When my phone started ringing, I flipped it over to see who was calling. Why was this guy calling me again? I had just started to enjoy the thought that he'd finally decided to leave me alone since he hadn't bothered me in a while.
"Yeah?.. I'm fine, Gökalp, you?.. Yeah, I'm at school… Right now?… Okay, fine, I'm coming."
I hung up and turned to the girls. "I've gotta go, guys."
"What does that idiot want this time?"
Aylin, quite rightfully, never liked Gökalp. Because on top of being unnecessarily sleazy toward me, he somehow got involved in every shady mess around. No one even knew how many fights he'd been in at school.
But the thing was, back when I was about to get caught cheating on an exam, he took the blame and failed the course because of me. So out of guilt, no matter how much his sliminess annoyed me, I just couldn't bring myself to snap at him.
"It's nothing important. He wants the notes for the class he failed while helping me."
When the topic piqued Feyza's interest, she immediately put her phone down and joined in.
"Where is he waiting?"
"In front of my building."
"How does he know where you live?"
"How else? He probably asked someone from class, Sapphire. Everyone knows I live in the same building as Aylin."
"I'm coming with you."
"Don't exaggerate, Feyza! He just asked for notes, it's not like he's going to jump me."
"I'll come anyway, I was planning to go home." Now it was Aylin's turn to be convinced.
I sighed wearily and got to my feet. "Sit your holy butt down, Mother Teresa. You're signing in for me in the afternoon classes too. I'm going to sleep. I've started seeing big fluffy pillows everywhere I look."
Laughing at my confession, they reluctantly accepted the situation.
Just then, Rüzgar stood up as well. "I'm leaving too. I'll give you a ride."
Before I could say anything, he headed for the exit, so I waved to the girls and Bora and followed him out.
When I stepped onto the sidewalk and didn't see him, I looked around curiously for a few seconds. He'd moved so fast that I hadn't even had the chance to tell him he didn't need to bother for such a short distance.
Then I saw the pitch-black racing bike parked right in front of me, and my gaze got stuck on it in pure admiration. At the same time, a helmet was held out toward me, and I shifted my eyes to the rider.
Despite my surprise, it wasn't until he took off his own helmet and looked at me impatiently that I realized the rider was Rüzgar.
"Seriously, I can go on my own this time. You don't have to give me a ride." Lie. Absolute lie. I would've paid him to let me get on that bike.
"Come on, get on. I'm running late."
Since I wasn't eager to drag things out either, I shoved my notebook into my small backpack and put the helmet he'd given me on my head.
I used him for support as I climbed onto the seat behind him, but I still didn't feel very comfortable around him. So at first, I had no idea where to put my hands. The safest option seemed to be lightly holding onto the sides of his leather jacket.
But he had other plans. Before my hands could even settle, the bike shot forward, making me forget my discomfort as I let out a small scream and wrapped my arms around his waist in panic.
If I didn't know how cold he was, I would've thought from the way his body shook that he was laughing. Of course, he wasn't—my mind was just playing tricks on me because of the sudden increase in speed.
Once I got used to the speed, I peeked out from behind his back and looked around. This had to be one of the best ways a person could taste freedom. It felt so incredible that despite the cold seeping into me through my thin jacket, a wide smile had spread across my entire face.
When we reached my building in at most five minutes, a deep sadness settled over me. Until that moment, it had never occurred to me that I'd regret living so close to campus.
After getting off the bike, I reluctantly took off the helmet and handed it back to its owner. "Thanks for the ride."
When he took the helmet and then removed his own as he got off the bike, I was confused. I'd thought he would drop me off and leave, but apparently that wasn't the case.
After scanning the surroundings with a searching gaze, he fixed his eyes on a point behind me. I was about to turn that way out of curiosity when his voice cut my movement short.
"Can you wait by the bike until I'm back? It won't take long."
Ah. So this was why he'd been so willing to give me a ride. His destination was here too. His request surprised me a little, but I had no reason to refuse.
"Sure, I'll wait."
The least I could do in return for him bringing me home for the second time was this much. It wasn't like I was dying to see Gökalp either.
He walked away from me with quick steps and disappeared from sight within moments. Judging by the fact that he had entered my building, he probably knew one of my neighbors.
As my mouth stretched into a huge yawn, a memory struck me and I quickly snapped my mouth shut, looking after him again.
What if Rüzgar had come here for the same reason as Kerem? Wouldn't that mean he was also here to meet dangerous people?
As a thousand possibilities ran through my mind, I nervously started biting my lip. So was standing here and waiting really a good idea?
I'd taken a few steps away from the bike before I went back to where I was. Even if I did go after him, what exactly was I going to do? I didn't know which flat he'd gone into, nor how I could possibly help him.
What worried me most was that compared to Kerem, Rüzgar looked physically weaker. In that case, what were the chances he'd be able to escape from the same guys Kerem had barely gotten away from?
Not very high, if you asked me.
Sure, his gaze was scary, but how much did that matter to someone holding a knife? In frustration, I tugged at my hair.
"Ugh! This is so frustrating!"
I stopped for a moment, took a deep breath, and tried to think calmly again. It wasn't late yet, and there were plenty of people around.
Under these circumstances, the chances of something really bad happening shouldn't be that high. Besides, Rüzgar had said whatever he had to do wouldn't take long. The best thing to do was wait another ten minutes and then act.
As I paced back and forth on the sidewalk, I tried to convince myself nothing bad would happen, but I couldn't say I was very successful.
Even though I still had five minutes before full-on panic mode, I couldn't stop my anxiety from clouding my logic more and more.
When I turned around and saw Rüzgar walking toward me, I started moving in his direction without delay. As soon as I was standing in front of him, the first thing I did was quickly scan him for any injuries, blurting out anxiously,
"Are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?"
His cold expression turned skeptical as his careful gaze swept over my face. "Is there a problem?"
I was about to say I was worried those men might have done something to him too, but I hesitated, remembering the promise I'd made to Kerem. Maybe I was jumping to the wrong conclusion. He could have been here for some entirely different business or meeting.
When I saw he was still scrutinizing me suspiciously, I tried to come up with something that would justify my behavior. "Uh… well… I heard some shouting just now, so…"
When he frowned in the direction I was pointing, I cursed my own stupidity and redirected my finger from the side street to my own building. "It sounded like some people were fighting over there. That's why I asked."
When he didn't respond to my explanation, I cleared my throat and quickly added, "Looks like I worried for nothing. It had nothing to do with you. Anyway, I should get going now."
He nodded and murmured briefly before putting his helmet back on. "Thanks for waiting."
"No big deal."
As he started the bike and disappeared from sight, I took a deep breath and headed toward the building gate. After all that tension, I needed a hot bath and a long, uninterrupted sleep more than ever.
Just as I reached the stairs of the building, I spotted Gökalp leaning against the wall by the door and let out a miserable sigh. Of course, while I'd been busy worrying about Rüzgar, I'd completely forgotten why I'd come home in the first place. That unpleasant reminder instantly killed whatever good mood I had left.
When I walked over to him, I kept a respectable distance between us and tried to give him a polite smile.
"Hey, Gökalp."
"Hi, Duru."
Normally, the first thing he'd do was ignore the distance I put between us and plaster himself to my cheeks, but instead, he shoved his hands into his pockets and settled for a half-smile.
"I'll just grab the notes and head out before it gets too late. I'm sure you've got things to do too."
This had to be a joke! For the first time since I'd met him, he was the one acting rushed without me having to hint at it. I had no idea what had caused such a 180-degree shift, but I definitely liked this version of him.
Without making him repeat his request, I rushed upstairs, grabbed my notes, and came back down. As I handed him the small notebook, I noticed he looked a little pale.
When he simply thanked me and hurried off, his unusual behavior confused me, but I didn't dwell on it. From my point of view, there was absolutely nothing wrong with this new version of him.
I lifted my head to the gently warm midday sun and took a deep breath of fresh air.
The moment I could finally go wild and sleep like a rock in my quiet, peaceful home had finally arrived.