𝙈𝙔𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙄𝙊𝙐𝙎 𝘽𝙊𝙔, Ekkan

12: 𝘼 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙪𝙥𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚

Today was a brand new day, one day after the eventful things that happened last night and one day since I last heard from Hazal. I still couldn't let it go. The nagging feeling that something really bad might have happened to her didn't go away; in fact, it only grew stronger and stronger with every passing minute.

Then there was Eren yesterday—the feeling that he might come back was also still haunting me. He was terrifying at that moment, and he would've probably really hurt me if Melisa hadn't stepped in. What if he had done something to Hazal? What if he suddenly snapped in her presence and hurt her?

No, that couldn't be. He had nothing to do with her. He was obsessed with me, so it's logical he'd be after me, but he'd never shown any interest in Hazal—at least, not that I know of.

I'd now been calling her almost every ten minutes for half the day, waiting and hoping for her to eventually reply. I never got any answer, but I didn't want to give up hope yet, especially since I couldn't stop by her house to check on her again because I had another tutoring session with Kanat, who should be here any time now.

We decided that this time we would work at my house again. It's mainly been like that ever since the first—and only—time I visited his house. Sometimes we work in other places, like cafés, but not that often because, when you go there, you need to spend money since you can't just sit there without ordering anything.

Buzz Buzz

My phone, lying on my bed, buzzed again.

I quickly jumped out of the seat by my desk, where I was sitting deep in thought, and hurried over to my bed to grab my phone.

I hoped it might be a reply from Hazal or at least an update. But when I picked up my phone and turned it on, all I felt was disappointment—it was just an Instagram update from someone I follow.

Still no news from her...

I sighed.

I really wanted to inform the police, but I knew I couldn't do that until I'd checked on her in person. Who knows, maybe she was just at home, and if I informed the police, I wouldn't be very popular afterward.

Then the doorbell rang. I looked up from my phone, realizing it was probably Kanat at the door. He was a little earlier than I expected since he'd come a bit later last time, so I thought it'd be the same today.

I put my phone down on my desk and left my room to go downstairs and open the door for him. My mother wasn't home right now—she'd left for the store a little while ago—so she couldn't open the door, and I didn't want to keep him waiting too long.

Right now, I could only hope things wouldn't be too awkward between us since we'd hugged last time. I mean, from barely interacting and hardly hearing him talk to hugging—it was a huge change. I don't know if he thinks of it that way too, but doesn't it make things a bit awkward?

When I finally reached the door, I started unlocking it, preparing myself for what I'd say to him. I'd never had to do that before, so I didn't know why I felt I had to now.

When I opened the door, I saw a Kanat who didn't look quite as emotionless as before, which surprised me. Instead, he had a small smile on his face—still nothing too big, but it was a start. The dark, mysterious vibe had kind of faded; he seemed more open. Not completely, but definitely a big change from how he usually acts.

I suddenly froze, not knowing what to say. I wasn't used to this Kanat, but I had to admit his smile made him look more attractive. Not that he wasn't attractive before—he was—but I'd just never thought of him that way.

I snapped out of my thoughts and tried to get back on track, searching for the right words to start the conversation so he wouldn't think I'd lost the ability to speak after probably staring at him in silence for the past minute.