BLACK ROSE (COMPLETED)

12 -

Repenting for letting Fatih touch me briefly earlier, I decided to get out of bed.

"Fatih, close your eyes so I can get dressed," I said, keeping the blanket wrapped around me.

Fatih grinned mischievously. "I've already seen plenty of you, do I still need to close my eyes, clumsy sparrow?"

I narrowed my eyes and shot him a deadly glare. "Yes, you do, Mr. Sugarpie." If he teased me by calling me a clumsy sparrow, I would tease him by calling him a sugarpie. After all, he used that term for himself yesterday.

"Alright, alright," Fatih said, covering his eyes with his hands.

I got up, went to my wardrobe, and put on a white T-shirt and black shorts. "Okay, I'm ready."

Fatih opened his eyes and stood up. He walked to the window. "Would you mind if I opened the window and smoked a cigarette?"

I pursed my lips. "Does it suit you, Fatih? You're a swimmer, you shouldn't smoke."

"Cigarettes and I have a deep love, Ece."

"Really? What kind of love is that?"

"I die for cigarettes, and they burn for me."

I giggled. "That's a nice saying. But you won't get off the hook so easily with me, Fatih. Cigarettes cause various diseases, from cancer to COPD, cardiovascular diseases to diabetes."

Fatih looked at me with indifferent blue eyes. He didn't seem scared by the diseases I listed. But I knew how to get his attention.

"Also," I continued, "they cause sexual dysfunction and bad breath."

Fatih raised an eyebrow. "You should be a doctor."

"I'm considering it. It's beneficial for the afterlife too. If I get a patient to quit alcohol and cigarettes, which are sins, I get rewarded in the afterlife for every cigarette and drink they don't consume."

"Hmm... Is smoking a sin?" Fatih asked, twirling a cigarette pack in his hand.

"Smoking is not a sin but a reprehensible act close to being forbidden. Moreover, it involves the rights of others because the smoke threatens the health of those who breathe it in. According to the religious authority, if the smoke of your cigarette affects a non-smoker, you need to seek their forgiveness. So, it would be great if you quit smoking..."

Fatih looked at the cigarette pack in his hand. "I don't know..." he murmured. "I've been thinking about quitting for a while, but who knows when I'll succeed. We'll see. It is up to fate."

I grabbed my scissors from the bedside table. "Yes, as you said, it's up to fate. And fate has decided today is the day you quit smoking," I said, reaching for the cigarette pack in Fatih's hand. I intended to cut it. But with a swift move, he pulled the pack away.

I reached out again to grab it, but he raised it above his head. They say the third time's the charm, and I managed to snatch the pack on my third attempt! But as I tried to move away to cut it, he grabbed me by the waist.

"It's not that easy, Ece."

"Tell your cigarette to say its last prayer."

He wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close to prevent me from escaping. As he reached for the cigarette pack, I kept it away, struggling to break free from his hold at the same time.

"You can't escape!" he said confidently.

"That's what you think. I'll win!"

Even though I freed myself from his hold for a moment, he caught me again within seconds. As I lost my balance during the struggle, I fell face-first to the ground, taking Fatih down with me. He landed right on top of me.

"Ah!"

This boy was heavy! And how many times today had he pinned me down? If my biology knowledge weren't sound, I'd worry I might get pregnant from being pinned down so often, but fortunately, I knew that wouldn't happen.

"Are you okay, Ece?" Fatih asked, worried. He stood up and gallantly extended his hand to me. I took advantage of his distraction to cut his cigarettes with my scissors.

"You're so cruel, Ece."

"I told you I'd win." I stood up, flexing my arm muscles in triumph. "I wrestled a crocodile. I tangled with a whale. Just last week, I killed a rock and injured a stone. I even sent a brick to the hospital. Yes, I'm so cruel that I can make medicine sick."

Fatih smiled as he looked at the remnants of his cigarettes. Even though it was a bitter smile... "You're no less than Muhammad Ali. Credit where credit is due."

"Muslim power, my dear," I said with a wink. "Maybe if you weren't smoking, you wouldn't have run out of breath and lost to a girl who's 15 centimeters shorter and weighs half as much as you."

Fatih looked at me incredulously. "Even though I don't think that's why I lost, I'll stay silent to not undermine your victory. Since I lost, I'm quitting smoking right now."

"Yes!" I did a victory dance. "That's enough celebration," I said, sitting on my bed. I opened my hands. "I need to say my daily Sinem prayer, give me a minute, Fatih."

"Sinem prayer? I don't know much about Islam, Ece. What's the Sinem prayer?" Fatih sat next to me on the bed.

"Oh, how do you not know the Sinem prayer? It's my favorite prayer after the Dilara and Betül prayers." Seeing Fatih's confused look, I added, "I'm kidding, silly. There's no such thing as a Sinem prayer. Or a Dilara and Betül prayer. What I mean is, I pray for my friend Sinem every day. I read the Fatiha prayer three times for her, hoping her stutter will improve."

Realizing I had just made light of prayers, I asked God for forgiveness and repented. It wasn't right to take religious matters lightly, even as a joke.

"I like Sinem too. I hope your prayer is accepted, Ece, and her speech improves."

"Join me in reciting the Fatiha, so we can increase the chances of it being accepted."

"I don't know..." Fatih said hesitantly.

"Why not?"

Fatih grimaced. "I've forgotten it a bit. I used to know the Fatiha, but I guess I've grown rusty."

"A Fatih who doesn't know the Fatiha... That's unacceptable."

I sat and taught him the Fatiha. It took just 4-5 minutes for him to memorize it well. Then we both prayed for my friend Sinem.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door...

"Damn, it must be my uncle and aunt!" I said, covering my face with my hands. I jumped up in panic. "They said they'd return around this time on Saturday morning. Which is right now... I got so caught up hanging out with you that I forgot. If they see you here... You need to hide somewhere!"

Contrary to me, Fatih stood up calmly. "Relax, Ece. I have a better plan."

"W-What plan?"

"You go answer the door, Ece, leave the rest to me."

"Okay." I started walking toward the door, curious about his plan. So, I decided to use my telepathic ability to sneak into Fatih's mind like a sly thief.

Hmm... So this was his plan: Instead of hiding, Fatih planned to pretend to be my boyfriend, thinking my uncle would be pleased to see me with a boy rather than getting angry. And he wasn't entirely wrong. If my uncle saw me opening up and hanging out with boys, i would have my ticket to go back to my old school.

While exploring Fatih's mind, I came across another strange thought. He found me unusual, sweet, and even a bit attractive. Because of this, he hesitated to get close to me and thought he should distance himself.

What kind of logic was that? Why would someone with positive feelings for a girl want to distance himself from her?

Although I felt like focusing on this issue, I had a more pressing problem right now. My uncle and aunt... I needed to focus on them. And maybe, the best solution was to do as Fatih suggested and turn the problem into an opportunity by pretending to be a couple.