Chapter 95: "Processing the Storm"

To the people who still remember me, Assalam o alaikom. Hi there! Post your reactions as you read 😋

Salma hastened her feet. Her vision blurred over by tears. She blinked back rapidly, taking deep breaths to stay calm. Her head was spinning and heart seared with anguish. She was blindly racing down the corridor, away from Zayn, hoping to get far from the crowd before the cracks would rip open and blast into pieces. Salma wiped her eyes to clear her vision. Up ahead, Niall and Claire rounded the corner. Both of them looked pale and sleep deprived as they hurried in her direction. Salma panicked. Biting her quivering lip, she tried to contain the storm and impulsively stepped behind a tall couple that was walking next to her. The two passed her by and Salma broke into a run in the opposite direction. It was becoming harder to put a lid on her unruly emotions.

Her throat constricted painfully. Broken, shallow gasps escaped her lips. She had trouble breathing. The floodgates opened. Salma could only bite down on her lower lip to hold back the loud sobs. The pressure in her chest increased as the pain in her heart intensified exponentially. She barely avoided crashing into random people, multiple times. Blinded by the tears, she rounded the corner hastily and slammed into, what felt like, a solid wall.

A hundred tongues of fire whipped at her stomach. Salma bend double in pain. A tortured cry emanated from her throat. The impact with the bruise on her stomach was excruciating. That was it. Although a pair of hands was holding steady, all her control crumbled. Her knees became weak, unable to hold. Tears streamed down her face, unchecked. Tormented sounds escaped her lip, unabated. The physical pain from the bruise on her abdomen spread and resonated with the suffocating, stabbing pain of her sliced heart. She broke down, sobbing bitterly.

The person tried to hold her up.

"My God!" said a familiar voice. "Sally?" She felt a shake. "Sally?!"

Salma looked up, despite her distress. His green eyes moved at a dizzying speed as he took in her distraught appearance, looking absolutely panicked.

***

A flash of recognition crossed her anguished eyes. Salma tried to find her feet underneath her but she was too far gone to help herself. Will held her steady. He had no idea what was going on and it scared him. Was there another attack? Was she threatened? Did she run into Toryal again? Or had another painful confrontation? A thousand questions were floating his mind.

"What happened --?" he cut off, as his eyes fell on something behind her.

There, sitting upon one of the benches, at the end of the corridor, was the crumpled figure of a man he once detested. Niall and Claire were crouched around him, each having put a consoling hand on his back. Harris. It was not too hard to realize he was the answer. But he too looked devastated. Putting two and two together, Will put an arm around Salma, supporting much of her weight against him. Her whole frame was shaking with bitter, soul-shattering sobs. She could barely stand straight. It terrified him.

"Mum?!" He looked around for his mother in desperation. "Mum?!"

Anne, who was confirming R.K's room number by the reception, turned to her son. Her face paled when she saw Salma's broken figure supported by him.

"My God!" she cried, dropping whatever she was doing. She raced towards the two. "Sally?" she gasped, quickly enveloping Salma in a more comfortable embrace. "What happened? Sall—"

"Let's just get her out of her first!" Will said urgently, grabbing his mother's shoulder and steering her around towards the exit. "She needs to get back home."

Will noticed Anne throwing him a questioning glance, but he figured she caught the urgency in his tone and Salma's heartbreaking condition made her decide against probing him about it. She quietly followed her son to the exit.

***

Salma spent the next few days in bed. The physical wound on her stomach was an obvious reason to rest. It was visible and called for more attention, but her searing heart also yearned for a break. Nothing made her cry like the stabbing pain in her chest. There was little medicine, or therapy she could take to soothe the burning ache of her broken heart. Salma knew, more than the physical bruise, she needed time and care for her emotional wounds. She had to process everything that had happened in the past one week to allow the healing to begin.

After Salma arrived home, the first thing on Anne and Will's agenda was to make sure to give her a moment to herself. Her mother had been terrified at the state of her but Will had intervened.

"Mum, take Sally to her room," he told his mother before, grabbing Aliya's shoulder. "Alley, come with me to the kitchen –"

"B-but what happened?!" Her mother resisted Will. Her mother's pained cry of distress had gone right through Salma's shattered heart. "Why's she crying?! Salma? Sal-"

"Just take a breath, come on, I'll explain, come on," Will had tried to calm her down.

Will's attempt at giving Salma a much needed break failed when the wound on her stomach made her crash. Aliya pushed him away when Salma crumpled on the steps, cradling her stomach. It had become increasingly painful with the continuous jerks inflicted upon the injured muscles as her sobs turned into agonizing hiccups a while back. Salma had tried to quietly suppress the pain but the stairs proved to be the last straw and she had already missed a dose of her medicines.

Forgetting everything else, the three had gathered around her, leading her to the couch. Once Will was sent away, Anne carefully lifted off her abaya and shirt to see what was going on. Salma, with her head on her mother's lap was crying profusely, but even she got startled by the sounds her mother and aunt made when they saw the wound on her stomach.

Will too, had shot right out of the kitchen, alarmed by their cries of pain and shock. On impulse, Salma sat up and reach to pull her shirt down, but was relieved to realize her abaya was already draped over her exposed stomach.

"Go back!" Anne snapped at Will, pulling her abaya even lower on her legs.

"I-is she okay?" Will stuttered, unsure what had them so scared.

"She'll be fine! Go!" Anne scolded before turning to Salma. "What was that?!"

Anne and her mother helped her lie down again. Salma winced as pain jolted through her stomach wall. She rested her head in her mother's lap and covered her eyes with her fists. Tears streamed out of her closed lids as she gave herself a second or two to allow her wound to rest.

"How did that happened?" her mother asked. Salma realized she was crying too.

"Toryal," Salma whispered past her clogged throat, with her eyes still pressed closed by her fists. "He kicked me."

Another round of shocked and angry cries escaped their lips. Salma heard a curse or two flying around. And she was bombarded with questions as Will was asked to make a few calls.

"What?!"

"That bastard!"

"When did this happen?"

"William, call your dad immediately!"

"Was he around when we found you?"

"Where were your Shadows?!"

Salma stayed quiet after their questions and protests ended. She wiped her eyes dry and finally removed her hands from her eyes but kept them close.

"Earlier in the morning," Salma replied, sniffing. "Before the explosion."

Her voice broke as the horrible images of the tragedy attacked her. The blast, her and Zayn by the burning car, Louisa's lifeless and burnt body, Professor R.K. . .

A startled gasp escaped her lips and she attempted to sit up.

"Ken!" she cried.

"What?" the three said in unison.

"Ken! Professor R.K's son," Salma explained, surprised to realize hands pushing her back down, trying to restrain her. "He-he asked me to stay! R.K might round up. I promised --!"

"Relax," Anne said, gently pushing her back. "Take a breath and just take a minute out for yourself first."

"But Ken was scared," Salma started crying again. "H-he didn't want to be al-lone when R.K wakes – Lou-Louisa – he—"

Salma broken down completely, once again.

"It's alright, honey!" Anne gushed, rubbing her shoulder to comfort her as broken sobs escaped Salma's lips once more.

"Xama Bachay!" her mother cried, collecting her crying figure in an embrace and holding her close to her heart. Salma welcomed the warmth. She desperately needed it after everything that had happened. "A lot has happened. You need a break too. I'm sure Ken will understand."

"I p-promised—" Salma whispered between her sobs.

"Look, I'll call Unc and ask him to see Ken for you, alright?" Will quickly reassured. "You take some rest. He'll see if Ken's okay and also, inform him why you needed to go home. Don't worry, he'll understand."

"Yeah, you do that, son," Aliya quickly agreed.

"Look, focus on getting better, and maybe you can make it just in time when R.K rounds up," Anne bargained. "How does that sound?"

Salma thought about it as she looked between the three concerned face. All of them looked scared for her, and tired. She nodded after a while, much to their relief. Will got up to make some calls as she relaxed back in her mother's lap. Anne started pulling her shirt and abaya back up again.

"Where's Asim?" Salma asked after a while, feeling a sense of dread coursing through her painful gut to realize she had not seen her brother since her arrival.

"With you father," her mother replied. "He said something about Toryal on the lose and decided to take Asim with him until, and I quote, 'I muzzle that dog'."

"I suppose now we know what that meant," Anne replied, touching Salma's bruise lightly. Salma flinched away on impulse. "Sorry," Anne muttered, pulling her fingers away.

"Did you father know about this?"

Salma shrugged her shoulder a little.

"I don't know," she replied, wiping her eyes dry. "The Green Coats knew."

"Then he knows." Aliya replied, before adding bitterly. "What use are the Green Coats if they can't even protect you properly."

"Burak Kaka tries his best," Salma defended her shadow.

"Maybe we should call for a doctor to visit," Anne suggested, covering Salma's stomach again.

"We visited a doctor," Salma replied quietly. "Spogmae and I. She gave me a prescription and suggested an ultrasound."

"Alright," Anne said. "We need to get you your medicine then."

***

Salma was allowed to rest on the couch. She had only meant to lie down till her wound settled but she had ended up sleeping like a baby. By the time, she woke up, the sun was already up the next morning. Salma realized she had missed her 'Ishaa and Fajr prayers. She was also surprised to find herself in her room. The bruise was agonizingly sore. Her eyes watered when she tried to get up. An anguished wince escaped her lips. She could not straighten up. Her struggle to get to the bathroom alerted Asim. He yelled for their mother who then hastened up to help a hunched over Salma freshen up and get in the bath. Aliya massaged her bruised muscles with olive oil and warm water as prescribed by the physiotherapist. Salma found the massage doing wonders for the painful tissues. The knotted fibers eased up, and the pain subsided to an extent to allow her to straighten up and move more freely.

Asim brought her her breakfast just as Salma stepped out of the bathroom.

"I might have burnt the toast a little." He smiled sheepishly.

"Asim!" Aliya groaned.

"It's alright," Salma replied as her mother helped her rest against the pillows.

"I better see everything finished!" Aliya pointed a warning finger at her. "One small piece of toast and you'll need to see a doctor for more bruises."

"Wow, imagine having a female Toryal for a mum." Asim smiled at the pair.

Aliya smacked his arm with the wet towel she had in her hand. Wincing, Salma's hand rested on her bruised stomach as an uncontrolled giggle made pain shoot through it.

"You are going to insult me like that?!"

"Nah, mum! That was bad. I'm sorry," he quickly apologized, wrapping his arms around his mother. "You're the sweetest, most beautiful embodiment of kindness –"

"You're overdoing it now." Aliya rolled her eyes.

"I'm just trying to make her laugh," Asim grinned.

"Don't," Salma replied quickly, taking a small bite of the toast. "It hurts."

Her mother face crumbled.

"I don't even know why you should go through it all," she whispered, blinking back tears.

Salma shrugged.

"That's alright, mum. I do," she replied. "I go through it all so I can take them down. Allah has written it like that. I trust Him."

Her mother laughed in disbelief. She looked away, fighting back tears as she shook her head at Salma's matter-of-fact tone.

"He'll pay for making you cry," Salma continued. "It's not over yet."

"He kicked you in the stomach, targeted your husband till he gave up on you, killed your friend –"

"But I'm not the only one who wants a piece of him," Salma replied. "I can sense your anger, mum. I can tell you want to smack him across the face –"

"I want to tear him apart!" She growled, a tear finally escaping her tears. "He doesn't get to hurt my children and walk free!"

Asim reached for his mother, rubbing her back to console her. Salma heaved a sigh.

"You'll get your shot at him," she replied. "I'm quite certain. I have quite a few scores to settle with them, myself. The kick to my gut isn't one of them. Some gashes are deeper than mere swollen tissues. You'll have your shot, mum."

Salma saw the muscle in her mother's jaw tick as she clenched her teeth to contain her emotions.

"May Allah trap them in the traps they weave for us," she whispered.

"Ameen," Salma and Asim said in unison.

Taking in a shaky breath, her mother swooped in, kissing Salma's forehead.

"However, for now, finish your breakfast and rest," she said. "I don't want to hear anymore rousing speeches from this skeleton."

Salma gave her a tired smile while Asim laughed. As Aliya left to attend to other things, Asim dropped himself to the chair next to her bed.

"So what hurts more? The kick to the gut, or Zayn calling it quits?" he asked.

"Louisa's loss," Salma replied.

A heavy silence followed her abrupt response. Salma swallowed the lump in her throat, fighting away the haunting stream of images from resurfacing in her mind again. She sniffed and picked up her mug to force the lump in her throat to dislodge with some tea.

"I can't imagine what her family's going through," Asim muttered. "To be honest, I never thought Toryal would actually do something so brutal despite always knowing he was very cruel."

Salma ate in silence. Just quietly forcing down small bites of toast for the sole reason to be strong enough to be able to visit R.K.

"When did you come back?" Salma asked after a while. "I heard you had been staying with dad."

"Last night," Asim replied. "They said you had just gone to sleep when I arrived. Will had called Dawood Kaka with the news that they had brought you home so Dad asked him to escort me here as well. All shadows are guarding the house till Toryal is found."

"So when did dad take you with him?" Salma frowned.

"Just after Burak Kaka sent intel that you had had an encounter with Toryal and that he had attacked you," Asim replied. "Dad went berserk. I've never seen him so mad. I honestly don't know what he'll do to him when he gets his hands on that lowlife, but he gave immediate orders to concentrate the potential targets, and have as many Green Coats as could be spared, on Toryal's tail. You were to be kept safe in the hospital with Zayn, his grandpa and all. And I was asked to accompany Uncle Dawood and convince Claire and Niall to come with us at Will's."

"They agreed?" Salma asked, surprised.

"Yeah, Uncle Dawood can be quite convincing since he's naturally sympathetic, and Zayn too told them that he would feel more easy if the two came with us and took a break, have some rest, etcetera. They thought we were just being nice and offering a bit of help to take care of them – and they were really tired, mind you – so they agreed. Mum and Anne took good care of them and we stayed at Uncle Dawood's."

"Why couldn't they just stay at the hospital?" Salma asked.

"Dad thought after Louisa, Toryal might try to have another go at them since they survived the fire," Asim replied. "He didn't want to take any chances."

"That merciless imbecile!" Salma cried.

"But we couldn't keep them here for long without rousing any suspicion so the two were taken back to the hospital earlier and I was escorted to the GCA HQ," Asim continued. "Uncle Dawood was supposed to bring you back, but Will did the honours –"

"Is dad mad at him?" Salma asked quickly, worried for Will for causing a lapse in her security.

"No, not really," Asim replied. "Burak Kaka was shadowing you and Spogmae took a seat shotgun, so no. I think he even found the unpredictability a little reassuring since anyone wanting to target you would have probably ascertained Uncle Dawood as your escort instead of Will."

"I don't think I would have been targeted though," Salma said bitterly. "That scum is focusing all his energies on Zayn!"

"Still?" Asim asked. "Don't you think he would shift focus now that Zayn's done what he wanted?"

"I don't know," Salma muttered. "He probably wants to make sure Zayn meant what he said. Also, I fear for him. If he's outlived his usefulness for Toryal. . ."

Salma trailed off, unable to complete the thought. It terrified her. Her guts churned with disgust, forcing her breakfast back up.

"I think that is why dad's so hellbent on finding Toryal," Asim said. "He had to be restrained before he can take anymore people out."

"Maybe they should focus their energies on protecting Zayn," Salma muttered.

"They are, of course," Asim said, trying to reassure her. "He's staying at the hospital with his family so it's easier to look after them all there. So far as I've heard, the Green Coats are keeping it subtle. Also, an offer was made to Zayn to take him somewhere safe but he declined. There isn't much to be done except catch the snake, for now. Dad wants to make sure Toryal sees Zayn's ended it with you for real. It's almost like, 'help yourself. We hate him anyway' –"

"But we don't!" Salma interrupted angrily. "He had to do what he had to do to protect his family!"

"I'm not saying we 'actually' hate him, but my guess is, that's the show dad's putting up for Toryal," Asim said. "If the Green Coats protect him actively, Toryal might get a little suspicious about his ending things with you for real."

"Is dad mad at Zayn though?" Salma asked, looking worried.

"I suppose." Asim shrugged. "I don't know. He's upset about it, but his anger is more focused on Toryal at the moment. I don't think anyone can really blame Zayn, to be fair. They went all out on all his friends and family. Who wouldn't do what he did to save their family?"

Salma said nothing as she fought back tears.

"It just upsets me to realize he must have been hounded for so long and none of us knew," she said, her voice thick. "I wish he would have told me, or dad, or anyone of us so we could have done something about it. Like Sarah did. I wish he would have trusted us instead of allowing Toryal to isolate and manipulate him. I hate to imagine him dealing with that snake's blackmail and mind games all alone."

Asim heaved a sigh.

"I thought he trusted me," Salma whispered, feeling her control over her emotions crumbling again. "It costed Louisa her life."

"Hey, it's not your fault," Asim quickly reassured her. "It's not! Zayn's choices were his own. It had nothing to do with you. And Louisa's departure was written like that. There's nothing one can do about anyone's time and place of death. Stop tormenting yourself by taking blame where it's not yours. You want to blame someone? Blame that snake who planted the bomb on their vehicle! That's who's responsible. Not you!"

Salma sniffed, wiping away tears. A silence stretched between them as she stared at the last dregs of tea in her mug, crying quietly.

"Salma? Did you hear what I said?" Asim said. "It's not on you."

"I'm alright." Salma's sniffed, grabbing a tissue. "How's R.K?"

"Still out," Asim replied. "Maurice is in town so Ken's not alone anymore. Don't worry."

Salma nodded.

"How did you guys find out about me and Zayn?" she asked next.

"Will," Asim replied much to Salma's surprise. She was expecting Burak Kaka or Spogmae having witnessed their conversation in the waiting area. "Dawood Kaka later confirmed it was over. Why?"

"Just wondering." She said quietly, kind of impressed by Will's situational awareness and his quick and accurate conclusions of what could have happened.

"Did you ever see it coming?" Asim asked out of blue.

"See what coming?"

"Toryal," he replied. "That he would be targeting Zayn?"

Salma blinked, feeling her heart stab. Salma turned to her breakfast, thinking. She had suspected something like this all along but to have it confirmed . . .

"Yes," she whispered. "Every time anyone I knew was attacked. Every time! I was just hoping it wasn't so."

Asim nodded.

"All of us did," he said soberly.

Author's Note:

Been awhile. How's everyone doing?

For those who asked about me in messages and comments, thank you. Honestly, there was a time when I used to question the writer who would stop writing a book midway, despite tons of readers. I think I relate to them now 😅. This can get really tiring after a while.

To answer your kind messages, I'm fine, mostly, Alhumdulillah. Had a few ups and downs in my personal life. That might be playing a part in my lethargic update schedule but I think it's burnout. I was just unable to finish the chapter I had started writing back in early December (A whole last year, phew!😅). This week, I had a few good days, energy wise. Whipped up an update, posted on Patreon and now here. It's good progress, personally. Alhumdulillah, for every thing. I pray I am able to keep the momentum, but if not, please excuse the delay. I'm trying to take it a step at a time so I wouldn't totally lose my zeal for writing this story.

As always, vote, comment and share!

Also, drop by my Patreon. I'm posting book III there.

Lots of love

J.