Lost

Chapter 77: "I Want You!"

*Mild trigger warning*: Towards the end there's a brief mention of the suicide attempt mentioned chapter: 17

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Salma stood by the window, staring out of it aimlessly. Her features were set into a grim line. Her mind was still reeling from the events of the day. From her confrontation with Zayn, to finding his drawings, and finding about his lies from Jason to William's chilling story of Zayn's past. It overwhelmed her. She had no idea what to think of it all. For some reason, Asim's warning earlier that morning, about a man's ego and his hideous games, kept resurfacing in Salma's mind. She kept asking herself, which one of her insults did Zayn take so much to heart that he was bent of making her life a living hell.

She felt a cold shiver run down her spine when she remembered William's words from earlier.

"He can go to any lengths, once he gets obsessed with something," Her cousin had warned after, "And by any lengths, I mean it literally, he'd do anything! Put nothing past him . . . Expect him to turn up asking you to teach him Islam, or even -"

Dean and Salma snapped their eyes at him as if struck by a lightening.

"No, I mean it!" William insisted, "Actually scratch that, expect him to turn up asking to say the shahadah. He'd be praying five times a day, waking up for tahajud, find a way to let you know he's done it, and fast alternate days even. Expect him to go that far! I'm telling you. I've seen him up close. He's mental when it comes to hitting his targets!"

"And for what?!" Dean said, incredulously, "Aren't you getting carried away?"

"Wish I were," William chuckled humorlessly, before turning to Salma, "You know he visited you in that hospital during your coma, right?"

Salma's eyes widened. She was shocked and embarrassed that William would randomly bring that up.

"Hold up!" Dean furrowed his brow. "What am I missing?"

"Yes, I told you I believed you when no one did because I saw him that day," William continued, ignoring Dean, "I saw him at the hospital."

"But --"

"Like I said, he can go to any lengths," William emphasized, "The first thing I did that day was ask to check the security cameras in your room. They delayed to give us any access. I knew they wouldn't just show it to a random bloke so I took Dr. Nadeem with me. The head of neurology department and chief of the hospital; ordered them to show the footage of the past hour in that room and they delayed. I know he got the footage wiped clean before they showed it to anyone. And I know for a fact that he was there, footage or not."

Dean whistled, not getting the full story but enough to understand the point William was making. Zayn's connections are strong and powerful. In simpler terms, he could easily get things done and worm his way out whenever he wanted.

Salma swallowed, the numbness preventing her from saying anything in reply. She knew Alex must have wiped the footage and she was sure Zayn had visited her during her coma. He admitted it to her himself not too long ago. Although, Zayn had told her he was only trying to get her up and Salma had always been skeptical of that claim, but she could never have entertained the idea that he would actually be this sick and twisted back then. Salma had thought he was just a disrespectful jerk who did not agree with her religious views so he was intruding her physical space to spite her.

"I wish he weren't, but Harris isn't all brawn," William added solemnly, snapping her out of her thoughts "He's got the brains, not to mention the money. It's a powerful combination for one man to have, but mostly dangerous," He looked up at her, almost wearily, "I hate to say this, but you've caught his interests. I mean, I know this sounds terribly indecent, but -"