Love Maze

Chapter 16

Anya was running like her life depended on it.

With coffee in one hand and her phone in the other, she sprinted in the direction of the Mehras' apartment, her messenger bag slamming against her thigh with every step.

She skidded to a stop in front of the front door and some of the steaming liquid spilled over the top of the cup and splattered onto her leg, making her wince. She hadn't expected it to still be so hot after running all the way from the coffee shop to Nikki's house, but then again she hadn't expected to oversleep and wake up at 10 when she had agreed to meet Zayan at 9.

She took a deep breath and rang the doorbell, praying that Zayan hadn't given up on her just yet.

She began counting the seconds in an attempt to slow her heartbeat. One, two, three, four, five, six...

When she had counted upto twenty one, the door was answered by a boy about her age.

He was tall, with dark hair and dark eyes, and wore a flannel shirt with wrinkled blue jeans. His eyes travelled up and down her body to take in her appearance, making her feel acutely uncomfortable and a little defensive.

She hadn't had time to choose what to wear, so she had simply thrown on a pair of denim shorts and an oversized tee shirt, pairing them with her sneakers.

When the boy's gaze paused on her bare legs, she cleared her throat and gave him a slight glare, as if to say eyes up here, buddy.

He shifted his scrutinizing stare to look up at her face and raised an eyebrow. "Who're you?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she fired back.

"Well, look at that. Is that how you treat the guy who opens up his door for you?" He asked drily.

His door?

"You live here?" She asked, surprised.

"Uh, no," he said, shifting his weight awkwardly. "But I might as well be."

"What do you mean?" She frowned.

"I'm like a brother to Zayan," he bragged. "I practically live here."

Anya rolled her eyes. "Okay. Can I come in now? Zayan knows I'm supposed to be here."

Wordlessly, he opened the door wider for her to go in. She gave him a suspicious once-over before sauntering into the house.

"He's in his room," the boy said stiffly.

"Where-"

"Second door on the right."

Anya nodded and retreated in the direction that he had pointed towards.

When she was right in front of Zayan's bedroom, she raised her hand to knock on the door. A second later, though, she realized that it was already partially open.

She hesitantly pushed on it, and it swung open easily. She was greeted by the sight of Zayan sitting on the edge of his bed, his face in his hands. He was a picture of misery, and guilt flooded her immediately.

What should she say to him? Should she start with an apology? Pushing the thoughts away, she decided to start simple. "Hey, Zayan."

He looked up. His expression changed so many times, from shock and surprise to happiness and then annoyance, that she had a hard time keeping count.

"I thought you weren't coming."

His words melted her heart into a gooey puddle, and all of a sudden the words were rushing out of her. "I'm so sorry. I overslept, and then I woke up and realized I was late so I got dressed as quickly as I could. But mum wouldn't let me head out for a full day of sightseeing on an empty stomach so I had to stop by this coffee place to get some coffee and breakfast to-go. You know the one I'm talking about? It's right opposite the house and they have these amazing blueberry waffles, and their pastries are just dreamy. Anyway, so I tried to get here as fast as I could but then this guy who was ahead of me in the line was taking forever because his daughters could just not make up their minds-"