Asim stared distrustfully at the dark haired boy, before taking a seat on the wooden bench upon Niall's invitation. Zayn sat opposite to him, looking completely at ease. Greatly unnerved by the stony silence that stretched between the pair, Niall sank beside his friend hoping for a civil conversation to flow.
"Thank you for coming, man. Zayn wanted to --"
"Did you attack my sister?" Asim got to the point, after he gave Niall a quick, curt nod, not without looking away from Zayn.
A tense silence enveloped the three boys.
"You already know my answer --"
"I'd rather hear it from your mouth," Asim cut Zayn.
Zayn smirked.
"Very well," he pulled his hoodie back a little. "No, I didn't."
Asim clenched his jaw, feeling his temper rise by Zayn's complete indifference.
"Then what happened to her, care to share?"
Zayn stared into Asim's distrustful eyes before reaching into the pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a folded piece of paper, and slapped it on the table in front of Asim. The younger boy picked it up to see his sister's hand drawn sketch of the forest - a hard copy of the same map she had sent him on the phone.
"The day she made that call to you guys," Zayn started. "I asked your sister to take me to the stream for a wash. There, she handed me a piece of paper and announced that she was leaving. I had no idea where to. She just left me in the middle of nowhere with no explanations and a hand drawn map."
Salma's P.O.V.
Asim denied Zayn had visited Salma, and so did Anne and her Mother. However, Salma was convinced that he did. The urge to slap him was too powerful, and too clear in her mind, to have been a result of a nightmare. Not to mention, Salma was certain her mind was too tame to conjure up a nightmare like that even in her wildest dreams.
The previous day, she was told a certain Agent Wickfield wanted to see her. Salma had an inkling it was about the thugs. She was not bothered by the news so she said she was ready. Her family, however, seemed paler than usual ever since. None of them brought up anything from her time in the forest, so she kept silent on it as well, but, she could see they were obviously troubled by it and she knew she had to answer the questions roaming in their minds even if they never asked.
So, when the doctor did his routine checkup that day, and before letting the Agent in, Salma requested the presence of at least one of her adults during the interrogation. To her, this was the most convenient way of letting her parents know of everything that went down between her and Zayn, when they were alone in the forest.
The door opened and in stepped Anne. Salma gave her a bright smile, which she returned with a nervous one. Her discomfort was quickly explained when a beautiful brunette followed her into the room. She had radiant smile and soft, twinkling, brown eyes.
"Hi!" The brunette smiled. "I'm Alexandra Wickfield."
"Salma. It's nice to meet you." Salma returned the smile, extending her hand to shake the agent's. "Dare I say you don't look FBI at all, Agent Wickfield."
The Agent raised her eyebrows in amusement as she shook Salma's hand.
"How come? I'm surprised you know who I am." She smiled. "Call me Alex, please."
"You're too charming to be FBI," Salma replied, making Alex chuckle. "And yeah, I've been told to expect one, so I knew, a new face entering my room would be that of an Agent's. Also, my family seem to have a lost a couple of years fretting over me meeting you. I figured."
"I'm too charming to be FBI?" Alex said amused, sitting on the chair Anne offered her. "Are you flattering me?"
"Maybe." Salma shrugged.
"You're seem pretty composed, quite unlike your family." Alex observed.
"Should I not be?" Salma raised a brow.
"Good question." The agent smiled, before getting serious. "Anyway, let's deal with the important stuff, shall we? Tell me your story. From the beginning. Don't skip anything out. The teeniest details, I need them all."
Salma took in a deep breath, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. She frowned when something crossed her mind.
"There's a lot of bickering involved in those details," she told the Agent.
"I suppose we can skip the verbal battles. I'll let you know," Wickfield replied, biting back a smile.
The way the Agent hinted to know what went down between her and Zayn, Salma guessed Wickfield had questioned him already. Nodding, Salma started telling them anything and everything there was to tell about the her stay in the forest. From waking up alone, to finding water, shelter and Zayn, his injury and their fights. Salma mentioned finding the cigarette, the footprints, the suitcase full of food, and her attempts to climb the mountain, till she managed to call William and get help while the agent asked her questions here and there.
After that, Salma had to pause. The horrors of the night came back to her full-fledged, and she had trouble going on. Anne interfered for the first time.
"Maybe we should give her a break?"
Salma looked up and met her aunt's concerned gaze. Anne looked rather pained upon hearing her account. Salma knew it was hard for her aunt, but she made it a point to go into miniscule details for her family's curiosity's sake.
"No," Salma shook her head, scared that if she did not talk of it all now, it would be twice as hard later. "No, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Anne asked.
Salma nodded. They would never ask, she was sure of it, but questions were bound to arise in their minds and if left unanswered, they could reach dangerous and overstretched conclusions. It was, after all, their daughter spending almost a month alone with an un-related guy. She was counting on the fact that Anne would relate everything to them.
Salma was glad her aunt was there instead of her mum or dad. It would have been awkward and uncomfortable for her, and her parents, for this discussion to take place with them around.
"Yes, I'm fine," Salma managed a tight smile. "I just needed a minute."
"Okay," Alex replied. "Just to let you know, the reports are totally clear. You're fine, so don't worry."
"What are you talking about?" Salma frowned, confused. "What reports?"
Anne looked between her niece and the agent, looking uncomfortable, but Alex was not fazed at all.
"You are known to have been assaulted," Agent Wickfield continued cautiously. "Do you remember that?"
"Yes," Salma replied after a moment, certain now that the Agent had already interrogated Zayn.
"There were bruises and scratch marks all over your body," Alex informed her. Perplexed, Salma inspected her hands and arms to notice thin, fading scars on them. "So we ran some medical tests to make sure you were not raped."
Salma's eyes bulged out in shock. What the hell?
"And if there was any evidence left by the culprit that could help us catch him," the Agent continued.
Agent Wickfield's tone was calm, and Salma was anything but. She was freaking out. Her mind went back to the urge to slap Zayn, making her question what else happened to her while she was in a coma?
"Well?" Alex spoke up, bringing Salma back to earth. She blinked.
"No," she said quietly. "No, I was assaulted but . . . I managed to get away."
For once, Salma wondered if she wanted to knock all of Zayn's teeth out, or leave some because . . . An involuntary laugh escaped her lips at her spontaneous thoughts.
Alex narrowed her eyes in concern while Anne looked panicked. Salma forced a smile at them to reassure them of her sound sanity and continued with her tale. The memory was so vivid that Salma felt like throwing up as she relived it for them. She knew the Agent needed no details of the attack itself but she recounted it. The choking, the punches, the scratches and the bite.
"Do you remember what he looked like?" Alex asked. "His features?"
Salma shook her head, sniffing as she did so. Anne was crying too.
"Anything other than his face?" she questioned.
Salma thought hard and described the beast to her from the little that she saw in the dark and through her panic.
"How did you escape him?"
Suddenly getting reminded of her anger towards Zayn, Salma was tempted to lie just to pay him back for his shameless stunt.
"Someone beat the poop out of that guy."
"Who?" Anne asked, muddled.
Salma drew in a deep breath, looking the two ladies in the eye.
"Zayn," she replied.
Anne's eyes widened. A tell-tale sign that the news had shocked her. Salma found that odd. Why was the idea that Zayn came to her aid such a surprise? However, she chose to ignore her aunt's reaction and continued with narrating her story.
"We followed the men till we reached the slopes. From there, we got to our shelter safely," Salma replied. "Back at the shelter, Zayn made a fire . . . He asked where I went that morning. We had something to eat, and then, I don't know, I wasn't really feeling well. I felt like I couldn't breath -"
"You got sick?"
"No, not sick," Salma quickly answered. "I - I don't know how to explain, I just - I suppose I wanted to cry . . ." Salma swallowed, feeling vulnerable talking about her emotions. "I was hurt and scared, I think, and that was suffocating me."
"I understand," Agent Wickfield said gently.
"I - I guess, I was just sick of myself," Salma whispered, her eyes welling up again.
"Of yourself?"
"I felt disgusted and ashamed of myself for tackling and clinging on to him like that," Salma bitter sobs filled the small hospital room. "He was my non-mahram for Allah's sake! I was not even supposed to be there with him! W-what was I th-thinking?!"
Anne, who was still recovering from the shock of whole ordeal, and the fact that their suspicions about Zayn were incorrect, hurried to her niece's side.
"Shh! Sally, it's alright." she consoled Salma, cradling her in her arms, "You did nothing wrong!"
"B-but A-anne -"
"Stop it, silly!" Anne shushed her again.
Salma wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, fully convinced of the wrong she'd done. Agent Wickfield seemed to be doing her best to mask her incredulity. It was clear that she had trouble comprehending Salma's line of thoughts. Of course, to the Agent, of all the things the younger girl should have been fretting over, jumping into a boy's arms after getting assaulted shouldn't be one of them. Salma figured the agent must have had strong reservations against her priorities but she was glad she was holding her tongue on the matter.
While Anne tried to soothe her traumatized niece, Wickfield had to patiently wait.
"So you left the shelter, then?" the Agent asked, gently coaxing Salma to continue the story.
Salma nodded from the safety of her aunt's warm embrace. She took a few more moments to gather her wits before continuing her tale:
"Yes, but I didn't go far," she said, "I just stayed on my rock after I had offered my prayers and stuff . . ."
Salma did not know how long she had been sitting in the dark outside. Immersed in her thoughts, she was oblivious to her surrounding till she felt a hand on her shoulder, startling her.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Zayn raised his hands in surrender.
Salma let out a shaky breath, hugging her knees closer to her racing heart. She tried to calm the trembles raking through her body.
"No, it's-" Salma swallowed, collecting herself. "I'm okay. Just - don't walk up on me unannounced."
"I called but you weren't paying attention," Zayn explained.
"Oh." Salma looked away from him, not knowing what to say.
Zayn eyed her with concern.
"You're not beating yourself up over it, are you?" he asked, a frown creasing his brow. Salma did not reply, hoping he would not notice her blood-shot eyes. "Bee, what happened was not your fault!"
"No, I said I'm fine."
Zayn nodded, then bit his lip uncertainly and stared at the ground. Salma knew there was more he wanted to say, but he seem conflicted about saying it. She glanced at him warily from the corner of her eyes, scared that he would mention her embarrassing actions from earlier. Finally, he looked up and Salma held her breath.
"Are we cool?" Zayn asked, uncertainty clear in tone.
"I don't understand?" Salma frowned.
Salma was relieved that Zayn did not bring up what she dreaded, but he seemed very uncomfortable with what was on his mind. He swallowed, his adam's apple bobbing up and down as he did so.
"You are not mad at me, are you?" Zayn asked, searching her eyes.
Salma's heart melted at his question. She could almost detect that pleading edge to his tone.
"Why would I be mad at you?" she asked, confused by his unexpected assumption.
"I don't know." He shrugged, rubbing his neck and looking away. "I just thought - well, are you?"
Salma shook her head, and his features lit up. He looked visibly relaxed, and even managed a small smile.
"Come inside, then," Zayn said. "Judging from the dark clouds, looks like it will start raining anytime now."
Salma looked up at the sky and was surprised to see it covered with heavy clouds. She had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she did not even notice the wind that had picked up. Zayn took her silence for hesitation.
"I'll stay in the room and won't move a muscle, I promise!" he added quickly, trying to reassure her that she was safe with him.
His reassurance reminded Salma of her close call earlier and she found herself questioning if she really was safe with Zayn. As if the mere thought being entertained was an insult to him, Salma shook it away quickly. Even if she did not know him that much, she found herself trusting him completely. He had plenty of chances to force himself on her and she never got that vibe from him to begin with. Not to mention, he was one who saved her life.
Salma nodded in reply. However, Zayn did not move.
"I need a minute, alone," she muttered.
Zayn looked like he would rather stay out or take her with him. However, after a moment of silent contemplation, he decided to let her be.
"Okay," he agreed. "Just be safe."
Nodding, Salma relaxed back as he started limping away. She was exhausted and aching all over. It had been a long and tough day for her. The dark clouds and approaching storm perfectly mirrored the chaos in her mind. She prayed that the storm would not impede the rescue operation the next day. Asim had informed her about it and she had agreed to meet them at the stream. Salma knew they had better chances of getting rescued now, but suddenly her patience was wearing thin. The realization that everything was not over till it was actually over, made her all the more anxious.
As she sat there, with her mind wandering from one random thought to another, the winds got stronger with the incoming storm. Salma felt sleepy. She stifled a yawn as her eyelids started to droop. She barely noticed the lightening slice through the dark clouds. A rumble in the sky jerked her awake. Salma blinked, surprised that she had been dozing on rock. She had to leave before the rain starts. Realizing that, Salma drowsily moved at a snail's pace to slide down the rock.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Salma felt it slipping underneath her soles. She leaned against the rock for support. It didn't take long for her to realize, she was light-headed due to exhaustion.
It made sense, Salma figured, as her breathing became labored. The climb up and down the mountain, the mad chase and the mental trauma of the assault was taking a toll on her body.
Her ears had started ringing and she was feeling nauseous. Salma rested her head against the rock, waiting for the dizziness to subside. She had to reach the shelter before she could crash. As she pushed away from the rock, and stepped towards the veranda, Salma could feel her palms sweating.
She needed help.
"Zayn . . ."
Author's Note:
Someone's a huge fan of sleeping :P
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Lots of Love
J.