Chapter Five

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**This chapter is written from Saif's point of view. Enjoy!**

Wa3. Fridays. I hate this day! My step mom drags me to her family's house with my half sister Noorah and I get weird stares from the family. While my dad, step mom and half sister get to play the role of the happy family.

My step mom is the opposite of my real mom; from what I see in the pictures. She would wear a pound of makeup every day, even if we weren't going anywhere. While my mom, who I saw as beautiful, didn't even need lipstick because of how pink her lips already were. My mother was always laughing; from what I see in the few home videos we still own. Whereas my step mom preferred to give people dirty looks because she thought she was better than everyone.

"Saif! Yalla bnroo7!" my step mom called out in an annoyed tone. Why doesn't she understand that if I don't answer it means I don't want to go? *Knock! Knock!* "Umm, Saif?" Noorah said, hesitant to open the door. "Na3am Noorah?" I called her in with a sigh. "Umm... Umy tgoolk ena bnroo7..." Noorah replied. Noorah was a very sweet girl, she was innocent. She never tried rubbing in her relationship with my father in my face. She never called me bad names or treated me poorly, even though her mother belittled me in front of her multiple times. My relationship with Noorah was like the relationship between mere strangers crossing paths. We never warmed up to each other because she knows we could never have a "brother/sister" relationship if my father kept treating me the way he does.

"Saif!! Yalla 3ad 3n eldala3, roo7 el sayara!!!" my step mother said, while barging into my room.

"Uff Ana glt lch mala da3y aroo7 azoor ahlch!!!" I replied, a bit too loud.

"na3aam? Agoolk emsh a7een jdamy lanady ubook e3almk shlon trd 3la umk"

"na3am na3am na3am?! Umy?! HAH '9a7akteny!! Youm ely it rains sheep b3dayn t9eren Umy"

"Ana umk 8a9ban 3ank! 3ayal thech ely madfoona umk?"

I was about to slap her when my dad came in. He simply took my stepmom and Noorah and they left me all alone as usual. He didn't even look my way, let alone talk to me.

"Saif, don't worry about lunch, I have some machboos from yesterday lunch I heat up for you" my housemaid Sally said with a reassuring smile from beside my door.

"No thank you Sally, I'm not hungry and today's your day off! Go see your family!"

"No Saif, I raise you like my son, I bring for you machboos now."

Sally was hired to raise me after my mother passed away while giving birth to me. My father didn't want to have to raise me. Sally's the only family I have thanks to my father. He cut off his family and my mother's family after her passing and I don't even know any of my cousins, aunts or uncles. I don't even know IF I have cousins or aunts or uncles.

Sally came in with a plate of rice and chicken, some salad and a glass of water on a tray. I told her I was fine and that she should go see her children now. I was officially alone after that.

After having lunch, I took my dishes to the kitchen and I decided to check my phone. Yasmeen had her status as "with my family<3" so I decided I wasn't going to bother her. I didn’t want to tell Yasmeen about my relationship with my family, or how my dad didn’t even acknowledge my existence. I wanted Yasmeen to know me for me, not for my family. I went through my twitter and my timeline was filled with tweets about how good baryani yadat'hum w how crazy little cousins can be. I longed for the feeling of being loved by a whole crazy, dysfunctional family. I decided I'd check my followers and I noticed I had a new one. His name was JassimAlX. I decided I'd follow him back and I locked my phone.

Four hours later, my so called family came home. No one bothered checking if I was home or if I had eaten lunch. They had gotten take out and were eating in the living room laughing about something one of Noorah's cousin's did. After they finished eating, Noorah knocked on my door lightly.

"na3am?" I replied to the knocking.

"Saif Ana Noorah, can I come in?" Noorah said, her kind voice killed me with guilt. She came in and gave me a plate with two slices of pizzas and left.

I hated the fact that Noorah had to grow up seeing my dad act the way he does with me. I didn't want her to see that side of him because it wasn't her fault. And I didn't want her to see her mother treat me the way she does, because she deserved to only see her mother's kind, affectionate side. No, I didn't hate Noorah. And yes, under different circumstances I would have treated her as my sister. But I just couldn't. She couldn't. She knows it wouldn't be fair to me to treat her like I was her brother if I felt like a stranger with my own father and she was his little princess. It isn't fair for her to get to loving parents when all I had was a nanny. It wasn't fair.

I received a bbm from Faisal. Every Friday, Faisal would bbm me asking me if I wanted some of their lunch and telling me I should take his offer and go to his family's house on Fridays because they all love and know me. And every Friday I reply "Mashkoor, bs tadry I won't be comfortable weya ahlk." Faisal was like a brother to me. Kan yt'hawash ma3ay, esbny, ekaf5ny, bs he always had my back no matter what. I didn't want Faisal to think of me as a charity case just because my family was like this. Some people didn't even have houses to live in. Al7mdlah 3la kel 7al.

*Dling!* I received a DM. I switched to twitter and open up my DM's. It was a DM from my new follower, JassimAlX.

*DM's with Jassim*

JassimAlX: Hey Saif, enta mat3arfny bs ana a3arfk, w I need to talk to you '9aroori.

I was confused. I tried recalling all of the Jassim's I knew, but I'm in touch with all of them and I don't recall knowing anyone from that family.

*Back to DM's with Jassim*

SaifAlX: Hey, umm… shlon t3arfny? W shnw taby tkalmny feh?

JassimAlX: Saif, ana wld 3amtk Sameera. We've never met and the family yabon e3arfoonk. I know you didn't even know you had 3amat w 3mam bs yabon e3arfoonk.

SaifAlX: How do I know ena you're not lying?

JassimAlX: Add me on bbm, I'll show you something. Pin:2XXXXXXX

I was shocked. Did I actually have a family? Was this guy actually my cousin? Or was it some kind of cruel joke? I added him on bbm and he sent me a picture straight away.

He sent me two pictures, one of him and the whole family and an older one that had… my mother and father in it.

*BBM Chat with Jassim*

Saif: Okay 9adagtk a7een. How did you find me? Shlon 3raftw ena samany Saif? Why now?

Jassim: I know ena 3ndk wayed as2la w I will answer all of them lat5af bs aham shay enk 9adagtny.

Saif: 9adgtk bs aby answers, please.

Jassim: before you were born, your mother and father were determined to call you Saif, so I just assumed ena samok Saif. 3gb ma wldok, we didn't hear from your father ever again. He changed all of his numbers and changed houses so it was impossible to find him. Now that I'm older and you're older, I decided I'd take the the chance to look you up on twitter because most of the population has twitter.

Saif: Mb em9adg ena the family is still looking for me after all these years. Bagoolk, Cham 3mrk int?

Jassim: I'm 18 years old. W 3ndy 2 sisters, Noor and Manal a9'3ar mny. You have 3 aunts, Umy Sameera, Sarah and Seham. W 3ndk 2 uncles, Bader and Ahmed. Etha taby, you can meet the family next Friday.

Saif: I would love to meet the family bs I still have to think about it. Ya3ny this is a lot to take in in one day.

Jassim: ee I know, I would love to meet up with you b3d 3shan I tell you about everything. I'm so glad ena 6la3 hay int.

Saif: el7mdelah. Sure we'll plan something soon.

I was so overwhelmed. I wasn't even sure that I wasn't dreaming. This was too much. I wanted to tell Faisal about what happened but in my heart I really just wanted to talk to Yasmeen after this long day. I needed HER to help me with my decision. I knew I liked her, but I don't want to ask her to be with me ela after ma I show her that I'm serious about her.

I had to make sure my father and step mom didn't find out about Jassim or the family. This had to be top secret.