[COMPLETE]
Talia Awwad trades a familial nightmare overseas for a relaxing winter break with her grandparents across the country. Too bad the fate she ran away from comes back to haunt her in the form of a surprise housemate named Zaid.
Stuck in th...
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Talia snorted in laughter, throwing her phone to the foot of her bed. After a moment, she stared up at the plain white ceiling and kicked off her sheets, letting her mind wander. Hypothetical scenarios coursed through her imagination: one where Logan was still her boyfriend, another where she was abroad with her brother and parents right now. As she became more acquainted with sleep-deprived delirium, one more popped into her fantasies—where she actually liked Zaid.
Crawling out of bed after realizing a good night's sleep would be impossible, she tiptoed down the hallway and observed the full moon from the large front window. When she squinted, hundreds of small beaming lights appeared, stars that were light years away. If it wasn't below freezing outside, she would have wanted to perch herself on the front porch and tilt her head towards the endless astrological wonders in the sky, but she was already cold inside the house.
Digging her hands deeper into the fuzzy pockets of her sweatshirt, she remained mesmerized by the night, enjoying the pure peace and quiet. But when she dulled the constant narration in her head, she realized it wasn't so quiet. Coming from the room tucked into the other end of the hallway were Zaid's soft whispers.
She held in her breath and took the extra steps to his room, his voice growing more distinct. At first, she thought he was reciting a prayer of some sort (and if he was, he better have been asking for forgiveness for all those insults). But when she pressed her ear to the door, she realized he was on the phone.
Stiffening, she made out a couple terms of endearment and several bouts of laughter, hating how much harder muffled Arabic was to understand than muffled English. His last words before he hung up were, "Please come visit when you can. I miss you, Nadine."
Is he talking to a girlfriend?
"Shit."
She came face-to-face with Zaid.
"Were you eavesdropping?"
Though his voice hinted at no particular emotion, his jaw hardened, eyes narrowing with it. She swallowed a gulp and forced herself to take a step backwards, then another when he narrowed the slim gap between them. One more, and she would have toppled down the stairs, along with the remainder of her decorum.
