When we arrived in front of Rüzgar's house, Kerem got out of the car without wasting a second. I, on the other hand, stayed where I was, staring at the house with lingering tension.
Maybe it wasn't too late to run away.
Hmm… If I took off my heels and—
"Don't even think about it, Sunshine."
I opened the door with an annoyed huff and got out.
"Stop reading my mind, Hotshot!"
As I walked past him toward the house, I could hear him laughing behind me. There truly was no creature on earth better at getting on my nerves than this man.
While ringing the doorbell, I was still considering the possibility of faking a faint to escape. Honestly, it had potential. After all, I was an injured victim of an attack.
The moment the door opened, I was caught off guard by my friend's sudden hug. When she pulled back, she carefully examined my bandaged wounds, then lifted her worried gaze to my face.
Oh, wonderful! Now I could drown in my own guilt.
"We were so worried about you, Duru, but Teresa wouldn't let us call because she said you needed rest. Are you okay? Are your wounds bad?"
To reassure her, I kissed her cheek and nodded with a sincere smile.
"Don't worry, Sapphire. I'm fine." Then I glanced down at my dress and sighed tiredly. "But if I stay in this dress any longer, I might actually suffocate."
She giggled and linked her arm with mine, careful of my injuries.
"We knew you'd say that, so Teresa stopped by your place and brought you some clothes."
As we walked into the living room arm in arm, my smile slowly faded.
Everyone was staring at me with full attention—and with concern rivaling Feyza's. Aylin rushed over just like her and hugged me, carefully avoiding my neck. I hugged her back.
"How are you? Are you in pain? Did anything else happen?"
I pulled back with a laugh.
"I'm really fine. I don't have any injuries other than what you can see, and they don't hurt anymore."
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Nil watching me tensely, hesitant to approach. I turned to her with a wide smile and opened my arms. She stepped forward and wrapped her thin arms around my waist.
"You really are okay, right? We were so worried when the girls told us what happened."
Hearing the tremble in her voice, I hugged her tighter.
"I'm really okay. I promise." Then I pulled back, took her hands in mine, and added quietly, "I'm sorry about last week. I didn't want to act that way, but I had no choice."
She smiled with understanding and squeezed my hands.
"You don't need to apologize, Duru. I know it wasn't your fault."
Bora walked over next, hands on his hips, wearing what was clearly an attempt at an angry expression—except the mischievous sparkle in his eyes gave him away.
"You should be ashamed of yourself, Sugarflake! You scared us half to death. From now on, you're banned from going to parties without me."
I mirrored his dramatic tone, pouting exaggeratedly.
"No parties without you. I promise."
Then Demir stopped in front of me, arms crossed, wearing a mocking smile.
"I don't think I'll ever want to attend a party you're at again, Red. When it comes to parties, you're basically a natural disaster."
In the short time I'd known him, I'd learned that emotional speeches really weren't his thing.
"Look on the bright side, Big Guy," I shot back. "A party with me has zero chance of being boring."
We grinned at each other when I noticed Rüzgar standing at the other end of the room, leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets, watching us quietly.
I smiled at everyone and slowly walked toward him.
As he pushed himself off the wall and looked at me with a faint, barely-there smile, I swallowed. Kerem's words echoed in my mind. Could the cold, distant image Rüzgar projected be the result of the pain and guilt he carried deep inside?
Probably.
"I'm glad you're okay," he said quietly.
Without thinking, I stepped closer, rose onto my toes, and wrapped my arms around his neck. I didn't know exactly why, but I felt terrible for everything he'd been through.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
He must've understood what I meant, because his body stiffened instantly. A few seconds later, he hugged me back, and my eyes burned.
Even though I'd stayed composed while Kerem talked, being with Rüzgar made it much harder.
I blinked until I was sure I wouldn't cry, then pulled back and looked at him with my brightest smile.
"I didn't get the chance to say this last time. Thank you for taking care of me when I was sick."
"It's nothing."
"Duru!"
I frowned when I saw the person running toward me.
"Mete?"
Before I could say anything else, he lifted me into a hug. I squeaked and clung to him so I wouldn't fall.
"I've never been this happy to see you, angel."
I giggled and pulled back slightly to look at him.
"I'm happy to see you too, honey."
"Put the girl down before you hurt her, Butterfly."
We both turned toward the crowd.
"Keep your jealous claws to yourself, kitty. You didn't seriously expect me to hug you when someone as sweet as Duru is right here."
"As if I'm dying to hug you."
"Admit it, Bluey. You'd do anything just to get a piece of this magnificent body."
"I'd rather tear it into pieces."
"Oh wow, you're twisted! No wonder you date sadists."
"Uh-huh. And who was the one who secretly slept with one of those sadists behind my back?"
"Come on, Bluey, it's been a year. You're still not over it? Besides, you can't blame me for being hotter than you."
"I hate to interrupt," Bora cut in, confused, "but am I the only one who thinks there's something seriously weird about this conversation?"
Aylin and I burst out laughing while Feyza pointed at Mete and answered flatly,
"It's weird because he's gay."
Taking the opportunity, Mete set me down and walked up to Bora with a flirtatious grin, extending his hand.
"Hi. We haven't met properly. I'm Mete."
Bora shook his hand quickly and pulled back, managing only a quiet, "Bora." Mete's smile widened even more.
"Nice to meet you, Bora. Your name's as cute as you are."
Using that deep, charming voice he reserved for flirting, Mete winked at him. Clearly annoyed by the attention on her boyfriend, Nil wrapped an arm around Bora's waist and placed her other hand firmly on his hip.
"He's mine."
Bora immediately wrapped his arms around Nil's neck and nodded.
"Yes. I'm hers."
We all giggled at how unbelievably adorable he was when Kerem's sharp voice suddenly cut through the room.
"That's enough. We have more serious things to discuss. Duru."
He sounded more irritated than necessary. When he fixed me with a grave look, I sighed unhappily.
Damn it. Was this really the time, just when I'd finally relaxed?