Zara

chapter 23

He exhaled, realising she was right. He was acting a little too rashly,"Right." He muttered but then sat up straight once again,"He didn't hurt you, did he? I swear to God if he did-"

"He didn't." She cut him off,"He tried to but I ran away. So to save himself from the humiliation, he started some rumours about me. About me being 'easy'. And they spread like wildfire. That was why that guy was there at my apartment." She explained.

Sil gritted his teeth, barely controlling his anger,"We have to report his ass. God, I just want to get my hands on him." He gritted out.

"We don't need to do anything."

His gaze snapped to her,"Zara, this is serious. He should be held accountable for it. He tried to force himself upon you. If that isn't bad enough, that moron could do the same thing to other people. I would more than gladly handle this in an illegal way but I don't think you would like that. So we have to report him."

She nodded patiently,"I understand. But you don't need to worry about it. I already took care of it."

He paused,"How?"

She smirked, flicking her fingers,"Hacked into his phone and took his conversations with his friends as proof. Sent it to the authorities. As it turns out, he had tried this on many girls over the last year so they spoke up too. Now he is in the juvie."

He blinked, a surge of pride flowing through him,"When did you do that?"

"What do you think I did in my first week here when I was bedridden?"

He smirked as well,"You don"t fail to amaze me. But if you could've done this before, why didn't you?"

Her smirk dropped and she bit her inner cheek instead,"I was scared, I guess? I mean I had to stay out of trouble and had to go to school with him. He has many friends who are just as big of assholes as him. But when I came here, I knew I couldn't stay silent much longer."

He smiled and gripped her shoulders, slightly shaking her,"I am so proud of you. I couldn't have asked for a better sister." He whispered.

She smiled back and then flicked his forehead. This was getting too emotional for her taste,"Have you ever been in a relationship?" She fired back the question.

He shrugged,"Not really. Nothing serious anyway. As you already know, I had had friends with benefits and I honestly prefer it that way. The last guy was great."

Her brow raised,"I am not judging you but I will never understand the whole friends with benefits thingy. Doesn't it get awkward when you see each other outside of a bedroom?"

He smirked,"Not really. But does it really matter if the sex is good? I mean as long as it's hot and steamy in the bedroom-"

"Okay, I am done!" She exclaimed, quickly standing up to escape his room. Ew. Her ears didn't need to hear that. It was a simple yes or no question!

Sil gave a bark of laughter and held her arm, tugging her back to the carpet beside him. He was clearly enjoying her discomfort. Bastard.

"I am joking." He laughed,"But it's honestly not awkward. We both know what we are entering into before establishing that kind of relationship. We both gain from that. It's a win-win situation."

She glared at him,"Don't you dare try to disclose those personal details again."

He laughed but nodded, agreeing. It was honestly funny seeing her getting so worked up over it.

"Shouldn't you go back to bed?" He asked once he sobered up.

She licked her lips and lightly shook her head,"Nah, not sleepy anymore." More like too scared to relive another nightmare.

He understood her unspoken words and simply nodded. Zara turned to him,"Shouldn't you go to bed too?"

He cracked a smile,"I won't be able to. Self-inflicted insomnia."

Her brows furrowed in concern,"So you just stay awake whole nights at a time?"

A shrug,"I usually take medication but I am not in the mood of taking any." Because he would rather stay awake and make sure his sister was okay.

She nodded. Looking back at the screen, an idea struck her,"Hey, I am in the mood for some ice cream. What about you?"

He considered this,"I mean, I won't mind. Should we check the freezer?"

"No. Let's go out and eat."

He blinked,"It's like.. three in the morning. What ice cream place would be open at this hour?"

"I searched on the internet a few days ago," She pulled out her phone,"and there's this ice cream van that operates twenty four-seven. It isn't even that far."

"Sal will have our head if we leave the house in the middle of the night without any notice."

"But Sal doesn't need to know."

He stared at her as if she was stupid and spoke slowly,"Nothing ever slides past Sal. He knows everything. Just as observant as you. And has more sources than imaginable."

"Woah woah." She raised her hands,"He is just Sal. He can't possibly know everything."

A disappointed shake of head,"He is also a mafia leader. And a businessman. There is no hiding anything from him."

She blinked in disbelief. He elaborated,"One time, I failed my physics test. Now get this, no one knew about that test- not even Ben. Only I knew about it. But the second I entered home he was there, asking for the result. And my professor hadn't emailed him, there were no spies in my class and I had no hidden cameras whatsoever. Yet he knew. And to this day, I don't know how."

She scratched her eyebrow, hesitant to believe him,"Really?"

"Really."

She sighed,"Guess we are risking it then. Come on." She stood up and dragged him up as well, beginning to walk towards the door.

"Bambina-"

"You can throw me under the bus if we get caught. I don't mind. But I really need that ice cream."

They had that ice cream.