Chapter 53: "Obvious Tension"

Post your reactions as you read ;)❤️

First draft: June 2018

Salma and Zayn avoided each other for the next couple of days following their argument. Whereas Zayn was upset that she refused to go out with him, Salma found it offensive that he had had a go at her parents.

Although they met by the coffee house, they barely talked. Zayn just passed her the drink, muttered a salam and left. Annoyed, Salma made it a point to reach the coffee house before him the next day, bought her own coffee and got him one as well. Initially surprised, Zayn found himself getting angrier with her as she offered him a cup, muttered salams and then walked away.

"What was that?" Sarah raised a brow.

"I don't need his coffee if he can't get his act together," Salma replied. "I can buy my own."

Zayn, on the other hand, was barely holding up against the urge to fling his drink away. He fully understood what Salma did by reversing the order of who paid for the coffee. It was a small gesture of his affection to her, and she had dismissed it as meaningless, given the obvious tension between them.

Not wanting to do something he'd regret later, he decided to talk to Sarah about it. However, every time Zayn approached her, he found Salma in her company. Zayn could not find a spot to talk to her and so their avoiding each other streak continued. Frustrated, he gave up on trying to talk to Snob and called Robert instead.

"Well, that is weird." Robert frowned through the small screen of Zayn's phone, "I have to say I've never really heard of this sort of a thing before. She's your wife. I don't see why her parents would want to stop her from seeing you."

Zayn sighed, trying hard not to pay too much attention to how his heart exploded with feelings when Robert called Salma 'his wife'.

"That's what I thought too." Zayn groaned. "but I don't even know if it's her parents, really. I feel like she's just using them as an excuse because she literally said she can't go after I showed her a video of her dad saying we could."

"You think she's reluctant to go out with you?"

"Yes." Zayn grimaced. "What else could it be?"

"Well, that complicates things."

"I don't understand what more should I do to please her," Zayn said bitterly. "She's really being a snob at this point. After everything I'd done to gain her trust . . . she's just enjoying playing me now."

"Giving up that quick?" Robert laughed. "Dude, I thought you said you loved her."

"I love her! I love her with my whole heart, but that doesn't mean I can't complain when she's being unreasonable."

"Nah, you don't get to say that, mate," Robert cut in. "I'm sorry, but with what she's endured when she didn't had to, you can't complain if she wants to take things slow, or if she's scared or nervous. I wouldn't want to spent two minutes with someone who'd assault me and she's tried to look past all of that and work out a whole relationship with you. Bro, you can't belittle someone's trauma."

"I'm not!" Zayn cried. "God, I know what I'd done! And I'm trying to make up for that mistake --"

"It wasn't just a mistake Zayn, it scarred her, possibly for life," Robert said, making Zayn's heart sink. "I know you're trying to make up for that. I've seen you done that with my own eyes, but bro, you can't control how she fixes what was broken. Not saying the nature of the trauma is the same, but imagine if you had to be adopted by the freaks who attacked you when you were young. Imagine willingly moving in with them and developing a mutual trust –"

"Those were vile beasts, who beat us to death!"

"That is why I asked you to imagine it!"

"They never cared --"

"Even if they showed remorse," Robert continued. "Would you forgive them, and not just forgive them, would you entertain the idea of normal relation with them?"

Zayn said nothing.

"Look, it's probably a poor comparison but the emotional trauma is somewhat similar. What I'm trying to get at is, it takes time to heal. She's shown remarkable strength by giving you a second chance and letting you in but she'll walk her own pace. Forcing her to run when she's struggling on her feet will only end up in her tripping and getting hurt."

Zayn ran a hand through his hair, chewing on the inside of his lower lip.

"So what do I do now?" Zayn asked, utterly confused and defeated.

"Judging from what I've heard about her, she's worth the wait bro." Robert shrugged. "Be patient. They don't make it like her anymore. You'll regret it if this chance passes you by."

"I know." Zayn sighed. "She's the most beautiful person I've ever met, I know she's worth it, but I just get so frustrated sometimes. Had she just told me she was uncomfortable, I'd have understood, but she started lecturing me about how her parents felt and stuff and I exploded."

"I understand where you're coming from. Though, you definitely shouldn't have insulted her parents," Robert continued. "That was low, bro."

Feeling even worse, Zayn just puffed his cheeks, resting his head in his hand.

***

"Dad, more salad?" Salma offered the bowl.

"No, thanks princess, I got enough," her father refused.

Salma's family was gathered around the table for dinner, together with Uncle Dawood and Anne. It was a typical Saturday night. With William still away for the semester, his parents spend the evening at Salma's.

Salma was enjoying her food, listening to the light chatter and gentle clinks of the cutlery when Asim turned to her across the table.

"Hey Salma, what's up with you and Zayn?"

Salma froze. The sudden silence that fell upon the table was overwhelming as everyone turned to her. Salma quickly gathered herself.

"What do you mean?" she asked, casually taking another spoon full of the rice.

"I don't know." Asim shrugged, frowning. "You guys are acting weird. Earlier, I saw him give some papers to a little kid and asked her to give it to you when you were standing only a few feet away. It's like he was avoiding you."

Salma focused on her food, avoiding everyone's gazes. She was not sure if Asim was being innocently curious, or cleverly trying to bring the tension between her and Zayn to the attention of the adults.

"Salma?" her mother asked.

"We had an argument." Salma shrugged a shoulder, picking up her glass.

"Already?" She heard her father.

"See what I mean when I said you guys shouldn't be meeting up?"

"What about?" Anne inquired.

Salma sighed, keeping her eyes trained on her plate.

"He wanted me to go out with him," Salma told them, sounding irritated. "I turned down his request. He wasn't pleased."

Salma felt everyone shift in their seats uneasily. Yep, they were not at all comfortable with the idea, Salma scoffed mentally. She was glad she had turned Zayn down. She was living with them. Doing something they did not approve of, would only create problems for her.

"But I thought he first sought your father's permission for that," Uncle Dawood said.

"He did," her father confirmed.

"Then why'd you turn him down, love?" Anne asked gently, worried that Salma still did not trust him to treat her right.

"She did the right thing," Alley intervened. "There is no need for such adventures before they've properly settled down."

"And now he's mad at her and they're fighting," Asim pointed out the obvious.

"You don't need to fight." Alley scowled at Salma. "You should have just explained --"

"I did," Salma replied. "And that's what ticked him off. He called us all judgmental snobs and stormed away."

She heard her father sigh.

"He's bound to be angry," Uncle Dawood said. "Given that he's been getting mixed signals. Or did you not know that your father had agreed?"

"He recorded my words for you," Mr. Rahman said. "He didn't show you --"

"He did," Salma replied. "But mum doesn't approve and so far as I know, neither do you. I can't be doing things you guys don't consider appropriate and then get blamed in case things go wrong. I'm not exactly dying to go with him or any boy, and neither do I consider the practice indecent if done after nikkah. So." Salma shrugged.

"It is still inappropriate, not to mention unnecessary," her mother emphazised.

"Not according to Islam, it isn't," Asim added. "Zayn is right to be annoyed."

"Decent people don't engage in such activities," Aliya argued.

"Look, I don't really care how things are done, your way or his, I just don't want me getting into unnecessary confrontation between the two of you," Salma began, addressing her mother mostly. "Like I said before, if you guys don't like it, please explain it to him in explicit terms that I am not allowed and so I have no say in the matter. Get me off the hook. He thinks I've turned him down because of me and I'm not up for playing that blame game."

"Don't worry about it," her father reassured her, looking troubled, "We'll work it out."

Later that night, Asim told Salma, her father wanted to talk to her. Feeling anxious, she stepped into her parent's room, dreading the discussion to be had.

"Salma, tell me honestly, are you uncomfortable going out with Zayn?" her father asked as soon as she'd settled down and been informed of what he wanted talk about. Her mother was sitting next to him on the bed, still looking displeased.

"I'm not exactly thrilled, but I can work with it," Salma replied, feeling her gust twist uneasily. "Sarah reckons I still don't trust him, I don't know."

"Does he behave himself around you or is he still overbearing?"

"No, he's fine," Salma replied. "Except for our argument just a few days ago, he's been nice, mostly."

Mr. Rahman nodded, sharing a glance with his wife.

"Look, we don't want to pressure you and neither should he," Mr. Rahman began, "but now that you've decided to continue the nikkah, you guys need to work things out. Both of you are adults and I expect both of you to be mature about it. You mum and I are always here if you need our help but you also have to have a strong bond with each other, with open communication. I know the early nikkah has complicated things since we don't practice it, but that doesn't mean you should sink the ship before it's even properly set to sail. These are minor differences, work them out."

"Yes, dad." Salma nodded, her eyes flitting to her mother for approval, who smiled reluctantly.

"That's the best way, I suppose." She shrugged, "I ask Allah to protect you."

"Ameen."

Smiling, Salma got up and hugged her mother before scooting close to her father.

"Thanks dad," she muttered.

"No problem, princess," he replied. "Be careful, and always let us know if there's an issue."

"Of course."

***

"You should talk to him," Sarah advised. "Be the first to break the ice."

Salma rubbed her temples, placing her elbow on the study desk. She had just called Sarah telling her everything that went down at her house.

"He insulted my parents." Salma scowled. "That's not tolerable."

"When two people fight, they offend each other," Sarah said. "If the both of you are stubbornly going to stick to your anger, nothing gets resolved."

Salma sighed, knowing she was right.

"Though to be fair, I think you're in the wrong more than him, this time," Sarah continued. "You first conditioned that he asks your father and when he did, you still refused to go out citing cultural norms as an excuse. The man must have made plans that you ruined. That hurts!"

Salma's heart sank.

"Sarah, you know why I did that," she defended. "I had no choice!"

"I'm not saying what you did was irrational, what I'm saying is you should talk to him now that your parents understand what's at stake."

"Okay, do you reckon I should call him?" Salma asked, feeling anxious.

"You hate calls."

"Yeah, I do. I can't wait to hang up on you." Salma laughed.

"Then don't," Sarah replied. "Text him if you're itching to dispel his anger or just wait until you see him Monday morning. Do what floats your boat."

Salma decided it was best if she talked to him face to face. She hated calls and it made her double nervous if it was Zayn she had to talk to. However, twenty minutes after she ended the call with Sarah, she realized she was actually itching to make up with him.

***

Salma turned to the parking lot after her last class to see Zayn perched alone by the rockery, next to the grounds. He was looking straight ahead, the corners of his lips sagging downwards. Her heart sank. This is where she usually spent the hour with him while he pretended he was only waiting on Niall to finish his class.

Salma hadn't yet talked to him. Although she was eager to clear the bad air, she found she was too anxious to compose a text that sounded right. The complete radio silence from his end only added to her nervousness. For the past two days, Salma had been typing up long texts with explanations and apologies and then deleting them the last minute. Telling herself this was the best time to deal with it, Salma walked up behind him, her stomach twisted in anxious knots.

"Zayn?"

He whipped around at the sound of his name. Slightly surprised to see her, Zayn swallowed and turned back around, his chest feeling uncomfortable.

"Hi, Bee,"

"Assalamo'Alaykum?" Salma offered instead, forcing a smile

"Right, Wa'Alaykum Assalam." Zayn glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Didn't expect you to show up."

Salma sighed at his nonchalance.

"You're still upset?"

"Nah, I'm good. Just giving you space." Zayn shrugged, continuing to avoid her eyes.

Salma's heart stabbed.

"Mind if I sit down?"

"Of course." He shrugged again.

"Come on, Zayn please don't be like this," Salma groaned, taking a seat next to him making sure to keep some distance.

"Like what?" Zayn said, refusing to meet her gaze. He eyed the space between them and hated it.

"Like this." Salma waved her hand at his back turned to her. Pushing away her unease, she willed herself to reach for his arm that was perched against his knee. Zayn's surprised eyes snapped at her hand, then at her, before quickly turning away. Her hand was warm against his bicep. He felt like his heart would burst with all the crazy feelings it had to contain. "I'm sorry alright, I'll go out with you. Do you want to go right now?"

"No!" Zayn quickly refused, then sighed upon noticing her downcast eyes. He reached up for her hand, holding on to it. "I don't want to force you into anything you're uncomfortable with. I don't want to be that person again!"

"You're not!"

Salma saw him search her eyes, still looking miserable.

"Then why'd you turn me down?" Zayn asked. "Bee, I'm trying to understand what's going on? I honestly don't want to pressure you but I thought to make it work we need to spend some time together. Make some progress. What I get from you is that you don't want that?"

Salma looked away, pulling her hand back.

"That's not true. I hadn't talked to my family and I didn't want to get in trouble with them," Salma explained.

"I showed you your father's video!" he cried. "Was that not proof enough that they didn't mind?"

Salma splayed the finger of her right hand across her eyes in exhaustion, not sure how to explain. She could hear the hurt in his voice. She knew he believed she turned him down because she didn't trust him around her, but that wasn't why she did it.

"Look, if you would have simply told me you weren't comfortable, I would have backed off. I'm not a complete monster, Bee. I know you need time –"

"I already told it wasn't that!" Salma cried.

"What else was there to it? Your father –"

"Listen, I know my parents," she began. "I know they sometimes agree to other people's demands and requests but they are actually unwilling and when things go wrong, it is not nice. I wanted them to sort this out with you first. They, especially my mum, are of the opinion that these sorts of outings are purely based on whims and desire and so are unnecessary. They were reluctant. You have to understand that between you and them, I couldn't afford to have anyone upset with me. I thought you'd understand!"

Zayn turned away from her, looking troubled.

"I thought you were just trying to find excuses to avoid going out with me," Zayn muttered after a while. "That just made me feel like . . . like a lousy failure. Like I could never do right by you. Like I'd never have you, no matter how hard I try –"

"Zayn, I honestly didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Salma said, earnestly.

"I know. I'm sorry. I should have tried to understand your point of view instead of saying all those horrible things about your parents,"

"Yeah, you shouldn't have done that," Salma pouted. "That really hurt. I don't necessarily agree with them, but they're my parents. I can't just disregard their opinions all together."

"I understand," Zayn nodded, before turning to her. "Weird opinions though. I mean, their view on dates after nikkah being unnecessary. It's like saying one shouldn't enjoy pizza simply because the basic purpose of killing hunger can be fulfilled by eating boiled spinach or something."

Salma shook her head in amusement.

"Good argument." She chuckled. "You should totally debate my mum on this one. I'd love to see her food inspired reply."

Zayn laughed in response. The merry, lighthearted sound lifted a huge weight off of Salma's shoulder.

"Sure. So how about tomorrow, after class. Sounds alright?"

"You're nuts!" Salma chuckled. "You'd never change my mum's views –"

"Not hers. Yours," Zayn replied quietly. "Will you go out with me tomorrow, perhaps to change your opinion of me?"

Salma's smile evaporated. She felt her heart racing under his intense gaze as he awaited her reply.

"Alright," she replied shyly.

Zayn's face split into a bright smile. He struggled against the urge to pull her into his arms.

"God, help me, she's so cute!" he whispered.

Salma wrapped her arms around herself, feeling a blush creeping up her cheeks.

Author's Note:

Zalma back on track ❤️. Zayn seems to have won this round😂. What do you think is coming up next?

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Lots of Love

J.