Before Time (The Time Trilogy Book 1) (20 page)

Yes, 10,000 people flirt with me but I always enjoy spending time with you. How should I tell you that, Asher? You should understand.

ME:
Laugh out loud! Nobody gets a chance with me. He just thinks he has a chance.

Impassioned:
Rock solid.

ME:
Yeah.

It was almost six p.m., and my stomach growled loudly. He was quiet as well, so I thought I ought to go to the kitchen and grab something to eat.

ME:
I’m going to go and fix myself something to eat.

Impassioned:
Alright, sweets, laters.

ME:
Later! Take care :)

I went to the kitchen and fixed myself a chocolate spread sandwich and a glass of juice. I was so hungry, but I hadn’t even noticed. I brought it to the family room and switched on the television. It was showing
Twilight,
so I settled on the settee with my food and watched the movie.

Chapter 11

Finally, the ordeal my mother called a dinner party at home was over. I wasn’t a people person, and such parties seemed boring to me. I cleaned the table and turned back towards the kitchen. My sister was still lingering around, and I wanted to spend some time with her before she left. I placed the rag in the kitchen, washed my hands, and came back to the family room, where everyone was sitting with my five-month-old niece.

“Onaiza! I got something for you,” my sister, Maheen, told me. She was older than Aliza and already married.

“What? What?” I asked excitedly.

“Guess!” she teased me.

“Did you find a new Julie Garwood book for me?” I asked. She grinned widely and nodded.

“Show me! Show me!” I exclaimed.

She withdrew a book from her purse, while I tried to glance at the title. It was a novel which I had been looking for but couldn’t find in any of the bookstores I visited. Moreover, this wasn’t a pirated copy of that novel, but a brand new paperback.

“How did you know that I wanted this novel?” I asked her. She looked at Aliza, and then I knew who the culprit was. “Well, thank you so much for this. Don’t worry; I can lend it to you once I’ve read.”

She stayed for some time and we all sat together, chatting. When everyone left, I returned to my room.

I checked on mIRC to see if he was online, and there he was. I sent him a “hi”, but he didn’t respond. I turned to my Facebook to complete my farm and café in Farmville and Cafeville. After that, I turned to YouTube and searched for Bryan Adams, my favorite singer. I was listening to his songs and was just wasting time when the mIRC icon on the desktop tray started blinking. I clicked on that and saw that he had finally responded to my message.

Impassioned:
It’s three a.m.

ME:
Yeah, but I’m not sleepy.

Impassioned:
I have also watched the time pass like this a lot, but I never found any peace. Well, I’m going to leave. I just came to remind you.

ME:
I’m just listening to songs and will go to sleep in about half an hour. Sure. You go ahead and sleep well.

Impassioned:
Enjoy the beauty of this time.

ME:
Sure, take care. Sleep tight.

Impassioned:
*moves close to you to kiss in the middle of your forehead, but stops a few inches away, think about something, smiles and decides not to. *

*walks away*

ME:
What were you thinking?

But he had already left without any explanation. I was frustrated with his cryptic behavior. I shut down my laptop, plugged the headphones into my iPod, and slept.

Today my parents had to go out of the city to attend a wedding. I was home with my brother and sister, which suited me really well. Mom and Dad being out of the city meant I could sleep all I wanted to. I could stay in bed all day long, and they wouldn’t come to wake me up. Still cuddled inside my thick quilt, I turned on my side and switched on my laptop.
Let’s check on him first
, I thought. As I expected, he was online. I smiled.

ME:
Good morning :)

Impassioned:
Huh?

ME:
I just woke up, but I’m still in bed.

Impassioned:
You are in bed?

ME:
Yeah! Mom and Dad went out of city for a wedding, so I’m kind of home alone.

Impassioned:
Great! Move over and make some space for me as well.

* snuggles in*

ME:
I slept like for ten hours.

* moves over*

I was still wrapped in my quilt, but now I was lying on my front with the laptop in front of me.

Impassioned:
Hmmm…

Me: *hides*

Impassioned:
Now you’re hiding.

*finds you*

ME:
*hides again*

Impassioned:
*finds you and takes you in my arms. Now, try to run away from me.*

ME:
Oh no! What should I do now?

Impassioned:
blush? Oh! My director called me, I have to go. Be right back.

ME:
Take your time. Message me when you’re back.

I got out of my bed and dragged myself to the washroom. I cleaned up and then went upstairs to look for some breakfast. I found my brother, Ahsan, in the kitchen, looking for something to eat as well, but it seemed like our choices were limited. We both looked at each other questioningly.

“Hungry?” we both asked each other in unison.

“Yes!”

“Let’s go to MJ’s Bakery. I could use something made of chocolate,” I said.

“Let’s go.”

After telling my eldest sister, Vaneeza, that we were going out, we both made our way outside. The drive to the bakery was quite uneventful, with only some mild music blaring in the car and no trouble or traffic. I got myself brownies and pizza while Ahsan chose a mini-pizza for himself. The stay at the bakery was short, and we were near our home when he missed the turn and pulled the car in a petrol station. After refilling the car’s tank, we headed home.

I quickly came back to my room and pressed a key to wake my laptop from hibernation. He was still away, because there was no reply from his end, so I just sat there eating my pizza and playing Farmville. He came back ten minutes later.

Impassioned:
*Jumps into your bedroom window and tries to take advantage of your being home alone*

ME:
*feels betrayed*

Impassioned:
I didn’t foreclose on your lands and make them mine :D

I took a bite of the brownie I had brought with myself.

ME:
Want some brownie?

Impassioned:
Oh! So many calories!

I rolled my eyes.

ME:
It’s delicious.

Impassioned:
What about my six pack?

*Impassioned tries to show off*

ME:
Hahaha! Oh, come on! I don’t like this six-pack stuff at all.

Impassioned:
That’s because you don’t have one :D

ME:
Laugh out loud. I don’t want one because I’m a girl, for God’s sake.

Impassioned:
Hehe, kidding. It’s too difficult to impress a cold-hearted woman :)

ME:
I used to be romantic and get impressed, but now I get all logical when I hear that stuff. You joke as well; I didn’t know that.

Haha! I will die but never tell you that now. I want to live with myself.

Impassioned:
But now you know, eh?

ME:
Yes, now I know.

Impassioned: *checks with his travel agent for an urgent flight to Islamabad :D*

ME:
Not an urgent flight. You’re not supposed to come to Islamabad until March.

Impassioned:
Your mom and dad will come back then.

My phone buzzed then. I picked it and saw Aliza’s text. They were on their way back home.

ME:
Hehe! They are already on their way back home. My sister just sent me a text.

Impassioned:
Awww! No worries. If you are mine, then I will have you, regardless of the fact that your parents are in the city or out.

ME:
Haha! Tomorrow, I’m going out with friends and I won’t be home until the night. So miss me.

Impassioned:
What makes you think I will wait for you?

I had said that as a joke, but his attitude was getting on my nerves. Couldn’t he understand the joke behind my words?
Rude. You are being rude.

ME:
No, I don’t think you will.

Impassioned:
You should do whatever you want, and in my opinion, you should enjoy it. I’ll be happy that you are out.

Whatever! So, he was getting tired of me. Wow! That’s great. I was getting on his nerves, I guess.

ME:
:/

*away*

I didn’t respond because his words cut too deep. Can’t friends miss each other? Friends who had come closer over the last few days, and felt comfortable in each other’s presence. Why did he have to ruin my mood whenever he got the chance to? There should be some lightheartedness in our lives, and I was just joking with him, but what he said had hurt me.

Ten minutes later, I got another message from him.

Impassioned:
Jaaiye aap kahan jaeinge, yeh nazar laut ke phir ayege (You can go wherever you want to go; you will come back to me).

ME:
Huh!

Impassioned:
Dumbo!

ME:
:@

I was angry with him for being so rude to me. He always tried to break my heart. Maybe he wanted to do just that, and I was too blind to see with crystal clarity what he was trying to do. He always tried to tread upon my tender feelings, and today, I didn’t like it. We were having so much fun; why did he have to spoil such a good mood? I switched windows and returned to YouTube, surfing through various songs, most of which were from the 80s and 90s bands. As I wasn’t talking to him anymore, I just went to the main stream of the channel, where all the users could chat together, and started typing the lyrics of the songs I was listening to there.