"Not telling the truth is the quickest way to turn yourself into a stranger." - Mark W. Perrett. 

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Chapter 20 - Deception.

I was roughly pushed to the ground, the pebbles and granules of sand burning my sliding palms as I attempted to steady myself. The air was knocked out of me, yet I attempted to scramble to my feet and failed miserably, my head swirling from the fear and shock coursing through my body. 

“Who are you and why were you following me?!” An angry, muffled voice reminded me I wasn’t alone and this time, I managed to successfully stand on my feet. 

As I got up, my hoody fell off and relaxed against my back. It was completely dark now, with only a slither of light coming in from a street lamp. My eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the dark and as soon as they did, I stepped away from the man in front of me. 

It was indeed the same man, yet now he had a black and white kuffeyeh wrapped around his mouth and nose, leaving only his eyes visible. I resisted the urge to break down crying or show fear, I was human after all, but  instead, I stood defiantly to my full height and stared directly into his eyes. 

He turned his head a little to assess me properly and as his face caught the angle of light and he fully came into view, I got a proper glimpse of his eyes. 

Those eyes…I know this man.

“Do I know you?” I asked, my voice coming out eerily calm. 

At my voice I saw him visibly stiffen, before he mumbled incoherently under his breath, turned around, and started running the way we came in. 

“Wait!” I yelled, startled, and started running after him, but he was too fast and in the dark I wasn't able to discern which direction he had gone in. 

“What the hell just happened?!” I huffed out to the dark night. I took my phone out from the back pocket of my pants and checked the time. I was late. So late. 

I began running myself, but not before quickly absorbing the details of the area around me and picking up my stranded book. I ran all the way home, not stopping once to catch my breathe. Despite the fact that my attacker had somehow gone from offensive to complete wuss was weird, but I was still on high alert. I shivered, remembering all the scenarios that were running through my head as I was pulled into a chasm of darkness. 

I hadn’t even realised I was standing extremely still and panting heavily in front of my house, until Noah spoke up. 

“Hey, I was just coming to find you. You OK?”

“I’m fine,” I said, urging my feet forward.

I’m fine.

****

I was not fine. In fact, I would only be ‘fine’ when my curiosity was satiated and I had found out who that man was and how he was connected to Zach. And for that reason I had been contemplating the unthinkable for the last week straight.

And tonight I was finally going to go through with it. 

I was pacing anxiously around my room, checking my phone for the time every few seconds. I pulled the sleeves of my jumper lower and made sure my hoody was still securely over my head. 

Who do I know that has hazel eyes with specks of gold…who, who, who? The question had been on repeat in my mind and I felt like the answer was on the tip of my tongue, yet I never arrived at an explanation. 

It was extremely frustrating and I knew I would not rest until I had closure. I checked the time again.

Nine-thirty.

I had told my family that I had a headache and was going to sleep, so no-one would disturb me. Another lie. 

I slipped my phone and a mini torch light into my pocket and walked towards my window. I pushed it open as quietly as I could and just as I was about to throw one leg over the ledge, there was a knock on my door. I froze on my spot and didn’t respond.

“Min! Min!” My heart broke at Adam’ small voice, knowing that he probably just wanted to play with me.

“Miiinnnn!” It was becoming increasingly hard to resist his voice.

Finally, I heard Deana come to him and tell him I was sleeping. “But I wanna play hide and seek,” he whined sadly. 

“You can play with me, come.” I wanted to hug the life out of Deana but right now, I had more important things to worry about. 

I swung my other leg over and began to skilfully climb down the surface of the house. Houses here weren’t that tall, even two-storey homes, so within one minute, my feet were firmly planted on the ground. I had no choice but to leave my window open and even though my door was locked, I prayed no one would persist in coming into my room. 

For some reason my thoughts drifted to Zach and I wondered what he would think of my reckless behaviour right now. I mean, pursuing your recent attacker was not a smart move but even I knew that if a fellow Palestinian attacked you in Gaza, it was only with good reason. No-one attacked for the mere sake of it. 

With that thought in mind, I began to power walk to the same deserted area. I tried to be as inconspicuous as possible but I couldn’t help the crunching of my feet against the ground and the faint sound of my heavy breathing. 

“Sorry Zach. Sorry Noah,” I whispered to myself. 

I managed to successfully stay out of sight until I reached my destination. I didn’t know how I would hide myself from here on, since it was all open land and I slightly panicked. Skimming my eyes over the area, I located what seemed to be broken bits of a wall. It was half a metre high only but it was my only option. 

I ran towards it and perched myself behind the wall and only poked my head out to oversee the land before me. I was waiting for the same man to arrive - if he arrived, that is. I didn’t know what I would do after that but my plan was to figure out who he was and why he was walking towards an area that was so close to the border. 

Right now, I’d have to walk a mere ten metres and I would be in Egypt. 

I waited for a full half an hour but no-one came. No-one came the day after, nor the day after that.

Every night, for three days straight, I had waited around the area, yet nothing happened. I was restless, confused but most of all, worried. I didn’t imagine the words uttered from that mans mouth. 

I came home from uni completely smashed. I hadn’t been getting much sleep nor was I focusing properly on my studies. I yawned, making sure to cover my mouth with my right hand and proceeded to slam the door behind me.

I walked into the living room ready to just fall asleep on my couch, since walking up the stairs to my room seemed like a massive trek, but I froze upon seeing Zach sitting on the couch in front of me. 

I hated how I felt the need to force the awkwardness away. I wished for normality again.

“Asalamu alaikum.” I noted that Zach and Noah were both in their soccer outfits even though there was two hours until their game. Adam was settled on Zach’s lap but as soon as he saw me he ran towards me and jumped on me. With what little energy I had left, I scooped him into my arms before moving to sit on the couch. 

I caught Zach’s eye as I sat on the couch and he gave me a small smile. Although I wanted to remain somewhat angry and stubborn towards him, I couldn’t help but smile in return. 

I could tell Noah and Zach had halted their conversation when I walked into the room and since the twins and Deana were watching T.V. almost stonily, it was quiet in the room. 

“You guys are early for soccer today,” I voiced. 

Noah was tying his shoe laces and when it was obvious to Zach he wasn’t going to reply, he looked towards me and spoke up. 

“We’ve been slacking off the last few weeks for parkour so we have to spend some extra time practicing today.” I nodded my head silently and observed how he scratched his head and bounced his right leg vigorously while speaking to me. Odd. 

“Min, zaza said he’s going to teach me paka.” I looked down at Adam who was now tapping my face to get my attention. 

“Did he now?” I asked, laughing at his pronunciation of the word. “Do you know what parkour is?” He shook his head causing his brown curls to bounce atop his head. I squished his cheeks until they were slightly red. 

“Oww Min,” he said, swatting my hand away. He slid off my lap and walked back towards Zach crossly. 

“Zaza give Min a smack because she hurt me!” I stifled my oncoming laughter and I could see Zach and Noah doing the same. Adam was so serious and if your attitude wasn’t compatible with his, at the exact same moment, he’d begin crying. 

“Naw, I could never hit her. But I can give her a talk and tell her how naughty she’s been?” He bent down so he was at Adam’s height. He thought about it for a few seconds before he nodded his head. 

“OK.” Adam turned to glare at me and I blew a kiss to him in return. 

“NO! I don’t want it. Zach take her kiss!” Zach began to relax back into the couch but stilled in his movements. He looked at me and I looked at him…until we both turned away awkwardly.

“Adam it’s not a real kiss, don’t worry,” I said, deciding now would be the perfect moment to escape into my room. Noah coughed as I got up, the only sound he’d made during the whole conversation. 

“Zach I’ll wait for you outside,” Noah said, getting up and walking right past me. I looked after him confused and then turned to Zach who was also now standing.

“Before you go up…can I quickly talk to you?” 

I nodded my head and we moved off to the side near the bottom of the staircase. 

“Zaza are you telling Min she was naughty?” Adam shouted. 

“Yes I am!” Zach replied and grinned at him. He turned back to me and shook his head a little, the smile still on his face.

“So what’s up?” I asked, trying not to memorise every inch of his face when he smiled. 

“Well…,” he cleared his throat. “You look tired. How have you been lately?” He crossed his arms and leaned against the railing.

I rolled my eyes. “Zach. Cut to the chase, what’s wrong?” 

He exhaled loudly, looking at his feet. “What’s been going on with you lately? Noah told me you’ve been acting out.”

My heart began to pump faster. Could Noah know? 

I raised my eyebrows and maintained a calm demeanour. “Acting out?” 

“You’re unusually quiet, sleeping early but waking up late, zoning out all the time.” 

“I think Noah’s exaggerating.” He was staring at me with a calculating look and I shied away, knowing well, that he could see past my barrier. 

“I don’t think he is Yasmine.” 

For some unknown reason I became irrationally angry at him and blurted out the first thing on my mind. 

“How would you know, it’s not like you’re around to care anyway.” I watched his eyes flash with hurt then anger before he pushed himself off the railing and inched just a little closer to me. 

“I don’t care? Are you serious?” 

I gnawed on my lip, regretting the words immediately. 

“Look,” he said, running his hand through his hair. “Whatever you’re up to, and I know you’re up to something, stop it."

"Ramadan is in two days, don't forget," he added, as if that would somehow make me admit to my wrongful behaviour. 

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Zach.” I crossed my own arms and squared my shoulders. 

“Yasmine,” he growled, his eyes flashing. 

I thought it was kind of sadistic that I enjoyed eliciting this reaction from him. 

“Hurry up Zach!” Noah yelled from outside. 

Zach’s eyes swept over my face one last time. 

“This isn’t over.” With that he turned around and walked off angrily. 

A/N

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Definitions: 

Asalamu alaikum: Islamic greeting - 'Peace be upon you'