After stepping inside and dropping my keys by the entryway, I headed to the living room. Mete and Efe stopped whispering to each other and turned to me.
"Oh my God, thank God you made it! For a second I thought I'd be stuck like this forever."
I laughed at Mete's heartfelt complaint, delivered in a high-octave whisper, and sat on the edge of one of the couches. Duru had her head resting on Mete's chest, both hands clamped tightly around his arm. Her legs were draped down over Efe's. I couldn't decide whether to laugh at how peacefully she was sleeping or admire how she'd managed to immobilize two grown men.
"Why didn't you take her to her room?"
Efe answered with a tiredness that matched Mete's.
"You think we didn't try?" As Duru shifted slightly, he immediately lowered his voice even more and continued. "But no matter what we did, she absolutely refused to go upstairs until you got here. I can't believe someone that sweet can be this stubborn."
"Welcome to our world, Big Guy."
Efe shot Mete a sharp look at that, and I cut in with a laugh.
"It's late. If you want, you can stay here too."
"Normally I'd accept that offer in a heartbeat, but I've got things I need to take care of early tomorrow morning."
"What about you, Efe?"
"If it's not a problem for Mete, I'd rather go with him and stay at Rüzgar's. I have to go to work in the morning, and this place is really far from my workplace."
"No problem."
When Mete agreed too, I nodded understandingly and stood up. As I moved in front of them and reached for Duru to pick her up, Mete placed his free hand on my arm.
"You don't look so good. If you want, I can take her upstairs."
"Don't worry. I still have enough strength to handle twenty steps."
I slid one arm under her waist and the other under her legs. Before lifting her, I leaned down and whispered into her ear, "Hold onto my neck, Sunshine." Without opening her eyes, she mumbled something unintelligible, let go of Mete's arm, and wrapped her arms around my neck.
When I straightened with her in my arms, she snuggled deeper into my chest. Smiling, I turned to the guys.
"No need to wait. Take care of your girlfriend. We'll make it up on our own."
Efe nodded.
"He's right. You need rest too. We'll see you again anyway."
"Thanks for your help, guys. See you later."
While they stretched, relieved to finally be free of Duru's grip, I carried her upstairs and into her room. After laying her on the bed and tucking her in, I took a quick look around and then went to my own room.
Knowing it wouldn't be easy to sleep with all the aches and pains blooming across my body, I removed the bandages Tolga had wrapped around me and went into the bathroom for a hot shower. After the shower, as I was getting dressed, I caught the reflection of my back in the full-length mirror and looked at the wide bruises—probably from when I'd gone down to the floor with the guy. The abrasions had spread even more from slamming into the column.
No wonder my back hurt this much with every movement.
I tossed the shirt in my hand onto the bed and pulled an ointment from one of the drawers, stepping back in front of the mirror. Just then, I heard a soft knock at my door and turned my head.
"Can I come in?"
The door was already slightly open. When I answered with a nod at the sleepy face waiting there, she came closer and held out her hand.
"Will you let me?"
After a brief hesitation, I decided I wasn't really in a position to say no. I handed her the ointment and turned my back. As she gently applied it, I watched her in the mirror. In the end, I couldn't take the pained expression on her face and felt the need to comment.
"It's just a simple bruise, Sunshine. It doesn't hurt as much as you think."
"I'm sure it doesn't, Hotshot."
The way she said it—softly, with a bitter little smile—made me study her face suspiciously.
"Are you okay?"
When she only gave me a quick glance in the mirror and nodded, I turned toward her, now sure my suspicions were right.
"What's wrong, Duru?"
While looking down at the tube in her hand, she murmured slowly.
"I wasn't going to say anything, but I don't think I'll feel okay if I don't ask. If it's something you don't want to talk about, or it's too sensitive for you, I'll understand…"
"You want to know what the problem between me and Can is?"
She nodded without looking at me. I sighed and nodded in understanding.
"You don't have to feel uncomfortable for asking. If I were you, I'd be curious too."
I walked over to the bed, put on the shirt I'd thrown there, sat on the edge, and patted the spot next to me. With a shy little hesitation, she came over and sat across from me, folding her knees underneath herself.
"The problem is… that story belongs to a time in my life I'm far from proud of. Telling you about it isn't as easy as you think, Sunshine."
"You know what? Pretend I never asked. And aren't you hungry, Hotshot? What do you say to a sandwich? Great! I thought so too. I'll go make one right—"
When she tried to jump up in a hurry, I smiled, caught her by the arm, and made her sit back down.
"But I'm still going to tell you, because I don't want there to be any question marks in your head about me."
I adjusted the pillows and leaned back. She came to my side, stretched her legs out, and leaned back too, and I started.
"To help you understand some things better, I'm starting a little before it all happened."
She nodded, and I continued.