Petal

Chapter 1 - Storm

"My love... Living is every sacrifice made in your name. The more I desire your kiss, the more I see the taste in living. Because it's precise, love doesn't fit in itself. Because it's charmed, love always reveals itself. Because it's love, it invades and that's it."

It rained in Istanbul like it hadn't happened in years. Thunder seemed to shake the city while lightening ripped through the sky in white strikes. The hundred meter distance to his front door was enough to leave Can completely soaked. At least the cold water was enough to cool down his temper, that had been sour since he stepped foot into the agency, as it had been happening for a while.

He left his wet clothes at the door so he wouldn't drip all over the house and got into the shower, trying to get the hot water to soothe the cold inside his bones. Sanem always commented on how warm he was all the time but lately it seemed he couldn't shake the chill inside him.

Next step was a sandwich. When he started to gather his clothes to put it in the laundry room he realized he had forgotten his cellphone at the agency. Damn, he really wanted to take a look at the notes for their latest project before the meeting the following day but there was no way he was going out again in this weather to grab it.

So he decided to read a little with a cup of Çay before going to bed.

Meanwhile, at the agency, Sanem was getting ready to go home. It was almost ten and she wanted to go before her mom called. The agency was quiet and dark so when a ringtone broke the silence Sanem startled, one arm half in half out the sleeve of her coat.

She finished dressing it, doing that little dance one did when you couldn't find the other sleeve of your coat and got her phone, frowning at the dark screen. It wasn't her phone. The ringtone was coming from Can's office. A quick search found the device on his desk under a folder. Sanem knew they had just got a new big account and normally he would take notes on his phone to prepare for the team meeting.

On a whim, Sanem decided to leave the agency and stop by Can's house before going home. The rain wasn't breaking off and just like Can, the short walk from the front gate to his front door got her soaked.

When he heard the doorbell, Can thought he'd probably heard it wrong, after all, it was late and with this rain, who could it be? He put the book aside and got up. He was surprised to see Sanem, wet all the way down to her bones, shaking in the cold Istambul night, holding the phone he had forgotten at the agency.

"Sanem? What are you doing here?"

She raised her eyes to him, kind of numb by the cold and the sheer pain that hit her everytime she had to interact with him, be close to him.

"You forgot your phone at the agency. I know you need the notes for the new campaign before the meeting tomorrow..."

He looked so incredulous and suddenly, Sanem didn't feel so sure that going to Can's house at that time was such a good idea. She should've left his phone where she had found it and gone home.

But she was always stuck at the same crossroad. She couldn't bear to be near him but at the same time couldn't seem to be able to drag herself away. Any opportunity she had to be close to Can was like a tall glass of cold water to a parched man.

"Sanem, you didn't need to come all this way to bring me my phone."

His expression suggested he thought she had gone bollocks. Sanem swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to answer but managing little more than opening and closing her mouth like a fish. Something contracted inside her chest and suddenly she felt as if she was inside a box and all the walls were closing in on her. Air became rare; her throat closed and her only thought was to get away as soon as possible.

She muttered something, turned and ran. Can yelled her name and made a grab for her arm but she was already halfway down the garden. He went after her and cursed when Sanem, using all the lack of coordination Allah had given her, slipped on the wet grass and went face first to the floor. Her chin cracked against a rock on the pathway, the hand she used to break her fall twisted painfully and she managed to grate half the skin off her knee in the process.

The air, already rare because of the sudden panic attack simply disappeared and all she managed to do was stay down on her side, ears ringing, a little out of it. Can arrived seconds after her fall and knelt down next to her, panicked. Her eyes were opened but unfocused and opaque. He called her name a few times and paused at the sight of the blood and water running down her chin to stain her sky blue blouse.

"Sanem! Sanem! Iyi misin? Sanem!"

In the same way it had disappeared, the air returned to her lungs painfully and she gasped. With oxygen came the sudden acknowledgement of all her wounds. Her chin and wrist throbbed, her knee burned. She looked up, meeting his worried look and struggled to get out of his embrace because, as much as everything hurt because of the fall, every part of his skin that touched her burned worse than her wounds.

Unfortunately, her body was now a throbbing mass of aches and bruises and she couldn't do anything but moan pitifully.

"Don't move, Sanem. Wait."

They were both soaked to their bones and the grass very slippery. Can got up carefully and helped Sanem to her feet, keeping her steady when she swayed, kind of dizzy because of the blow to her face. He dragged her back to the house, worried because she expressed no reaction and followed him in a docile manner, wobbling.

He took her half walking-half carrying to the bathroom, still worried about the dopey look she had. Can sat her down on the toilet and knelt in front of her to check the cut on her chin that still bled profusely.

"Sanem, I'm gonna check this cut, tamam?"

She looked at him in that trusting, sweet way only she could manage and nodded, holding her injured arm close to her body. Depending on the extent of her injuries, he'd have to take her to the hospital.

The right side of her face, where she had hit the stone was beginning to turn purple and swell, specially around the cut. He grabbed a first aid kit from under the sink and began inspecting and cleaning the wound. It wasn't too deep. He cleaned it using antiseptic, heart clenching everytime Sanem moaned softly in pain.

He grabbed her wrist then. She yelped but let him move all the joints and fingers to check for broken bones. Luckily it was only a sprain. He wrapped her hand and wrist to keep it steady and avoid movement and after patching her knee sat on his hunches to analyze his work.

Sanem's eyes were downcast; she looked deep in thought and melancholic. The difference from the previous Sanem, the happy little bird that made his days so much brighter was so large that for a moment he paused, still kneeling in front of her, frozen.

"Sanem?"

She looked up and stared at him. A shiver went up his spine when the sudden realization came that he didn't recognize this woman sitting in front of him. He was staring into the eyes of a stranger.

"I want to go home."