If You Tell Me To Stay

Chapter 28

Author's note:
So today marks 2 months without EK. And I'm still just... ugh... *holds up bottle of vodka in one hand and a bottle of tequila in the other* Eeny meeny miny moe...
And now that I've put that depressing fact in your head like Twitter did for me this morning, here is chapter 28 (or chapter 27.5)... Hopefully it can cheer some of you up. Hey, Sanem's gotta live somewhere right? 😉
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Previously:
Can made his way over to the window and shoved the dining room table out of the way. He picked up one of the chairs that was partially on fire and threw it out the window. The glass shattered easily. He used another chair to smash some of the remaining panels, so he could hop out. He placed his hands on the window sill and vaguely felt the pain as the shards of glass pierced into his skin. He stepped over and hopped down the few feet to the grass below. He put his arms around Sanem's legs and ran further into the yard as the crowd ran toward them.
They circled around them and began to fuss and try to help. Can ignored them as he bent his knees and helped Sanem slide off. She landed on her one good leg and Can turned quickly to wrap his arms around her again. He pulled her back after a moment to look at her. He moved his hands to either side of her face and then to her shoulders, her arms, her waist. He frantically looked everywhere to make sure there were no injuries he missed. He noticed blood where he touched her. He looked at his hands briefly and saw the cuts.
Sanem was coughing badly and having trouble standing. Can heard sirens and knew the firefighters and paramedics would be there soon. He hugged her to him again. She nuzzled into his chest and he nestled into her neck. Smelling her perfume mixed with smoke and sweat. Both their hearts were beating so loud they couldn't tell whose was whose.
There was a loud crash as the second story to her house came crashing down. The crowd gasped and stared at the huge bonfire that was Sanem's house. But Can and Sanem never broke apart or paid attention to anything else other than one another.
"Can..." She was crying again. Crying and coughing against his chest.
"Shh... I'm here. The paramedics are coming. Everything is going to be alright."
"It was Yusuf."
What?!
"Yusuf, *cough* he set the house on fire. *cough* He tied me up." Breathing became even more difficult as her sobs deepened and her smoke filled lungs wheezed.
"Okay. Okay. You don't need to talk now. Just breath. Don't cry. Just breathe." As he told her not to cry, he realized he was being a hypocrite. As tears had been rolling down his own cheeks since he set her down on the ground.
- - - - - - - - - -

"Can?"
Can looked up from his seat in the Silveri Hospital waiting room to see Umut standing in front of him in his deputy's uniform. The nurses had taken Sanem for some x-rays of her chest and ankle. Effectively banishing him to the waiting room, as visiting hours were over.

"Can, I told the nurses that because she was attacked, there's a risk he may try to come back. And that she needs round the clock protection."

Can stood up quickly from his chair, "Yusuf hasn't been caught?!"

"No, he has. He's even confessed. But the nurses don't know that. I told them I put you in charge of watching her. So you can go to her room now. They won't kick you out. I'll be back in the morning for her official statement."

Can gave a quick exhale in surprise that Umut of all people was helping him. He rubbed a hand down his beard, "Thank you Umut. I -" Can felt himself getting emotional again. He took a deep breath and let it out loudly. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem." Can started to walk by him, but turned back as Umut continued speaking, "I'm sorry I didn't see."

"See what?"

"I work with the man every day. He hired me. Trained me. I should have noticed. I'm sorry for the hurt my ignorance has caused you and especially Sanem."

Can had never heard Umut apologize once in the years he has known him. But he knew he was sincere. Can gave him a nod and continued to Sanem's room.
He quietly walked into her hospital room. She was back from her x-rays and was sound asleep. He pulled a chair up to her bed and sat there with one of her small hands held between his two large ones. He winced a little at the pain from his untreated cuts, but he didn't let go. He noticed her wrists were bandaged. He knew why. The rope. She was tied up. Oh God! She looked so scared when I found her. I never want to see her look that way ever again.
He looked at her face and saw how serene she looked now, even covered in soot. He heard a noise next to him and saw her phone move a little across the table as it vibrated. He let go with one of his hands and picked it. There were 3 missed calls and roughly 1o unread texts from Aziz. She hadn't had a chance to do her routine check in. He needed to call him back. It occurred to him that he didn't know her passcode, but there was no number pad. So he held up Sanem's hand to use her fingerprint to unlock the phone. Nothing happened. Hmmm... It suddenly struck him that her phone wasn't password protected. He just swiped the screen and it unlocked. Trust. How could I have ever thought she wasn't trusting.
He smiled seeing the background photo on her phone was a pair of albatrosses in flight.
He opened her contact list and saw Aziz's name toward the top. There were only a few numbers saved. Which he found odd. These are all names I know too. Ayhan, Aziz, me, Ceycey, Deren, Emre, Leyla, Melihat, Osman, Mrs. Remide and few others. People from work and other neighbors. They're all people who live in Fener. Except for Aziz. There is not one from her 'old life' as she called it. No friends. Nothing.
He looked at the woman in front of him. There was a clear tube under her nose giving her oxygen to help her breath. He was relieved to hear she had stopped coughing and her breathing was slow and even. Peaceful. He remembered his main purpose in picking up her phone. He stepped out into the hallway so he wouldn't wake Sanem. He dialed Aziz who picked up on the first ring.