A Missing Peace by Beth Fred

Channel’s PG-13 chick flicks.
    Caleb didn’t complain, only rolled his eyes and laughed. Sitting with Caleb on the couch that night, I was completely comfortable. I wasn’t the Arabic girl, a ‘raghead’, a ‘camel jockey’, or any of the other things I’d been called since we came here. I was Mirriam.
    Caleb wasn’t a football player or the big man on campus tonight. He was Caleb, and his arm around me put prickles on my skin. The excitement of Caleb’s touch threatened to burst my body apart, and at the same time nothing could be more serene. All I wanted was to sink further into his side.
    I wasn’t supposed to be here. I shouldn’t be doing this. I didn’t like hiding something. The last time I did, something really bad happened, but I looked at Caleb. He smiled at me, and it was worth the risk.
    Caleb wouldn’t be out and about for a while. His mom worked a lot, which meant he had the house to himself. A lot.
    When I came home from school the next day, I busied myself cooking. I decided on shawarma wraps, because Caleb liked them. I waited for Ommy and Abrahem to leave and left yesterday’s note in case someone came home early. It was true they would allow me to study, but I planned on keeping unnecessary questions at bay for as long as possible.
    As soon as I put my hand to Caleb’s door, he called, “Come in.” He was sitting up today, and he looked better. Groomed even.
    I sat down beside him. “I brought you something.” I pulled the container from my backpack.
    He popped the lid off. “Burrito.”
    â€œ Shawarma , infidel,” I joked, poking him in the side.
    He grimaced.
    â€œOh, sorry.”
    â€œIt’s okay.”
    â€œYou liked it at the library, so I made it again. There’s baklava, too.”
    â€œYou cooked for me?” The way he looked at me made me want to melt. Blood rushed under my cheeks, and I wondered if he noticed.
    I smiled and nodded.
    Caleb leaned down and brushed his lips against my hair, then my forehead. Somehow innocent kisses like these felt more intimate than the long passionate ones. I scooted in closer to him and laid my head on his shoulder. “Am I hurting you?” I asked.
    â€œPlease don’t move,” he whispered.
    We watched two episodes of “Modern Family.”
    â€œWow, the U.S. is a weird place,” I said.
    Caleb laughed. “That’s California, babe. It’s weird for us, too.”
    I laughed, and simultaneously there was a knock at the door.
    â€œI wonder who that is,” Caleb said. “You’re here.”
    â€œMaybe, it’s your friends.” I wondered how this would play out. Caleb’s friends all clearly had a problem with me.
    Caleb clenched his jaw and stared at the floor. “Doubt that. They haven’t been around much.”
    Then something occurred to me. I didn’t know how, but somehow my big brother had always known what I was doing before my parents did. The knock had picked up into more of a bang.
    â€œIf that’s Abrahem get rid of him, and I’ll go out the back door.”
    â€œWhy would it be Abrahem?” Caleb shook his head as I leaped over the couch and crouched behind it. “It’s open,” he said.
    â€œHey, man,” a guy, clearly not Abrahem, said.
    â€œHey,” Caleb said.
    I was still behind the couch, and I wasn’t sure I should come out. It might make it easier for Caleb if I stayed out of sight since his friends didn’t like me.
    â€œWhat’s up?” the guy asked.
    â€œNot much.”
    â€œHow are you doin’?”
    â€œThe doc says it’ll be better after physical therapy.”
    â€œI’m sorry, man.”
    â€œIt is what it is. Hey, have you remembered anything else? Anything new?”
    This peaked my curiosity.
    â€œRemembered anything new? Oh, about your dad? Caleb, you’ve got to leave this alone. I’ve