He made a promise that felt rare.
Not the kind people throw around easily. The kind that weighed heavily in the air.
The hospital room smelled faintly of antiseptic. The curtains were half-drawn, letting in soft light that fell across his face, highlighting the sharp tension in his jaw.
His fingers rested on the white sheets, but they weren't relaxed. They were curled slightly, like he was holding himself back. Holding something in.
"Ara, I want you to be sincere right now and tell me every single thing that happened, do not leave any details out." He said, his voice was steady.
That was how I knew he was not calm.
His eyes did not leave mine. Not even for a second.
It felt like standing under a spotlight. Like he would see through me if I lied. My throat tightened. I swallowed, but it didn't help much.
"When I got to your apartment I've been receiving a lot of calls, a voice telling me to watch my back and it knows me. I thought it was you and your tests at first I didn't think much of it." Ara said.
As I spoke, the memory crawled back into my skin. That voice, low calm and scary.
I rubbed my fingers together unconsciously. They felt cold. The silence after my confession stretched too long.
His expression changed slowly. From confused to being pale and furious.
"Jesus Christ you should have told me what if that man had killed you." Raisem said, he looked pissed.
He pushed himself up suddenly, ignoring the sharp pull in his side. The hospital monitor reacted instantly, beeping faster. He didn't care.
"Don't yell at me, it was all your fault." I blurted out.
The words shot out before I could soften them. My chest rose and fell harder. I hated that I sounded defensive. But why was he acting like I didn't almost die too?
"My fault, you went to meet a serial killer alone in an abandoned park. Where did you put your brain, under your feet?" He blurted out a bit of a yell.
His voice cracked at the end. I stepped closer, my eyes burning.
"Stop yelling if you didn't leave me all alone in the motel and followed your hot chick none of this would have happened?" I said.
There it was. The real wound, not the killer, not the calls but him leaving me all alone in the motel. His eyes blinked in confusion.
"Hot chick?" Raisem raised a brow.
He genuinely did not understand.
I crossed my arms tightly, hugging myself.
"That's what the receptionist called her." I said pissed and jealous.
The jealousy tasted bitter in my mouth. He stared at me for a moment. Then something shifted in his gaze. Not anger but interest.
"Tell me are you jealous?" He raised his brows again.
Even lying in a hospital bed, injured, he had that irritating calm confidence. I rolled my eyes immediately.
"Never ever." I said and walked away from him. But I didn't walk far. Because if I walked further, I might cry.
I cleared my throat, trying to change direction.
"Austin told me to pick some of your clothes and you will be spending some few night here. Is there anything you want me to bring for you." I asked him.
I did not look directly at him this time.
"Just my clothes, my laptop and skincare." He said.
Skincare? I turned slowly. Really?
So he does skincare, no wonder his skin is glowing and smooth and soft like a baby bum.
My eyes dropped to his face again. His skin did look unfairly perfect.
"What?" He asked as he caught me staring.
"Nothing, I was just surprised you do skincare and no wonder your skin is this beautiful and soft as a baby's bum." I blurted out.
And immediately covered my mouth. Why did I say that out loud.
"Baby's bum, what the." He said blinking twice.
"I'll be back soon." I said and ran outside.
I didn't trust myself to stay there any longer.
Because if I stayed… I might forget we were arguing and the topic could change into something else.
*******
I went back to the apartment.
His apartment felt too quiet without him.
I walked into his room slowly.
I went straight to his room and opened his closet. Everything was neatly arranged, colour-coded and organized.
Even his underwear were arranged properly.
My cheeks heated slightly.
He is so neat with it. I hesitated before touching them. Why was I nervous? They were just clothes.
Still, my fingers moved carefully, as if touching something fragile and finally I picked few of them and packed it into a bag.
I packed a few shirts, jeans and soft sweaters.
Then I walked into his bathroom to pick the skincare. The cabinet was organised like a small pharmacy.
As I reached for his skincare, my elbow accidentally hit a small bottle. It fell and the sound echoed too loudly in the silence.
I bent quickly and picked it up. I saw the name of the drug and it looked familiar.
I frowned as I remembered my grandma once used this drug but I had no idea what the drug is for.
I stared at it longer than I should have. My mind tried to connect dots. Then I stopped myself.
His personal life is none of my business. He made that clear multiple times.
I placed it back carefully and shut the cabinet.
When I stepped outside the apartment building, I walked straight into someone.
Joja.
My body went rigid immediately. Her eyes scanned me from head to toe, filled with anger and bitterness.
I tried to ignore her and walk away but she blocked me. I moved again, she blocked me again.
"What do you want?" I asked in anger.
My patience was gone.
"Where is Raisem?" She asked in authority like she has every right to.
The way she said his name made my stomach twist. I tried to walk past her.
Suddenly, her fingers wrapped tightly around my wrist.
Pain exploded up my arm instantly. I groaned as she didn't let go of my wrist. Her nails pressed hard against my skin. I could feel my pulse throbbing under her grip.
Her glare was dangerous and I struggled to free myself. She didn't let go.
I lost my balance and fell hard onto the tiled floor.
My injured palm hit the ground. The exact same palm the mirror man had stabbed.
The pain made my vision blur for a second.
I sucked in a sharp breath through my teeth.
"What's wrong with you are you crazy? You think he's still going to choose you after all this. Are you that delusional." I said in anger.
I pushed myself up, even though my palm screamed in protest.
Her lips trembled. "You think he'll choose you. He will use you and dump you just like how he does to everyone. He only cares about himself." Joja said with tears steaming down her eyes.
For a second… she looked broken. But broken people can still be dangerous.
"Save the crocodile tears. It's none of your business if he uses me. It's me so let me worry about that." I said. My voice was steady now.
"If you don't stay away from Raisem, I would kill you." She threatened.
Her eyes did not blink. "Oh woah, I'm scared." I hissed under my breath and pushed her away forcefully out of my way.
I walked a few steps. Then stopped and turned. Because something inside me refused to leave it like this.
"There is still time for you to change and stop all these. It's unhealthy and toxic not just to Raisem and you also." I said.
My voice softened at the end. Then I left.
******
When I entered the hospital ward again, the atmosphere was different. Warm,soft and calm.
Raisem was sitting up with Little Alexa holding his hand tightly.
"Mum, uncle Raisem is a liar. He promised me he would take me to the zoo but it was all a lie." She said pouting.
Raisem's face held no expression at all. He tried to be calm and give her those soft eyes.
"Big uncle is a bit sick, but he will definitely take you to the zoo, okay." Raisem said.
His hand stroked her hair slowly. My chest tightened at the sight.
This was a side of him he never showed me.
I stepped back quietly as I didn't want to interrupt the family scene.
Then I knocked a nearby table accidentally.
All eyes turned to me.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." I said softly.
Before I could escape the embarrassment, Alexa ran toward me.
"Ara, Ara, Ara." She hugged me tightly.
I bent down and hugged her back. Her tiny arms wrapped around my neck fully.
"Can you please tell Uncle Raisem to take me to the zoo. He listens to you, you are always with him." She said.
My heart skipped at that sentence..He listens to me. That's a whole lie. I had to smile awkwardly.
"Me, Raisem doesn't listen to me. You got the wrong person Alexa. I'm sorry." I said scratching my brows.
Then his aunt saw my wrist as I walked closer to Raisem to drop his bag. Her eyes hardened.
"What happened to your wrist?"
"Oh, no it's fine. I get injured a lot." I forced a smile.
She did not look convinced by what I said. Not long after, Alexa and her mum left and the room quieted.
Raisem reached for my wrist gently. His touch this time was slow and careful.
He examined the red mark like it hurt him personally.
"Joja came to the apartment." I said loudly.
His jaw tightened immediately and he was furious. He grabbed his phone and dialed a number.
"I will like to report for harassment." He said.
Then his aunt stepped in suddenly. I thought she had left.
"You are still in touch with Joja." Her tone changed.
"Raisem tell me that's wrong is it Joja who did that to her wrist?"
The tension thickened between them. It seems I'm in the dark here. I realised…
There was more to this story.
And I was standing right in the middle of it.
"Excuse us Ara, I need to speak with Riasem alone