Aside from the brief run-in with Alyah, everyone avoided Ally. While they didn’t overtly stare, their eyes burned into her back when she walked by. Considering they believed her to be a killer, she wasn’t surprised. When the jumpiness became too much, she escaped to the one place she felt safest—the bedroom.
She stood in the far corner of her quarters, the key to the secured padlock in her jean pocket, and scanned the space for the hundredth time. Both the door and the patio were sealed. Aside from the possibility of someone climbing into her third floor balcony and breaking through the glass, there was no way anyone could get inside, unless it was Eddie.
Once she deemed it safe, she allowed herself to think about her conversation in the kitchen. Hopefully, Alyah not only believed her but would take her child and run. Telling her the truth would not have worked. Alyah would have laughed in her face and called her a liar. Instead, not only had she used what the woman already believed, that Ally was greedy and selfish, but she also gave her an escape from Wassim if she needed one.
When exhaustion overwhelmed her and her legs buckled, she leaned her back against the wall and slid to the ground. She ran her hand over the still crumpled blanket on the floor beside her. After wrapping it around her, she stared at the closet door behind which Eddie had disappeared. Before she could delve deeper into thoughts of the next day, sleep overtook her.
A cool breeze tickled her skin when it moved past. It permeated through the sheer fabric of her crimson sari, waving it like a flag behind her as she walked. The night sky sparkled with stars, illuminating not only the earth around her but also bouncing off the gems stitched into the silk of her garment. The pebbled ground cut into her bare feet with every step, but it didn't deter her. Her attention was fixed on one thing—the building a few yards away.
Ivory stairs led up to the entrance. A pair of giant arched doors sat in the center of the structure, framed on either side by thick pillars. She didn’t care it was closed, nor did she care about what the building contained. It was the person standing in front of the doors she focused on. He stood with his back to her, facing the entrance. His black suit fit his tall, lean body perfectly. She grabbed handfuls of her skirt and lifted it as her walk transformed into a sprint.
David turned, watching her, a smile on his face. He leaned against a marble column, arms crossed, while she climbed the steps. Once on the same level as him, she stopped. Out of breath, she let go of her skirt and stared. Each lock of his brown hair sat in place, his eyes clear and reflecting the moon’s light; his smile tugged at the ache within her that she knew would never end. She took a cautious step toward him, fearing he’d move away, and when he didn’t, she took another and another until their bodies were a hair’s breadth apart. Afraid to touch, Ally tried to memorize every part of his face, the woody smell of his cologne, the way his breath hit her cheek.
The soft tunes of a ballad she hadn’t heard in a long time filled the silent space. “Dance with me?” she whispered.
A knowing look flashed across his face. “One day.”
She watched his beautiful his lips move as he spoke.
“Why not now?”
His laugh was a cool wave flowing through her; a wave she prayed wouldn’t stop. “It’s not time yet, baby.”
She stared into his eyes, her heart thudding against her chest, trying to find the words to convince him otherwise.
As if reading her mind, he nodded. “You have a lot more left to do.”
Ally blinked back her emotion and shook her head. “I can’t. Not without you.”
David backed away. “You’ve got this. And I’m here. I’m always here.”
Ally reached out to him, only to grab air. “Don’t go.”
He moved farther from her. “Go back, Ally. Do what needs to be done, for them, for you, for me.”
The doors behind him opened, and when she tried to grasp his hand, he moved yards away inside. The room was a long hall. Arched walls painted orange grew longer and deeper the more she rushed toward him.
“Don’t chase me. When it’s time, you won’t have to run.” His words echoed through the building.
She stood frozen, watching her soul fade away. “Touch me,” she whispered.
“Ally.” The pity in his voice pierced her, and she fell to her knees.
“Just one time. I need to feel you.” She stretched out her arm, but he retreated out of her grasp. It was as if everything inside her ripped out of her at once. “Please.”
David made no attempt to reach for her. He continued to shrink into the dark hall of the building behind him until only a tiny shadow of him remained.
“Give me something,” she sobbed. The world faded into the blackest of nights, but she didn’t care. Ally stayed on her knees, her hand outstretched, her body aching for him. She tried to call out to him, but she couldn’t speak much less breathe, her lungs like heavy steel. Gasping for air, she watched helplessly as the building and David shrunk in the distance.
Warm skin pressed against her palm, sending a surge of heat through her. Strong fingers twined with hers, filling the cavity where her soul once resided. She tightened her grip on him. His firm touch calmed her, evaporating her pain, the terror. She didn’t move, for fear he’d pull his hand away. Ally stayed there. In the dark. With David. Praying he’d never let go.
“Breathe,” the voice urged.
She did as instructed but the tears refused to stop. Although she ached for him to hold her, to promise he’d never leave again, she knew she asked for the impossible. This was a dream. A beautiful aspiration from which she never wanted to wake. She pressed his hand against her cheek, savoring David: his strength, his love, all of it, allowing him to fill her lungs, her veins, nourish her body. For the first time in over four months, she wasn’t drowning alone in her darkness.
In the distance, something hard slammed against a wall. A voice she didn’t like called out to her. She shook her head, knowing her time with him was about to end. When his hand pulled away, she didn’t stop him. The knocking grew louder until she could no longer ignore it. Ally opened her eyes and blinked as she adjusted to the afternoon sun streaming into her room.
“Sara Bhaabi, open the door,” Shariff yelled from the hall.
She stared at her palm, which still held the warmth of David’s touch and pressed it against her cheek.
“Sara Bhaabi, are you there?”
When she rose to her feet, something fell from her lap and jingled against the marble floor by her foot. She bent down and picked up the silver ring. Its heavy metal band was cold against her skin. The piece was one she had never seen before. She glanced over at the closed closet door. Eddie?
The ring consisted of three thin, corded ropes stacked together. A small diamond square sat on either side of the band. She pressed the pad of her finger against one of the diamonds and sucked in a breath when it started to slide.
The knocking grew incessant. “Bhaabi, the guard is with me, and if you do not open the door now, I will have him break it down.”
Ally slid the ring onto her finger and rushed to let them in.