#khalidinteraction

His eyes were heavy and it was almost painful to even open them. Khalid grunted as he turned slightly to the left, finding his nostrils tickled by the tubes in them. His limbs felt like they were weighed down by boulders. Oblivious to the company in the room, Khalid could only groan in frustration, turning to another side, attempting to open his eyes again. They were not budging. He could make out the redness against his lids, the muffled sounds of a familiar voice and that annoying beeping coming from his right. He tried to make out the words that were said but his brain refused to comprehend. The voice sounded worried. And also what the heck happened to him?

The beeping from the machine started to quicken, detecting the change in heartbeat. Khalid's lips parted as he sucked in a deep breath. Memories of what happened came to him in pieces - the totaled car, his back shooting pains petrifying him, losing control of the brakes, the glass smattering everywhere, cutting into his skin, how his head whiplashed against the headrest and the airbag ballooning to smack his head back. There was a jolting loud beep from the machine attached and his eyes fluttered open. Crap, is that....? His eyes focused, mind suddenly razor sharp. Shit, he hadn't changed his emergency contact since they last broke up? Shit.... Khalid shot up, pulling on the tubes attached to him. He managed to croak, "What... what uh what are you doing here?"

Khalid winced slightly, fighting against the ache that came along with his limp as his boots crunched against the gravel beneath his feet. His heart shouldn't be thudding this loudly in his chest, nor should he be feeling the butterflies in his stomach. Things were going well with Pembe and as much as he was all for trying out new things with this incredible woman - one thing was for sure... he is definitely an indoor introverted cat. Still, he managed to arrange outdoorsy things to do over the weekend - a lovely hike in the wilderness, water rafting and eventually a swim at the waterfall.

If anything he was nervous about his own ability to impress her. Her arm was hooked around his and Pembe's warm frame just an inch away seemed to anchor him firmly onto reality. The air was crisp, breeze playing against their skin and ruffling the leaves as they passed. "You doing okay?" he asked, dark hues searching any signs of Pembe being tired or needing a break. "I don't think we're that far from the site where we can ditch all these bags," he chuckled lightly.

His duffel bag fell to the floor with a heavy thud as soon his dark gaze fell on her. Khalid knew this decision of his would garner the scorn of his family back home but at that very moment, he knew he had to have his heart rule his decisions from now on. He took a moment to observe her before stepping forward into her shop. The bell jingled when he entered, fingers gripping the handle before he fully came in, letting go. Khalid could see the surprise colouring her hues. "She's not..." A heavy sigh left him as Khalid's eyes squeezed shut. "She's not you, Bianca." The erratic beating of his heart had taken over his eardrums and Khalid knew it was now or never. "I can't... I can't go back home and just marry a childhood friend just because we're from the same background. I can't."