Chapter 41- Unknown destination

Haya's POV

I rushed out of the art house that my ex-boyfriend seems to own. I could not process any of my thoughts and feelings. I needed a moment, I needed to talk to someone who usually listens so I decided to call my best friend Ruby.

"Hey Bess, I am not okay right now," I spoke out the moment our call got connected.

"What's up?" her reply had no emotion to it, I wondered what could have upset her.

"Before we start with me, I want to know about you. You sound off what's wrong?" I asked out of concern.

"I am fine, it's just really cold here," she replied.

"Well okay, make sure you wear an outfit that's going to keep you warm," I said.

"I will, so what is going on with you?...you mentioned you're not okay the moment our call got connected," she asked.

I do not know why but she sounds off, there is absolutely no emotion to anything she is saying. I can not help but feel a barrier between the two of us. I want to tell her what is going on with me but not when she is like this...this is a very sensitive matter to me so I would rather not burden someone who is already not in a good mood with my complicated stuff.

"They are giving us tons of assignments at school and I am honestly overwhelmed," I lied.

"You got this. You have absolutely nothing to worry about, I know it's overwhelming but that is because you have not created a study timetable to manage your time...get that done first then you will see that there is nothing to worry about," she replied with words of encouragement.

I truly appreciate it, although we did not talk about what I wanted to talk about. I enjoyed having a real conversation with her, it has been such a long time. There has been so much distance between us lately that it is no longer physical but emotional also.

A lot is going on, I honestly pray I do not lose her amidst all this chaos I am experiencing.

"Thank you for the advice, I promise to take it. I miss you so much by the way," I said.

"miss you too," she replied.

"Um, you forgot the I," I replied with sarcasm.

"Haha, I miss you," she giggled but it was definitely not her usual heartwarming giggle, it sounded fake and it broke my heart.

"I better get going, everyone is heading back to campus. Bye," I spoke out.

"Yeah cool bye," she replied then immediately hung up.

I felt a lot emptier than I did before I spoke to her. My problems seem to be unending, it's Jahin and now my best friend seems to be acting weird.

I jogged towards the bus before I could climb inside, one of the lecturers called out to me.

"I'm in trouble," I said to myself as I walked towards the lecturers.

"Haya Hazim right?" the lady asked.

"Yes mam," I replied.

"What exactly happened between you, Mr. Stein, and the owner of this art-house today?" she asked with a pen and paper in hand.

I panicked, I did not know what to say. I do not want Mr. Stein to lose his job, he is the most amazing teacher and he's very passionate about what he does. I also do not quite know if I should voice out whatever is happening between Jahin and me.

"I went outside to get some fresh air, moments later I found Mr. Stein and the owner of this art-house fighting. It seemed to be something personal, it was not school-related. I called an ambulance and made sure Mr. Stein was admitted into the hospital...please inform his family," I replied.

"Mr. Stein's grandmother is the only family he has and she is currently residing in a home. We did contact her but there is nothing she can do. She is too old," the lady said.

The news about Mr. Stein not having a family broke my heart. I hope he does not lose his job because I can not only imagine how devastating it is to be closest to one family member.

"Wow, I hope he gets well soon," I replied.

"You seem to be friendly with the owner of the art house, how do you guys know each other," the lecturer asked.

"We grew up together," I replied.

"Oh okay," she said.

"May I leave?" I asked.

"Yeah sure, I hope you are not hiding anything from us," she replied.

I turn and walked away. Zoe came rushing towards me then gave me a hug. I burst into tears, I needed to take it all out. A lot has happened in one day and I feel overwhelmed by it all. Her tight embrace provided me with the support I needed. I am glad she's here with me, to be honest.

We got onto the bus, all the girls were striking glances at me and whispering to each other. I did not care what they thought of me, they have never liked me anyway.

We sat down and the bus headed back to campus. The moment we got off Jacob was already there to take us home. Zoe ran towards him and gave him a big hug. These two are by far the cutest couple I have ever met.

When we arrived home I decided to take a hot shower to release the tension from my body. I wore my pajamas then joined Zoe on the bed. We both watched Netflix and she ended up falling asleep.

There was suddenly a knock on the door so I quickly got up to see who it is. I looked crusty but I honestly did not care, it must be one of the staff members.

I opened the door to find the most disgustingly attractive man, Jahin. He unexpectedly started laughing...I seriously can not believe he is laughing at me right now. I closed the door on his face, I do not have the time and energy for his games.

"I am sorry, you look hilariously beautiful. Please open the door for me," he said.

"Go away!"

"Why are you even here!" I yelled.

"Being away from you is torture, I, I simply can not do without you," he spoke. My heart started racing because the words that came out of his mouth were the words I have been yearning to hear.

"I am not enjoying this either but I need to hear the truth and nothing but the truth," I walked closer to the door.

"Let me in, I will tell you the truth but first there is something we need to do," he said.

"I know I look ridiculous, just get it," I opened the door.

"Haya I want to tell you the truth but first I need to know if you are still the same accepting girl I fell in love with in high school, so I am pleading with you to come with me for the whole weekend," he said making eye contact with me.

My legs turn into jelly and I could not stand up properly but I knew I could not fall so easily for his charms. I needed to know the truth first.

"Come with you? come with you where! how am I supposed to know that you are still safe to be around...I saw how you beat up that lecturer today. You are not the boy I fell in love with in high school." I lied hoping my hurtful words would push him to tell me what exactly happened.

"Exactly why I want you to come with me this weekend, I want us to properly get to know each other again," he slowly walked towards me.

"No," I took a step back.

"Please, you will be back just in time to attend your classes," he pleaded.

"Do you not understand the words that are coming out of my mouth? I said I am not going with you anywhere!" I yelled.

"Haya are you okay? what's going on?" Zoe suddenly walked into the room.

"I'm fine, he was just leaving," I pointed out the door to Jahin.

"I am not going anywhere without you, Zoe kindly help Haya pack her bags. She is coming with me," he instructed.

The audacity this man has! who does he think he is telling me what to do.

"Zoe will not do such a thing," I angrily replied.

"Haya are you sure you do not want to leave with Jahin, I remember how much you cried when you thought you had seen him the other day...I want to make sure as your friend you do what makes you happy. You do not have to go if you don't want to," Zoe turn to look at me.

I grabbed her hand and lead her towards our bedroom.

"Zoe what are you doing?" I said as soon as we entered the room.

"Haya I can not just look at you probably making the biggest mistake of your life, I see the love that you have for Jahin and I know he hurt you by leaving but at least he is trying to make it up to you. Go with him, hear him out...he surely has a good reason for doing what he did," Zoe's words made me realize how much I really want Jahin to be here right now.

"You understand me," I gave her a tight embrace.

"Now let's pack you some sexy stuff so that you go fix your relationship with your man!" she helped me pack my things while I got ready.

I decided to wear a white trapeze dress with my new maroon Dr. Martens.

"She is ready to go with you but you must know that if you have her cry, I am going to kill you," Zoe said making a giggle escape from my lips.

Jahin turn to look at me, his eyes glimmered as he scanned my appearance. He did not take his off of me as he approached us and grabbed my bag from Zoe.

"Do not worry, I will keep her safe," he said looking straight into my eyes.

"Good," Zoe replied.

Zoe and I said our dramatic goodbyes while Jahin stood there looking at us.

"Shall we go?" he finally spoke.

"Yes," I replied.

We both made our way outside of the building and finally got into the car. I really can not believe this is Jahin's life...I am glad he has made it in life, to be honest. His wildest dreams have become a reality.

We suddenly arrived at the most exquisite penthouse I have ever seen. I am guessing this is his house, I loved everything about it...from the landscaping to the beautiful lights making the place come alive even though it was nighttime. The best part is that it was near the ocean.

We exchanged cars and an average-aged man handed him his bag.

Moments later we were on the way to our unknown destination. Jahin put on some music and The Weeknd's song After Hours came on. I got all giddy and happy inside. I suddenly remembered how much Jahin and I used to listen to his songs together.

I increased the volume and started singing along to the song. I looked over at Jahin and he had a hidden smile on his face.