Zayn Malik's Long Lost Sister (Unedited)

33. Surprisingly

"So, Marley. How are you?" Doniya asks after a moment of awkward silence after I sat at the table with Zayn.

"I'm fine. And you?" I ask, my hands in my lap.

"I'm good. I hope you didn't get too lost last night." Her tinkle of laughter had lightened my spirit.

"No, of course not. I ran in to Liam at the gas station and I slept at his hotel room until I had calmed down."

"Oh, I seen that." Doniya smiles before turning her attention to the menu that was already in her hands.

"You seen it?" I ask. "Where?"

"Never mind." Zayn dismisses. "I had assured them all that you were with him."

"Oh," I bobbed my head in a nod. I'm sure Liam had told him where I was and of course my family would be wondering if I were okay, right? "Okay."

"How are things back home, Marley?" Yaser surprises everyone by ask, placing his menu down to look at me.

"Uhm, it's okay. Could be better." I answer.

"And how's that?" The man asks. His tone wasn't harsh or sarcastic, it was light and friendly. His dark navy blue blazer and slick raven black hair gave him a much more sophisticated look.

"The whale I used to see daily isn't and hasn't really eaten much since I left. We all think he's going into depression."

"Because of your departure?"

"Yes. My face was the first he saw in the morning and I would see him again before I left work, each day."

"That's amazing." Yaser praised. "I didn't know whales could go into depression, though."

"They're dependent creatures. They swim in pods, multiple or even just a pair of their own kind. Donnie was brought in from the sea for injuries, we planned to keep him until he's okay and agile enough to be back out and hunt on his own, but he hasn't been released yet. If we didn't bring him in, he wouldn't have made it. But because of his attitude towards the other employees, he was categorized as a 'Rogue Whale'." My eyes were locked on Yaser but I felt everyone else's eyes on me, so I lifted my laminated menu and began looking over the food, not actually taking in the words displayed.

"Why 'Rogue'?" Waliyha asks while Safaa says, "What does 'Rogue' mean?"

"Well, in this literal sense, Rogue is meant to entitle him as a wild beast." I answer Safaa before Waliyha. "And its because he doesn't like anyone."

"But you." Zayn corrects.

"But me." I nod. I felt the could metal shell of the locket between my fingers without knowing I was reaching up for it. "And I miss him."

"And from the sound of it; he misses you, too." Yaser gave a soft smile.

My eyes had purposefully stayed away from straying to the woman beside Yaser, but now that I look at her, she has a small smile on her lips.

I looked down at my menu and decided on the mushroom ravioli with a cream sauce. Once the waiter had come to take our order, Zayn offered me to go first.

The waiter looked like Edward, not like amazingly or anything, but the way he stood and walked, the way he smiled, his blonde hair, the squinty eyes I learned to love when there is the up-pull of his lips.

"Marley," Zayn says, nudging me.

"Hmmm?" I hum, looking away from the waiter. "Sorry, what?"

"Tell him what you want."