x
We slipped out of the building together just after noon.
Lamija walked half a step ahead like she always did—heels sharp, pace sharper. I followed, hands in my pockets, boots too loud on polished tile. She looked like she belonged up there—pressed blazer, clean lines, not a hair out of place.
I looked like what I was.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKcz27v3K7
Trouble on break.
But Lamija knew better.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOBVXKKbyEB
This was routine—Friday lunch, her rule, her timing.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJAT7Tsj9y8
A weekly check-in dressed up as control.
But she could always tell when I needed it more than usual.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvcVnoWJXy
And today, I did.
She didn’t say anything. She never did.
Which was probably the only reason I could sit across from her without falling apart.
The restaurant sat just across from the office—clean, quiet, probably too upscale for a guy who spends most of his day around diesel and pallet jacks.
Stone patio, iron railings, white linen on the tables like Sarajevo was trying to pretend it was Paris. It was the kind of place where the waiters wore button-ups and pressed slacks and didn’t smell like they’d lifted anything heavier than a tray.
Lamija’s kind of place.
But they knew us by now.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFEguJVPCk
Didn’t bother with menus anymore.
We took the same table we always did—outside, near the edge of the patio where the river dulled the sound of traffic and the breeze cut the heat off the sidewalk.
She sat like she belonged there.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHmuykSo5Y
Because she did.
And I tried not to scuff the leg of the chair when I sat down across from her.
She didn’t speak right away. Neither did I.
She was dressed like always—intentional. Not a thread out of place.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpnGiwCrrHv
Ivory blouse. Gold jewelry. Navy blazer that probably cost more than my rent. Hair tucked perfectly into a silk hijab that somehow didn’t move in the wind.
She looked like she ran the city.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZpGJ06MJw
Because she kind of did.
People stared when she walked into places like this.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30PM3gP3qx
Not because she asked for attention—because she made it impossible to ignore her.
“You okay?” she asked.
I nodded. “I... I w-wanted to say th-thank you. F-For the test. C-Covering for me.”
“Don’t thank me yet. You owe me lunch.”
I smiled, but didn’t look away from her. “D-did you g-get in trouble with H-H-Husein?”
“No,” she said. “He doesn’t know.”
The relief hit harder than I wanted it to.
“But I did tell Imran.”
Yeah. That tracked.
“Y-Yeah… I-I figured.”
“You know how we are,” she said. “Imran and I don’t keep secrets.”
I nodded, slow.
“Besides,” she added, “Imran is your best friend. He could help you. Whatever the hell this is, he could help.”
I looked down at the table, drumming my fingers once, then twice. Smiled a little, but it didn’t reach my eyes.
He already tried.
He’d looked me in the eye after the drug test and told me I was spiraling. Told me to let them help. That they'd clean it up. Fix it.
And I told him what I needed to say.
Not everything can be fixed with your father’s money and a Begović connection.
I meant it then. I still do.
Because if they knew the truth—what I go home to—10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQp9YqaPRL
They wouldn’t try to fix it.
They’d try to end it.
And I’d never walk back through that door again.
But my mother’s still there.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk7Pf5FjjsI
And she won’t leave.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb8sN1gg4zs
So I don’t either.
I let them think I’m reckless.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8j4h8MNtwn
Let them think I like the violence.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCRwN7vuKY
Let them make space for me in their world without realizing I can’t stay.
Because I’m not ready to leave her behind.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0B4QUlrwaz
Even if that means letting them think I don’t want saving.
Lamija watched me, quiet.
Didn’t push.
Which is probably the only reason I didn’t walk out.
“Are you still using?” she asked.
Straight to the throat.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRuqCAxxtX
Lamija never danced around anything.
I didn’t flinch.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4DiGxqeHb
Didn’t lie either.
“Y-Yeah. Only w-when I g-get a worse i-injury. It’s n-not a habit. It’s pain man-manage-ment. F-For now.”
She narrowed her eyes.
I held her stare.
Because if I looked away, she'd see the rest of it.
And I couldn’t afford that.
“You fight in cages, Talha.”
I shrugged. “P-Pain comes w-with it.”
She hated it—I saw it in the tightness of her mouth, the way her eyes flicked to my knuckles. Raw. Split near the edge. Still healing.
They were always like that. She noticed every time.
Lamija had come to see me fight a few times. Never stayed past the second round.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIEwGPcyXe
The first time, she cried.
She didn’t think I saw.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2EAobWFDmU
I did.
After that, she stopped asking when the next one was.
“Your face is far too handsome for you to beat on it like that,” she said flatly.
I blinked. “You B-Begović women h-have no f-filter. L-like, at all.”
She laughed—real and soft, the kind of laugh you don’t hear from her in meetings or briefings or anywhere she’s supposed to be perfect.
“No, I’m strategic,” she said. “Amina has no filter. She surprises herself half the time with what comes out of her mouth.”
I smirked. “I tr-ied to p-push her and T-tarik to-gether last n-night. She s-said she w-wanted the h-hotter brother.”
Lamija choked on her drink. “She didn’t.”
“S-she did,” I said. “In the f-family group ch-chat. Imran left the c-chat.”
Lamija laughed out loud. Full and unguarded. “She needs female friends. All that testosterone is making her brave.”
“She’s al-ways b-been b-brave.”
Lamija leaned back, still smiling, wiping a tear from under one eye. “Okay, serious question.”
I raised a brow.
“Who’s your favorite Begović?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Amina.”
She laughed again—harder this time. “You didn’t even stutter.”
“W-Why w-would I?” I said, grinning. “She’s p-probably every-one’s f-favorite. Chao-tic little g-grem-lin that s-she is.”
Lamija shook her head, still smiling. “That gremlin has been trying to give Imran a heart attack since she was twelve.”
“She’s b-been giv-giving me one s-since she w-was fif-teen.”
Lamija raised a brow. “Why fifteen?”
I smirked. “F-First time she cl-climbed on the b-back of my b-ike, she ddidn’t even tt-tell me. No h-helmet. No w-warning. Just sh-owed up in r-ripped jeans and d-dared me to say n-no.”
Lamija groaned. “That sounds exactly like her.”
“Ss-he hasn’t ch-changed since,” I said. “S-still hops on l-like she o-owns the r-road. D-doesn’t s-say a word. Just g-rrins under the hel-met like s-she’s got n-nine lives.”
Lamija gave me a look. “You always let her?”
I shrugged. “I m-make her w-wear the jack-et, the h-helmet, the gloves… and s-she still s-sits back th-there like she’s imm-ortal.”
“She is immortal,” Lamija muttered. “You’re the idiot who makes chaos look safe.”
I smiled. “She’s the o-only one I’ve e-ever let r-ride.”
That made her pause.
Then: “You never tell her no.”
“I t-try.”
“No, you don’t,” she said. “You just glare and let her get away with it.”
“She’s per-persistent.”
“She’s a menace.”
“She’s A-amina.”
That shut her up for a second.
Because yeah—Amina was a menace.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwI9S0HG0W7
But she was also the girl none of us could ever say no to.
Especially not me.
She laughed again, and I let it land. Let it settle.
I looked down at the table again. Then back at her.
“S-Spoke of Ayub the o-ther day,” I said. “Said you c-called him a cl-clown.”
Lamija raised a brow. “To be fair, he called my division a circus.”
I threw my head back. “H-he d-didn’t tell m-me and Imran th-that when he was b-bitching bet-ween reps.”
She smirked. “He deserved the push.”
I gave her a look. “He’s in l-love with y-you, Mija. G-Go easy on the g-guy. He’s solid.”
Her eyes widened. “Talha, if I have to hear that again, I’m going to scream.”
But I didn’t laugh this time. Just smiled. Soft. Serious.
“Y-Your parents have a gg-good marriage,” I said. “T-take it from some-someone whose p-parents should’ve s-split before T-tarik hit middle s-school. Ayub’s s-solid. And when he’s n-not tripp-ing over his words, he’s… p-pretty damn c-cool.”
She deadpanned. “He’s tripping over his words?”
I laughed. “D-Damn. Low b-blow, Mija. E-Even for y-you.”
I leaned back, stretching my shoulders out a little.
“I t-trip bec-cause I'm f-fucked in the h-head. He tr-ips because y-you make h-him ner-nervous.”
She didn’t reply right away.
“T-try smiling o-once in a w-while,” I added.
“I smile.”
“With-out t-teeth,” I said, grinning.
Our food came.
We ate. Talked about everything but the serious things.
That was the rhythm. She fed me, scolded me, reminded me I wasn’t alone. And I let her.
We were finishing up, waiting on the bill, when her phone lit up on the table between us.
She glanced at the screen.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvyLBh4xuZn
Then narrowed her eyes.
“You posted a photo?”
I took a sip of water. “Mm-might’ve.”
Her jaw tightened. “You tagged Ayub?”
“M-Might’ve done th-that too.”
She turned the screen toward me—our photo, the river in the background, her sunglasses off, mid-smile.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRljU79ax62
My caption was still there.
Lunch with the boss.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAwFp9pt0DV
@ayubselimovic, you good bro? 😂
“Talha.”
I grinned. “W-What?”
“Messing with him isn’t funny.”
I shrugged. “Wasn’t tr-tryna be f-funny. Just w-wanted to s-see if he’d melt.”
“Take it down.”
“C-come to my f-fight ton-ight and I w-will.”
She blinked. “You’re blackmailing me now?”
“Neg-negotiating,” I said, leaning back. “Ayub’ll be th-there.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Amina keeps asking to go to one of your fights.”
I snorted. “Y-Yeah. I know.”
“She keeps asking. And you and Imran keep saying no.”
“S-she’s chaos,” I said. “I c-can’t take h-her into that c-crowd. She’d end up b-best friends w-with a d-drug dealer be-before the s-second round. Probably in-invite him to Sun-day d-dinner.”
Lamija actually smiled at that. “She would.”
“I c-can’t r-risk it. One w-wrong smile and h-falf the un-underground will be in l-love with her.”
“She’d be flattered.”
“She’d be dan-dangerous.”
Lamija stirred her tea. “Meanwhile, I have zero interest in going, and you keep dragging me into it.”
“You’re n-not d-dangerous.”
“I’m not Amina.”
“No,” I said, grinning. “Y-You’re worse. Y-you see every-th-thing. You j-just save y-your shots.”
She didn’t argue with that.
Didn’t smile either.
But she didn’t say no when I brought it up again.
We left the restaurant close to one. I walked her back to the building. We took the stairs instead of the elevator, like always.
Outside her office, I paused.
“You’re g-good at th-this,” I said, gesturing to the walls, the floor, the structure she’d built around herself.
“Thank you,” she said. “Try not to get arrested again. It makes me look bad by association.”
I laughed. “No p-promises.”
She disappeared into her office.
I stood there for another few seconds, thumb hovering over the screen, watching the likes roll in.
Ayub hadn’t reacted.
Didn’t need to.
He saw it.
And maybe that was the point.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzAByQ9unK2
Or maybe it wasn’t.
But as I turned to leave, something in my chest twisted—just a little.
He was my best friend.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkX9JIkK2zf
And I’d just made it harder for him to breathe.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5Y8mvLjOI
~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Talha is fine.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ53Gml63N8Z
Totally fine.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbqWGQpFt1
Just had a nice lunch, posted a harmless little story, casually lit his best friend’s emotional spiral on fire and went about his day.
This chapter was brought to you by:10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFSwRGMACL
✔ Controlled chaos10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaWPjFSIjA3
✔ Brotherhood with sharp edges10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5ZjXQkR9c
✔ And one Instagram post Talha definitely won’t admit was strategic
Ayub saw it.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUByXlRJgaP
Lamija saw through it.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoByE03IYe
Talha? He’s already halfway to the ring, pretending he doesn’t care.
Thanks for reading.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArmUM34pDr
Please send water, moral clarity, and a decent therapist.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDqKUbCwIh
