Lost

Chapter 22: The Climb

This chapter came out longer than I expected. Please remember to vote and post your reactions as you read (I expect plenty with a chapter like this :P)

"You okay?"

Salma turned around, surprised by the sound of his voice, to see Zayn making his way to sit next to her on the top step. Instinctively, she edged away to her left, leaving a few feet distance between them. Zayn paused in the process of lowering himself on the step. He quirked a brow at her jumpy reaction, eyeing the space she had just created.

"I wasn't about to strangle you."

"No, when that happens, it would be the other way around," Salma replied, trying to calm her nerves. She was startled by his sudden and silent approach, not sure how she had missed the sharp tap of his walking stick against the wooden floor, or the sound of his footsteps as he was walking towards her.

Zayn laughed dryly, taking a seat on the extreme right, farthest away from her. He rested his back against the fence.

"That be right," he said, amused, "I'd rather you be the one committing the murder."

Salma rolled her eyes, turning away from him.

"Make some noise when you approach me like that," she muttered, unimpressed.

"I make plenty of noise." Zayn shrugged. "You not paying attention is not my fault."

Salma studied him from the corner of her eyes. Was there a double meaning to what he just said, or was she stretching his words? Surely, he wasn't referring to the noise he made last night?

"Which brings me back to my question," Zayn continued, "What's up with you again?"

"Should something be wrong?"

"When you pull an uncharacteristic stunt of being socially less awkward, and chose to stay instead of running for the hills every chance you get? Yes. It only happens when something is wrong."

"I'm good, thanks." Salma let out a breath. "How about you?"

Zayn raised a skeptical brow again.

"Me?" he asked. "Why? Why wouldn't I be alright?"

Salma resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Honestly, it wasn't like she had to spell it out why he should not be alright, but if pretending to not be distressed by what he'd told her last night was how he was going to react, so be it. Salma was not exactly keen on telling him what she had witnessed the other night. More than once the previous night, she woke up upon hearing his wooden brace crashing against the floor as he thrashed in his sleep, reliving his past in his nightmares.

He would jolt awake and sit with his head resting against his hands until he'd doze off, only to wake up again. The first time he woke up, with his body drenched in sweat and breathing ragged, he had quickly turned to Salma, worried that she may have seen it all. She heard him sigh in relief once he found her asleep, and laid back down, trying to relax and ease his breathing. Salma knew he did not want her witnessing his moments of weakness. So when he drifted off to sleep again, she only tip toed to put a water bottle next to him, but other than that she left him be as he kept waking up gasping and struggling against dangers that weren't there.

At one point, Salma couldn't take it anymore and burst out crying, hating herself for asking unnecessary questions that traumatized him so much. Torn between wanting to help him and respecting his choice to hide it, she had just dug her fingers into her ears to block out his anguished whimpers. It was almost two in the morning before Zayn had finally managed to get a proper shut eye, allowing Salma to go to sleep too.