Kareem's POV...
Laila's words felt like a slight crack to my heart. Didn't she trust me enough to tell me what's wrong? I could understand her visiting her sister for a few days since she hadn't seen her since she'd heard the news of her grandmother's passing, but would it really be such a bad idea to just tell me what's bothering her?
I felt someone lightly tap my knee and noticed the presence of everyone else in the conference room.
"Uhm, Kareem, what do you think of the idea Christine has presented?" I glanced in Imran's direction. He noticed my absence during the meeting.
"Yeah, you can go ahead and present our new designs to the clients. If there aren't any further suggestions, I think this meeting has come to an end". I said as everyone began making their way out of the conference room, everyone except Imran. He looked at me once we were the only ones in the room.
"What was that? You were barely present throughout the entire meeting. Come on, tell me, what's been on your mind?" Imran said as he diverted his entire attention towards me.
I looked straight ahead, not removing my eyes from what was in front of me. "I don't know", I said as I finally looked at him. "Laila's gone to visit her sister and she won't be back until the following week".
"And what's wrong with her going to visit her sister?"
"Nothing, it's just that... I tried asking her so many times what happened but she always refuses to tell me, and now she just ups and leaves. Don't I have the right to know what happened, or does she not trust me enough?" I saw a smirk play on Imran's lips. "What?" I asked, a bit annoyed by the fact that he wasn't saying anything.
"So you were thinking about her. Yet you still refuse to believe the fact that you have feelings for her". He said, his smirk growing wider.
"This isn't about whether or not I have feelings for her, this is about her not trusting me enough to tell me what happened to her".
"Maybe it isn't as serious as it looks, but, when did she move in with her sister?" Imran asked.
"Yesterday ". I said, looking down at my hands. I wanted to go home so badly, but, what difference would it make? She's not at home and I'm not even sure how long she'd be gone. I wanted so badly to look at this whole situation in a different light, I wanted to be happy, for her, that she's going to visit her sister, when I know she probably wanted to for a while, but then again I felt hurt. That deep inside, she's hiding something big from me, something I need to know.
"Kareem?" I felt Imran slightly touch my shoulder as flinched. " Are you okay? Anyways, let's go back to the office". Imran said as he got up from the chair with the files in his hand .
"Wait". I said as I got from my chair. Imran stopped in his tracks and looked at me, expectantly. "Actually I wondered if you can ask her sister, Layan, about what happened. You know her, don't you?"
"Yeah, I mean, I do, but I don't think she'd want to tell me since Laila herself didn't want to tell you".
"Yeah, you're right", I said softly which made it sound more like a whisper ." But make sure to still ask her, and tell me if she tells you ". I said as I glanced at Imran. He looked down at the table. There was probably something on his mind. I lightly tapped his shoulder, he immediately diverted his attention towards me.
"Yeah, I'll ask her", he said before glancing towards the door, then back at me. "Shall we?" He said and I nodded before we began walking towards the exit.
...
Imran's POV...
"Actually I wondered if you can ask her sister, Layan, about what happened. You know her don't you?" Kareem asked as he got up from his seat. Layan? We haven't spoken much since her grandma died.
"Yeah, I mean, I do, but I don't think she'd want to tell me since Laila herself didn't want to tell you". Would she even be interested in talking to me? Probably not, but it'd be best if I give it a shot.
"Yeah, you're right. But make sure to still ask her, and tell me if she tells you".
This would be a really good excuse for me to talk to her. But then again, Laila isn't well, I wonder what happened to her? I suddenly felt Kareem slightly touch my shoulder. I looked up at him and he just stared back at me with a ' are you okay?' expression, probably expecting a reply.
"Yeah, I'll ask her", I said as I looked away for a second before looking back at him. "Shall we?" I asked before the both of us made our way out of the conference room.
...
I picked up my phone from the table. A few hours had passed since the meeting and I still hadn't spoken to her yet.
At first I thought of visiting her at her home, but then later thought against it since she'd probably still be catching up with her sister, and won't like it if I intrude. I then thought of calling her, but constantly procrastinated by making excuses. Would she even want to talk to me? It's been so long since the last time we spoke. Would it be awkward if I call her all of a sudden?
I stared at the blank phone screen, wondering whether I should call her or just leave it, but then I remembered that I wasn't calling her up for my sake, I was calling her for Kareem's sake. He's so worried about Laila, yet he doesn't want to admit the fact that he loves her. I smiled at the thought before dialing her number. As the phone rang, I wondered how I should ask her about what happened. Would she think it's rude of me? I thought about this for a while before I heard the ringing stop.
"Uhm, hello?" I heard Layan's voice from the other end.
"Uhm, Layan, how are you?"
"I'm fine, uhm, sorry I didn't tell you that I couldn't make it to work today, actually, Laila, she just-"
"I know. Actually, I called to ask you about that".
"About Laila?"
"No, no, , well actually, yes. You see, Laila left Kareem a bit distressed and didn't tell Kareem what was wrong so I just called to ask how she's doing".
"Oh. So you want to know how my sister's doing, but you didn't bother to ask how I'm doing". I could hear her voice become a little softer and I couldn't tell if she was joking or not .
"I was actually planning on calling you before all this but please tell me what happened. Is she okay? If you don't want to tell me it's fine". There was a pause after I spoke. Was she angry at me? Or did she just not want to talk about what happened?
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you". She said softly.
"It's okay if you don't want to tell me. Uhm, Can we meet?" I said all of a sudden. She didn't say anything for a while, and I began to doubt if she actually wanted to see me in person.
"What if we go to that café that we used to go to, before I heard the news?" She asked, I smiled a bit to myself.
"How about nine am on Saturday?"
"That would be great". She said, and I could imagine her smiling at the other end.