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Salma took a seat next to James. Her mind was still all over the place. It kept straying to the havoc that wrecked on her the previous night, to the possible threats she may still have to her safety, to Zayn's nerve to visit her in the hospital and then ask to see her mother.
Most importantly, and although Salma did her best to avoid thinking about it, she was sickened by the worry of not knowing what happened when she was alone with Zayn.
"You okay?" James asked her, as Asim pulled out of the parking lot.
"Yes." Salma faked a smile.
Salma stayed quiet for most of the ride, letting the three boys do all the talking. She was deep in thought wondering if the man who gave her the chance to escape in the dark alley was actually one of Alex's subordinates. She wished she could have gotten an answer from Alex and some reassurance that the mystery man made it out of there alive. She was pulled to the present when James suddenly yelped in surprise.
"Sick bast –" James bit his tongue. "What the hell is he doing here?!"
It took Salma sometime to realize they were almost home. She followed James's stare and was shocked out of her skin to see Zayn standing by her front door. He was deep in conversation with Anne and her mother.
"I appreciate it," Zayn flashed her mother a modest smile. "Thank you, Alley."
Alley? Salma thought angrily as she hastened to get out of the car. That was a nickname reserved for people close to the family. Why was he calling her mother Alley?
Zayn took leave, and turned around to walk over to his ride. His eyes lingered over the four of them as they piled out of the car, a smug smile creeping on his lips. Salma's gut clenched with unease.
"What are you doing here?!" Asim questioned, his tone hostile.
"Nothing much." Zayn shrugged as he put on his sunglasses and unlocked his car. "Just having a chat with your mum is all."
"Having a chat, my ass! Tell me exactly what you were doing here?" James snarled.
Zayn chuckled pleasantly.
"She doesn't like cursing, did you know?" Zayn said, jerking his head towards Salma. Her heart sank with unease. Why did he keep forcing the conversation towards her?
"Answer the question!"
Zayn let out a breath, turning his gaze firmly on Salma. Her insides twisted with anxiety knowing he was about to throw another blow. She braced herself for his hurtful insults but nothing could have prepared her for what followed.
"Fine," he replied. "I was making sure my sole interest in this house is protected from further harm. Problem?"
Salma's lips parted in surprise. Her heart seemed to have suffered a seizure at what he was aiming at with his words. She stared at him, not willing to believe her ears. Zayn looked right back. A pained look in his eyes was evident behind the tainted glasses. As the shocked silence stretched longer, he turned away.
"Do you mind?" he said, gesturing for James to move out of his way.
James glared at him, clearly itching to punch his face but he did not want to risk drawing anyone else's attention to the meaning behind Zayn's thinly veiled message. Begrudgingly, he got out of Zayn's way, letting him get into his car.
Quite unfortunately for him, Asim was not having any of it. He rounded on Salma, his eyes flashing in anger.
"What the hell did he mean?!" he snarled at his sister.
Salma's eyes snapped towards him, shocked by the hostility in her brother's tone. She could not believe the accusation his question held.
"What did he mean?" Salma repeated in disbelief. "What the hell do you mean by asking me that question?!"
Before Asim could respond, their mother dropped the sword hanging over her head.
"Salma!" she called her over. "Mind coming inside for a bit? I believe we need to talk."
***
"You knew!" her mother seethed. "You knew all along and you kept it from us!"
It had been a while since Zayn left. Salma was still fuming over his audacity to appear at her door-step, and everyone else was not. Everyone else, including James and Dean, was on her mother's side, who happened to be fuming at her.
"Mum, I'll ask you one more time." Salma tried to control her voice. "Don't make me kill him tomorrow, I swear --"
"Keep that boy out of this!" her mother's snapped loudly.
Salma stared at her mother wide-eyed while she kept telling her off. Her blood started boiling again. Was this one of his 'I'll make you regret it' acts? To turn her family against her.
"He seems to have more brains than you!"
"No, what he has is an infuriating habit of putting his nose where it does not belong!"
"Salma –"
"Both of you!" Anne interfered. "Calm down, please!"
Salma's mother glared at her while she avoided everyone's gaze. Her mind was set on a totally different issue. She was not really bothered about any of what they were freaking out about. Zayn had managed to make her mother mad at her. She was going to – she was going to . . . Oh God! She was so mad she did not know what she wanted to do with him.
"The two of you aren't even addressing the same issue," Anne's voice reached her through her angry thoughts.
"Sal, Alley's right to be mad at you," Dean piped in, earning a glare from Salma.
"Explain why you were keeping it from all of us, especially after you getting shot at?!" Aliya demanded to know.
"You got shot at?!"
Salma's eyes widened in surprise. Zayn you jerk!
"Oh God!" Dean groaned, putting his head on the table. "Sally, please don't tell me last night's shooting --"
"Damn!" James cried, catching up with him.
"Your arm?" Dean continued. "It wasn't a splinter wound when someone pushed you during the stampede, was it?"
"Okay," Salma started cautiously. "You people are freaking out for nothing."
"Sally, this sure is not nothing," Anne said before her mother could start yelling again.
"It's not like that!" Salma protested.
"You could have been killed!"
"Am I?" she pitched in, but no one was listening.
"Mum's right!"
"Yeah, I'm with her on this one."
"Me too, Sal," James nodded in agreement with the rest. "You could have died last night."
They were all busy clapping each other's back and teaming up against her.
"And I'm freaking alive!" Salma yelled, feeling cornered. "Stop it! All of you! It's not like that! I kept the information from you but I'm not a kid! I know what I was doing!"
"Know what you're doing? Like what?"
"I --"
"Like almost getting killed."
"No, enough of this!" Salma pushed her chair, blinking back tears. "That scumbag comes and tells you tales, and you start treating me like a two year old?!"
"Sally, you know it's not like that," Anne began gently.
"No, I know what it is like!" she fumed, her voice shaking. "I realize I have people wanting me dead. None of you can help me live longer than is destined for me so I keep that information to myself. I took every bloody step to make sure I was safe. I never went out alone at night. I cut short my visits to the mosque and Cody's all together. I didn't want any of you worrying or getting scared. That's why I kept my mouth shut!"
"Sal, we –"
"Besides, you really think I'm stupid?!" she spat. "You think Dad and Uncle Dawood don't know?!"
"You told them?" Asim asked, surprised.
"Do I need to?" Salma scoffed.
"Yes!" her mother snapped. "Why else would you be dodging bullets while they're sleeping their --"
"They already know!" Salma snapped, frustrated. "Of all the people, how can they not know!"
"They why would you still be shot at?" Anne frowned.
"They probably have their reasons and they know better than y'all, anyway." Salma rolled her eyes. "If dad or Uncle Dawood are cool with the things the way they are, why should I bother telling --"
"Don't just assume everything on their behalf!" her mother snapped. "They aren't omniscient beings --"
"Wait." James frowned. "So why would she not be shot at if her dad and Uncle knew about it?"
"Are they like, cops?" Dean added, his expression quizzical.
The occupants of the room exchanged glances as an uneasy silence stretched.
"It doesn't spare her the shootings but he's her father," Anne attempted a smooth save. "He should know. Zayn actually wanted to see your dad too."
James opened his mouth to inquire more, but Salma's flaring temper got in the way.
"What?!" Salma shouted. "He had the nerve to ask for dad to meet him?"
"Salma, please --"
"Will you stop making this about that kid?" her mother sighed.
"I need to know why you let him in?"
"What?!" her mother eyed her incredulously. "Salma, what is wrong with you?!"
"He's not welcome around here!"
She could feel everyone's eyes on her. Aliya, like everyone other mother seemed to have picked up on something.
"Kid, if you are hiding anything else, you better spit it!" her mother snapped. "What has he done?!"
"He dares poke his nose in my business!" Salma forced each word out forcefully, carefully. "I will not tolerate that!"
"Salma, I think he meant well," Anne said gently. "He said he wasn't even sure if you've been informed of gravity of the threat to your life."
Salma kept quiet. She knew Zayn had played his cards well. That manipulative rat!
For a second, she wished William was around. He would have believed her. The two of them seem to share a common sense of distrust for Zayn. Will's lack of faith in him reminded her of his request to have a word with her.
"So Salma has a target drawn on her back now?" Asim asked, making Salma scowl. Why could he not just keep the topic elsewhere?
"According to that boy, yes," her mother added, throwing Salma a stern look when she rolled her eyes. "The agent told him everything and he decided to meet up with us. He said he did not know if Salma was aware but I know my daughter well enough to know that she knew!"
"Wow! Psyche momma!" James laughed.
"You become one, with a child like her," her mother sighed, rubbing her eyes in exhaustion.
"Teach me some of that," Dean chuckled.
Salma eyed the three flatly before leaving their company for the safety and isolation of her room.
***
Salma checked her schedule for the day to find a time slot to meet Will. She was hesitant to see him privately, but decided against getting their families involved. Instead, she asked Dean to accompany her.
*Salma: Alright, let's meet him outside his department after my classes.
Salma sent the text to Dean, who would convey the message to her cousin. Her mother was reluctant to let her leave the house after Zayn's revelation. However, Salma had managed to change her mind promising that she would stay inside campus at all times and leave only when one of the boys was with her – it was the rule she was following as of late anyway, so Salma was pleased when her mother agreed.
"Salma."
Salma looked up from her phone to her brother who seemed rather uncomfortable. He kept his eyes trained on the road as they entered the campus.
"Listen, um, I'm sorry."
Salma raised a brow.
"Pardon?"
"About yesterday," he elaborated. "I was not implying anything, I just --"
He combed his hair with his fingers, searching for the right words.
"I was just 'freaked out' I guess." He shrugged, stealing a glance at her, looking ashamed. "His words just rubbed off the wrong way. He probably didn't mean what I thought he meant, but . . ."
Asim trailed off. Salma nodded, turning away from him. She was not sure what Zayn had meant either but it had 'freaked' her out pretty bad too – to put it in Asim's words.
"He's probably retaliating," Salma related. "He was working in the same lab as I, and was rather nasty. He got kicked out after a complaint was filed against him. He thinks I did it."
"That makes sense." Asim frowned, "He does seem to have a massive ego problem."
Asim parked outside the biological sciences block.
"Please, just be careful, alright?" her brother requested. "I mean, I trust you. You are tough but I am a guy. I know how hard it gets sometimes to let go of smallest insults thrown our way. It gets quite hideous, and Zayn just gives me the wrong kind of vibes around you."
Something about the way he said it warmed Salma's heart, and at the same time made chills run down her spine. She was grateful to have a brother like Asim but his warning tied her gut into one anxious knot.
"I know," she replied. "Thanks for having my back."
***
She was shaking with mad fury as her eyes scanned the grounds in search of her target. The sun was out after weeks and the students were strewn on the dry grass, basking in its warmth. Like the brilliant blue sky and the beautiful day, Salma mood was anything but. Since her first class, flashes of the attack in the plaza had been nagging Salma, continuously simmering just below the surface. However, it was only after her Evolution class that the pieces of the puzzle connected to form a complete picture. She remembered. She remembered everything that had happened after the accident, and she was boiling with anger.
Salma knew he would out with his cronies on a day like this. Her stormy eyes flitted between faces, hoping to find the one she was meant to thunder upon.
There.
Standing up from the bench, in a black flannel and charcoal jeans, was her target. Hot rage surged through her veins as she made a beeline towards him, glaring at his back till everything else appeared to have a red tinge to it. Unaware of the storm approaching, Zayn raised his arms up and stretched.
"I have a flight back in a few hours --"
"Zayn! Watch --"
Before any of them could shout a warning, Salma had grabbed at his sleeve and tugged, making him turn around to face her.
"How, dare you?!" Salma growled, getting in his face.
Author's Note:
Shots fired!💥💥💥 Salma is out, all guns blazing🔫💥! Who's gonna be the casualty? 😋
So, about the goals. After a few Losties agreed, I am putting up a comment goal for those who cannot sign up to become a Patron, but wish to have a chapter before it's duedate. This is going to be a test case chapter. If y'all can handle it, we'll continue with goals, otherwise, we'll all practice sabr un Jameel, and wait for a chapter according to the schedule 😂
Or!
You can become a Patron at www.Patreon.com/brekhnajohar and gain early access to as many as six chapter every month! Link in my bio🤗.
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J.