- A'ISHAH'S POV -
It had been two days since Lisa had fallen into a state of unconsciousness. Close to 48 hours. King hadn't slept a wink. I had only managed to have a nap on the hospital bed this morning after King practically threatened me to. Being heavily pregnant and getting no sleep paired with the mental and emotional stress of being in this atmosphere had really taken a toll on me. King had only seen this today. He told me to lie down or else he would take me home himself and leave me there alone. I didn't feel like his anger was warranted but after seeing the look of defeat in his features mixing with the anger he was directing at me, I couldn't help but comply. I knew that if something were to happen to me or our baby because of this ordeal, that would be the moment that he would never ever recover from.
I had taken a nap for almost two hours but even that was enough to give me a slight boost of energy that I wasn't aware I needed. After that I finally managed to go down to the cafe with Beth and my mother and get some food into my system. We even had a bit of a laugh whilst we were talking with each other which was quite therapeutic given the mental burden we had all been under over the past two days.
Now it was my turn to try and convince King to go home so we could both shower and perhaps get some food into his system. Maybe after that he would be able to come back to the hospital and sleep for a little while like I had.
"You really need to have a shower, King. Please? We won't even take too long, I promise you, we'll be back before you know it."
"And what if she dies when I'm not here." His voice croaked, a telling sign that he had not even consumed a single sip of water during our stay here.
"She won't inshaaAllah. I promise we'll be back. Come on, habibi, what you're doing is not healthy. Please?"
He looked at me for a good minute before exhaling and rubbing his hands over his face and nodding. "Okay. Let's go." He agreed finally.
Alhamdulillah ya Rabb. He stood up and after speaking to Ayman and my dad who also hadn't left the hospital since they first came here, we left the hospital room with Beth following behind us. She was our designated driver given the fact that I still wasn't completely confident with driving and mainly because King was in no state to drive, or probably even intervene if something were to happen while I was driving.
As Beth drove, I was seated on the seat behind hers with King laying down, his head resting on my thigh and his body barely fitting over the other two back seats. He seemed comfortable though and I knew he was already asleep from his deep and controlled breathing. He was so in need of sleep and the fact that he was holding it off for more than two days was shocking to me.
The drive was silent and besides the low hum of the car along the freeway and the sounds of the other cars, nothing could be heard. I was glad King had fallen asleep so quickly otherwise this silence would only make him think more. He had been doing enough thinking over the past 48 hours.
Once Beth finally pulled up to the house and parked the car in the driveway I ran my hands over Kings forehead and hair, saying his name a few times before eventually having to shake him a little. He jumped in his sleep and lifted his head, looking around in a state of loss for a few seconds with panic filling his eyes before he finally registered where we were.
"Hey, it's okay. We've just come home. Everything is fine." I said quickly, holding his arm. He rubbed his hands over his hair and face before sighing and opening his door to get out. Beth locked her car doors and unlocked the front door before pushing it open and letting us both in first.
"I'm going straight to the shower." King said. I didn't feel the need to say anything to him, knowing that he was only letting me know for the sake of it, but once he walked straight into the bathroom and shut the door behind himself, I realised that he didn't think of taking a change of clothes in with him.
"I'll go and get him a change of clothes and stuff." I told Beth. She nodded and told me she'd be in her room and to shout if we needed her at all.
By the time I had picked out a spare change of clothes for King, making sure to pick out a comfortable pair of sweatpants and a jumper, and walked to the bathroom door, he had already finished showering. The water had stopped and I heard him mumbling words to himself from right in front of the door. He was probably speaking to the reflection of himself in the mirror.
"King?" I called out, tapping against the door a few times. "I've brought you a spare change of clothes, habibi." He opened the door slightly and I held out the folded pile for him to take. "Are you doing okay?"
"I'm fine." He nodded, gently taking the clothes from my hand before shutting the door with a soft thud.
I rubbed my hands over my face before deciding to change out of my own clothes as well. Perhaps whilst King was taking his nap I could also do some of the laundry that was piled up.
Going to the bedroom felt like a chore in itself and by the time I had changed out of my clothes and wore one of King's matching jumper and sweatpants sets, I realised that I was too mentally drained to even think about doing the laundry at the moment.
Instead, I went back to check on King, finding him sitting on the couch with his head resting in his hands. I walked around the chaise and sat beside him, putting a hand on his thigh. "It's okay to let go, babe." I whispered softly. He had yet to break down completely and I knew staying as strong as one can in a situation like this was weighing him down immensely in all aspects.
"What do you mean?" His voice was hoarse but at ease. As though the shower had somewhat helped ease his stress.
"I mean you haven't cried properly at all. You can let go. I'm sure it will do you some good." I lowered my head and looked towards his face only to frown once I saw how dull his eyes were. His eyes were bloodshot, not from crying but from sleeplessness and I felt like he would fall into a deep and much needed state of sleep as soon as his head hit a pillow.
"Can we...lay down?" He asked, slowly tilting his head to look at me. "Just...I want to see if I can sleep. I don't want to. I need it though." He spoke rationally.
I gave him a soft smile and nodded. "Of course. Whatever you want." I told him. "Do you want to go to bed?" I asked.
He shook his head and simply gestured towards the chaise with his head. I scooted over and laid down as he came to lay down next to me. "Is this okay?" I asked him. "Are you comfortable?"
"Like this." He breathed out, his eyes were already shut as he pushed my body over slightly and wrapped his arm over my waist. I held his hand and pushed my back closer to him. I hoped that he would be able to sleep and although I was doubting him, thinking that he would subconsciously fight it, it only took about five minutes or so for his breathing to regulate until it eventually simmered down to a slow and steady rhythm. I shut my eyes, trying to match my breathing to his and eventually I felt my own need to sleep begin to take over.
——-
"A'ishah!?"
I stirred, rolling over on the couch and rubbing my eyes as I looked at King. Realising his wide eyes made me panic and I quickly awoke from my sleepless state, sitting up and asking him what happened.
"What happened!? It's 3am A'ishah. We've been asleep for six hours." He stressed. "Beth!" He rounded the couch and rushed down the hall. "We have to go back to the hospital!" He called out. I rubbed my hands over my face a few times and released a yawn before standing up and stretching my back slightly. The couch was way too soft to be sleep-appropriate. "Beth's not here. Where the hell did she go?" He asked coming back. "And where is my phone, A'ishah?! What if something happened to my mum?" He stressed, his eyes frantic as he looked around the room.
