Page 95 of Pomegranates and Olive

"A few days of rest is all you need."

"Ginny, where's Deniz?"

"I haven’t seen him. Aydin has spoken to him, but Aydin also doesn't know where he is either."

This time I manage to pull myself into a sitting position. "I need to speak to Deniz."

"Darl, you need to rest."

"I NEED TO SPEAK TO DENIZ!"

The heart rate monitor behind me starts to beep urgently, and the medical staff are in my room in an instant. One of the nurses injects something into my IV. Moments later my eyelids droop. I surrender them to gravity.

The room is dark when I wake, but I can feel a presence in the room with me.

"Hello?"

"It's me, Russo."

"Deniz?"

He moves closer to the bed and I can see him clearly… well, clearly enough considering my eyes still hurt.

"You calling me Deniz now?"

"Seems like a good enough time to start."

He chuckles quietly before leaning in towards me. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than I was a few days ago,” I reply weakly. “You?"

"I’m fine although it might have gotten a little toasty if Luca wasn’t there." He shakes his head with a wry smile. "Aydin told me what you did, running into the fire to look for me. You could have been killed."

"Anyone would have done the same." He traces my cheek with the back of his finger and I snort lightly, "Well, maybe notanybody…"

He chuckles softly at my slight. "I didn't even reach the hose when the roof started collapsing. I couldn't get out. The back door was blocked by a fallen beam. There was nowhere I could go except the refrigerator."

"Luca said you were smart to get in there."

"Until the door jammed and I got stuck inside. It went from cold to hot very quickly."

"Çok sicak."

He brings his face closer to mine and I can see the torment in his eyes at my words.

We sit in awkward silence for a few minutes before Deniz breaks it. "I owe you and Luca my life."

"You don’t owe him or me anything."

He puts a finger over my lips. “Askim, I have to say this because you need to know how I feel.”

He seems so vulnerable right now, so unlike his usual smug self. I want to hug him and tell him that everything will be alright, but I can barely even sit up. Instead, I lay in my hospital bed as the realisation washes over me that he is about to break my heart. “Okay.”

“I think I do owe you, both of you. I knew you had feelings for me. I shouldn’t have encouraged those feelings. It was wrong and I’m sorry.”

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to say, Deniz.”

“I’m saying I’m taking myself out of the equation.”

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