Chapter 1: "Judgement"

Let's go Losties 😈. Blast those comments. I'm starving for some feedback!

February, 21, 2018.

1 year after Salma was attacked on campus. . .

Throughout the court sessions, Salma either kept her gaze firmly fixed straight ahead, or on her intertwined fingers in her lap. She was careful not to meet Zayn's gaze, even if by an accident. It had been almost six months since she had last met him in the café where she had made her stance known and he had unexpectedly reported himself.

Once his sentence was announced and the court was adjourned, Salma and her family shuffled out of the courtroom, feeling an odd mixture of dissatisfaction and fulfillment. They disagreed with the judge awarding Zayn a softer sentence, but they were relieved that it was over and that Salma had done her part to settle the score.

Salma washed her hands as she mulled over why Alex had helped Zayn. A heavy fine was handed down to him but he had evaded a jail sentence - all thanks to the FBI agent. Salma sighed, turning the tap off and walking out of the restrooms. Deep in thought, she almost rammed into a lady in a white suit and black shirt.

"Hi again!" Alex smiled, halting mid-step to avoid collision.

Salma eyed the agent's bright smile flatly. Think of the devil and --

"Hey," she responded gloomily.

"I see the emotions aren't running high." Alex chuckled, removing her sunglasses.

"You would know." Salma folded her arms, an accusing edge to her tone.

"Would I?" Alex continued to play oblivious. Salma let out a slow breath, having had enough of the agent's fake smiles.

"You let your emotions get in the way of your job. Is that professional?"

"I'm afraid I don't follow." Alex smiled.

"You met the judge in his chamber, it's not a secret why. Zayn didn't get a sentence behind bars. Just some community service and --"

"-- whole lotta cash fine, yes --"

"Point is, you helped him worm his way out of a tight spot again. Why? Simply because you knew him? Is that the underlying principle on which the FBI operates?"

Alex observed her with interest, then smiled slightly.

"You want him dead."

"I beg your pardon!" Salma cried, offended by the accusation.

"Then why do you have an issue when I protect him?"

"From death?" Salma asked sarcastically.

"Yes, from death. Not from getting murdered by inmates, no, but from the X-Raw."

Salma scoffed. "Right."

"They still don't know who he is," Alex continued, unfazed by her skepticism. "And as Arethas Grace, he travels the world. If they get a wind of Arethas being Zayn being the guy who kicked Chris out, Zayn gets in danger. You're easy to look after. You're a localized target. Zayn – not so much."

"Is that why you told me to not report him back when . . . you know?" Salma asked. Although the agent's argument made sense, Salma was quite convinced there was more to it. Her reason was just not believable. Why would the agent go to so much personal trouble to keep Zayn's behind out of jail. That made no sense. Zayn would become localized and easy 'to protect' per se, if he were locked up, not when he was roaming free, beasting his way around the world.

"Yes." Alex sighed in exhaustion. An act, Salma figured. "You didn't know Zayn as AG10 back then. So I couldn't quite explain the complexity that would arise with him getting reported and making it to the local papers."

"The complexity doesn't arise now that he has reported himself?" Salma quirked a skeptic brow.

Alex pursed her lips as if Salma had reminded her of a very unpleasant reality.

"He has a knack for making my life difficult." She huffed. "It also seems to me that throwing his life away doesn't really bother him."

Salma looked away, an odd discomfort snaking its way around her gut. She was reminded of Zayn's attempt at throwing his life away, not too long ago.

"But, you can rest assured I'll be doing all I can to keep this story under wraps," Alex continued with a hint of a smirk playing on her lips. "It won't be making it to the local news papers. He should kiss my feet for keeping his ass away from all the harsh consequences of blowing up. Ungrateful git, I know he wouldn't even acknowledge it though."

Salma narrowed her eyes slightly. She wasn't exactly pleased to know Zayn was getting the easy pass even in a legal trial under the official authorities.

"You do know I plan on appealing for a review," Salma said. "He deserves to be locked away for everything he's been up to."

Alex smiled lazily.

"You do that. It is your right. However, must you bother yourself?" she asked, amused, inspecting her sunglasses before putting them on. "You already know what the outcome will be."

***

Salma rounded the corner to see her family huddled near the stairs at the entrance of the courthouse. Her father and her lawyer were engaged in a conversation with the lawyer for the defense. Noticing her walking towards them, Uncle Dawood smiled and stretched his arm. Salma returned the smile, allowing him to pull her into a side hug. He kissed her hair and left his arm wrapped over her shoulders as they listened to the lawyers.

". . . and details of the divorce such as the Mar . . . Ma'ar deal?"

"Mahr," Salma's father corrected.

"Right. That," the lawyer replied.

Salma rolled her eyes. Dim, like his client.

"We'll schedule a meeting for that soon . . ."

Salma looked away disinterested and almost missed her lawyer's reply to his colleague. She could feel the ripples as his golden-brown eyes held hers. Zayn and his flock had been standing at the bottom of the stairs, watching her. Salma felt her breathing getting heavier. She broke eye contact, doing her best to calm her nerves and ignore his existence.

Why didn't she notice him and his cronies standing there all along?! Salma reprimanded herself.

"Let's go." She felt her Uncle nudge her to move.

What? Salma blinked.

She saw the lawyers shake hands with her father and realized the meeting was over.

"Oh," Salma muttered. "Yeah, let's go."

She started following after her parents. Her skin crawled as she went down the stairs. Each step bringing her closer to the man she wanted to avoid at all costs. She could feel his eyes firmly fixed on her. Her breathing became uneven.

As if realizing Zayn's intent, her father slowed down to fall in step with her. He fell like a wall between two, shielding her from him. A hand made a gentle grab for her right elbow, startling her. She saw Asim from the corner of her eyes. He and Uncle Dawood had mimicked her father's move. Both covering her right side, looking dead serious and straight ahead.

Regardless, a mule is always a mule - an embodiment of stubbornness.

Salma gritted her teeth as she watch him break away from his group, and step right ahead of her.

"Can I have a word with you?" Zayn requested, making a pain pulse through her heart. "Please?"

Salma stopped, a hard scowled etched across her brow and eyes firmly averted. She was even more aware of her father flanking her on one side, and Asim and Uncle Dawood on the other. Her father's jaw was ticking in annoyance. Even if clearly a request from Zayn, it was still an audacious move, nonetheless.

"No," Salma muttered, walking straight past him to her mother as if she was never stopped.

Glaring Zayn down, her father followed after her, fuming, and so did Uncle Dawood. Asim, however, lagged behind for just a moment. He turned towards the dark-haired boy, displeasure written all over his features.

"Stay away from her," he warned quietly before moving away. "You won't get this warning again."

Zayn watched as Salma piled into the car after her mother.

"Hey Asim!" Sterling called from somewhere down the lane. "Over here!"

Asim seemed surprised to see Sterling a few cars away from his own.

"What're you doing, Will?" Asim inquired as he joined him. "We're leaving."

"I know," Will muttered, jerking his head to the car behind him, "but check these out. These are the rims that I was talking about the other day."

"The gold ones --"

"Why aren't we leaving?!" Asim was cut off by his sister's loud complaining. "Where are those two now?!"

"We're coming!" Asim called back.

"Move it!" Salma ordered. "I'm hungry!"

"When are you not?" Asim made a face.

"Let's go, bro," Sterling chuckled. "Your sister isn't pleasant on an empty stomach."

"She's never pleasant," Asim replied, loud enough for Salma to hear.

"I heard that!" she snapped.

Laughing, the two boys piled into the car when Uncle Dawood came to Salma's defense and hurried them on. Just before he pulled out, and with a smile still playing on his face, William's eyes met a pair of golden-brown ones that were rich with regret and jealousy alike. Scoffing at his wishful-thinking of hoping to talk to Salma, William looked away and drove off.

Zayn felt a small hand wrap around his fingers, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Taking in a deep breath, he turned to face his sister only to find that the blue eyes looking up at him sadly weren't hers at all.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through this," Lenny muttered, rubbing her thumb across back of his hand.

"Don't be," Zayn muttered, pulling his hand free.

He avoided Lenny's gaze but eagerly accepted the hug his sister offered as he gave his back to the girl from his nightmares.

Author's Note:

So? The very first chapter of the sequel is finally up 😁. What do you guys think😃?

You guys can see a date mentioned on the top right corner of the chapter. This is just a lil tidbit on when the 'idea' or a rough sketch for the chapter was first written. I thought it'd be interesting to see how the story fell in place randomly over the years ☺️.

Hope you enjoyed the update. Like. And leave some comments down below as feedback🥰.

Lastly, casual reminder that my Patreon page is linked in my bio. If you think "Lost" is deserving of it, please visit the page to support "Lost" and the writer putting many hours into it ✍️. No amount is too small or too large. You'll get to enjoy early access and Patron-exclusive content as a reward for your support ❤️.

Lots of Love

J.