Kerem stumbled back a few steps after taking a punch to the face, and my breath caught instead. That had to hurt. When he touched his cheek and looked at the blood on his hand, then back at the man, my empathy shifted into confusion.
Had he smiled?
Before I could decide whether I'd imagined it, Kerem drove a punch into the man's torso so hard it knocked the breath out of him. A wild, animal-like groan echoed through the room. Then, with a high kick that made my jaw drop, Kerem sent him face-first to the floor. The man tried to get up, but before he could even lift half his body, he collapsed again—unconscious.
I didn't know much about fighting, but what I'd just seen wasn't something an ordinary person could pull off. Which meant that, unlike me, he was trained.
As soon as the shock loosened its grip, I avoided looking at the man on the floor and walked over to Kerem. He lifted his tired eyes to me, then noticed the pan in my hand and raised an eyebrow.
"A pan? Seriously, Sunshine?"
At his mocking question, I glanced down at the pan I'd completely forgotten I was holding.
"I came from the kitchen, Hotshot. What did you expect? I grabbed the first thing I saw."
He smirked at my defense, crouched beside the man, and checked his pockets. All he found was an old-model phone and some cash. He slipped the phone into his pocket and stood up. I spoke without hiding my admiration.
"I wouldn't have guessed you could fight like that. You probably have a black belt—unlike me."
"It's nothing. The guy was clumsy."
That was the strange part. For the first time, I'd asked him something he could easily brag about, yet he shut it down immediately. And from what I'd seen, the man hadn't been nearly as clumsy as he claimed.
"We should get out of here as soon as possible. I'm not sure he was alone." As we both stared at the unconscious attacker, I added awkwardly, "I need to use the bathroom first."
"You have to be kidding me. Now?" I snapped my head up.
"Sorry I can't control my bladder, Hotshot. If you remember—because of you—"
"Fine. Hurry up."
He cut me off with an exhausted tone. I left him in the room and hurried into the corridor. The bathroom had to be somewhere nearby. I opened the only closed door and, when I saw I'd guessed right, turned on the light.
The moment the room lit up, my smile vanished and I stumbled back.
"Kerem."
He rushed in, and when he saw what I was seeing, his brows drew together.
"Forget the bathroom. We're leaving."
Once we were in the car, the image of that blood-soaked bathroom wouldn't leave my head. The walls, the tiles, the tub—there was so much blood that your mind immediately jumped to the idea that someone had been tortured for hours, maybe even days. The images forming in my head made me tremble without realizing it.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes… I think." Then I asked quietly, "Do you think the man you fought could've killed the person you're looking for?"
"I don't know."
"For God's sake, who are these people, Kerem?"
"I don't know, okay?" He exhaled as if he regretted raising his voice, then continued more softly. "My head's at least as messed up as yours, Duru. I need to sit down and think calmly."
He pulled into a gas station, turned off the engine, and looked at me.
"While I get gas, you can use the bathroom."
When I came out of the restroom and washed my hands, I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked as disheveled as my thoughts felt. I took off my beanie, tied my hair back with the band on my wrist, and returned to the car.
The rest of the drive passed in silence, both of us lost in our own oceans of thought. The endless scenarios spinning in my head—and the assumptions tied to them—locked up not just my mind, but my senses too. I'd supposedly been watching the road for minutes, yet I didn't even realize which route we were on until the car stopped.
"Why did we come to your place?"
"I don't want you to be alone tonight."
Without arguing, I unbuckled and got out. It wasn't a night I'd enjoy spending alone either. And more importantly, we needed to talk properly about what we'd seen. This time was different. This time, I'd witnessed things that truly unsettled me—and I needed answers.
As soon as we went inside, I headed straight to the living room and collapsed onto one of the couches. A little later, Kerem joined me with two glasses and handed one to me. I took it and downed it in one go. The burning liquid made me grimace, but it helped me relax.
When he brought the bottle and refilled our empty glasses, my eyes caught on his cheek. The cut—two or three centimeters long, stretching from his cheekbone toward his temple—didn't look deep, but the skin had been scraped badly. It hadn't been the punch. It had to be that strange, stamp-like ring I'd noticed on the man's finger while Kerem searched him.
Guessing he had no intention of dealing with it himself, I got up, grabbed what I needed from the medicine cabinet, and came back. When I reached for his cheek, he tried to pull away.
"No need, Duru. It's just a small scratch."
"If it gets infected, it won't stay small. Sit still."
After cleaning the cut and covering it with a small bandage, I returned the supplies to the kitchen. When I came back, I didn't feel like sitting. With questions piling up in my head, I paced the room while Kerem watched me.
"Sit down already, Sunshine. You're making me dizzy."
I did as he said and sat beside him, pulling my legs up under me. There was no point in tearing myself apart any longer. Hoping the thing I feared wasn't true, I finally spoke.
"I'm scared to ask, but… just tell me the truth, okay? It's not my place to judge you or your life."
"Just ask. You're making me tense like this."
I took a deep breath and studied his face.
"Are you involved with drugs or something?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I mean… when I think about your secrecy, your mood swings, and the men we've seen, it felt like you might have a problem like that—"
"Stop right there." He cut me off sharply. "I have nothing to do with anything illegal. Not drugs. Not anything else."
"Really?"
"Yes. Really."
I was just about to relax when I heard his mutter.
"As if I'd tell you if I did."