Safe In the Arms of Love.....Part 3 of " Yes, Let's Just Be Friends

Chapter Eleven

Her reaction confused him, as he stood and pulled her close to him. Sanem smiled, but he could tell it was a nervous smile. " What's wrong, I can see it in your eyes. Something happened." He insisted, forcing her to look into his face. " Nothing my love, I just don't want the whole office to see us, that's all." She answered, trying to reassure him. She tried desperately to calm her nerves from the encounter in the bathroom. " Anyway, are you ready to go, I'm really hungry. I was so wrapped up in work today that I forgot to eat lunch. Can we go by and pickup pizza on the way home?" She asked, feeling herself coming back to reality. Can knew there was use in interrogating her, it would just make matters worse, so he just smiled and agreed .

Can watched her as they drove towards home. She had been unusually quiet, and her face still had that stressed look. He could only hope that she would feel confident enough to open up to him. The event in the bathroom still filled her head, but she wasn't sure if telling Can would be the right thing to do. What if he thought I was going crazy.....what if he thought I needed help and they shut me up somewhere in a hospital. Her thoughts were running rampant as they arrived home. Can spread their pizza out on the table in front of the tv, " Hey sweetie, how about a movie tonight?" He yelled to her in the kitchen as she brewed the tea. There was no answer, so he asked again, " Sanem, do you want to watch a movie?"  There was nothing, no reply, so he headed to the kitchen. The cups were sitting there on the counter, filled with her freshly brewed tea, but she was not there. He called her name as he looked around for her. He stepped on the back patio, " Sanem are you out here, .....Sanem where are you?"  

That vision of Taner standing behind her in the bathroom, and the repeating of those words, rang loudly in her head. Her hands were shaking as she tried to pour the tea, "why won't he leave me alone?"  She could feel her mind reeling, but there was no way to stop it. She walked out to the patio, listening intently to the echo of his words, " You will never get rid of me Sanem."  She covered her ears with her hands and closed her eyes, the words growing louder and louder in her head. She sank down on the corner of the patio trying so hard to hide from what he was saying. She felt a hand on her arm trying to pull her up, she screamed and pulled away, pressing her eyes closed even tighter. Immediately she felt someone wrap her up and lifted from the ground. The touch of those strong arms that were holding her, stroking her, seemed to calm her enough for her to open her eyes, and that's when she realized it was Can. He was carrying her to the bedroom, his eyes full of tears and concern. 

He gently laid her on the bed, " Sanem, baby are you alright. Here, let me have your hands." He told her. She looked around, realizing she still had her hands covering her ears. He took her hands in his, massaging them ever so carefully with his thumbs. " What happened babe, tell me please. She could feel her heart racing as she tried to make the words come from her mouth.  As her body trembled, she began to tell him about what had happened. " Can, Taner was in the bathroom, and he spoke to me." She told him, her voice quivering. Can stroked her arm, "Sanem my love, Taner is in prison, he is locked away. He couldnt have been in the bathroom." He assured her, wanting nothing more than to take her in his arms and hold her. Sanem looked at him with her eyes sad and full of questions, " I know, but Can why do I keep seeing him, hearing him talk to me, feeling that he's watching me. She sat up on the bed and encircled Can with her arms, he could feel her body shaking as she clung to him. 

Can choose his words carefully, as he tried to help her understand, " You have gone through a lot my love, I think it will take time to forget it. But you will forget it, trust me, I will make sure you forget it." He snuggled closer to her, determined to love away all those ghosts that roamed around In her head. She felt better after a few minutes, " Do you promise, you promise to make me forget." She moved back from him and looked him in the eyes, " He told me I would never get rid of him, and he was standing right there Can. Do you think I'm going crazy?" She asked in a whisper, her eyes pleading with him to help her.

He laid beside her watching her sleep. How was he going to help her, he wondered, his heart full of sadness. It was late, but the thought of sleep avoided him. He slipped out of bed and walked through the dark house to the kitchen. The teapot was still hot, so he poured a cup of tea, and put the uneaten pizza in the fridge. His heart was in anguish at what she was having to endure. The night air was cool and inviting but it didn't soothe his fears. He sat back in the lounge chair trying to make sense of what she had told him. He had never thought he could hate someone, hate was such a strong word, but he was safe to say, he hated Taner. He wished he had never heard of Compass Sports, or Ceyda Sancak and Taner Yilmaz.  All he wanted was a nice quiet life with the woman he loved. He had waited so long to have that, had fought through so much to have her and now some pyschopath was threatening his very life. The thought of It just made him more angry and bitter, how dare him tell her she would ever be rid of him. 

He finished his tea and started back to the bedroom when Emre came in, " Abi you're still up. I would have thought you'd be asleep by now." He joked. But he could tell by the look on his Abi's face that he wasn't in a joking mood. " Can what's wrong, I can see something bothering you."  Emre asked.

Can shook his head, " Emre, why is it so hard for Sanem and I to have a happy life, why is someone always trying to tear us down?"  He replied, leaning back against the counter. Emre knew they had been through a lot, but they had both maintained that unrelenting love for each other. " So, who is trying to tear you apart, what are you talking about?"  He asked.

"It's Taner, he's still here. He won't leave her alone." He said, glaring into his brothers eyes.

" He's stuck inside her head Emre, and I don't know how to get him out.....

Emre felt for his brother. He had never witnessed his brother so hurt, so fearful......so defeated..