"You should get some sleep."
James makes a remark when he sees Haseena rubs her eyes and takes a long deep breath; hoping that once she takes it all out, she will breathe easier. She is leaning against the wall with her eyes closed and a cup of coffee in her hand. They are behind the heavy fire exit door where Haseena takes refuge from her troubling mind. It hasn't been easier; not one tiny bit. It has been harder by minutes since the second she got out of the living nightmare. It still feels real; especially when she closes her eyes and the same old scenes start to play. The worst part is the more they play, the more she sees the possibility that Karishma might not live to see that yellow dress she told her about.
"I'm fine." Haseena clears her throat as she gradually opens her eyes again. Her bloodshot eyes tell stories and the artificial tears are not enough to wash them away. "Any news from the hospital?"
"No. Not yet." James looks at Haseena with worried eyes. He couldn't imagine what she has been through but he can see clearly what she is going through; it is beyond bearable. "Maybe you should skip this evening."
Haseena smiles faintly and scoffs a little. "That will not be 'proceed my regular working schedule' then. People will question why I miss my own show's premiere."
James knows it is a necessity in order to keep the whole thing away from the media but he hates what he hears. He wants to say that Haseena's priority is fucked up but once he says it; once he hears his words, he will know that it is not true. Her priority is as straight as it can ever be. It is just that everything has become too much for her but she hasn't allowed herself to admit it. Also, those people are treating her like some sort of an emotionless robot. They don't talk about it enough. They act like what happened to her is just a scene from a movie she acts in. While he lets his concern flying towards Haseena, his phone rings. His conversation is brief before hanging up. "Your parents are here. The cops are too."
"Okay." Haseena whispers and hands her coffee back to James; something that becomes so unusual out of the blue. She hasn't handed her coffee back to James for a bit now but the new person who has taken her coffee lately is not with her. The worst part of it all is that it shakes her core to think that the new person might not be with her to randomly finish her coffee again. "Thank you."
"Haseena Malik." James grabs her arm right before she walks out the heavy door. Haseena is paused by his grab and by the way he calls her name. He usually calls her 'Haseena' and when that changes, she knows she can expect the unexpected. "Maybe you should just answer their questions... I don't think you need to... add anything... that is not asked."
"James." Haseena lets the door close again as she looks at James. She takes a good look at him to find any hidden meanings in her favor but when she finds none, she is disappointed. "This is not what I've expected from you."
James lets go of her arm and puts his hand in his pocket. He avoids her sight as he is about to say something so daring. "I'm sure Detective Singh will say the same."
"You don't know her." Haseena gets a bit offended by the remark. She wants to yell but yelling takes up too much energy that she doesn't have right now so she is counting on the echo that is loud and clear in the stairway.
"And you do? You've known her for a week. That's barely anything." James tries to knock some sense into Haseena who refuses to hear anything that goes against her clouded mind. "She was supposed to protect you and she did-"
"So I should just let her face her fate; no matter how corrupted and bended that is?" Haseena is so mad that she can explode. The veins in her brain beat so hard that she can feel it through her skin. "You know that she didn't kidnap me. You spent time with her. You know that she didn't."
"I do. I know that-"
"But you would still push her in front of the bus?" Haseena shakes her head in disbelief and pushes the door open again. She pauses in her way to turn around and faces him again as her business is not done. "And you're fired by the way. Finish your job today and no need to come back tomorrow."
"Haseena!"
Haseena rushes her steps with thoughts that load her mind. James is not far behind with his eyes on her; the eyes that are more concerned of her than anything else. He is not even mad that he got fired seconds ago. He knows better than to be mad. He knows better. His eyes move away from Haseena when her steps stop. They are a few feet away from the hotel room where Haseena's team is preparing for her premiere event that has yet to be canceled. They are proceeding with everything as if none of the unfortunate has happened.
"Dad." Haseena says underneath her breath and approaches without any more delayed. The tall man with the eyes that look exactly like Haseena's and the smile that soothes her tiring soul opens his arms to greet his little girl. Haseena lands in his arms and suddenly she feels safer and protected. A kiss on her hair is the confirmation that everything will be fine from now. He will make all the hurts and pains go away now.
"Oh, dear." SP Malik holds his daughter close and tries his very best to restore her spirit from the nightmare she had. It used to be a whole lot easier when she was a little and he hopes he can find the expressway entrance to heal her. "I'm sorry you've had to go through that."
Haseena doesn't respond to the statement that has quickly become repetition from everyone. They are sorry that she had to go through that while she is sorry that she is the only one who is left standing. She buries herself into the embrace of the man who has never failed her; the man who has always been here for her when she needs him.
"James, you go on in. I'd like a moment with Haseena if you don't mind." SP Malik directs his words at James while his arms are still around his little girl who also refuses to let go. James nods and makes his way past the father and daughter to get into the hotel room where he will meet another Malik and some authorities. As soon as James closes the door behind him, SP Malik knows he needs to hurry with everything he wants to say. He caresses Haseena's arms to signal her to pull away. "Haseena."
Haseena pulls away willingly and starts clearing her throat to bring herself back into the presence where reality stands like a moving brick wall.
"There are two detectives waiting for you inside. We need to be quick on this." Her dad starts and immediately Haseena senses the madness that is about to blow up the moment they have just shared. "Now, Aanya said that you said something that might not have actually happened?"
"What?" Haseena is confused and quickly is not a big fan of her father's words. He is about to be one of them. He is about to lose her trust in the matter of seconds. "What might not have actually happened? Dad, what are you saying?"
"Listen carefully, dear. It doesn't really matter; who shot who or who started to fire first -"
"It does." Haseena argues.
"What really matters is you will answer those detectives exactly what they want to hear-"
"Dad!"
"Look." Her dad tries to stop the persistence with patience that he has less and less. He keeps his gentle and adoring expression but his tone is changing as they go on. He starts to talk to her with the voice he uses with his officers at home; it suggests power, authority and orders. His priority is simple and that is to keep Haseena safe from all the possible harm and trouble. He doesn't care about anything or anyone else. "They cannot prove that you shot the detective yet. Even the detective wakes up and tells his side of the story, it would be just a statement without any solid evident."
Haseena furrows her eyebrows and replays the scene slowly on her mind to find the details she has missed; to find the things that support her dad's argument. Then, she finds it in the deep corner of her memory. She sighs and feels the weight of the world falling upon her even more. "She wiped the gun."
"Haseena... there is a chance that he might not wake up." Her dad tries to raise another argument in attempt to get Haseena to agree with him but he is a bit late when Haseena moves past him into the room.
Inside the luxurious and spacious hotel room, there are a make-up chair and a rack of clothes waiting to get Haseena ready for the event that requires her to be her most beautiful and charming self. Also waiting for her are detectives and officers. They are instantly on their feet as soon as they see her entering the room. They want to be respectful but respect is not what Haseena wants at the moment. She walks past them; acts like they are not even there and gives her mom a long longing hug. She politely greets her lawyer and then, she turns towards the group of the LAPD. She turns to meet a familiar face among the crowd; the face that leaves a huge mark on her mind. She immediately stares with so much intensity that forces the certain officer to avoid her sight. He is sweating blood to look normal.
"Miss Malik, we'll just take a bit of your time. We understand you're quite busy today." One of the detectives announces and sits back down when he sees Haseena is doing so. He reminds her of Brian in a way. His speech is calm and stable as if he has practiced how to talk like this from the man himself. "We just have a few questions concerning what happened... which on behalf of the LAPD, we're truly sorry that it happened."
"Just get right into it, shall we?" The lawyer suggests and crosses his legs next to Haseena. SP Malik is not far away. The rest is keeping their ears open while acting busy with anything they can get their hands on.
"Would you like some coffee?" Haseena bursts out so suddenly that it has caught everyone off their guards. They start to look at each other with puzzles in their eyes and the only one who can solve this puzzle is the one who creates it.
"No, thanks." The detectives harmonize to reject the offer.
"What about you, officer? Would you like some coffee?" Haseena fixes her eyes on the certain officer who is now sweating down his back. Suddenly, the air-conditioned room has turned into a desert where the sun shines so bright that it might burn him alive. The thug in him has left the chat and has never made its return. "My assistant can get you a very good coffee."
"No, thank you." The officer replies nervously.
"I'm still waiting to get my phone back, detectives. Also, Detective Singh's if it's possible." Haseena smirks and turns back to the detectives. She steps on the edge as quick as she can and mentions the name that they will bash with dirt. "What are your questions?"
"Right." The detective opens his notepad and clicks his pen as he is about to ask the necessary questions. "We've got information from Captain Lanna that Detective Singh would normally have a spy cam on her when she was with you but yesterday morning she didn't. Did you notice any abnormal behaviors or did she do something that is out of the ordinary to suggest that?"
"No." Haseena answers short and simple.
"Did she show any signs of aggression towards you or your team?" Another detective adds without really looking up from his notepad.
"No."
"Did she say why she took you from your house? Did she say what she wanted?"
Haseena pauses and looks at the detectives who are now looking up from their notepads in order to get the answer from her. For a quick second, one of them glances at her dad before looking back at her. "She didn't take me."
"Did you know where she had taken you?"
"She did not take me." Haseena ignores the new question and repeats the old answer with frustration that is boiling up at the lowest temperature possible. Then, a tap from her lawyer lands on her to calm her down one slight bit. She sighs. "Yes. It was her parents' house. Are you pressing charges against her?"
"Yes, ma'am. It's possible so. We --"
"Well, I'm a victim... witness of whatever crime you are making it to be and... I'm not pressing any charges against Detective Singh-"
"Haseena." Her dad fills his voice with warning that hopefully will stop her from saying something that will cut deeper into the wound.
"Miss Haseena." Her lawyer does the same but he is able to grab her wrist to signal her to stop saying whatever that is left in her mouth.
________
Few parts may be boring but that's what the story demands.
Take Care
Bye'll 👋 👋
