For this chapter, I won't put a dictionary. I'll put the translation before or after the Arabic sentences or you'll get what the words mean from the responses. And note that I wrote them in English letters so you could read them, cuz I know that you won't be able to read it if I wrote them in Arabic letters.
If you have any questions or if you didn't understand something, you can ask me, I won't bite ;p
And if you've read the Shatter Me series then you might know some Arabic words too!
Valeria is a piece of me and I want to share this piece with you :)
Again, any hate comments will be deleted!
Alright now you can start reading :D
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Valeria Chambers
I groaned as I shifted on the hard mattress I was laying on. My head was spinning with a blinding headache and my muscles felt extremely sore.
What happened last night?
I rubbed the back of my hands on my eyes to somehow get rid of the pain behind them as I slowly opened them.
To my luck, the room I was in was completely dark, with only a bit of sunshine coming from behind the curtains.
Where was I?
I tried sitting up with a groan leaving my throat, which I realized was dryer than the Sahara desert.
But as much as I tried to push myself up, I couldn't. I felt like I was paralyzed, but yet I wasn't.
Suddenly, I felt the bed dip beside me which made me yelp in fear, but a familiar voice said in a hushed tone "hey, you're okay now don't worry."
I squinted my eyes up to see who that was, the blonde hair gave me a clue that it was Rebecca "what happened? Where am I?" My voice was scratchy when I spoke.
She answered "you're in your room now. We tried waking you up when we reached the flat after the party, but you didn't respond, and the fact that no one gets this drunk to the level of passing out only from two small shots was really suspicious. So we figured that something was definitely wrong. We asked that same cab to take us to the hospital. I was gonna stitch your leg up myself since I'm a pro at that but we were going to the hospital anyway, so I left the work for the doctors there. And the purple bruise on your head looks better now. You hit your head pretty hard."
Stitch my leg? Go to the hospital? A bruise on my head? What the hell happened? I went to the party and did some karate moves or something?
She sighed "you've been passed out for forty hours in total. Before the hospital and after you got treated there."
Wait, what? I've been sleeping for almost two days?
Treated?
"We couldn't have treated you ourselves. It was impossible, and we didn't have the right to do the procedure. That's why we took you to the hospital."
I asked impatiently "what was wrong with me?"
She sighed "you were poisoned. Your drink was spiked. Someone must've slipped something in it before you drank it. If we hadn't figured it out sooner when we were in the cab, you would've been dead right now."
At that, I shot up in a sitting position with wide eyes, my muscles and head ached even more with the fast action "what?! I was poisoned?! Who would do that?!" My voice was barely audible.
Predicting the answer to my own question, it must be the only one who despised me the most.
Joelle.
Maybe Harry had something to do with it too.
Becky sighed, giving me a sad look.
She's thinking the same as me. I just know it.
I raised my hand and placed my fingers on my temple, breathing out heavily.
She handed me a glass of water and a pill "here, for your headache. It's Advil. Oh and don't worry, the doctors checked, you don't have any allergic reactions to it."
I thanked her as I took both items from her, swallowing the pill with an effort "how could I not worry when someone's trying to kill me Becks?"
I know she was worried about my allergy towards this pill, but I was worried about this right now.
She just shook her head. I looked straight into her hazel eyes with a serious look "you're thinking about the same person I'm thinking about, right?"
Rebecca nodded her head slowly "she's the only one who doesn't like you around here. It couldn't be Jessica. She was there for you the whole time you were unconscious. She even stayed in the cab to go to the hospital with us. But the devil next door didn't even come to visit you when we brought you back here at all. Which was weird at first but then I connected the dots. It could be her. But we can't go pointing fingers at anyone, Val. We need more proof than that, y'know."
I chuckled bitterly "God I feel like we're Sherlock Holmes or Detective Conan or some shit."
She agreed "that's exactly how it feels, Vee."
She stood up and went over to the window, pulling the curtains open to let the warm light into the room. I felt slightly cold though.
"You should rest. I'll get you something to eat. You must be starving."
I thanked her and watched her leave my room but kept the door open.
I didn't remember what really happened. The last thing I remember was sleeping on the bathroom floor of the bar we were at.
How the hell did I get here? Did I walk? No, that can't be it.
And they couldn't have just carried me to the cab. Well I'm lighter than a feather but I don't think they did it.
Although I do remember being carried away, but I can't recall who that person was.
I removed the covers and took a look at my leg. I was wearing my PJ's shorts and only the last stitch visible. A very thin paler line with red colour around it formed on my already pale thigh. They definitely used dissolvable stitches, which meant that I didn't need to go to the hospital again to get the stitches out after the wound has healed.
I was starting to get flashes of what happened before I passed out.
That's when I panicked "oh my God. My mum!"
I reached over to my nightstand where my phone was charging and quickly unplugged it.
I had 30 messages and 10 missed calls from her.
Oh my God she could be freaking out right now.
I promised her that I'd call or text her every night before I went to sleep. I didn't want her to feel like I didn't care about her after I left, because I do care. A lot.
I quickly dialed her number and brought the phone to my ear.
After a few beeps, I heard my mum's voice on the other side "Valeria? Are you okay? Inti mniha?"
I replied quickly "yeah mama, I'm okay. I'm really really sorry I couldn't call or text you the last two nights. I was busy kteer. Asfeh mama."
I heard her sigh out in relief "mashi, okay. I forgive you young lady. But don't go MIA again."
I smiled a bit, but my smile was wiped off my face as I remembered the thoughts I had the night two days ago, tears threatening to pour out "I miss you so much."
"I miss you too, Vee. Are you sure you're okay? Do you need anything at all?"
I loved how she cared about me this much "yeah ana mniha, don't worry. Bddi salamtek, that's all mama. I just want you to be okay."
I hated lying to her. But I didn't want her to worry about me.
A tear slipped from my eye as I heard her say "Allah ysalmek habibti.. yalla go it's nearly midday for you and I don't want you to be late if you have any classes."
I wiped my tears away and smiled "okay, bhibbek mama."
"Love you too habibti."
The line went off the minute Rebecca entered my room. Nearly dropping the plates when she looked at my face and ran to me, placing the plates on my nightstand "are you okay? Is everything alright? Why are you crying? Tell me."
I shook my head with a smile, reassuring her "it's nothing I promise. I'm okay, just got a bit emotional. Talked to my mum, she was worried about me. That's all."
"Oh okay. Then here, start eating. You need food in your system."
I was indeed extremely hungry. I inhaled the sliced fruits in the bowl and the mouthwatering grilled cheese she made me right after. Felt a bit better and my headache lessened.
After a while of small talk, Jessica walked in and pulled my desk chair closer to me before she sat "how're you feeling, love?"
"I've been better, but definitely not worse than before." I answered, chuckling a bit.
She stated "Harry was at the door like half an hour ago, before you woke up. He asked about you, told him you were still sleeping. He's worried, Vee. He was also taken to the hospital right after you but he recovered faster. Both of you drank the same spiked drink."
He's worried? Is he okay? Why does he care so much about me?
I nodded "thank you for telling me. I'll make sure to talk to him."
I then asked, changing the subject "what about the classes that I've missed? Do the professors know?"
Rebecca answered with a smile "yeah I told Mr. Weasly once we confirmed your case. And don't worry about the classes, I still have my notes from last year and I'm happy to help you study."
I nodded my head as a thank you.
After a while, we all heard the door bell.
Jessica jumped up and hurried to get the door, a few minutes passed before she shouted "Rebecca, it's for you."
The blonde stood up and began walking towards the door when I called for her "Rebecca, I need to tell you something."
I'd just remembered my outburst on both her and Harry yesterday and I couldn't help but feel guilty. She was just trying to help.
She smiled softly at me "we'll talk later." Then she was out, leaving me all alone in my room again.
I kinda wanted some time alone since the moment I woke up just to take it all in and try to remember stuff. Just wanted to lay here on bed and maybe take a nap. I was really exhausted.
But noo, my bladder said otherwise.
Now I needed to go to the bathroom.
I removed the sheets from my body and swung my legs to the side. I stood up slowly, suddenly feeling dizzy, so I held on to the back of my chair that Jessica was once sitting on. Everything around me was swaying and my vision went white.
Once I felt a bit normal and my vision returned, I let go of the chair, testing myself if I could walk without falling face first to the ground, before I limped my way to the bathroom at the end of my room, trying my best not to put too much pressure on my injured leg.
I did everything I needed to do in the bathroom, including brushing my teeth and actually taking a quick shower.
But I made sure that the stitches didn't get wet, so I wrapped a waterproof dressing around my thigh just to be extra careful, because water usually slows down the healing process.
When I was done and put on some clean clothes, I stepped out into the living room.
Jessica was sitting on the single couch with her legs crossed beneath her while Rebecca was sitting on the double couch, with a brunette guy beside her, cuddling and talking with Jessica.
She had her legs thrown over his lap as he pulled her to his chest. They looked so cute together and I just felt something break inside me.
I'm not jealous of her. She's my best friend after all. But it just makes me sad that I've been single my whole life.
I don't wanna be alone.
I want to be loved and to be in love.
Like when's my turn?
And I know I've met this guy before.
Shaggy brown hair, blue eyes from what I can see from this angle, high cheekbones and a slight stubble.
He was one of the guys who were at the table that Harry introduced me to.
I think this one's name was Louis.
Then it all clicked together.
Rebecca told me the name of her boyfriend when we were internet besties, but she didn't send any pictures.
His name also was Louis.
But I would've never thought it was the same Louis who happened to be one of Harry's friends.
I don't remember seeing them talking when we were at the party though.
Maybe they were together when I was busy. It was probably when Harry was trying to convince me to take the Tequila shots and I couldn't find her.
I made my way over and took a seat at the end of that same couch both Louis and Becky were on and crossed my legs carefully beneath me.
I mean, there were only two couches here.
I smiled a bit and waved my hand at Louis when he finally saw me.
He pinched his eyebrows together and pointed his index in my direction "I know you. You're that girl Harry introduced to us. Valeria was it?"
I nodded "yeah, and you're..."
C'mon, play dumb, small talk. Walk away. No more awkward interaction.
"Louis, nice to meet ya, again I guess."
"Nice to meet you again too, Louis."
Rebecca now turned to me "y'know this is the guy I've been telling you about over the internet."
I grinned at her "yeah I kinda guessed that."
But you didn't look like a couple at the party. I wanted to say but decided to keep it to myself.
She'd tell me if there was something serious going on.
I looked at Louis "she really talks about you like a lot."
At that, she blushed while looking up at Louis who was smiling from ear to ear "you've told your friends about me now, Bee? It's fine, the guys would always try to shut me up from how much I talk about you with them, love."
He chuckled before he leaned in and pecked her nose lightly.
They look so cute together.
Jessica chimed in "yeah? You talk about Becks as much as a certain someone in your group of friends talks about a certain someone in my group of friends?"
He whipped his head quickly at her with a glare in his eyes.
What did she mean by that?
After a few seconds of silence, he spoke, his voice kind of scratchy and high pitched "no. There isn't anyone."
Well okay then.
Maybe I'll just ask her about it later. I really wanna know who those certain people are. This story seems interesting.
I heard Louis as he shuffled around before he placed Rebecca on the couch beside me and stood up, Rebecca stood up with him.
He kissed her twice before he muttered "gotta go, see you tonight?"
She nodded, stood on her toes and pecked his cheek, a slight blush creeped on her face "yeah baby. See you tonight."
We all said our goodbyes to him before he left.
Jessica came up to Rebecca and nudged her arm with a smirk playing on her lips "ooh someone's gonna get some tonight."
I joined in. Knowing exactly what she was talking about "yeah Bee, tell us if it's true."
Her flushed face was a major clue that it was true. She was gonna sleep with him.
"C'mon, it's no big deal. We've done it before, okay? Stop being such babies about it and leave me alone." She giggled before she made her way to her room.
"Please do it at his house. We really need our beauty sleep." Jessica called after her before she closed the door.
It was only four in the afternoon. I stared at Jessica for what felt like hours "so um.. what's up?"
I asked her awkwardly as she just sat there with a solemn look on her face "are you trying to start a conversation, Val?"
No I'm trying to start a cult. What do you think?
I nodded before she sighed "nothing really."
This is harder than I thought it would be.
"Can I ask you something?"
She blinked at me once as a signal for me to continue.
"Who are the two people you mentioned earlier? One from your group of friends and one from Louis' group of friends?"
A smirk made it's way on her lips as she stood up and sat beside me "you really wanna know?"
I nodded my head eagerly, waiting for her answer.
"Well I'm not gonna tell you because it doesn't concern you yet. You'll figure it out when the time is right."
Damn. Worth the shot.
Yet.
I hummed in response "fine. Don't tell me."
A few minutes of silence passed before I spoke "can I ask another question?"
Jessica nodded "shoot."
"Why are you studying medicine if you don't care about anyone?"
This question was roaming in my head for a long time.
Jessica ran a hand through her curly hair and rested her head on her palm, her elbow on the arm of the couch "because no one cares about anyone. Everyone does the things they do for their own benefit. I'm studying medicine because my parents are doctors as well as my whole family and I have to continue the legacy or whatever. And you know Val? I'm not as heartless as you think I am. I sometimes do care about others, but not everyone deserves my care."
Well, that's an interesting point of view.
She doesn't want to study medicine then? She's only doing it for family?
And how the hell did she know what I think about her?? Am I that easy to read?
"I'm sorry that I thought that way about you without any decent context. But I really didn't know much about you and I wanna get to know you."
She sighed "why do you care?"
I thought for a moment.
Why do I care?
"Because I can't help but care. It's part of who I am. I just do it without thinking about it." I furrowed my eyebrows as I let the chosen words slip out of my mouth carefully.
Jessica placed her hand on the arm
of the couch as she looked me dead in the eyes "well love. You need to learn how to care less because caring will only bring you misery and sadness."
I answered her "but it also brings joy and happiness to others. Being selfless and caring isn't a weakness."
"Oh but it is. You just haven't experienced that yet. And if you don't do something about it, you will get hurt in the process."
Before I could say anything else, she decided to leave me in the living room and head to her own room as well.
Guess I'll just stay here for a while and think about what she said.
I have never felt sad because I cared. This has never happened to me.
And I'm kinda scared now that maybe, just maybe, she could be right.
My wandering thoughts got interrupted when I remembered that I needed to talk to Becks.
I made my way slowly towards her room and knocked on the door. When I heard her inviting me in, I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.
She removed her headphones and placed them around her neck as she stared at me.
"Yeah?" She asked as I mentally prepared myself to say what I needed to say.
I opened my mouth and sighed, looking down at my feet "I'm sorry I was angry at you at the party. I didn't mean be to be so rude. I'm really really so-"
"Hey. It's fine. You weren't yourself. You were poisoned and that probably added to your irritated mind. And it's alright to let go of some of that anger, y'know. Just know that I'll forgive you only if you forgive yourself. So, can you do that for me?" She interrupted me as I looked at her through glossy eyes.
I thought for a moment.
Can I really forgive myself for that?
I nodded "I can try. Thank you Becky."
She smiled as she pulled me in for a hug "of course Val."
After a few seconds, we let go of each other when we heard three knocks on the door.
Not the doorbell.
"I'll get it. It could be Harry."
Rebecca only nodded as I went back to the living room to get the door, not bothering to look through the magic eye.
But oh boy. I wish I had.
Joelle was there. Standing right before me. Looking at me with the most fake smile I have ever seen her put on in front of me as she pushed the door open with her own hands.
And I just hoped she was not here to cause a crime scene.
★ｏ☆★ｏ☆
A/N: don't worry she won't cause a crime scene.
If you have any questions you can ask me!
Louis and Becky! 🤭
Harry was there half an hour before she woke up and then he left before he got to see her :(
Bonding time with Jessica ❛ ᴗ ❛
What does Joelle want now? *Dramatic eyeroll*
Tell me what you think!!
L.o.v.e. y.o.u. <3