Chapter 36 A Warm hug
Amrah
I opened the door only to meet Daphy. She pulled me out to the hallway before I could say anything pointing urgently toward Yvonne's unit across the way.
"Look," she whispered, her eyes wide.
Moving company workers were carrying boxes and furniture out of Yvonne's apartment, their movements efficient and practiced.
"What? They are moving her things?"
"She said she was fine though," Daphy said, her voice filled with concern. "So why?"
"We can only find out if we call her"
"I tried, but it wasn't connecting" Daphy's eyes darted between me and the people moving the boxes anxiously.
"Oh... we can only wait for her to call back. I hope she is really fine"
We stood there watching for a moment when footsteps echoed down the hallway. Sally appeared first, her usual bright smile in place, followed by Bruno and a girl I had never seen before.
The girl was stunning, dressed in clothes that screamed luxury—a silk blouse, a well-known designer jeans, and shoes I recognized from the recent pictures Mom sent to me to pick from. But despite the expensive clothes, there was something almost shy about the way she carried herself, her eyes not quite meeting ours as they approached.
"Ladies!" Bruno called out with his signature wide grin."Perfect timing. This is my girlfriend, Celeste."
"Hi," Celeste said softly, giving us a small wave. Her voice was gentle, almost timid.
"Nice to meet you," I said, managing a smile despite my worry about Yvonne.
"Celeste is having a birthday party next week," Bruno announced, practically bouncing with excitement. "And it's on her yacht"
"Bruno," Celeste said, her cheeks flushing pink. "You don't have to—"
"Of course I have to!" he interrupted, grinning. "It's going to be amazing. Her father gifted her for her upcoming birthday, and we are going to cruise around for two days."
"You are both invited," Celeste said, looking between Daphy and me.
"I know we have just met, but Bruno talks about you guys all the time, and I... I don't really have a lot of close friends here."
"That's so sad," Daphy said sympathetically. "Of course we will come! Right, Amrah?" she nudged me.
I opened my mouth to decline, but Daphy shot me a look that clearly said 'Don't you dare.'
"Sure," I heard myself say. "Sounds fun."
Celeste's face lit up. "Really? Oh, that's wonderful! It's next Saturday. I will send you all the details."
"She's being modest," Bruno interjected. "This girl has literally no close friends except me and her faraway bestie. Can you believe that?"
"Bruno!" Celeste protested, her blush deepening.
"What? It's true!" He turned to us. "She's too shy to put herself out there. I keep telling her she needs to be more social."
"I'm working on it," Celeste said quietly, but she was smiling.
Sally laughed. "Well, we are happy to help with that."
They chatted for a few more minutes about the party details—what to wear, what time to arrive, and whether the weather would cooperate.
Finally, they said their goodbyes and headed down the hallway, Bruno's voice still echoing as they walked into his unit.
"You are going," Daphy said firmly, turning to me. "No backing out."
"I wasn't going to back out."
"You were thinking about it. I could see it on your face."
I sighed. "Fine. I'll go."
"Good. We need to unwind anyway," she said, her expression softening. "After everything that's been going on."
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. Maybe I really needed to unwind, but cruising? Let's see how it goes.
"Goodnight, Amy," she said, giving my arm a gentle squeeze. "Get some rest."
"Goodnight, Daphy."
I closed the door and leaned against it for a moment, letting out a long breath. A yacht party in a week. And in four days is the first session of the architecture contest, the individual presentation.
At least I had things to look forward to, things that might keep my mind occupied and away from the disaster of my personal life.
I headed to my workspace, pulling out my materials for the building presentation model. The contest had been all I could think about before everything imploded, and now it felt like a lifeline, something concrete and real that I could control.
I had just started sketching out the next phase of my design when the doorbell rang again.
"Daphy?" I called out, assuming she had come back to check on me.
"Why..."I opened the door and the words died in my throat.
Zayd stood there in his big black hoodie that hid most of his face. His curls peeked out covering his dark eyes which searched my face with an intensity that made my breath catch.
"How are you feeling?" he asked immediately, his voice soft but urgent.
My heart melted at the concern in his expression, at the way he was looking at me like I was the only thing that mattered. But then reality crashed back down, and I remembered I was supposed to avoid him.
"Fine. Thank you," I said stiffly, moving to close the door.
His hand shot out, stopping it. "Can I come in?"
"No."
"Why? I... I'm sorry."
The words caught me off, guard. "What did you do?"
"I don't know," he said, and there was such genuine confusion and pain in his voice that it nearly broke me. "But I'm sorry."
I forced myself to harden my expression, to push down the overwhelming urge to fall into his arms.
"Well, I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to see you again."
I saw the hurt flicker across his face, saw the way his eyes widened slightly, and I felt my own eyes beginning to tear up. But I couldn't let them fall.
"Leave," I whispered, my lower lip trembling a bit.
Zayd stood there for a moment, looking utterly powerless, his hand still on the door. Then slowly, he let it fall.
I closed the door before he could say anything else, before I could change my mind, and slid down against the door, my legs giving out beneath me. The tears I had been holding back all day finally poured out, hot and relentless.
I had been so strong, so determined to handle everything on my own. But seeing Zayd, seeing the hurt in his eyes that mirrored my own, had shattered my determination.
All I wanted was to fall into his arms, to bury my face against his chest and cry out about Chris, about the betrayal, about how stupid and broken I felt. I wanted to feel his arms around me, and his soothing whispers in my ear.
But I couldn't. I had decided to stay away from him for my sanity.
I sat there against the door, tears streaming down my face, and let myself feel everything I had been pushing down.