ZeyBar One Shots -DoğduğunEvKaderindir

7.Build It Up Stronger (Part2)

Zeynep

Zeynep sank to the floor with him, cushioning his fall. She sat with his head in her lap, the tears flowing down her face. A passer by asked if he should call an ambulance, but he stirred and shook his head. "Home," he whispered, struggling to stand.

"Baris let me take you to the hospital," Zeynep begged, as she helped him to a standing position.

"Home," he insisted, trying wrestle out of her grasp, like he would go himself, if she didn't comply.

"Tamam, tamam," she replied agitatedly. "I'll take you home."

She hailed a cab and called AliRiza on the way. He was waiting for them outside the house, and between him and Zeynep, they helped Baris up the stairs to his room. He was running a high fever, and the moment his body hit the bed he fell into a deep sleep.

Zeynep wrung her hands helplessly as she watched him, she felt guilty somehow. She told AliRiza what happened and he shook his head sadly. "So he wasn't wearing his jacket. He was trying to make his body sick. Just like he did when he was a little boy."

AliRiza told her how Baris used to lie in the cold pool as a child. Zeynep's chest hurt and she felt like someone had sliced straight into her heart. Had she done this to him? She could never forgive herself. Fresh tears flowed and Ali comforted her, reassuring her that Baris was a grown man who knew what he was doing - his body had just finally caught up with the hurt in his head.

Zeynep asked if she could stay with Baris till he was better and his uncle readily agreed. They woke him him to give him some medicine and then she filled a bowl of cold water and fetched a wash cloth. She placed the bowl on his night stand and her eye caught the sparkle of something on the table. She reached for it, her hand shaking - Her ring! He had brought it home, and kept it near his bed! Ah, how badly she had wounded him!

She took the ring and slipped it onto her finger. She realized that she needed it. Maybe it would be her last connection to him and she suddenly couldn't bear the thought of not having it with her. If he really wanted it back, he could ask for it, but she knew he never would.

It took two whole days for his fever to break, and she never left his side the entire time, eating the odd meal in the room, and dozing off occasionally, his hand clasped in both hers. Savas stopped by occasionally to check in on her, telling her stories of their youth to distract her, and lifting her spirits slightly. "Give him time," he said kindly. "You hurt him, he doesn't know if you love him enough. He was tired of being second best, he was just trying to protect himself."

Zeynep nodded quietly. Savas was right, she had destroyed his faith in their love and she couldn't blame him for the way he'd reacted.

When Baris finally stirred, her name was the first word from his lips. "Zeynep..."

She felt an immeasurable relief flow through her body, and her heart almost burst hearing him say her name. She lowered her lips to his ear, "I'm here."

He turned his head, his lips seeking hers even in his haze, and she pressed her mouth to his, just like the time before – because there was nothing she wanted more in that moment than the touch of his lips.

He moaned in satisfaction, his eyes closing in sleep again.

She checked his forehead once more to make sure that the fever was indeed gone, and then tiptoed out of the room.

"His fever has broken, so I'm going to leave now," she said to AliRiza on the way out. "Thank you for letting me stay."

"You don't have to leave, kizim."