Stairway to Heaven

15. Ward-Week #2

'Shit. I really have fallen for Hajra—'

The thought doused his existence like cold buckets of freezing cold water over his head.

'But, why the hell do I like her even?! She is rude, headstrong, stubborn—hates me to no end and never shies away from showing it either. She has got no redeeming qualities whatsoever—and has got nothing in common with me. We are literally poles apart! So, how can I fall for someone like her? WHY did I fall for her?!'

"You don't get to choose who you fall in love with, Mateen."

Ammar's words from before rang in his ears and he groaned internally before throwing a glance in her direction; who chose this moment to catch him redhanded in the act. Yet, he didn't try looking away, until she'd averted her gaze with a visible frown; only to return seconds later and finding Mateen's gaze still glued to her.

Hajra didn't know why she did this, but she couldn't help but look again to see if he was still watching her.

"—he likes you. I am sure about that! I have seen him sneaking glances at you so many times—"

'It can hardly be called sneaking, if you are staring so unashamedly at someone. What is his problem, now?' She thought annoyed and unintentionally glared at him from across the room.

Mateen caught her reaction and before he could catch himself, he had exhaled a short chuckle.

'God. I really do like her very much!' He smiled at the thought and unintentionally shot her a wide smile; which had earned him an expected scowl from her, before she turned away with a huff.

'I am in for a heartbreak, aren't I?'

He thought with remnants of smile, while walking away. Wondering if this was his punishment for talking big about never falling in love. But it was too late, now. He had it coming for a long while now. It was only a matter of when.

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DAY-2
(3:30pm)

"—Please! Please Hajra? I promise I'll be back by morning! Please just cover for me tonight—Pretty please?!" Hajra gaped at Bisma at a loss for words. Already she was exhausted with only 4 hours of sleep on her and to top it off, Bisma had to get home urgently because her in-laws were coming over. She claimed that she had asked a friend to cover the shift for her but that friend was busy too and couldn't make it at such short notice.

This week Hajra, Mateen and Bisma were the only ones on call for the surgery ward and if Bisma left too, then it would mean that she would have to rely on Mateen for help and that she wasn't willing to do, under any circumstances.

"Okay. I'll try my best to not let anyone notice—" She exhaled a long sigh and hadn't even finished, when Bisma engulfed her in a bear hug and drowned her in thankyous.

"—But please don't let it happen again—" She tried saying but Bisma had already stopped listening as she turned on her heel to leave.

'It will workout somehow...hopefully...It's only one night. There're still other people besides us. It should be fine. InshaAllah..'

Hajra prayed anxiously, while watching her retreating back; completely ignoring the most troublesome detail.

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