I needed to get out of this place. Now!
The good news was the door was only a step away.
The bad news was he was just as close.
Which meant he could stop me easily.
Me and my damn curiosity!
What the hell had I been thinking, getting out of that car?
Cursing myself internally, I tried one last time, keeping my tone as polite as possible.
"I don't think my friend is here. I should go keep looking. Have a good night."
"Where are you going, little girl? We just started talking."
When he stepped toward me with that massive body, panic hit so hard I was sure my heartbeat was audible. As his hand reached for my face, I tried to decide whether screaming or landing a solid kick would save me faster.
And when I considered the possibility that there were people inside who might be worse than him, I chose the second option.
I was just about to strike and run when a foreign hand grabbed the wrist reaching for me. Both of us froze.
The man frowned and looked over his shoulder at the intruder. I followed his gaze.
"Aziz."
His anger drained into fear as he pulled away from me quickly. When he spoke again, there wasn't a trace of his earlier confidence left.
"I didn't know the friend she was looking for was you. I swear."
I stared between Rüzgar and the man, shock rising by the second. I felt like I was the only one there who had no idea what was really going on.
Then Rüzgar's deadly stare turned on me, and without meaning to, I shared the man's tension.
"Are you okay?"
He asked it in such a tone that if I'd said no, I was sure he'd bury that man where he stood and carve the gravestone himself.
I nodded silently.
Without sparing the man another look, Rüzgar opened the door behind us, waited for me to pass, then followed me out.
As we walked back toward the car, I wasn't thinking about the scolding I might get for getting out. I was thinking about how terrified that man had been of Rüzgar.
You wouldn't put just anyone at the door. Which meant there was a reason he saw Rüzgar as a real threat.
I studied the young man walking beside me out of the corner of my eye. No matter how I looked at it, something didn't add up. He wasn't particularly big or muscular. Calling him skinny would be an exaggeration, but he wasn't built enough to intimidate someone like that based on looks alone.
So how had one look from him made that man back off so completely?
When we got into the car, I sat ready to defend myself against whatever reaction he might have. Minutes passed. He didn't say a word.
Finally, I couldn't take it anymore.
"I'm waiting."
He raised a brow, and I sighed.
"You know. The part where you get mad because I didn't listen."
After checking the mirrors to change lanes, he replied calmly.
"There's nothing to be mad about. As an adult, you should already know that when you ignore warnings, you deal with the consequences yourself."
He knew exactly what he was doing.
If he'd yelled at me, it wouldn't have felt worse than this.
Embarrassment washed over me. I went quiet, fiddling with my hands and staring at the road. But my curiosity didn't stay buried for long.
"What was that place? I've never seen anything like it. What are people doing there? I heard cheering, like they were supporting someone or something, but I couldn't make out the words."
"For your own good, act like what just happened never happened."
He turned suddenly and looked straight into my eyes.
"I'm serious, Duru. Forget everything you saw and heard there."
If it were anyone else, I'd think they were dodging my questions for their own convenience. But not Rüzgar. When he didn't want to answer, he stayed silent.
If he spoke, it was because he thought it was necessary.
That meant he was deadly serious.
So I just sighed and nodded.
One day, I'd find a way to learn what was going on there. Just not today.
"I'm guessing you're not done talking, since we're still driving?" I asked, irritation creeping into my voice. "Then at least tell me where we're going."
"To my place."
Something was definitely wrong. I could tell that much. But to understand more, I needed an explanation. Reading faces had never been my strength, and when it came to Rüzgar, it was completely useless.
When we arrived, I heard voices from inside as I waited for him to unlock the door.
We weren't going to be alone.
That eased me, at least a little.
At least, unlike him, having someone talkative around might help end the mystery that was starting to tighten around my chest.
The moment we stepped into the living room, Demir, Bora, and Nil got up, greeted me briefly, then turned their eyes to the friend beside me. I also noticed that they looked just as unhappy as Rüzgar did.
When Rüzgar gave the three of them a negative shake of his head, they all sank back onto the couches like soldiers whose morale had been crushed.
Judging by the atmosphere, the problem was bigger than I'd thought.
"You went out without even grabbing something to wear?" Nil snapped. "I told you a hundred times, take your jacket, it's freezing tonight. Why do you never listen to me?"
Her sudden, unusually sharp outburst didn't seem to surprise anyone except me.
Rüzgar being scolded like a child wasn't that strange when you considered their history, but seeing Nil—who usually lived in permanent sweetheart mode—this aggressive was… an experience.
"Don't worry. I'm fine," Rüzgar said flatly. "I need to talk to Duru. We'll be back in a minute."
Without waiting for anyone's approval, he flicked a quick glance at me and started walking toward one of the doors at the far end that opened off the living room.
I followed silently.
That was when I noticed his sweater.
Nil was right. Walking around outside like that on a night this cold was practically begging to get sick.
Wait.
Rüzgar… jacket?
Jacket… library?
Rüzgar… library?
No way.
Could it be?
That felt like an absurd stretch.
But it wasn't impossible.
And the only thing I needed to do to end the debate was smell his perfume.
Which, of course, was easier to think than to actually do.
I quickened my steps, closing the gap between us, ready to carry out my brilliant little investigation—until he stopped so suddenly I barely avoided crashing into him.
Before I humiliated myself in ways I couldn't undo, maybe it was smarter to cancel the mission and try my luck another time.
I stepped into the room he opened for me, and my eyes immediately wandered in quiet awe.
Everything I saw—wall-to-wall bookshelves, the large floor-to-ceiling windows, the dark brown desk placed in front of them with carved patterns along its surface, the wide sofas in the center of the room in colors that matched the rest—reflected a taste that was heavy but elegant.
I wasn't familiar enough with Rüzgar's style to be sure, but there was no doubt this looked like something that appealed more to parents than a guy our age.
At first, based on what I'd seen, I'd assumed his parents were those "always traveling" ghost parents. Now, like Kerem's place, it seemed more logical that no adult actually lived here.
Most likely, both families had left their old homes to their kids and moved somewhere better.
Or maybe they were those free-spirited, energetic parents who packed up and devoted the rest of their lives to traveling the world the moment their child was old enough to survive on their own.
When I saw Rüzgar close the door and head toward the couches, I stopped analyzing the room and sat on the couch across from him.
I didn't have the patience to wait for him to start, so I spoke first.
"Something bad happened, didn't it?"
"We can't reach Kerem."