Lost

Chapter 53: Mental Turmoil

Salma's P.O.V

Salma walked out of the dormitories' building deep in thought. Sarah's words kept whirling in her mind.

"Talk to him," Sarah urged, "Explain your side of the story before things get too messy."

"Oh please, not that again!" Salma rolled her eyes and turned away. She was in no mood of engaging Zayn in a conversation. Not after what he'd done.

"Then, tell the adults." Sarah shrugged, "I'm telling you Salma, unless you disengage this bomb, it'll continue to increase in its explosive quality. Your family may not be so protective and supportive of you if they find out after things are blown out of proportion."

Salma was a conflicted after learning about Zayn's grandma, but running to Sarah did little to clear her head. Sarah was deeply disturbed by Zayn's past. Her perturbation came as somewhat of a surprise for Salma. Sarah always kept such a cold, indifferent attitude that in her mind, Salma had almost detached her from the sympathetic and soft hearted person that she actually was. Her unexpected response  made Salma apprehensive of the advice she was giving her. However, when Salma could not think of any way to counter her arguments, she knew what Sarah said was right. Bringing her parents into this once more was not the best option. Salma had to talk to Zayn, and fast.

Not expecting to walk into him so soon, Salma had little time to mentally prepare herself or revise her words. Barely had she taken ten steps away from the dormitories when she saw Zayn walking towards the building with Lena and Charlayne. They were talking casually. Lena was telling them some story that had Charlayne laughing her head off. Zayn was smiling at her in amusement. Had it not been for the internal turmoil Salma was suffering from, she would actually have cooed when Zayn flicked Lena's nose adorably and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, squeezing her in a hug.

Snapping out of her thoughts at how adorable those two looked, Salma quickly tried to reassess her next move. Should she grab the opportunity or should she run? Salma knew she should talk to Zayn while he was happy, which was extremely rare, but her stomach churned at the mere thought. 

Salma could not figure out if she was more nervous or annoyed with Zayn. She just knew she was not at all ready to face him so she tried to take a last minute flight. However –

"Salma!"

Freezing to the spot, Salma turned her gaze to the three. As expected, Zayn's eyes were so cold that Salma almost did not see Lena's deathly glare or Charlayne beaming face.

Feeling her heart pound rapidly, Salma found it impossible to break eye contact with Zayn. His intense, accusing stare send chilly shivers down her spine. Salma gulped when she took in the deep cut on his lower lip, and his bruised and swollen temple. James really returned what he got, full force.

"How are you doing?" Charlayne's cheerful voice broke past Salma's overwhelming anxiety that was descending upon her in waves. "Here to visit your friend again?"

Forcing herself to look away from Zayn's brutal stare, Salma tried to process her questions. She could not remember what Charlayne had asked her. Charlayne's smile evaporated, getting replaced by a frown.

"Are you alright?" she asked concerned.

"Hm? Um, y-yeah." Salma cleared her throat awkwardly. "Yeah, I'm good. How are you?"

Salma was glad her voice was stronger than she felt.

"I'm great!" She grinned, "We were just coming back from seeing Zayn's recent project. It's hilarious. He's crap, I tell you! And to think he thinks of himself as an artist. You really should have done us all a favor and just kicked him further down the hill in that forest!"