Unexpected Promises

Chapter 82

Atifa's pov:

Opening my eyes, I stared at the dimly lit ceiling of the room as different kinds of thoughts roamed around my mind, giving me a headache.

Sighing, I turned my face to look at Amira, only to find him typing something away on his laptop as it's dim rays gave his face a blue glow. Frowning, I was about to ask him about Amira when I saw one of his hands moving gently on something on his lap. Realising it was Amira's hair, I looked at them incredulously, not being able to believe the scene in front of me. Resting her head on his lap, Amira was sleeping soundly as he worked away, even at night!

Sighing, I called out to him. "Saad..."

Glancing up, a frown creased on his forehead as soon as he noticed me looking at him. "You haven't slept yet?"

"No… What time is it?" Shaking my head slightly, I asked him, feeling tired.

"It's around 11:30. What happened?" Checking his wristwatch, he replied before glancing at me again.

"Aur aapka kaam abhi tak khatam nahi hua?!" Frowning, I asked him, confused. As far as I remember, it was around nine when I asked him to turn off the lights before he went to pray.

(And your work is still remaining?)

"Thoda sa baaki tha. Khatam ho raha hai." Passing me a sheepish smile, he replied quietly before focusing back on his work.

(A little bit. It's almost completed.)

Sighing, I looked away from him while rubbing two fingers on my forehead. I hated the growing headache, it wasn't even letting me sleep when I had been trying to sleep for the past two hours! My cramps weren't helping me either. Headache and cramps were a pretty deadly combination.

Looking back at him after a while, I found him closing his laptop before gently replacing his lap with a cushion under Amira's head and standing up. Covering her with a spare blanket, he came to sit on the chair beside my bed.

"Accha ab batao, kya hua? Are you okay?" Holding my left hand with both of his hands, he asked me gently.

(Okay now tell me, what happened?)

"I'm fine. Just having a headache." I mumbled quietly, not wanting to wake Amira up.

"Is it bad? That's why you didn't sleep?" He asked me in a soft murmur, a concerned look on his face.

"I guess. I just couldn't sleep." A tired sigh escaped my lips.

"Hmm… Should I ask the doctor for painkillers?" Rubbing his thumb on my knuckles, he asked me.

"No, it's okay, I will be fine if I sleep." Squeezing his hand lightly, I assured, attempting to give him a small smile.

"In Sha Allah." There was silence for a while after that. None of us said anything. He seemed lost in his own thoughts as his thumb continued to run across my knuckles softly, kind of soothing me.

(If God wills.)

"Can you put that extra pillow behind my back? I want to sit." I quietly asked him, breaking the silent spell around us.

"You don't have to sit. You can just lean back." Coming out of his thoughts, he told me with a frown.

"But I want that pillow behind me!" I whined, attempting to sit up by putting pressure on my right arm but regretting instantly as a sharp pain shot through my shoulder in return, making me wince and lay back down.

"Can't you just listen to me once? You are not sitting, I'm putting it under your head. You should be sleeping right now." Quickly standing up, he scolded while picking up the pillow and adjusting it under my head.