Love On The Sidelines - Kenan Yildiz

Chapter 7

Ela

It had only been one week since I returned to the office and now in my second week Rana was joining me. This time I was the expert around here and got to introduce her to everyone and everything. It was relatively easy for her to adjust to the environment and she got around as if she'd been doing this here all her life.

Celine entered the creator lab quarters just like every other day giving the both of us a warm hug and a beautiful smile. "Hey guys, how's it going?"

We responded with enthusiastic good and greats.

"So what's the next challenge for us?"

Rana and I showed her what was trending right now and with whom she could pair up, whose schedule matched to the time of the shoot. 

"I have Wes here and Vlahovic, what about you Ela?" Rana asks as I go down the list of players' names only to stop once I see the familiar name. Panic rises in me and my chest rises and falls in a fast rhythm. Everywhere I go this nightmare seems to follow me.

"Kenan." His name leaves my lips in a gasp. Celine, not being able to read the room jumps excitedly, "Ah, yes! Kenan is always fun to be around."

Rana walks up to my side and caresses my shoulder as she looks with scrutinizing eyes at the list to find he-who-shall-not-be-named-anymore's name on the list. 

She scoffs loudly and Celine looks confusedly at us. Rana jumps quickly jumps in, "alright, you'll have Wes, Dusan and Kenan ready in about fifteen minutes. I'll send you all the details now, take a quick look at them and Ben should help you set everything up." With a smile she practically shoves Celine out of our office and slams the door shut.

I can't escape or forget about him, not be reminded of him every second of my existence can I? It's ironic really. He wanted me out of his life to continue with his career and it turns out that we've been working on the same premises all this time. How long?

"There's no way, there has to be another Kenan Yildiz. I've been working here for over three months Rana, I've never seen or heard his name around here until now."

I muss my hair as I take deep breaths and search for Rana's guilty eyes. 

She rolls her chair towards my desk and sits down, "remember when we sat down together during the UEFA 2024 and we were talking about Juventus?"

I nod waiting to see where this is going. She sighs and slumps in her chair, "I was going to say that one of our players in the Turkish national team also plays here. It's unfortunately true, Ela. Kenan plays here."

I swallow the lump in my throat and nod passively. 

"Is this another reason as to why you came?" I ask somberly. I can feel a headache forming and massage my forehead as I reach into my bag for some painkillers. 

"Yes."

I turn towards her, "you left your life in Türkiye to be here with me?" 

Another nod.

It takes everything in me not to burst into tears then and there. I wasn't certain yet why. Was it because he-who-shall-not-be-named is everywhere I go, making me feel this stabbing feeling in my chest every time I'm reminded of him? Or was it because Rana was putting her own life on hold for me because of said devil reincarnate and the damage he left me with?

I grab her hand and squeeze it, conveying my thankfulness in a silent message, which she returns with a squeeze of her own.

"I'm sorry." I mumble quietly.

She looks at me incredulously, "What for? For being a friend? For being the excuse I needed to broaden my horizons and discover what the world has to offer?"

"Really?" I side-eye her. She nods furiously, "Yes! Now stop the pity-party, I know you hate it too."

She was right, I wasn't going to wallow in self-pity anymore. All my life I've strived to be strong and I certainly wasn't going to act weak after everything. Taking a deep breath, I roll my shoulders, straighten my back and nod.

"Where are the sheets you were talking about?" I mention the data sheets that were our main subject before havoc wreaked, acting like it didn't happen at all.

From now on I won't be thinking about him.

"Okay, but one thing," Rana breaks me from my train of thoughts, "how the hell did you not realize that he plays here?"

"Usually Laura and I split everything up evenly, I guess she always had the half with his name. And the videos of her responsibility were posted by her and vice versa. Now that I'm thinking about it," I stop talking a minute to think and gasp, "I think the Ildis guy she was talking about was him! Oh my God, they can't pronounce his name correctly." I slap a hand to my forehead as Rana groans.

"He was right under your nose."

He really was but from now on I was going to act as if he didn't exist or play here for Juventus like I did up until a few minutes ago. He certainly didn't know that I'm here either.