Ramadhan Mubarak everyone! 🥰
Enjoy!
Her head cleared the moment she heard his angry voice. Her confusion and alarm gave way to anger.
"Let go!" Salma struggled against his hold.
"We could have talked about it!" Zayn continued, "You could have talked to me about it!"
"I said let go!" Salma's raged, aggressively yanking her arms until she broke free.
He was still disrespectfully close, and Salma fury at his audacity to bully her had already overpowered the rational part of her brain.
"You will regret this!" He threatened, his nostrils flaring with anger, "You will regret playing me like this!"
"Let's see what you got!" she countered hotly, her tone hostile.
"Bee! I swear, don't make me -!"
"I will and I am!" She shoved her bag into his chest, pushing him away, "Make me regret it!"
Zayn was taken aback by her aggressive retaliation. He had never seen her beautiful brown eyes flash so angrily.
Taking advantage of his momentary shock Salma walked away and entered into the lab, not without throwing him a murderous glare first.
***
"Should I get you hot chocolate?" Jason offered timidly, concern showing in his soft brown eyes, "I can smuggle it in, the assistant would never know,"
Salma shook her head again.
"Are you sure? It really help-"
"I'm sure --" she forced a whispered, fighting to regain her composure.
Salma had had a meltdown the moment she entered the safety of the lab. Not wanting to draw attention to herself and let it all out in peace, she went all the way back to the cupboards and sat on the floor, hidden from sight.
She was worried the assistant would find her, but it was Jason who came looking for her.
"Are you hurt?" he asked again, trying to figure out a way to console her. "You can talk to me about it."
Salma shut her eyes for moment and took deep, calming breaths.
"I'm fine Jason," Salma replied in a hushed voice. "I just need a minute."
He nodded in understanding, sitting down next to her again.
Salma inhaled deeply, blinking rapidly to ease the pressure building up behind her eyes. She was not fine. Something went terribly wrong inside her the moment the adrenaline left her system. Zayn cornering and manhandling her like that seemed to have triggered it. Flashes of the night of the assault kept resurfacing in her mind, making her sick to the stomach. Twice, she almost sent Jason away so she could puke her insides out.
After another couple of minutes, Jason shifted and she heard a wrapper of some sorts getting pealed.
"Take a bar." Jason offered her a chocolate. "I know you said you don't want any of this but it helps."
She sniffed, heaving a heavy, ragged sigh. Did he not understand the meaning of 'I need a minute alone'?
"And you've been holed up here for the past hour, it does not look like it's stopping," Jason stated matter-of-factly.
Salma snorted. Who'd think he was the same cowering, stuttering junior who dare not say a word a few hours ago? Jason was not exactly annoying but he was very persistent.
"I'm fine," she repeated mechanically, tugging at the laces of her shoes.
"Mmm, nope! You're not," Jason replied.
Salma did not argue. The vivid image of a man ripping open her dress flashed past her memory. She winced audibly, turning her face away as if to shake dismiss the image. So much could have gone wrong that night. So much. Thank God Zayn was there to -
No!
Salma quickly steered her thoughts away from him. He was reason she was bawling her eyes out. He was reason why she always felt so filthy. He was the one who violated her a number of times. She had given him enough credit for that one good deed. Too much credit. More than he deserved. . .
But still, she could not help but hear a voice in her mind remind her of the magnitude of the good in that one deed.
A blinding white light invaded her mind. Salma opened her eyes in fright, trying to focus on Jason's curly red hair.
She eyed the chocolate when he pushed it in front of her. Her dark memories kept invading. Salma accepted the chocolate hoping that if she triggered the sense of taste, it would give her brains something else to do and force her mind out of the gutter.
"Thank you," she muttered, fishing the bar under her veil. The sweet substance melted in her mouth soothing her senses. She took another bite. Salma hated to admit it, but Jason was right. Her senses did get a little sharp as she ate.
"What?" she whispered, her voice still shaky, when she felt Jason's curious eyes on her.
"I thought you were going to remove that." He pointed at her veil. "I didn't know you could channel food through it."
She was surprise by the urge to smile when he ducked his head a little as if trying to see the passage to her mouth.
"Silly boy," Salma muttered under breath, taking another bar he offered.
Jason kept her company and she was grateful. Whether it was the chocolate he offered, or the completely random things he talked about, Jason was helping. Half an hour later, Salma had calmed down significantly.
She decided to call someone to take her home. Feeling light headed and extremely exhausted, Salma desperately wanted to take a nap and forget about the whole ordeal.
"I should leave." Salma dusted off her abaya, drawing in a shaky breath. "Besides if the assistant realizes we've been missing . . . Let's just say I don't want her to find out."
"Oh, she knows." Jason smiled.
"What?" Salma asked in surprise.
"She's watching," Jason smiled, before turning his face upwards, lifting a thumbs-up to the CCTV camera. Salma's mouth hung open.
"She has the streaming linked to her computer." Jason informed her. "You know how protective she is of the lab. She likes to keep an eye on things."
"How do you know?" Salma stared at him in disbelief.
"She came up to me when you stayed here too long; asked me if I was friends with you." Jason shrugged. "She said something about not being good at comforting people or something."
It took Salma some time to digest the story. The scowling lab assistant sent Jason to comfort her instead of kicking her out? What has the world come to?
Shaking her head in disbelief, Salma pulled her phone out and dialed Anne. She picked on the third ring.
"Assalamo'Alaykom, Anne it's me, Sally. . . Er, I'm sorry to bother you. Would you please come and pick me up?" Salma requested before Anne could even utter a word. "I'm not feeling very well, and Asim --"
"Where are you?" A masculine voice asked.
"I'm in my lab, animal sci - wait, Will?" Salma backtracked.
"I'll be there in a few," he replied.
"No! William, not you -" Salma was cut midsentence when she realized Will had already cut the call.
She sighed miserably, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation.
Great! Just great!
***
"Will, you know I can't ride with you," she said, trying not to sound too frustrated with him as William opened the back door for her.
"I know." He shrugged.
Salma threw her bag in but refused to take a seat herself. She was already really worked up and now Will was testing her by ignoring the fact that she did not want to be alone with him.
She had sat alone on the floor of the laboratory with Jason for hours, but that was different. Jason was a junior and they were not exactly alone, thanks to the CCTV linked assistant. She and Will have had a very close friendship. Something that she knew Will missed and it became awkward for her when they were alone. It was easier to be a stranger to another stranger, but how was she supposed to play stranger to someone who was once her closest friend?
"Don't worry," Will said, as he shut the door. "Dean would be here in a few minutes. I meant to pick him up but when I called him, he was already on his way here in a cab."
Salma relaxed when she heard that. She silently chastised herself for thinking Will was deliberately having a go at her choices.
"He should have been here by now. Must be stuck in traffic or something," Will muttered as he popped the trunk open. "That goes in the trunk?"
It took Salma a while to realize he was talking about the large box by her feet. Since Zayn was kicked out and her part of the project was already done, it did not look like she would need all the drawings and the charts for the time being. So, she had packed them all away.
"Yes," she replied, bending down to pick up the box.
"Salma!"
Salma groaned. She just wanted to be left alone.
Letting out a frustrated breath, she turned around to see Charlayne and Lena - one of them was waving cheerfully, while the other was making disgusted faces.
"Hi," Salma attempted a cheerful tone. "How are you?"
"We're good," Charylane replied happily. Will walked around the car to help her with the box just as Charlayne asked, "Have you seen Zayn?"
Salma's heart almost stopped. Will paused and turned to look at the girls. He looked shocked. Of course he was shocked, Salma told herself, he probably did not know that Zayn was her lab partner - once upon a time!
Salma turned to answer the girls only to see their expression mirroring William's. Both of them were looking at Will, their eyes popping out of their sockets. Lena, particularly, seemed to be drooling.
Salma sighed and rolled her eyes. Okay, I know he's cute! Dimples and all.
"Oh, I'm sorry this is my cousin, William." She jumped in to cover for the awkward silence. "Will, this is Charlayne, and Lena."
"Nice to meet you." Charlayne recovered first. She then turned to Salma. "No, handshakes, right?"
"Um, no." Salma tried not to laugh.
"W-we've met before," Lena, who had gone quiet red in the face, said in a very high pitched voice.
Well, that explains some of it, Salma thought to herself.
Will nodded his acknowledgement to both of them, and turned away.
"So, Zayn?" Charlayne said again, making Salma groan mentally.
"He left," she replied curtly, trying to convey her dissociation from him.
"Weird." Charlayne frowned. "I called him a few minutes earlier. He said he'd be here - Ah! There he is."
Salma's heart sank. To her utter dismay, she saw Zayn walking out of the building. She had no idea what he was doing, still roaming around the department after getting his permit revoked, but there he was.
"It was nice meeting you," Salma heard Charlayne say. "See you around."
As the two girls walked away, Salma decided it was best to move out of Zayn's sight. She stepped towards the car to take refuge inside it. In her haste to get in, she tripped.
"Watch your step, Sally!" Will grabbed her by the arm to steady her.
Embarrassed, Salma mumbled an apology.
"You're still so clumsy." He shook his head in amusement.
Salma caught a movement in her periphery as she placed the box in the trunk. Zayn had starting walking towards them. Her heart started beating so fast, Salma felt as if it was trying to escape her chest.
"Are you okay, Bee?" Zayn asked, his features pulled into a mock concern.
Salma's blood boiled at his audacity to talk her but just to keep Will from getting suspicious, she managed a curt nod in reply.
"You sure --"
"Yes!" she hissed through gritted teeth. "I'm sure."
She could see the shadow of a smirk playing on his features behind the apparent facade of concern. Zayn seemed to have figured out she wanted to avoid drama, so he was going to go an extra mile to torment her.
Will, probably sensing something was wrong, slammed the trunk shut and walked over to her side.
"Oh, hi." Zayn flashed him a smile as if he had noticed Will only then. Will eyed him shrewdly, sizing him up. "I'm Zayn Harris. Bee's lab partner and Classmate!"
Will threw a glance at Salma when Zayn said 'Bee'. She was mortified.
How in the world was she going to explain that?
Finally, Will nodded stiffly.
"I'm her favorite, ain't I, Bee?" Zayn winked, much to Salma's horror and embarrassment, "Bee won't sit anywhere but next to me."
Salma glared at Zayn but the dark haired boy didn't catch any flame. He just stayed where he was, chuckling in fake merriment. Salma wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. She was not sure if she was more embarrassed, worried or angry at that moment. All she was aware of was the tightening of her throat, and that was not a good sign.
"Good to know, classmate," she heard Will's terse reply.
The condescending edge to Will's tone was hard to miss when he spit the word 'classmate'. His stiff tone both surprised and reassured Salma. Apparently, she was not the only one fuming.
"I'm William Sterling. Sally's cousin and childhood best friend," he continued, before turning to Salma with a smile. "It's a pleasure to make an acquaintance with your . . .? Oh yeah, classmate, Sal."
Salma's stomach churned with unease. She could tell William was getting back at Zayn but she wished he would find a way of doing that without trying to prove their nonexistent frank relationship. However, judging from Zayn's ticking jaw, Will's words seemed to have played a number on Zayn. Salma could not help but feel proud of her cousin for his prompt retort.
The two boys eyed each other with much contempt. A vicious looking smirk made a slow appearance on Zayn's face. Before he could even open his mouth, Salma knew he was about to throw a low blow.
"Will, maybe we should leave now -"
"Oh, so you are William," Zayn drowned her voice with mock wonder, "William, the cousin. The unimportant guy, right Bee? The one who is not allowed in your inner circle anymore?"
William's features hardened. This was a very sensitive topic for him; being part of the family, getting accepted. Salma's heart sank. It was for this very reason that he took to heart Salma's decision to cover from him. She knew if she were to turn around to look at him, she would see hurt and betrayal flashing all over his green eyes. She knew he would question how she could share with Zayn -- an irrelevant stranger -- something so private, so personal. And Salma did not have the heart, or the courage to look at him.
"She told me about it." Zayn smirked, provoking her. "Didn't you, Bee?"
She could see the game he was playing. Knowing that Will was special to her, Zayn was attacking them with the reminder that Salma chose to cover from him. A faint tremble of anger overtook her body.
Was this his cowardly manner of revenge?
"Oh yeah, I remember now!" Salma chuckled, maintaining a sickly-sweet, tranquil tone as she stared Zayn down with a cold smile. "Wasn't it when a dimwit couldn't understand how irrelevant and unimportant he was in my life? Yes, yes, I recall. I had to give him an example to help him get it, didn't I? So I told him if someone important like Will, who I respect with all my heart and frankly speaking, is family to me, was not allowed in my inner circle, what does that make of . . ."
Salma trailed off dramatically.
"You?!" She finished, her tone laced with disgust.
The silence that followed pressed against their eardrums. A fiery glow overtook Zayn eyes and his nostrils flared. Salma maintained eye contact, daring Zayn to reply. She heard Will letting out an amused chuckled. Zayn's eyes traveled between the two. Salma knew the insult he was about to throw at her. She stepped closer to him.
"Don't you dare try to get to me by insulting my family!" she snarled in a low tone, so only he could hear him.
"Is it just because he's family, or. . .?" He trailed off suggestively.
"Spit it!" Salma glared at him.
Zayn's smirk widened, his eyes flitting between her brown ones as he bit his lip.
"I'd rather not, darling, if the suspense of my silence will keep you this close to me," he muttered softly.
Salma stepped back as if jolted by an electric bolt. She stared at him with disgust and disbelief. Was this beast really the same person who had spent hours assisting her on a project? Numbing his butt on that stiff stool, stuck with her in the lab?
"Anyway," Zayn feigned cheerfulness, ignoring her reaction all together. "I'm here to let you know, you have to come with me to Prof. R.K.'s office."
Zayn said the last part loud enough for Will to hear, making him walk up to them again.
"I'll come with you." Will offered.
Zayn and Salma held a stare down contest. He silently dared her to make her next move. Scared much? said the cold smile playing on his lips. She felt like he was taunting her to go ahead and bring Will along.
"It's fine." Salma told Will, still glaring at Zayn. "I'll be back in a minute."
She started walking back towards the building without waiting for either of them to reply. Salma did not want to be alone with Zayn but she did not want Will to suffer around him either. She knew Zayn would continue to offend Will every chance he gets just to spite her.
"Bye dude, we'll be taking more than just a minute." She heard Zayn taunt her cousin.
She gritted her teeth in anger, speeding up her pace to get ahead of Zayn.
"Judging from how fast you're walking, you sure are eager to get away from him. Go on, you can thank me now."
At that, Salma lost it.
"I'm walking fast to try to get from away from a lowlife like you!" she burst out. "Why the hell did you insult Will like that?!"
"What?" Zayn's eyes widened with mock disbelief. "I just rescued you from the intolerable presence of your cousin?"
"Drop the act, Zayn!" Salma snapped. "Your problems lie with me. You had no right to be so rude to Will!"
"Really? You wouldn't even let him walk you to the office." Zayn continued with the mockery.
"Zayn, why - just . . ." Salma clenched her fists. She was so mad at him, she couldn't even find the right words to express it. "Just stop ruining with my life, okay. Just stop!"
Zayn dropped his act, bringing forth this evil, cold self that he was masking until now.
"I'm ruining your life?" he asked, his eyebrows shooting up with incredulity. "Are you for real? I'm having a disciplinary action taken against me for something as petty as kicking a stool down!
"You destroy three boxes of --"
"Insects!" Zayn snapped.
"It wasn't just --"
"You'd ruin my degree for a few dozen quashed bugs?!"
"I didn't do it!" Salma raised her voice, getting tired of his constant crap. Her voice reverberated along the empty corridor. It was an eerie feeling. Was R.K really waiting for her or did Zayn just trick her into this deserted space so he could book a ticket for her to the afterlife.
Zayn seem to have frozen to a still. He had opened his mouth to retort but her claim of not being the one to report him seem to have rendered him speechless. Suppressing the urge to punch him, Salma gave him her back. She saw Zayn's hand shoot out to stop her from walking away. Salma dodged it. The two glared at each other.
Oh dear, he was really going to murder her!
"However," Salma raged on, shrugging away the morbid thoughts of getting killed, "touch me one more time and you wouldn't need to do much mental gymnastics to work out who filed a restraining order against you!"
"You won't dare!" Zayn returned.
"Try me!" Salma scoffed.
"I didn't see you telling unimportant curly that when he grabbed your arm." Zayn snapped.
"What even --" Salma struggled with words, bewildered. Wasn't he yelling about his disciplinary action just now? "What's Will got to do with anything? What the hell is your problem with him? He's my cousin, for God's sake!"
"True, cousin! Last I checked, he wasn't in the list of Mahrams! Why was he even out there picking you up?!"
"Seriously Zayn!" She threw her hands up in frustration. "Will was only taking me home! How dare you even question me about it. Butt out of my life!"
Salma turned on her heels and started walking away from him. The empty halls and classrooms were starting to worry her. She wanted to get to the offices. At least the evening-shift staff there would hear her in case Zayn lost it completely and attempted a murder.
"I demand answers because you discriminate against me!" Zayn seethed, as she felt him walking up to her, "I would have done none of that had you not played me earlier!"
Clenching her teeth together, she chose to ignore him and kept walking. She reached for the sliding doors to enter the offices but was stopped by Zayn's arm blocking her way.
"Move!" She demanded, but Zayn refused to let her past him.
"I need a word with you before you see him," he replied, "Did you really not --"
"I'm not in the mood, so move!"
He narrowed his eyes.
"You better fix that attitude of yours, Bee." He warned.
"My attitude is none of your concern," Salma replied flatly.
She was tired, emotionally and physically, but she was not going to let him guilt-trip her or boss her around anymore. She was not wrong and Zayn needed to get that through his head.
Zayn pinned her with a hard stare, his caramel eyes burned with rage. Salma could almost hear him grit his teeth, but when he spoke, his voice was eerily calm.
"The professor is waiting for you," He turned the knob of the door, not removing his angry eyes from her, "And good luck with the project that he assigns you, because it is about helping me."
He pushed the door open, stepping aside to let her go in. Salma's stomach clenched with unease and her mouth went completely dry.
Author's Note:
Bang! Bang! Bang! Pow! Pow! Bang! Silliam vs. Zayn :P Who won?
Should I continue posting during Ramadhan, or should I pause it?
Also, ramadhan is the month of Qur'an. Make sure you study some part of it and take a life long lesson from it. Pick a good habit, drop a bad one. Stay and pray at home and drink loads! Also, join me in the study of Surah Yusuf🥰 ( link posted on my page)
Having said that, I think Maryam_Ahsan deserve a special shout-out for commenting 60-70 comments on each chapters (This count does not include the replies later on U_U) and Jiya194 closlely following with 50+ comments :P. Onyx, Ameera, HijabiRoyalty and Firefly (Libra) all share the third place with 40-50 comments each.
While I'm grateful to each and every one of you, I felt like these gals needed a special mention spaming my notifications. I love you all, and the lazy losties are indebt to your love for getting updates :P I wouldn't post if you showed no enthusiasm for the story lol.
Gentle reminder that chapter 67 is already up on my patreon page and you can get early access to as many as 6 chapters by becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/brekhnajohar 😇
Lots of LOVE
J.