Closed Doors and a Guitar Pick - Sen Cal Kapimi

Unfinished business (I)

(The story line follows epi15 focusing only on some events-- More on Serkan and Eda's inner thoughts.. The second part is getting posted in a couple of hours. Thank you for reading)

(thoughts in italics, spoken in bold) 

The team trooped into the activity camp, early in the morning. The fresh air, the chirping birds and the smell of freshly brewed coffee made all the sleepy heads in the team perk up. Everyone wandered around in pairs and threes exclaiming at the camp. 

Eda and Ceren linked hands and wandered off to the far end of the garden, both avoiding the crowd. Ceren, because after her small and tense conversation with Selin the last afternoon, she didn't want to hang around Ferit and trigger a confrontation between them, even though her eyes would search out Ferit's tall figure as he moved around.  

Eda, because she knew Serkan wouldn't come; she mentally berated herself for looking at the gate every few seconds. She scolded herself for still waiting for him, and wished the day did not feel so dark and cloudy, mimicking her mood. She kicked at the stones lying around and scuffed the toes of her boot trying to release her frustration. Ceren looked questioningly at her and gave her a hug to let her know she understood how hard it was to deny one's real feelings. Eda felt her eyes start to smart and turned away from the reception area not wanting to present a spectacle to prying eyes. And therefore she missed the black car come in and Serkan climb out with a defiant expression on his face.

At Ceren's exclamation she turned and watched Serkan stride in. Even at this distance, she could feel his tension and the way he held himself in control. Even at this distance, she knew he knew where she was, had made sure he had checked out where she was, before he got out of the car. Why did he still look out for her, she did not know, but that he did, she knew as well as she knew her name. He didn't look at her ostensibly, talking to his team and explaining why he came.

Even to his own ears, Serkan's explanation sounded lame. He was the last person to come play HR ordained games with his colleagues and he stared hard at Engin, mentally warning him not to ask uncomfortable questions publicly. He could see Eda move towards their group out of the corner of his eyes, though he resolutely did not glance at her.

They finally faced each other across the small space across the clearing in the wood, hostility in their outward stance. Eda's whole body radiated anger and she purposely shifted next to Efe to underline the fact she was here because of Efe. Of course, that made Serkan tense up even more as he watched her stand next to Efe, the cuff of her jacket casually brushing Efe's jacket. He felt an insane desire to somehow let everyone know she belonged to him, whoever she stood next to or spoke to was immaterial, because there were invisible handcuffs between them. Each nerve ending of his cried out to hold her hand with full right and just drag her away from Efe's side. At that thought, his mouth twisted with resignation "Rightfully? After what he had done there were no rights he had." He glanced back at her and she still looked with anger at his presence, annoyance writ large but she too hadn't managed to look away.

"Why had she joined back, disturbing the balance he was trying so hard to achieve?" He fumed internally "Why was it so difficult to send Eda away from his own company?", his thoughts took a dark turn but then his glance was drawn to her fingers and the way she twisted the ring around her finger, nervously. And just like that, his mind went back to another time when he had carried her indoors in his arms, and she had sat on the bed waiting for him to close the door and come to her, nervously twisting the ring round and round, waiting, slightly scared, excited but not knowing how it would be for them. Serkan's heart twisted with a beautiful agony, a familiar hunger lighting up inside him, at where his thoughts were taking him.