I dropped the pillow on the couch and turned off the light. The streetlamps outside were already throwing a soft, dim glow into the room.I left the door slightly ajar so I could hear anything unusual and lay down on the couch. Too lazy to get up and properly grab the blanket, I hooked it with my foot, dragged it down, and pulled it over myself.A few seconds after I closed my eyes, I opened them again. There was something about tonight that left me way more unsettled than it should have. Sure, being dragged into some stranger's mess out of nowhere would make anyone uncomfortable—but what I was feeling went beyond that.Staring absently at the ceiling, I replayed everything I'd seen and heard from the moment he walked into my apartment. Could that chase I'd witnessed have been the result of so
I dropped the pillow on the couch and turned off the light. The streetlamps outside were already throwing a soft, dim glow into the room. I left the door slightly ajar so I could hear anything unusual and lay down on the couch.
Too lazy to get up and properly grab the blanket, I hooked it with my foot, dragged it down, and pulled it over myself.
A few seconds after I closed my eyes, I opened them again. There was something about tonight that left me way more unsettled than it should have. Sure, being dragged into some stranger's mess out of nowhere would make anyone uncomfortable—but what I was feeling went beyond that.
Staring absently at the ceiling, I replayed everything I'd seen and heard from the moment he walked into my apartment. Could that chase I'd witnessed have been the result of some ordinary argument or testosterone-fueled ego fight? No. That made zero sense.
No matter how hard he tried to stand straight and act strong, it was impossible not to notice how exhausted he was. Especially with those dark circles under his eyes—signs that he hadn't had anything resembling real sleep in days. Those weren't the kind of things you got from a sudden brawl or a one-off run-in.
You could come up with a million theories about who or what he'd gotten mixed up with, but there was one thing I was sure of: whatever this was, he was struggling to handle it on his own.
I couldn't deny I felt a little sorry for him—though I wouldn't have said I was surprised. People like Kerem were like the brightest light source in a dark night; they attracted every kind of person. Expecting none of those people to be dangerous or trouble was just pointless optimism.
And then there was the fact that, despite getting involved in something serious enough to leave him this injured, not one of those so-called ride-or-die friends of his was with him. That was… interesting. Maybe their friendship wasn't as perfect as it looked from the outside.
In the end, I'd only seen them together a few times, and only briefly at that—not nearly enough to judge. On top of that, my own experience had taught me that human relationships were often very different behind closed doors than they appeared from the outside.
Honestly, when I thought about how little I really knew Kerem, I had to admit that my theories weren't built on much—whether they were about his friendships or his personal problems.
So, bottom line, there was no point wasting any more brain cells on him. I closed my burning, sleep-deprived eyes and tugged the blanket a little higher.
I didn't want to dig into his secrets; what I wanted was to keep some distance between us. Otherwise, very serious and utterly incurable heart problems were definitely in my future.
me ordinary argument or testosterone-fueled ego fight? No. That made zero sense.No matter how hard he tried to stand straight and act strong, it was impossible not to notice how exhausted he was. Especially with those dark circles under his eyes—signs that he hadn't had anything resembling real sleep in days. Those weren't the kind of things you got from a sudden brawl or a one-off run-in.You could come up with a million theories about who or what he'd gotten mixed up with, but there was one thing I was sure of: whatever this was, he was struggling to handle it on his own.I couldn't deny I felt a little sorry for him—though I wouldn't have said I was surprised. People like Kerem were like the brightest light source in a dark night; they attracted every kind of person. Expecting none of those people to be dangerous or trouble was just pointless optimism.And then there was the fact that, despite getting involved in something serious enough to leave him this injured, not one of those so-called ride-or-die friends of his was with him. That was… interesting. Maybe their friendship wasn't as perfect as it looked from the outside.In the end, I'd only seen them together a few times, and only briefly at that—not nearly enough to judge. On top of that, my own experience had taught me that human relationships were often very different behind closed doors than they appeared from the outside.Honestly, when I thought about how little I really knew Kerem, I had to admit that my theories weren't built on much—whether they were about his friendships or his personal problems.So, bottom line, there was no point wasting any more brain cells on him. I closed my burning, sleep-deprived eyes and tugged the blanket a little higher.I didn't want to dig into his secrets; what I wanted was to keep some distance between us. Otherwise, very serious and utterly incurable heart problems were definitely in my future.