Aria and Selim (Kardeslerim Fanfiction)

The Only Chapter

A/N: I don’t know why but I have a soft spot for Selim, so I wrote this fic.

DISCLAIMER: Own nothing to do with Kardeşlerim.

Although my sister had walked away to give Asiye and Selim some privacy, I only followed her for a little while then told her I would stay there for a minute to check my phone. Aibike had given me a knowing look, then she had shaken her head at me and kept walking. I thought there was going to be an argument when I saw Doruk storm up to Asiye and Selim. I understood why Doruk was jealous, I felt exactly the same way but I also felt terrible because I was jealous of Selim liking Asiye. I loved Asiye, she was my cousin and my best friend apart from my twin, and I would never wish her harm but at times I had resented her. She was Selim’s dream girl, someone he could build a future with one day, and to him I was just an acquaintance. A girl who up until recently was just another of his dad’s tenants, who he often saw when he worked in his family’s grocery store. A girl who now worked for him at his new café.

As I kept watching, Doruk grabbed hold of Asiye’s hand, and I could see Selim was upset though he was trying not to show it. He walked away, and I had the horrible feeling he was going to change his mind about keeping the deed to the house and land my parents rented from his father. His father wanted to kick my family out and redevelop the land for more money, which would leave my cousins homeless and my family relying on the kindness of the few relatives we had. I tightened the straps on my backpack more firmly before I raced up to Asiye and Doruk.

“What did you say to him, Asiye?” I snapped, unable to hide the irritation I felt leaving Asiye staring at me in surprise and Doruk with a frown on his face. It was unlike me to be rude to them. “You upset him, didn’t you?”

“Whoa, whoa.” Doruk held up his free hand, his green eyes wide with reproach. “Don’t be rude to your cousin. That fool Selim was the one upsetting Asiye, acting like he has a claim over her. But he finally understood that Asiye and I are in love, and he has no chance of being with her.”

I sighed, suddenly ashamed of my behaviour. “I’m really sorry, Asiye. I didn’t mean to snap at you. We’ll talk later. I...I have to go.” I ran off with Asiye and Doruk exchanging a look. I kept running, looking around frantically to see if I could find Selim, but eventually I had to give up. He had already gone. I took out my phone and called him, thankful I had his number in my contacts in case I needed to call in sick to work at the café. I called him a dozen times. The first few times it rang without an answer, but then it went straight to voicemail.

I went to Selim’s café, and was disappointed to see the doors locked and the CLOSED sign displayed in the window. I felt concerned too as the café was meant to be open until 8pm. I was meant to start my shift in half an hour. I peered in through one of the windows and saw a glimpse of a man disappearing into the staff only area of the café. It had to be Selim. I ran around the side of the building that housed the café and knocked on the back door. I knocked a few times with no reply. “SELIM! I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE. IT’S ME, ARIA! LET ME IN!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, channelling my twin Aibike, as usually I was too timid to yell at anyone. “I’M NOT LEAVING UNTIL YOU TALK TO ME!”

I knocked again, and persisted in knocking on the door until my hand became sore. I paused for a few moments, wincing as I rubbed my hand gently. I couldn’t do it for much longer, but I had to keep trying so I switched to knocking with my other hand. I was taken aback when the door was abruptly pulled open, and I stumbled forward.

Selim caught hold of me, with a frown on his face. Once he ensured I was steady on my feet again, he let me go and looked at me with a stern coldness in his eyes that I had not seen before.

“Aria, now is not a good time to talk. Go home, the café is shut today.”

I almost lost my nerve, but this was important, this was for my family, for my cousins. And deep down, although I did not want to admit it, it was for us too. The us that did not exist but I hoped would exist one day. “I know what you’re planning to do, Selim. But, I beg you, do not do this to us. You know my father cannot walk, and he is stuck at home, miserable and depressed, unable to work. At least, if you were cruel enough to give your father the deeds to the house, I know my mother would find somewhere for us to go but none of our family could afford to take in our cousins. They would end up homeless. You know they lost their parents only a few months ago and how much they have suffered since then. We are all struggling to get by, but we are able to survive and having a roof over our heads we can call our own is a blessing that you should not take away from us.”