets over her face and then turned over. Her phone buzzed under her pillow. She opened one eye and looked around. She had slept peacefully last night but was still tired from the wearying week. She checked her cell phone. There was a text message from her cousin sister, Flora. “Hello, dearest. I’m going to Ohio with Auntie Betty. I’ll come back in a week. I would have called you but then I thought you might be sleeping. Anyways. I’m hoping to see you soon. I love you. -Nana.” Her grandmother had asked Flora to text her on her behalf. Flora was 10 years older than her and had two kids. She had always been a supportive person in Penelope’s life. When everything was falling apart, she helped her get things together and rooted for her success. There were other messages from Nora as well. The first one was an hour later the tim