Broken Promises

"You're doing it again, Z," he spits out my nickname like it was poison. I wince. "And on the same day." He started clapping slowly. I swallow the lump and my throat and ignored the sting of the tear that slid down my face. "And when I thought we were gonna go back to how we were." He laughed bitterly.

I turned towards him slowly. My tear-filled eyes met his now shattered ones. "Ali-"

"I don't want to hear it!" He yelled. He swallowed and glared at me, his eyes burning with hatred. "That's the second time Zayna." His voice cracked at my name. I shut my eyes, not being able to handle the guilt and pain that were weighing my heart down. "I let you in like a fool, and all you do is break me," he said quietly.

I looked down in shame as my tears hit the pavement. I managed to mess up again, like every other time.

~•~

Childhood best friends close as ever. Until middle school, when an incident teared them apart. Four years later their paths collide, bringing up emotions they both dug deep inside.

Zayna Seif, a 17 year old senior, is your idealistic Muslim girl. Never missing a prayer, putting her faith before anything. What happens when she's forced to work with her former best friend on a project?

Ali Akram, captain of the football team, star player of the soccer team. What happens when he crashes into Zayna? The girl he tried so hard to get out of his head.

While Ali is struggling with his faith, Zayna just can't seem to keep Ali out of her life.

~•~

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