Why, We Fall (Book One)

17: Lloyd Apprehended

Aleya felt extra groggy the next morning. She hadn't been able to sleep last night.
After a couple of nightmares, she quit trying. The events of the previous night still fresh on her mind.
The mugger, her professor, Lloyd...

Hasan took Lloyd with him, wrapped in a handkerchief like a newborn baby. He said he would drop it off at the police station so they could have the muggers finger print in the database and hopefully identify him.
If he attacked Aleya so close to her drom Hasan couldn't be sure he wouldn't come back for revenge. That's the street Aleya always passes by so he said he couldn't relax until the mugger was behind bars.
Thinking of Hasan raised a bittersweet feeling in her stomach.
She was more mortified about her conversion with him afterwards than she was of almost getting stabbed by a drug addict sociopath.

What was she thinking, asking him those questions? What was she expecting his answers would be?

She chalked the whole action as a reaction of going through something traumatic. It couldn't possibly be anything else.

Her head refused to budge from it's groggy state. She needs some tea. Definitely from the café next door if she is able to make it there without falling down on her face.

She was getting ready when her phone came alive with a text.

"Ah, I almost lost you to that smelly guy and his knife last night," she said to her phone while reaching out to check the notification.

"How are you?
- Professor Hasan Nadir"

Aleya wanted to be happy at the text. He was checking up on her. But how he signed his name told her he was just fulfilling his duty as a teacher by checking up on his student who went through a traumatic experience. So she answered him as one.

"I'm okay, thanks. What about you?
- Aleya Noor"

She knew she didn't have to sign her name, he already had her number but she wanted to be as formal as he is being. So much so that she didn't even wonder where did he get her number from.

"I'm okay too. I dropped the knife at the police station on my way home last night. They said they would let me know if they find anything. I'll stop by there again today. I won't be able rest untill they capture the scumbag."

"Ok. Good. "
Aleya didn't know what else to say. She stared at the screen for couple more minutes and it looked like he didn't have anything alse to say either. And now her headache is taking another turn by making her see double as she was staring at the screen without blinking.

Feeling more annoyed than usual she pocketed her dear phone and started her way to the café. She needs to do something about the blaring headache.

After two cups of lemon tea Aleya's headache somewhat subsided. It was still there but not as blaring. She had to be in class within 30 minutes. She was so occupied with the pain this morning that she forgot to take her bag with her on her way to the café. She was just heading back to her room to get it when she froze in the middle of the street.

Her headache's fully gone now. She took a double take to see if she was seeing right.

Right in front of her dorm building on the other side of the street was standing Hasan's midnight black car. It had Hasan leaning on the side door on his back. He was squinting at his phone while typing away furiously.
Aleya didn't know how she knew but she reached her back pocket to retrieve her phone. Unlocking the screen she pressed the airplane mode off and as her phone took a second to wake up from it's half comatose state she looked at Hasan again. He looked more irritated by the second.

The constant ping ping of her phone let her know that it was alive and back to the worldly life. She got five missed calls and seven texts, all from Hasan.

Before she could read those texts or check those voicemails Hasan already spotted her standing in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at her phone looking baffled.
He pushed himself off of the car as soon as seeing her. His long strides took him only a few seconds to cross the street.

The next time Aleya looked up Hasan was standing right in front of her with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Where were you? I've been trying to reach you for half an hour!" Hasan exasperated.

"Why?" Aleya's finding it hard to recover from her baffled state.

Hasan looked a bit off guard by the question. It took him a second long to answer.

"Umm...I wanted to..see if you're okay."

"Ow?" Maybe the text from the morning wasn't as formal as she thought if he is here in person to check up on her!

"Yeah, ahm..oh, and wanted to notify you they found out who the guy was. "

"Really?"

"Yeah. As soon as I mentioned he called the knife Lloyd they brought out a bunch of files. Everyone the guy robbed previously mentioned Lloyd so now they know how many people the guy mugged and with his fingerprints in their hand they were very hopeful it's a matter of time now to apprehend the guy. " Hasan himself looked very pleased with the news.

"Oh, that's wonderful. " It Was a wonderful news. Aleya felt relaxed that at least they were able to identity the devil.

But Hasan was still there. Like the day they had the awkward lunch together. Hasan was standing there even though it didn't seem they had anything else to say to esch other.

"So...you have classes today?" Hasan asked, disrupting the awkward silence between them.

"Yeah," she checked her phone and a soft gasp left her lips. She only had twenty minutes till her class starts.
"I should head out now. Or I'm gonna be late. "

"Um, you sure you don't want to take the day off?" Hasan looked concerned.

"And use the day to over think everything that happened last night?" Aleya asked with a raised brow.

For some reason Hasan looked a bit guilty. Surely he wasn't thinking she meant their conversation?
Or maybe she did? "No, thank you. I need to stay busy. "

Aleya was looking anywhere but at Hasan's face.
"Umm..thanks for checking up on me. I'm fine...as you can see. I'm gonna be late. So..." She tried to sidestep Hasan to get to her building. She still needed to get her bag from her room.

"Let me drive you. " Hasan said suddenly. Stopping Aleya from moving away.

"That's fine. I can go by myself. " She again tried to move. More forcefully this time.

But a firm yet gentle hand touched her arm and stopped her mid step.

"Please? You're already late," he took a second to say the next sentence, "and I'm having trouble to come to terms with last night. I'm still a bit traumatized thinking about what could've happened. Let me drive you, maybe then I'll be able to stop hyperventilating. Seeing you're actually okay. "
His voice was soft. Eyes pleading.
Aleya never saw him this vulnerable. She never could've imagined how the events of last night affected him. He was there. He lived through it too. And here she was only thinking about herself.

"Okay. Wait here. I'll get my bag. "

Hasan took a second longer to release Aleya's arm. It took her another second to break free from his enchanted gaze.

Disappearing inside the building, away from his piercing sight she took a much needed breath.
Why does he make her feel like this? Why does he do or say things that are capable of making her forget to even breath?