Chapter 3

                                                                    Chapter 3

“Miss. Farooqi”, Asad called Zoya over when she was coming out of her room. “Yes Mr. Khan”, Zoya asked him cautiously. “Did your friend leave?”, Zoya noted he was stressing the friend too much but chose to ignore it and said amicably, “No, he’s taking a nap in my room”, she said and started walking off. Asad asked shocked, “He’s sleeping in your bed?”, Zoya said “Yeah”, shrugged and walked off. 

Asad felt a range of emotions at that. He went inside Zoya’s room and sure enough saw Zayn sleeping spread out face down on her bed. Asad felt angry at the sight, stormed out to find Zoya. “When is your friend leaving?”, he asked suppressing his emotions. “He has a name Mr. Khan and he will leave whenever he wants to”, Zoya told him in a innocent voice and went back to getting her bag ready. “And Mr. Khan, I am going out for some work, please inform Phupi when she gets back, Allah Hafiz”, she walked out. Asad went to his and fumed in anger.

That evening

“Good morning”, Zayn told everyone yawning. Zoya gave him a dirty look and said, “It’s evening now sleeping beauty”, she informed him. Zayn's eyes widened and his mouth fell open, “Why didn’t you wake me up Z? Oh shit I still have to clean up the new place and meet the landlord”, Everyone looked a little taken aback at his cursing, “You looked like a damsel with dire need of sleep so I let you sleep in. Besides I’m coming with you to set you up in that house. And watch your language”, at this she gave him a warning look. 

He gave everyone a apologetic look and said, “But Z, it’s late”, “I know Zayn. Are you sure you don’t wanna stayover tonight?”, “Nope”, “Well then lets get going, I actually cleaned out the bedroom when you were out cold and got some things for you that you might need. Come on, we’ll get whatever else you need now before the shops closes”, she handed him two bags. Zayn grinned at her, “You are a lifesaver Z!”, “I know right! Zoya Farooqi is the best”, she grinned back at him and winked. He left mumbling he’s going to get changed.

That night

Zoya walked inside the house and saw Mr. Khan sitting in the living room. She nodded at him and started walking when he called her “Ms. Farooqi, do you know what time it is?”, Zoya looked at the clock on the wall, “9 30”, she told him. Asad gritted his teeth and said, “Why are you so late?”, “Mr. Khan, I was helping out Zayn and then we had dinner so it got a bit late. Besides I informed phupi”, she told him. 

“Ms. Farooqi, it’s not right for a girl to be out with a guy alone this late. Also the way you both behave, always hugging and goofing off, it’s not the way a girl who respects our culture behaves. I can’t tolerate this behaviour in my house”, he yelled at her. Zoya felt so incredulous she was lost for words.

Finally she regained her composure and asked in a raised voice, “What did you say Mr. khan. Just because I am hugging my friend or spending time with him alone means I am uncultured to you?. Then can I also assume your friend Tanu and you are uncultured too?”, she asked him in a mock innocent voice.

Asad was taken aback. “We are just good friends Ms. Farooqi”, “Come on Mr. Khan, don’t be a hypocrite, Zayn and I grew up together so we are close, just as Tanveer and you. I have seen you hug her, comfort her and take care of whatever she needed. That’s what Zayn and I are doing, so it shouldn’t be a problem right”, Zoya said keeping her emotions in check especially the hurt and anger at him for judging her again and questioning her character, “Or maybe you are jealous of Zayn, Oh no, that can't be right, you don’t have a reason to feel jealous as you don’t like me that way”. Asad was taken aback and didn’t say anything. Zoya turned away from him masking her hurt, “Don’t worry Mr. Khan, I will be gone soon. You won’t have to worry about me bringing shame to your family anymore”, she walked away without looking back.

Asad couldn’t sleep that night. He kept recalling Zoya’s words. He knew he was jealous and couldn’t stand the sight of Zoya and Zayn fooling around. She looked so comfortable and happy with Zayn that it hurt him as he was never able to make her smile like that and always ended up hurting her with his words. He also felt a deep sense of guilt for always saying hurtful things regarding her character when she never had any bad intentions, he really need to control his anger around her. The thought of her leaving and not being able to see her again was unbearable. He sighed. It’s going to be a long night.

The next morning

Asad came out for breakfast and was annoyed at the sight of everyone laughing and chatting with Zayn. “God, his house is turning into a circus. Didn't he just move move to his new place”, he muttered to himself irritated. Najma and Dilshad scrambled to set up everything for Asad seeing which Zayn raised his brow and exchanged a look with Zoya who shrugged.

“Asad, with you being this precise and neat, I’m shocked you guys were able to handle this pig for so long”, Zayn said gesturing at Zoya who smacked his head. “ We got used to it”, Najma said laughing when Asad didn’t respond. Zoya gave them both a dirty look.

“Zayn beta are you free this evening”, Dilshad asked. “I should be, Z and I are gonna go sight-seeing and finish setting up the house. We should be done by late afternoon, right Z? “, he asked Zoya who nodded in agreement. 

“My distant cousin’s son is getting engaged, would you like to join us for the engagement ceremony? “ she asked him. “Really aunty! I would love to. I love the colors and festive feel of weddings", he said in a excited voice. "I could take some notes for Z's engagement too", he told her happily. “Zayn, you are turning into Aapi number 2. Always plotting to sent me away”, she said throwing a cashew nut at his head. He simply smirked at her and waved her off. So it was agreed they would all go the engagement ceremony. Asad felt a uncontrollable rage at the mystery man who might marry Zoya.

That Evening

Asad, Dilshad, Tanveer and Zayn had reached the ceremony hall first. They were waiting for Zoya and Najma who took another car as they were running late. They were chatting when suddenly Zayn whistled, “Z look at you! You look like a girl! A gorgeous one at that!”, Zayn said with wide eyes at Zoya who just walked over. Zoya gave him a exasperated look, “ I am a girl Zayn”, “And now you look like one too”, Zayn agreed proudly.

Asad couldn’t take his eyes off Zoya looking so pretty in the pink lehenga and could only manage to give Zayn an annoyed look when he complimented her. Tanveer looked worried at the look Asad was giving Zoya so she started plotting.

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Everything happened so fast. One minute everyone were dancing happily then suddenly Asad got a call from Tanveer saying she needs help, Zoya who was closer to him ran outside, saw Tanveer on fire asked Zoya for her shawl. She had panicked seeing the fire but managed to somehow help. Tanveer was taken to the hospital and everyone were waiting outside to hear from the doctor.

“Phupi, don’t worry Tanveer will be alright”, Zoya comforted an anxious Dilshad. “Shut up!”, Asad exploded. “If you had reacted sooner and gave me the shawl Tanu wouldn’t be this injured”, Zoya was shocked,“Mr. Khan let me explain, I am scar…”, Asad cut her off, “Stop with your excuses Ms. Farooqi. You never intend to harm but that’s what your careless behaviour ends up doing. No one can trust you with something important since you never take anything seriously”, he seethed.

By then Zoya had started shaking from the memory of the fire and his harsh words. “Maybe you did that on purpose, usually you jump at the chance to help, not today. You never liked Tanu maybe that's why. Get out of here and don’t go near Tanveer!”, he said menacingly. 

“That’s enough Mr. Asad Ahmed Khan”, Zayn said in a angry voice pointed at Asad and walked over to Zoya and put his arms around her to steady her. “You couldn’t even listen to what Zoya had to say, could you? From whatever you said I can guess this isn’t the first time you have yelled at her. Let me make something clear, someone who can’t even listen to reason doesn’t deserve any explanation either”, he turned to Dilshad and said, “Aunty, I am taking Zoya home. Allah hafiz”, saying this he walked a still stunned and crying Zoya from there.

Later that night

Tanveer was discharged from the hospital as her burns had not been severe. Zayn was in the living room talking on the phone.  After settling Tanveer in her room everyone were talking about going back to their respective rooms when they heard a scream from Zoya’s room. 

Zayn rushed in followed by Asad, Dilshad and Najma. Zoya was crying out in her sleep. “Zoya wake up! Zoya wake up”, Zayn sat near her and tried to shake her awake. “Ammi!”, Zoya screamed and sat bolt upright in her bed looking distraught and breathed heavily.

“It's okay sweetheart! Everything's okay", when Zoya didn't respond he said in a firm voice, "Zoya look at me, you are okay”, Zayn said in a soothing voice. Zoya said in a breathy voice, “Can’t breathe”, and started shaking and breathing heavily, she started rubbing at her right arm vigorously.

“Shit, shit, no no, not now”, Zayn cursed aloud then. He picked her up and ran outside, calling over his shoulder to Najma to get some ice or a icepack if they had one. He sat Zoya on the bench in the garden and knelt in front of her. Everyone were looking shocked seeing Zoya falling apart.

“Give her some space”, he shouted at them, “Zoya look at me. You are having a panic attack. Sweetheart, I want you to breathe with me, okay?”, Zoya looked unfocused and like she might pass out from lack of oxygen. “Zoya!”, he shouted. When she focused on his face, he walked her through the 4-7-8 breathing technique till she could breath normally. 

She kept on rubbing at her arm still mumbling, “Hurts, hurts”, Zayn looked on the verge of a breakdown himself but shook himself then took the icepack from Najma and held it on Zoya’s arms. Zoya shivered at the contact but took it gratefully from him and started rubbing it back and forth on her arms through her clothes. “Better?”, Zayn asked her searching her eyes. Zoya nodded her head weakly and squeezed his arms gratefully and put her head on his shoulder and breathed.

Just then Dilshad came in with a doctor looking concerned. The doctor after checking the symptoms, “Looks like the symptoms of a panic attack”, he said. Zayn nodded tiredly at this so the doctor asked to talk to them in private as they didn’t want to disturb Zoya. Najma stayed with Zoya while the others moved away. “Has she had panic attacks before” the doctor asked Zayn. “Yes”. Dilshad and Asad looked shocked at this news. She always seemed so happy.

“Do you know what triggered the attack this time?”, Zayn glared at Asad then said, “Yes, she has a extreme case of Pyrophobia, she saw a fire today so it could be the cause”, he said vaguely. Hearing this Asad felt a stab in his heart remembering his earlier words. “But having such a late and severe reaction after a while doesn’t seem to add up, looks like something had triggered it now”, the doctor asked him questioningly.

 Zayn sighed then said with a catch in his voice, “She is the only survivor of an arson when she was young, so whenever she is near a big fire or something similar she gets nightmares that plays fragments of that scene from her memory. If she is also stressed about something sometimes the nightmares turns to panic attacks”, Zayn finished wiping his eyes. Everyone looked devastated. “I am gonna give her a mild sedative that would help her sleep”, the doctor continued, “Make sure she is well rested and doesn’t come across something stressful till she recovers”.

After the doctor left, Asad still felt shocked from everything he heard from Zayn. He looked out and saw them both sitting on the bench with Zoya’s head resting on Zayn’s shoulders and him patting her gently. He badly wanted to be there crushing her in his arms and protecting her, but he knew he messed up pretty badly this time. He couldn’t understand fully why he’s feeling such irrational feelings for Zoya. He knew he should stay the hell away from her but he just couldn’t and after seeing the panic in her eyes he felt absolutely helpless not being able do anything but just stand and watch her losing herself and being comforted by another man.

Asad opened his door when he heard a knock and saw Zayn standing there looking tired and a bit angry. “Can I talk to you”, he asked Asad. Asad opened up his door and let him in. Zayn came in, raked his hands through his hair and said in a barely controlled voice, “Asad about what happened today, I saw Zoya's heart break today after you accused her of all that nonsense. The Zoya I know almost never holds a grudge or worry over something she’s not responsible for, but for some reason she cared about what you thought of her. I am pretty damn sure that's what tipped her over the edge. So I came here to tell you, please watch what you say around, she is with you guys for a few weeks at the most, I hope you can control yourself till then. And if you really understood her you would know that she would never do something to hurt another soul on purpose whether she like them or not”, he said emphasizing the never.

 Asad looked pained but gave a small nod, Zayn started walking out then turned and asked. “Is there something going on between you and Zoya”, Asad wouldn’t meet his eyes. Zayn's eyes narrowed but he chose to ignore the emotions on Asad's eyes and added, “And for your information I am staying with Zoya tonight”. Asad started protesting. “Wo man! Relax! I will sleep in the armchair in her room. I can’t leave her alone in this state”. Asad clenched his jaws but said nothing. Zayn looked suspicious then mumbled to himself, “He looks ready to kill me, Geez, what has Zoya gotten herself into” and walked off.

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Hey guys,

The chapter turned out too long as my creative juices went into overdrive. It's a bit angsty but I tried to tone it down with some humor. Hope you like it and do let me know your comments!