"It won't be funny to you, which is fair, but here." I smiled.
"Before you went to the police station, I called Demir because I wanted him to promise me he'd keep you safe. He told me he'd prepared a little surprise to test your skills, but my head was a mess at the time, so I didn't really register what he meant after I got his promise. Looks like the 'surprise' was his dad. He deliberately timed it so you'd get caught inside."
Aylin's face shifted through pink, red, and finally a shade of purple, and the stream of curses she unleashed on Demir was so heartfelt and creative that the three of us nearly died laughing. After we laughed through her increasingly bloody revenge plans, we moved on to Feyza's breakup.
When we asked why she'd ended it so suddenly, she tried to close the topic with a simple,
"I just don't feel the same about Atlas anymore."
"I'm not buying it, Sapphire," I said. "There's something you're not telling us, and I'm sure it's directly connected to Rüzgar."
Feyza turned, uncomfortable, pointed at me, and looked at the other two.
"Sometimes I feel like I don't know myself as well as she knows me. Do you get that feeling too?"
Mete sighed, put a hand on Feyza's shoulder, and gave it a light pat.
"Don't worry, Bluey. She does it to all of us. You're not today's first victim."
Feyza nodded in understanding and patted Mete's shoulder back. "I get it, Butterfly. But don't be sad. After a while you get used to it. Sometimes you even start liking it."
I smacked both of their heads at the same time and glared.
"Stop saying stupid things. And you, stop trying to dodge the question, Sapphire. Spill it. Whatever you did, it has to be something big."
"Oh my God, you can't even let me talk in peace!" she complained.
Then she put on the sweetest smile and said,
"Should I refresh our tea first? You sit, I'll bring it right away!"
I gave her a look so threatening she slowly sat back down without attempting to stand. Sighing dramatically, she started telling us what happened after we left the house that night, piece by piece.
As we listened, Mete and I kept exchanging knowing looks based on what we'd talked about before they arrived, but neither of us commented. Aylin asked a couple of questions about details here and there, but she also avoided giving opinions.
We all knew what that adoring expression on Feyza's face meant every time she mentioned Rüzgar. For the first time in a long time, our blond girl had genuinely fallen in love with someone. But that wasn't what left us quiet.
Deep down, all of us knew this wouldn't end happily. And we knew Feyza well enough to know that no matter what we said, she wouldn't listen. She'd follow her feelings.
When Feyza finally finished her action-packed night, the three of us went through a short phase of fake anger, then turned it into jokes and moved on, laughing.
Later, all our energy was gone. We cleaned up, carried the mess downstairs to the kitchen, then came back and sprawled side by side on my wide, comfortable bed.
Of course, before we fell asleep, I still had to endure a fresh wave of Mete's absurd comments about the bed's size. The girls' amused giggles mixed with my irritated grumbling, and a few minutes later, one by one, we drifted off.
Despite Mete's commentary, a huge, happy smile spread across my face. In my head, I thanked Rüzgar for making this possible, wrapped an arm around Aylin, and let myself sink into the sweet pull of sleep.
A faint knocking sound brushed my ear and disturbed my sleep for a second. I shifted where I lay, ready to fall right back asleep, but then an urgent need for the bathroom hit me and I sighed miserably.
Being the one on the edge of the bed had its advantages. I climbed out without having to vault over anyone.
I tried to find my way without opening my eyes so I wouldn't wake up properly. I opened my bedroom door and stepped into the hallway. As I headed toward the bathroom, I slammed into something solid. I groaned and clutched my nose.
"Ow. Who put this column in the middle of the hall?"
My sleepy complaint came out as a grumble, but then the "column" made a strange sound. I frowned and reached out, patting it.
"Hm. You're a very warm column. You're kind of like… kind of like… um…"
"Alive?"
"Yes, alive. Thanks."
"You're welcome."
I stayed there for a few more seconds. Then a quiet instinct told me something about this wasn't normal, and I slowly cracked my eyes open.
"Kerem?"
His face held no teasing, no anger. He asked in a tired voice,
"Are you okay? They said you saw someone in the yard."
I nodded gently. "I'm fine. You don't need to worry. They couldn't find any sign of anyone. I probably saw wrong. In the dark I must've mistaken a tree shadow for a person."
"Are you sure, Duru? Just because they couldn't find anything doesn't mean you imagined it."
"Yes. I'm just tense and tired, so my mind played tricks on me. It's happened before."
His expression tightened. "What do you mean it happened before? You saw him before too?"
Realizing I'd run my mouth, I sighed in irritation. There was no way to take it back now, and there was no dodging his questions either.
"Yes."
"When?"
"The night Aylin and Demir were going to the police station. When I was alone in the car, talking to Aylin."
Kerem scrubbed a hand over his face, angry, then pushed his hair back from his forehead.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want to stress you out over a man I wasn't even sure existed. Like I said, I don't think he's real, Kerem. One second I look and he's there, the next second I look again and poof, no one."
He took a deep breath and shook his head.
"This isn't the time to argue. It's almost morning. We're going to talk about this properly later, in detail."
I only nodded. He went to his room, and I used the bathroom and returned to mine.
When I lay down and closed my eyes, I wished more than anything that Mete's friends would find that psychopath soon.
For all of us.
And especially for me.