Post you reaction as you read :)
William's P.O.V.
William eyed his mother and Alley while they sat with the guests in the waiting room. The news that Sally was in the hospital spread around like wild fire and people were flocking in. William did not know if he was more annoyed or pleased to see so many people arrive at the hospital, asking about her.
Asim and Unc were outside with the males. Sarah, Sally's friend was in the room with her. William was doing all he could to remain rooted outside her room and not barge in.
A few minutes later, Sarah walked out. Her eyes were downcast and the familiar air of misery surrounded her after seeing the state of her friend. She hugged Alley before leaving. William was again confused by his own emotions. He felt upset for Sarah, because she was Sally's friend, but at the same time, he wanted to drag her out of the corridor for making Alley cry.
"Take care," she whispered to Alley.
"You too." Alley sniffed. "Keep her in your prayers, honey."
As they walked away, Anne passed by. William shot to his feet instantly.
"Mum –"
"Will no," his mother shot his request down, the moment he opened his mouth.
"Come on, mum, please!" he begged, "Just five minutes."
"Will, you know that cannot happen, son." She frowned. "Don't argue with me."
William groaned. Anne was being impossibly stubborn about it, and he did not want to just sneak in. William knew his chances to see Sally were getting slimmer by the hour. Asim and Unc were always around, two days later Sally's dad would be here and two weeks later, the devil twins: Cameron and Thomas.
That day seemed like the only chance he was going to get now that Asim and Unc were busy with the guests outside.
"Screw it!" he cursed, following after his mother.
"I just want to go talk to her. It won't hurt anyone."
Anne finally stopped.
"It will hurt her, William," she replied tersely, tired of his persistent requests. "You know it. Her modesty means the world to her. She might not respond but she can hear you. She would know you were there and –"
"Damn it, mum! I was her best friend. I may help her wake up," William argued.
"What's going on?" Both of jumped when they heard Uncle Dawood, walking towards them.
Great!
William looked away, running a hand through his hair. Anne just released a slow breath. William glared at his mother, telling her to stop but she disregarded it.
"It's William."
"Mum!"
"He wants to go see Sally."
"Oh God!" He threw his hands in the air, feeling betrayed.
"He what?" His Unc frowned.
William stared at his mother, hurt. Why couldn't she just keep it to herself? Now he was going to have two angry men chasing him out of this corridor.
"Will, you know you can't do that, right?" Unc said softly taking William by surprise. He was expecting some fuming.
"Just a few minutes?" William tried again, "We've been friends for so long. What if I can trigger a response strong enough?"
"Will she'll never forgive you or us for –"
"You can cover her up," William bargained. "I won't look at her,"
"Son, you being near her is wrong." Unc reasoned. William opened his mouth to argue but Unc just shook his head. "I'm sorry son, this can't happen."
He patted the dejected boy on the back and both of them started walking away.
"Wait!" William ran after them as a thought occurred, "I won't go inside at all!"
Niall's P.O.V.
Asim was not attending any calls, and he ignored the texts. Niall was getting really anxious about it. To him, Asim seemed like such a calm lad but he knew he would not want anything to do with a person who had most likely assaulted his sister and send her into a comatose, either.
Niall fell in step with Zayn's grandfather as they got out of the car. The moment they neared the house, the two of them heard a lot of yelling. The closer they got, the obvious it became. The volcanic mount Zayn was suffering from yet another eruption.
Mr. Walter glanced at Niall in alarm before opening the door. The younger boy just shrugged.
That's Zayn for ya!
"That boy is really going to burst a vessel soon," the old man muttered.
Shaking his head, he opened the door and entered. A file suddenly zoomed by them, missing Mr. Walter by inches.
"Son, what in the world is going on?!" Mr. Walter gasped.
Niall followed after Zayn's grandfather. The moment he saw the men in suits, Niall knew he better stayed out of Zayn's sight.
"I'm about to kill someone is what's happening," came the reply.
"Son!" Mr. Walter scolded.
Zayn limped around the sitting room in just his shorts, visibly struggling against the urge to throw something at the two men. When Zayn's back was to them, Niall quickly ducked into the kitchen. Zayn was already borderline mad. Niall feared he was done for if he realized he did not have the information Zayn needed.
Claire was already in the kitchen, leaning against a counter, looking quite upset.
"Hey," Niall smiled, "Are you a fellow Harris-affectee seeking refuge in the kitchen?"
She smiled miserably, shaking her head and drinking water from the bottle that she was holding.
"Calm down," Niall heard Mr. Walter tell Zayn firmly.
"I'm trying, Grandpa! But Mr. Money and Mr. Publicity here are pushing my buttons!"
"Son, this is no way to deal with business."
"Grandpa, are you even listening?" Zayn raised his voice again, "I don't want to deal with this right now. I have a lot of shit going on already. And this is my off time! We decided this ages ago, they will not dog my footsteps in the off season."
"Fine! Fine! Just stop yelling. Your old man here still has fully functional ears," Mr. Walter scolded, "Simmons! Bernard! Give me the details, I'll get back to you after I have this beast tamed a little."
"Sir, we only wanted a couple of snaps and videos for the social networks." Simmons, that Zayn called Mr. Publicity, informed Mr. Walter, "Mr. Harris just needs to dye his hair. I mean his beard is already in place for the shoot. The fans realized that the pictures uploaded on his instagram were old, because Mr. Harris has got the new hairstyle in his recent pictures."
"Yeah so now Mr. Zayn-do-our-shit-Harris is not suppose to have a life but do whatever the hell you –"
"Quiet Zayn!" Mr. Walter reprimanded.
Niall and Claire burst out laughing. Zayn-do-our-what-Harris?
"Whatever!" Zayn mumbled.
"I'll call you when he's less cranky and apologies for his behavior Mr. Simmons," Mr. Walter replied, "I'll check the finances too, Bernard. Give me the file. Zayn here is being all cocky because he just did not get his spanking today,"
"Grandpa!" Zayn shouted. Niall and Claire stifled a laugh again.
"You may leave now," Mr. Walter ignored Zayn, "Thanks for coming and again I'm sorry for the inconvenience."
"It's alright, Mr. Walter."
"Take care Mr. Walter."
The two men took their leave and Niall and Claire peeked around the kitchen door. Zayn was sitting shirtless on the couch, glaring at Mr. Walter like a stubborn child with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Zayn, what was that?" Mr. Walter asked.
"What was what?" Zayn raised a brow.
"Zayn -"
"Grandpa! I have life! I'm a human. I just got out of the hospital. I've been missing in a freaking forest for weeks! Could I, for once be treated as such, instead of a face on a mag!" Zayn exploded again, "What is the point of me having a dual identity if I can't have a normal life?!"
"Son –"
"You know what, don't!" Zayn muttered, standing up. "I'm fine."
"Zayn --"
"I said I'm fine!"
He left for his room upstairs. Everyone stayed frozen to the spot. Zayn never talked to his grandpa like that. No matter what was going on, he was always polite with Mr. Walter. A moment later, his grandpa walked towards his study. Niall and Claire exchanged worried glances as they settled into the chairs around the counter.
"Wow!" Niall whispered.
"I know." Claire bit her lip. "He's acting more like - like before."
He looked at Claire who was staring at the bottle in her hand, looking close to tears.
"I remember him being like this shortly before he left," she continued, "I thought he changed. Guess I was wrong."
"He'll be alright Claire," Niall reassured her. "He's just stressed."
"About what? He barely talks to us anymore. He snapped at us, at the hospital staff, at his management and now at Grandpa. Zayn was not like this before."
"Look, I know he's acting like a jerk, but he'll be fine. Just give him some time."
"I just don't understand what his problem is."
Niall stayed quiet. He knew the reason behind all of Zayn's mood swings was not knowing how the girl was doing.
"Niall." Claire eyed him sharply, "You're hiding something."
"Am I?" He chuckled nervously, earning a glare from her. "Come on! It's not like you can't guess."
"It's her, isn't it?" Her scowl deepened.
His silence was all the confirmation that she needed. Cursing, she put her head in her hands.
"Come on Claire, you know how he is," Niall said, "He's worried and once something is stuck in his head, it's –"
"Why are you always defending him?" she said sharply. "He bosses you around, treats you like –"
"A brother!" Niall interjected, "A well cared for, very much loved, brother. I will always defend him, Claire. He almost died trying to defend me."
"So he defends you once and you become his slave?"
"That was the first time he almost died, but certainly was not the first time Zayn was there for me," Niall replied, "I understand your frustration, but when it come to taking a side, I'll be on Zayn's."
"I hate how that Jackass has you no matter what he does," she mumbled putting her head on the counter. "Keep up like this and you'll air the rumors further."
"What rumors?" Niall frowned
"Ziall shall rise." Claire pumped her fist in the air without lifting her head and ignoring him completely.
"Oh my God, Claire!"
"True love," she chanted on. "No management can keep them apart."
"Get your facts your right! I'm as straight as it gets." Niall laughed.
" . . . You can see it in their eyes when they look at each other."
"Stop it! It's not funny!"
"Well, you are laughing." She smirked, finally lifting her head.
"Gosh, you are so mislead! No wonder my charms don't work on you," he pouted at her.
"Shut up!" Claire giggled.
Going beetroot, she threw the empty bottle at him, and left. Niall's face started growing hot.
"Wow!" He breathed out, still smiling, "Did that just happen?"
He was still thinking over how flustered Claire got when he heard movement behind him, turning around he saw Zayn glaring at him.
"Why are you looking like a tomato?" he snapped.
"Nothing." Niall shrugged. Gulping, Niall counted in his head, 'The staff, the management, gramps and now next in line? Me.'
"Wipe that goofy smile off your face then." Zayn scowled. "It's annoying."
Party pooper!
Niall rolled his eyes at him as Zayn sank into the chair that Claire had left vacant.
"When am I meeting that Asim guy?" Zayn asked. Niall raised a brow.
Niall thought he was going to ask about the address. Zayn would yell, Niall would yell back. He would get angrier and Niall would bash his face and bring him back to his senses. Thing about Niall and Zayn was, Zayn let Niall beat him when the latter was annoyed. Claire may have said Zayn bosses him around, and he does, but when Zayn won't listen to anyone, he listened to Niall.
"I don't know?" Niall shrugged. "He won't reply."
"Fine, let's go to his place and yank him out of his house," Zayn shrugged back.
Niall blinked.
"Seriously?" He laughed.
"Shut up, Brownie." Zayn groaned, putting his head on the counter like Claire. "I'm going insane."
Niall stared at his best friend.
"Zayn, get up, put a shirt on." Niall advised, to which Zayn raised a brow, "Then go to the study, grandpa is probably –"
"Oh please," he put his head back down, "I already sorted things out with him. We are going fishing after I've done that stupid shoot. And for your kind information, I was still shirtless when he accepted my apology."
Niall made face. Jerk!
"How's Claire?" Zayn asked after a while.
"Upset."
"Fine." Zayn stood up suddenly. "You go talk to Asim. I'll go talk to Claire. I need her help to go see Bee tomorrow. I got the address."
"What?" Niall's mouth hung open, "B-but how?"
"I got my ways." Zayn smirked, then frowned. "I would have visited her tonight, but I need to convince Claire to help me. And that management shit just had to happen right now . . . Anyway, Just help me out with Asim, yeah?"
So he got the address before the management arrived? Niall thought to himself. His sudden outburst made sense now. Zayn must have been thrilled to finally get to see this girl he kept calling Bee, and then they had to put his plans on a pause.
"I'll try," Niall replied.
With a smug look, Zayn started walking out of the kitchen, to find Claire probably.
"Zayn, wait!" Niall called. He paused and turned around. "Be careful with her mate, she's really upset with your angry outbursts."
"You told her all about Bee, didn't you?" he asked, Niall nodded in reply, "Then mind your own business. I know how to be with Claire."
Niall made a face to which Zayn smirked.
Arrogant, spoiled brat!
William's P.O.V
William searched the hospital for Asim. He was feeling down but still happy. Alley heard his protests earlier, and like a lifesaver that she is, she talked his stubborn parents into letting him have a shot. It was not like he wanted. He wanted to see his cousin, be there by her side, hold her hand and talk to her, like everyone else did, but since that was such a taboo to suggest, William asked them to let him call her. Alley saw no problem with it, but his mother was still hesitant. In the end, his Unc suggested that his mother be there to eavesdrop on what he said. William hated it but he had no other choice, so he agreed.
No one thought it was important to let Asim know about it and neither did William, but that boy was like his brother and William did not want any distrust tarnishing their relation.
"Where are you, kid?" William muttered, turning around on the spot, his hand in his hair. Asim was nowhere in sight so William decided to call him.
"Assalamo'Alaykum," Asim greeted, before he rushed, "Is everything alright? Is she awake?"
"Wa'Alaykom Assalam, and same old, and no," William huffed.
He heard Asim sigh.
"Where are you?" William asked, not sure how he'd take the idea of him whispering in his sister's ear through a phone.
"Home. Why?" Asim asked.
William chewed on his lip, not sure where to start. Starting to regret calling Asim, he decided to be smart about it.
"Listen, um, the doctors said that Sally needed to be reminded of what she was fond of," William started, "Things that she was passionate about, stuff that she loved. The good times that she had in her life . . ."
"Yeah?" Asim replied, confused, not sure where his cousin was going with this.
"Yeah, so just like she was close to you and responded to your attempts, they are thinking that . . ."
William scratched his neck. He was edging towards a lie right now. Who are they?
"What?" Asim asked, and William could almost hear the protective brother tone now. He rolled his eyes at the sudden change of tone.
"That maybe I should talk to her, because she was close to me,"
"William –" Asim snarled.
"And before you explode, I'm not even going to enter her room, and Alley, mum and Unc agree I could talk to her over a phone."
"This is ridiculous! How could they agree to this!"
"Well they did," William replied bluntly, "I just thought I would let you know myself."
"Fine!" he said through gritted teeth. "But you are not carry out this talk with her till I'm there."
William's mouth hung open in disbelief. The amount of wannabe eavesdroppers in this family was unbelievable.
"Mum is already doing the honors, but yeah sure, be my guest," he snapped annoyed, "I mean seriously. I am just going to talk! You would think I'm going to –"
"Not a word, Sterling!" Asim replied angrily and William was shocked that he addressed him like that. "This is my sister we are talking about. Every relation, ever rule, every law and every protocol is different when it comes to her."
William shut his eyes tight and took in a deep breath. This was ridiculous. His mother was shamelessly going to be there listening to whatever he had to say, and now Asim wanted to butt in.
"Yeah, tell me about that." William chuckled dryly.
"Don't get me started."
William relaxed when he heard the hint of a joke in Asim's tone. There was an awkward pause after that.
"We cool?" he asked, after the pause became longer and more awkward.
"I guess," Asim replied, "Sorry, I stepped out of –"
"Don't worry, I understand," William replied quickly, relieved that they reached some sort of a compromise. "See you around then."
"Wait, Will!"
"What?"
Asim hesitated, making William frown.
"I want to meet up with Zayn," he said quietly.
It was as if William's legs had turned to lead and he was frozen to the spot
"Niall texted me earlier. He said we've gotten it all wrong. I don't know, I want to hear his side of the story. This is a serious accusation. I don't feel fine knowing I might be wrong."
Asim kept talking but William could barely hear him over feminine screams in his head. He saw the swipe of the silver blade, the splatter of blood painting the wall, and her limp body as Harris took her away. It took him a moment to realize he was holding onto the railing for support.
William felt dizzy as bile rose to his throat. People were watching him but he could not care less. He wanted to warn Asim, tell him to stay away from the dark haired monster but his mouth was dry and he could not utter a word.
"Just, please, just don't tell anyone yet," Asim requested.
"Asim, No. listen don't –" But Asim had already hung up. William stared at the phone, horrified.
When Asim called his Unc to let him know of Salma's coma before they arrived, William was so relieved when he arranged everything for her in this hospital. Salma was immediately transferred here the moment the air ambulance landed. The Chief of this hospital was a Muslim neurosurgeon. Although the gender rule is not applied in medical emergencies, Unc did it so that the Chief could arrange female nurses, female staff and female doctors to look after Salma. He wanted her and the rest of the family to be comfortable knowing she was in trusted hands, and William was beyond happy to know that she would be far away from Harris's reach by the time he opens his devilish eyes.
William realized he was wrong. Harris was still sniffing his way into the family and he was catching up fast.
Author's Note:
Hi and Assalamo'Alaykum ^^
William and Zayn are ready to make their move. Asim is having doubts, and Nialler seems to be the usual lost puppy :P. But you tell me, how is the story going?
I apologize for the delay. I'm seriously so prone to procrastination these days, and if it weren't for having promised some of you a quick update, I probably won't be able jot down three sentences in a week.
Anyway, hope you're enjoying the story :). Vote, Comment, and Share it around.
Lots of Love,
J.