Paths To Forever

Trapped

Narrowing my eyes, I moved toward the main exit. I grabbed the handle, yanked-

It didn't move.

I frowned. Pulled harder. Nothing.

A sliver of unease curled in my stomach. No. No way.

"Saif," I said slowly. "Tell me this is a joke."

He tilted his head, feigning innocence. "What do you mean?"

I turned back to the door. Tried again. Still locked.

Panic trickled in.

"This can't be happening," I muttered, running my hands over the smooth wood. "The doors were open a second ago!"

Saif, completely unbothered, leaned against a bookshelf. "Well, they're not now."

I turned sharply. "Do you have a key?"

"Why would I have a key?"

"Because you're here!" I snapped, wildly gesturing at his existence. "How did you even get in?"

He grinned. "Through the door. Obviously."

I resisted the urge to throw something. "Well, Sherlock, if you got in, then how-" I stopped. My stomach dropped.

The librarian.

She must have locked up, thinking I'd already left. And somehow, this menace slipped in at the last second.

I sucked in a sharp breath.

We were trapped.

In the library.

At night.

With Saif.

This was not happening.

I pressed my forehead against the heavy wooden doors, inhaling deeply, willing them to magically unlock. But the universe clearly hated me because they stayed stubbornly shut.

"We're locked in," I whispered in horror.

"Wow, you're quick," Saif drawled from behind me, his voice laced with amusement.

I spun around, glaring at the human disaster in a white shirt who had somehow inserted himself into my nightmare.

He leaned against a bookshelf like he had all the time in the world, hands in his pockets, a lazy smirk pulling at his lips.
His dark hair was perfectly messy, his shirt slightly unbuttoned at the collar, and his gaze-dark, unreadable, infuriatingly confident-was fixed on me like he was enjoying this way too much.

I pointed a shaky finger at him. "This is your fault."

He lifted a brow, unapologetically amused. "And How, exactly?"

"Because you-because-" I floundered, gesturing wildly. "Why are you even here?"

His lips twitched. "To read?"

I scoffed. "Oh, please. The only thing you read is your fan mail."

He pressed a hand to his chest, mock-offended. "Zahra, you wound me."

"I will actually wound you if you don't help me figure out how to get out of here."

He chuckled, the sound warm, deep, annoyingly attractive-and completely useless to my situation.

I turned back to the door, pulling at the handle again. Still locked.

"Okay," I muttered to myself, pacing. "No need to panic. There's got to be a way out."

Saif watched me with a bemused expression. "Or we could just... accept our fate."

I stopped. "Excuse me?"