Lost

Chapter 57: The Painful Apology

Surprise! :P Let's just say that 1k comments on the last chapter really had me pumped :P

Salma rushed past the people. Her breathing was shallow and mind exploding with a million emotions. Where she was going, she had no idea. She could barely see straight. Her feet just carried her away from Zayn automatically. She was boiling mad when she stormed away from them, however, once at a safe distance, the adrenaline started draining from her system and she was slammed with overwhelming exhaustion.

Her throat constricted painfully. Taking in deep breaths, Salma tried to contain her emotions but the overpowering fury completely converted to uncontainable amount of frustrated tears. Her vision blurred so unexpectedly that she feared she'd be a crying mess in mere seconds. Biting my quivering lip, Salma looked around to see where she was. To her greatest relief, her unfamiliar surroundings clicked in her mind. She was in the English block, just a corridor away from the restrooms. Collecting herself, Salma made her way through the crowd.

"Bee!"

Salma distinctly heard his voice over the buzz of the students. It pierced her eardrums, shooting pain through her head. Her chest tightened so much that Salma found herself clenching her teeth.

"Bee, wait!"

Salma could see students ahead of her turning around, confused by his yelling. Her legs pushed forward, determined to make sure he did not get a chance to catch up with her. Her head started spinning again. She was very close to a complete breakdown.

"Wait! Please, Bee, hear me out!"

Salma jumped into the empty restrooms, making a narrow escape. Scared that he would be indecent enough to follow suit, Salma ran towards the farthest cubicle and locked the door.

She had no idea how long she had stayed in the small chamber but she knew it was still too soon, and Zayn was too stubborn to have left. Salma had always hated being weak around people, especially Zayn, and she had broken down into tears in front of him more times than she could count. She was not keen on that happening once again.

Taking deep breaths, massaging her temples, rubbing her palms, hugging her knees, Salma looked like a mess as her body perform every pacifying action involuntarily, aiding her to calm down. She tried straying her thoughts away but it helped little. Even force feeding Ghamey roaches in one corner of her mind was interrupted by a pair of honey brown eyes, the owner of which was probably guarding the door outside the restrooms.

When she heard no sound, Salma dared a move out of the cubicle. Making sure the area was clear, she headed for basins to splash some water on her face. She had performed the entire wudhu before she knew it. Considerably soothed, Salma asked Allah to send Zayn away. She did not want drama chasing her around in such a crowded place.

Allah heard her. With shaky steps and trembling legs, Salma stepped out of the restroom, dreading him to pounce on her  but that did not happen. Zayn seemed to have left. As inconspicuously as she could, Salma made her way out of the English block and towards a small secluded spot surrounded by thick hedges growing wild. She perched on a pile of rocks that were left unused in one of the main ground's decorum.

Salma had ten minutes worth of peaceful solitude but she knew it was too good to be true. She was barely done thinking through half of her problems when she heard rustling behind her. She did not even need to turn around to see who it was.

"Can I sit down?" Zayn asked.

Salma felt tension in her lower jaw and throat. Having spent ten minutes doing nothing but think it through, she had a good idea there was no avoiding him. Zayn was too hard headed for that sort of a strategy to work on him. However, ten minutes were too short a time for Salma to mentally prepare herself for facing him again.