true. Your brother has always been…sensitive to temptations. You were always the strong one.”
Afia forced herself to keep eye contact, despite the fact that she was weak when it came to Sam, a weakness that came of love. It didn’t seem wrong to her to love him with her whole heart, no matter what anyone else believed, because he loved her too. She swallowed thickly at the thought. She drew her attention back to the conversation at hand, inhaling and pulling her hands away.
“Look here, Maman,” Afia murmured. She used her phone to pull up the website to the rehab center Bionca had suggested. “We can get him back in a program and help Rayan get back on his feet. This place specializes in treating clients who have multiple addictions. They can take care of him for both—“
Fatima held up a hand and interrupted the hurried stream of information Afia was trying to fire her way. She shook her head resolutely. “I will deal with this myself.”
Afia’s face dropped, and she exclaimed, “Maman, this isn’t something we can wish away!”
“Shh! I said I will deal with this.” Fatima cut her eyes at Afia for raising her voice. Rashad was asleep in the bedroom down the hall. She didn’t need him waking and hearing the conversation. “Now, you go home. Rest. Your brother will be home soon. I can feel it. A mother knows.”
Afia clamped her lips shut and refrained from telling her Rayan was indeed on his way home, thanks to Sam. She sighed and stood to collect her purse and car keys. “Just promise me, Maman, that if whatever you have in mind doesn’t work, you’ll consider the rehab option. I can help you and Baba pay for it. I’ll get a job.”
“You worry about your studies,” said Fatima, following her into the living room. She stopped her at the door with a solemn look and a firm voice. “And, you stay away from anything or anyone that might lead you astray, Afia. I was your age. I know what it’s like to be young and faced with so many opportunities to do the wrong thing, each of them looking more exciting and tempting than the last. Whatever you do, my child, don’t forget the upbringing which has been instilled within you, the Sharia and Allah’s will that you may have a long and prosperous life. If you follow the laws, you will be blessed.”
“I know, Maman,” whispered Afia. She looked away guiltily. “I’ll see you soon. Call me, no matter how late, whenever Rayan returns.”
Fatima nodded and saw her out the door. After she heard Afia’s car crank up and saw the headlights flash through the living room as her daughter backed out of the driveway, she settled her tired bones on the edge of an armchair to wait up for her wayward son. As she sat, she prayed. As she prayed, she cried. There had to be deliverance soon. Her heart couldn’t take much more heartbreak.
CHAPTER 2
Afia had driven directly to Sam’s place after leaving her mother’s, confident that Rayan would soon be home. When Sam had come to the door, looking drowsy and sexy, she had walked into his arms and thanked him for being there for her with her touches and kisses because there weren’t words for all that she felt for him.
She didn’t know how to tell him her love was rooted in more than appreciation, how to say how much she valued him just for being the man he was, and that she couldn’t envision a future without him because any tomorrow that didn’t include him in her life wasn’t one she wanted to see. She couldn’t explain how her love was more than a feeling and not just an act, more like a state of being. It was something she couldn’t turn on or off, something that had simply happened, something mystifying and overpowering. Whatever sacrifices were required, she would make them for him.
His body was paradise. Afia gasped, as Sam rolled her beneath him and rose above her. Her thighs dropped open in welcome while her lips parted in silky
Afia forced herself to keep eye contact, despite the fact that she was weak when it came to Sam, a weakness that came of love. It didn’t seem wrong to her to love him with her whole heart, no matter what anyone else believed, because he loved her too. She swallowed thickly at the thought. She drew her attention back to the conversation at hand, inhaling and pulling her hands away.
“Look here, Maman,” Afia murmured. She used her phone to pull up the website to the rehab center Bionca had suggested. “We can get him back in a program and help Rayan get back on his feet. This place specializes in treating clients who have multiple addictions. They can take care of him for both—“
Fatima held up a hand and interrupted the hurried stream of information Afia was trying to fire her way. She shook her head resolutely. “I will deal with this myself.”
Afia’s face dropped, and she exclaimed, “Maman, this isn’t something we can wish away!”
“Shh! I said I will deal with this.” Fatima cut her eyes at Afia for raising her voice. Rashad was asleep in the bedroom down the hall. She didn’t need him waking and hearing the conversation. “Now, you go home. Rest. Your brother will be home soon. I can feel it. A mother knows.”
Afia clamped her lips shut and refrained from telling her Rayan was indeed on his way home, thanks to Sam. She sighed and stood to collect her purse and car keys. “Just promise me, Maman, that if whatever you have in mind doesn’t work, you’ll consider the rehab option. I can help you and Baba pay for it. I’ll get a job.”
“You worry about your studies,” said Fatima, following her into the living room. She stopped her at the door with a solemn look and a firm voice. “And, you stay away from anything or anyone that might lead you astray, Afia. I was your age. I know what it’s like to be young and faced with so many opportunities to do the wrong thing, each of them looking more exciting and tempting than the last. Whatever you do, my child, don’t forget the upbringing which has been instilled within you, the Sharia and Allah’s will that you may have a long and prosperous life. If you follow the laws, you will be blessed.”
“I know, Maman,” whispered Afia. She looked away guiltily. “I’ll see you soon. Call me, no matter how late, whenever Rayan returns.”
Fatima nodded and saw her out the door. After she heard Afia’s car crank up and saw the headlights flash through the living room as her daughter backed out of the driveway, she settled her tired bones on the edge of an armchair to wait up for her wayward son. As she sat, she prayed. As she prayed, she cried. There had to be deliverance soon. Her heart couldn’t take much more heartbreak.
CHAPTER 2
Afia had driven directly to Sam’s place after leaving her mother’s, confident that Rayan would soon be home. When Sam had come to the door, looking drowsy and sexy, she had walked into his arms and thanked him for being there for her with her touches and kisses because there weren’t words for all that she felt for him.
She didn’t know how to tell him her love was rooted in more than appreciation, how to say how much she valued him just for being the man he was, and that she couldn’t envision a future without him because any tomorrow that didn’t include him in her life wasn’t one she wanted to see. She couldn’t explain how her love was more than a feeling and not just an act, more like a state of being. It was something she couldn’t turn on or off, something that had simply happened, something mystifying and overpowering. Whatever sacrifices were required, she would make them for him.
His body was paradise. Afia gasped, as Sam rolled her beneath him and rose above her. Her thighs dropped open in welcome while her lips parted in silky
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