Chapter 31: "Wrong Number"

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Goal for early update: 300 comments

First draft: April 25, 2021

James and Dean had their arms firmly folded over their chests. Their expressions were grim.

"I can explain!" Salma tried.

"She can explain." Dean deadpanned.

"Can she explain?" James raised a brow.

"Yes!" Salma seethed. "She can! I am she. Stop acting like I am not here!"

Salma glared at the two brothers. They did not falter. Her stomach sank.

Man . . .

Approximately an hour ago, they had seen her with Sarah, Jason and Lousia in their usual spot - the canopy at the far end of the grounds, under the oak tree. Zayn was also there.

"You're still a loser!" Louisa had taunted, sticking her tongue out.

Zayn's hand shot to grab the junior's ear.

"Whoa!" Salma cried, backing out of the way to not be collateral damage in their tussle. She was seated on the bench adjacent to Zayn's and next to Louisa.

Louisa slapped Zayn's approaching hand and shoved his arm away. Salma barely dodged a hit to the face.

"Will you stop it?!" Sarah snapped at the pair.

Unknown to them, the two boys, who were walking up to Salma , had witnessed the quick movements. They had misread it as Zayn trying to make a grab for Salma.

Catching a glimpse of their murderous expression had Salma jumping to her feet just as the two boys pounced on Zayn.

"Wait, wait!" Salma cried in panic, as she stepped over the bench and wedged herself between the three boys. She grabbed Zayn's clenched hand, putting it down firmly. "Don't hurt him!" Salma told the two boys.

James's fist halted midair when he saw his target move behind an alley.

The two boys blinked. Their bodies still tense and lips parted in disbelief. Salma grabbed the opportunity to properly stand guard in front Zayn, putting him behind her back.

James eyes snapped to her hand. She was still holding onto Zayn's arm. A short breath of incredulity escaped his lips.

"What're you doin?!" Dean exclaimed, bewildered.

Salma quickly let go of Zayn's arm and folded her hands, but remain firm in standing guard in front of Zayn. She swallowed uneasily and looked away, unable to meet their gaze. She could feel Zayn standing mere millimeters behind her. Her muscles tensed.

"I see how it is." James scoffed. "You're choosing sides."

Salma's eyes snapped back at them.

"What? no--"

"And not ours."

"Not ours," Dean repeated, just as angry.

Salma felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Knowing whose it was made her shudder.

"My condolences, boys," Zayn said, sounding amused. Salma felt her stomach clench at how close he was. She was just barely leaning against his chest. "I know it hurts. It's going to be alright."

"Be quiet!" Salma snapped at Zayn, taking a subtle step away from him.

Zayn and James held a staredown contest. James's eyes shifted to Zayn's hand that was still resting on Salma's shoulder. She had not shrugged it off.

"I see how it is." James backed off.

"No –"

"Bye!" Zayn waved.

"Zayn!" Salma rounded on him.

"I'm just kidding." He chuckled good-naturedly.

"Let's go Dean." James clapped his brother's back. "We lost her to the enemy clan."

"Should have known." Dean scoffed, backing off too.

"Wait, guys!" Salma quickly grabbed her bag.

"Are they always so dramatic?" Sarah asked casually.

"Yes!" Salma hissed then broke into a run after them. "James!"

She cursed in her head. It was just her luck that he had long legs. He was already by his car.

"James wait!" she called, jumping over the hedge to cross into the lot. "Dean!"

Dean sighed in exasperation when Salma grabbed the passenger side door and slammed it shut, not letting him in.

"Come on!" Salma cried, irritated. "I'm in your team!"

He fixed her with a hard stare.

"I can explain, alright," Salma continued, annoyed. "This is no way to behave. You guys are acting like toddlers --"

Salma cut off when without a word, Dean gave her his back and opened the back door.

"Get in," he said seriously.

Salma rolled her eyes at him and piled into their car. Such Drama Queens!

They did not say a word throughout the ride back home and gave her the silent treatment. Then, they dragged her into kitchen where they now stood, arm folded and looking cross.

"Explain," Dean finally said.

"And it better be good," James added, "because if it's a crap reason, you are going to pay for ruining my celebratory mood!"

Salma let out a slow breath and rolled her eyes. She guessed James was paying a visit to celebrate his studio's opening. He did not have to start the celebrations by exploding fists into unsuspecting bystanders though.

"Well?" Dean raised a brow.

First draft: January 4, 2021

"The attack was kind of a mess up," Salma began. "The X-RAW attacked me that night. Zayn was there by chance, and realizing something was wrong, he helped me get away. While in the hiding, I misread some of his actions and thought it was him staging a kidnap-and-rescue scene to earn my respects. I freaked out. He tried to restrain me from making a run for it and getting exposed to the men again."

James's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"So he didn't assault you?" he asked.

"He did." Salma sighed, feeling exhausted. Her relation to Zayn did not even make sense in her head. "No. I mean yes."

"Which one?" Dean raised an incredulous brow.

"Look, he used unnecessary force to restrain me, but part of it was because he was panicked and I was challenging the truth behind his words of the X-RAW trying to kidnap me."

Dean let out a dry laugh.

"So now you're finding excuses for him?" he said.

"Not really." Salma frowned. "I am very clear on the fact that he used unnecessary force and therefore assaulted me."

"In short, you've forgiven him." James said.

"I don't know. He's shown remorse but I don't really trust him yet."

Dean let out another dry laugh.

"Right?!" he said incredulously. "Then what was that?" He pointed towards the door.

Salma eyed the two boys crossly.

"Just me being nice to appreciate the fact that I already owe him four lives," she replied tersely.

Dean sighed in exasperation. He put his hands on his face, rubbing his eyes and the bridge of his nose.

"You're a lost cause, Sally!" came his muffled reply

Salma looked away, feeling conflicted and agitated once more. She was mildly aware of James observing her silently. He seemed to be thinking about something. Salma realized, to her surprise and amusement, that between the two boys, he was being less vocal about his disappointment in her since she had shared her reasons.

"What?" she asked after a while.

He took in a deep breath.

"Has he been nice to you since?" he asked seriously, taking both her and Dean by surprise at his question.

Salma took a while to think about it.

"So far," she finally answered with a shrug. He has been very nice and accommodating with her since the horrifying night of the attack. The drastic shift in his behavior was both, a relief and quite unnerving.

"I see." James chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully. "Look, Sally, I don't know what happened to him to turn him into a complete beast, but back when I knew him, he was a good lad. Always serious and passionate about everything and everyone he loved. Be it Niall or his Footy team which he treated like his family, or his own family, he used to give them his all."

"You're saying?" Dean said impatiently.

James looked at her seriously.

"If that lad is still there in the beast, he's a good lad to be around," James said earnestly, "but if it's just a beast. Don't waste your time by feeling indebted to him. You'll only end up getting hurt dialing that wrong number. Be careful."

***

First draft: April, 2018

Salma hurried past the students dodging her way between them. She had overslept and now she was running late for her class and she still had to do the coffee ritual with Zayn. Salma kept an eye out for him. Just outside the coffee house where they usually met, Salma was surprised to see Niall waiting for her instead of Zayn, a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Coffee for the Bee Lady." He smiled at her while holding a phone to his ear. "Duly delivered."

"Where's Zayn?" Salma accepted the coffee, her brow furrowed.

"Over here." Niall surprised her by holding his phone to her. Salma hesitated. "He's on the phone. He wants to talk to you."

Feeling odd, Salma gingerly took the phone and held it to her ear. She looked away from Niall, not really comfortable to talk to Zayn over a phone, or with Niall present. Although she had done both before, it was different on the phone. Sensing her discomfort, Niall took a few steps away to give her privacy.

Salma opened her mouth but nothing came out. She awkwardly cleared her throat. Realizing she was on the line, Zayn greeted her first.

"Assalamo'Alaykum, Bee."

Despite the oddness of the situation, Salma smiled. Him saying salam would never not be unfamiliar.

"Wa'Alaykum Assalam," she replied. "I got your coffee. Thanks."

"Yeah, don't mention it." Zayn laughed into her ear. Salma felt her eardrum tickle.

What was going on?!

"I'm sorry the original delivery guy took flight but duty calls. The new season is starting in a week. Maybe I should've told you, but you left with the boys and I wasn't sure if you'd want to know . . ."

"No, it's alright," Salma quickly reassured, feeling like they were not really at a point where he had to inform her of everything he did. "Good luck with the games."

"Thanks. Will you watch it?"

Salma swallowed, feeling her pulse quickening for no reason.

"Yes."

"Will you pray for me?"

Salma gripped the phone tightly, feeling her heart flutter. With how embarrassingly loud it had started to thud, she feared Zayn would hear it down the line. Something about him asking her to pray for him felt too personal.

"Okay . . ."

She heard the sharp intake of his breath. Both of them said nothing for a while. Salma felt goosebumps on her arms making her fidget. Listening to the static, Salma turned around looking for Niall. Maybe she should wrap up the call and give Niall his phone back before their exchange got even more awkward and, or embarrassing . . .

"Hey, uh, I was wondering," Zayn began uncertainly, "if, maybe, I can have your phone number. . ?"

Salma froze.

"My number?" she echoed, "I – Zayn, my –"

"Look, if you're not comfortable, that's fine with me!" Zayn quickly reassured her. "I was just –"

"No, it's not that," Salma replied, not sure how to explain. She knew not only was Zayn allowed to, but also that he actually had her number. Her father had set up a group chat between the three of them when he was Arethas Grace. He, asking for her number was just him seeking approval of contacting her using that mode of communication. Salma was grateful that he was asking instead of just contacting her out of blue, but she still did not trust him fully to let him have that sort of access to her, not without at least getting some family backup first. "I'd want to talk to my father first."

"Oh, its fine, I guess," Zayn replied. He was obviously aware of the distrust her family had for him, and rightfully so. "Do you want me to ask him?"

"No, I'd do it myself," Salma quickly reassured. She wanted to have that conversation with her family to see exactly where Zayn stood in her father's books.

First draft: April 27, 2021

After the class, Salma felt oddly unoccupied. Zayn had started spending an hour with her in the afternoon, together with Louisa, Jason, Sarah and Niall, whoever was available to laze around. Now that he had left for LA, Salma was free. She saw Louisa and Jason sitting in their usual spot by the tree but since no one else was around, Salma saw it fit to let them be. Sarah was missing in action, she realized. Wondering where she was at, Salma made her way to dorms to check up on her friend. Maybe she would find out what Sarah thought of Zayn requesting her number.

In no time, Salma had entered the dorms and was already standing in front of Sarah's door. She knocked again when Sarah did not open up or reply the first time.

"Who is it?" Sarah asked, her voice sharp.

Salma frowned. What was she up to?

"Salma," she replied nonetheless.

The door opened a peek. Salma glimpsed the glint of a blade. Before she could make head or tail out of it, an attacking hand made a quick grab for her and yanked her into the room with a forceful thug. Salma's head spun with vertigo. Her fight with dizziness was interrupted by the sound of the door banging shut and a number of bolts clicking back in place.

Salma turned around to find a haggardly cloaked figure standing by the door, a fearsome blade in hand.

She backed off.

What in the world?

"What is going on?" Salma cried, panicking.

"Death," said the figure with Sarah's voice. "Madness."

"What?" Salma blinked.

"Sleepless night," Sarah continued with the same bland tone, pulling off the cape and hood that she had thrown over herself, with one hand. "Paranoia. Borderline insanity --"

"Man, you look like a zombie!" Salma gasped seeing the state of her.

Her hair was disheveled and face pale. She had bags under her eyes, a telltale sign of no sleep and lots of worry. Her raw eyes kept darting towards the window, her knife held at the ready to defend herself.

"Thanks," Sarah replied. "In the current situation of me having locked horns with a cold-blooded murderer, being a zombie seems like a good transformation to ensure he misses on his sleep out of fear, not me."

Salma took in her long rant, frowning. Did she really just admit Toryal's cunning claws had her losing sleep? Come to think of it, he did threaten her with rape, Salma's stomach clenched.

That despicable toilet seat parasite!

"Are you scared?" Salma asked cautiously.

"Was." Sarah sighed, moving away from the window once she was sure no one was about to jump her from there. "I was scared during the conversation, but I held my own. Later I was fine. Everything was under control. I thought I had nothing to worry about until I came to my room and it hit me. Now I'm not just scared, I'm sick. I need help. I'm paranoid!

"Easy! Easy!" Salma quickly reassured. It was weird seeing her like that. "Take a deep breath. You're going to be alright."

"I need to sleep!" she replied. "If I stay awake for one more hour, I'll probably glue an eye under my bed and another on the window while I guard the door to make sure no Tor Gul rats are going to jump me."

"I understand that," Salma tried again. "You have to relax."

"I can't," she said simply. "I just can't."

Salma sighed, watching her friend glance at the window again as she held her knife in a death grip.

"You know what? You need to shut that brain for a while. Catch a break," Salma began. "I can keep watch for you while you sleep --"

Sarah scoffed.

"You can't hurt a fly."

"Hey! I'm getting very good in combat alright!" Salma defended.

"I'm sure of it," Sarah placated her insincerely, "but you keeping watch while I sleep doesn't comfort me to sleep. At all!"

Salma felt offended by Sarah's lack of faith in her ability to put up a good fight. However, she knew Sarah was right. She could not even be considered a flimsy line of defense, if God forbids, the Tor Guls attacked.

"Alright," Salma gave in. "Then why don't you come stay with me if you want? Asim can shift to Will's and I --"

"I very much don't mind sharing a room with you," Sarah quickly agreed. "In fact, I'd very much like to share a room with the most protected individual in this mess, because I'm very much scared and would like to get be very much sure of my security so I can get some sleep –"

"Very much?" Salma provided.

"I'd like to sleep very much, thank you."

"Very much?"

"Just stop!" Sarah whined, burying her head in her arms. She was tired.

"Very much – I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Salma chuckled, diving away from her raising fist. "Girl, don't kill me," Salma muttered crossly.

"Stop bothering me then," Sarah snapped, resting her head again and closed her eyes.

Blown fuse and short-circuited brains. Salma knew she better not provoke her sleep-deprived friend. Instead, she started packing Sarah's supplies.

"I don't know how you do it?" Sarah muttered after a while, twisting the knife in her hand.

"Do what?" Salma asked, putting her toothbrush and comb in a bag.

"Stay sane with such high levels of threats to your well-being," Sarah replied.

"I know I'm being protected." Salma shrugged.

"I know I'm being protected too. I still lost precious amount of sleep being scared," Sarah said. "I think you're just brave."

"Or maybe I'm just used to it?" Salma replied, opening her closet. She pointed at the dresses, asking Sarah which ones to pack.

"The green one," she said. "And first three from the left."

Salma nodded, pulling the dresses out.

"It's been my reality for a while now," she added.

"That's still very brave." Sarah sighed. "I'm never taking my peace for granted again."

"Come on." Salma clapped her shoulder. "Let me drive you home so you can rest."

"Thanks man." Sarah sighed getting up and putting her shoes on. She slipped a knife in her boot and another one in a small sheath of sorts in her sleeve.

"Don't mention it." Salma smiled, handing her an abaya. "Lets get you to rest."

Author's Note:

James and Dean now know about Zalma, Zayn's gone and Sarah's losing her marbles. Reach the goal to find out what happens next ;)

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