STALEMATE [MAFIA] [MXM] ✓

22: JUDGMENT

The next morning, Salem is awoken by a call.

He fumbles around for it, half asleep, hoping that it's not Mercedes or Jordan, because he doesn't want to deal with questioning. Then, Salem remembers that he didn't do as promised—he didn't call Zona when he got home. Shit.

Sure enough, when he picks up the phone, Zona's name and middle school photo are flashing on the screen. The time reads just after noon, and Salem reluctantly presses the green button. He is immediately met with shouting.

"Hello—"

"SALEM."

Wow, she sounds mad. Salem pulls the phone away from his ear at her volume, putting it on speaker to protect his ears. "...yes?"

"When were you going to tell me—how did Cam find out before I did? Why did this even happen—"

"What are you talking about?"

There's a silence, and Salem blinks his eyes at the ceiling as he tries to wake up. The sunlight leaking through his curtains doesn't really aid in that, since it just makes him want to close his eyes, but he still does his best. He doesn't want to risk making Zona more upset by falling back asleep or something.

"Check Cam's page." Is all she says, but she doesn't sound nearly as angry anymore. Perhaps she's starting to understand that Salem has no fucking clue what she's talking about.

Salem opens Instagram and goes to the search bar, typing in Cam's username and clicking on his profile. Salem goes to the latest post and finds a picture of himself—a yearbook photo from last year. The second picture is just one of a motorcycle, and the caption reads simply; back 2gether.

Upon this realization, Salem sits up. He can't say he's surprised, but still. Shit.

It was posted an hour ago, and honestly, he's not even surprised that Cam didn't check with him first. To see if it was true, and even if it was, to get Salem's permission to post about it. Nope, because he wants the views. Salem can't help his irritation. He doesn't want to go to school Monday, doesn't want to see Atlas anytime soon. Maybe he'll be absent again? Salem honestly hopes so, he knows he will be awkward about this. He doesn't even know how Atlas will react.

He might not care, he might be mad, but either way he'll be stressed. There's always the chance of this getting back to Salem's father, despite the fact it's not true—Salem doubts Jack would believe that. That man has never believed that Salem was over Atlas. Even right after they broke up and Salem said he hated the guy, even when he was bitter and heartbroken for months, Jack knew he was lying about his feelings. He always has.

So, even if Salem tells him they aren't together, he knows Jack won't believe him. Salem needs to crush this rumor, quick. Before it gets to Jack.

"Atlas and I are not back together."

"Okay." Zona replies, sounding both relieved and skeptical. "Then why is Cam saying you are?"

Salem sighs, and he internally prepares himself for dealing with this. He supposes the truth would have come out eventually. "Atlas gave me a ride home yesterday, and Mercedes saw. She must've told him."

He hears Zona hum from the other line, before informing him that she will call Cam. The also squeezes in a disappointed scolding about lying to her about having a ride, though he thinks she's mostly just mad that it was Atlas. They hang up not long after that, and Salem falls back on his bed. He stares at the ceiling for a while, before he remembers that he had plans today. Well, more like something on his to do list.

He's quitting the investigation.

Salem decides that he wants to get this over with. He shoots a quick text to Catrine, explaining that he's going to stop by, before showering and getting ready. He tries not to feel nervous, but he really hates letting people down. He knows she's gonna be disappointed in him.