Dark Faïz ( Book 1 ) [ COMPLETED]

Chapters 3-4

Taking a confident step, I moved torward the unknown, determined to get to the bottom of this story, because I wasn't the type to believe in coincidences. He smiled wide enough to crack his face as I reached him. I took care to observe him more carefully by noticing a perfectly symmetrical face. His hair, combed in a disordered way, made him even more attractive.

— "Hello," he greeted me in a slightly too familiar way.

— "Who are you?" said I in an unpleasant voice as I crossed my arms.

— "I'm used to a woman addressing me in a warmer way."

He then looked at the ladies who were staring at him from both sides of the room. Each of them tried to attract his attention with big smiles. I could not hold back a sigh of annoyance. His seductive charm would have put any woman in a state of hypnosis. I looked up to heaven before his overconfidence.

— "Why are you following me?" I insisted with an inquisitive look.

— "Don't you believe in pure chance?"

— "I believe in perverts and serial killers."

Her charming smile turned into a burst of laughter.

— "My name is Ray. Ray Jonhson. Nice to meet you."

Victoria reappeared at that moment, her eyes sparkling with joy in front of this young man. Her face radiated with happiness.

— "Hi, Ray," she shouted as she hugged him.

— "How are you, Victoria? You look beautiful," he replied, admiring her.

— "Thank you."

She turned to me. I stared at her, incredulous, then she added,

— "Zoe, this is Ray, Faïz's best friend. They have known each other since childhood. He's part of the family," she explained.

Shame overwhelmed me. I suddenly felt so stupid. I assumed that this young man must surely keep an eye on Faïz's little sister. Indeed, he was so protective of her. Ray must have thought I was a hysterical girl, a completely paranoid lunatic, at that very moment.

— "I'm sorry, Ray... I was thinking... You know... In the store," I stammered lamentably.

Victoria came to my rescue, guessing the complexity of the situation.

— "Ray, stop bothering Zoe. You could have introduced yourself from the beginning!"

I thanked her for her intervention.

— "We were just starting to have fun, both of us," he justified, amused, but with a hint of insolence.

Wishing to escape this uncomfortable and embarrassing moment, I waved to them to take my leave. I decided to join Asarys and Lexy, who had taken refuge in a corner of the house, without speaking to them of the scene that had just taken place between me and Ray.

— "You subscribed to a playboy-sponsored dating site or something?" laughed Lexy when she saw me.

— "I would have preferred that," I sighed.

— "He's just too cute," Asarys continued, introduce him to me, Zoe!

— "He's Faïz's best friend. Victoria will do the introductions, if you don't mind. I have neither the courage nor the desire to speak to him again. I curse him."

— "Speaking of Faïz, have you seen him since the other night?" Lexy asked me.

That same evening, I'd told them about the incident the day before in the campus parking lot, until I kissed him at the bottom of his villa gate.

— "No."

My short answer resonated, full of disappointment. Asarys stroked my arm to comfort me.

— "The kiss must have disturbed him more than you think. Give him time to assimilate all this."

As soon as her sentence was finished, we felt our feet suddenly vibrating for several seconds, and then nothing. The tremor paralyzed us all, the explosion had been so strong. The music stopped abruptly. Suddenly, all the cell phones started ringing. Messages, calls, but also notifications from social networks arrived en masse on our phones. I hurried to consult mine and found that it was off. My battery had run out.

— "What's going on?" I hastened to ask Lexy, who was scrolling the screen of her laptop at full speed.

— "Five attacks have just occurred in LA. Everyone needs to go home," she said in a panicked voice.

Her words resonated in my head. Around us, I saw the house empty quickly. Everyone carried out the order to take cover. I couldn't hear anything. My brain was trying to filter the information it was receiving. Everything was scrolling in slow motion. Victoria. Thinking of her was the trigger. The sound came to me again and my questions gave way to panic.

— "Victoria!" I shouted. "Victoria! Victoria!"

I immediately set out in search of her, pushing through the crowd, who pushed me toward the exit. Fortunately, I found her quite quickly, completely panicked, in Ray's arms near the stairs. When she saw me, she took me by the hand and we went out in a hurry, all three of us, far from the crowd.

— "I'll take you home," Ray said, leading us to his car.

— "And the Escalade?" I shouted.

— "I'll bring it back," he barked as he continued to move forward.

His phone started ringing.

— "Yes?" Ray answered in a nervous tone. "They're with me. No... Okay. I'm going the other way... Damn it!"

After hanging up, his jaw clenched, and looking serious, Ray took us to his BMW, parked not far from the Alpha Mu house.

— "The roads to Elora are all blocked and closed by police roadblocks," he said as he settled beside me.

— "My parents?" asked Victoria from the back of the car.

— "Apparently, there was no attack near you. The middle of Wilshire Avenue, Broadway, and the courthouse have been the target of terrorist attacks."

Ray left campus in a hurry.

— "Where are you taking us?" I insisted.

— "I just got off the phone with Faïz. I'm taking you to his loft."

— "Where is he? Is he all right?" asked Victoria in complete disarray.

He took a quick look in his rearview mirror to comfort her.

— "Yes, he'll call you as soon as he can. Don't worry about him."

We crossed the city in heavy rain and at excessive speed.