When I got home the next day, my hatred for the color yellow had reached new heights again.
I pushed my meal tray aside and spread all the assignments I had to finish across the coffee table.Just looking at the papers was exhausting.
As I placed the last sheet into the folder, the doorbell rang. It was probably my dear friend returning from her first date, the one that was supposed to be perfect. I hurried to the door excitedly, but the look on Aylin's face made it immediately clear that something had gone wrong.
Her face was pale, and the corners of her lips trembled. Without saying a word, she walked inside and headed to the living room. I immediately texted Feyza, telling her to come over.
"Do you want something to drink? Tea, coffee… maybe a beer. If you want anything else, Feyza's on her way, I can tell her."
"No need, sweetheart. Coffee is fine." Her voice was one tone lower than usual.
"Alright. Just wait a bit, I'll make it and bring it to you."
While preparing the coffees, I tried to imagine what could've gone so wrong, but it was pointless. My brain cells had already been sacrificed to those assignment papers. Besides, it was their first date. What could've happened on day one?
When the doorbell rang again, I set the cups on the tray and went to open it. The sweatpants Feyza was wearing and her uneven breathing made it clear she had rushed out of the house.
"What happened? Where's Aylin? Is she okay?"
I spoke in a low voice so Aylin wouldn't hear. "Calm down. She's physically fine, but she was on the verge of crying when she got here. Go inside, I'll bring the coffees."
The two of us quietly sipped our coffees, waiting for Aylin to speak.
Her fingers were tightly wrapped around the cup's handle.
"We met up and sat at a café. We were chatting pleasantly. Then he got a text. He suddenly became distant. He looked like he'd gotten bad news. I asked what happened. He said, 'You turned out to be better than I expected, different from the others. I don't want to do this to you.' I asked what he meant. He said, 'I have a girlfriend.'"
Feyza and I stared at each other in shock. But Aylin kept talking, her eyes fixed on the carpet instead of us.
"He said when he first started talking to me, they were breaking up. The girl had dumped him, saying she liked someone else. And the whole 'working someone else's shift' thing? A lie. He actually went to meet his ex, and they got back together. At first, he wanted to keep seeing me to get revenge on her, but then he decided I didn't deserve that. And apparently, he still loved her."
Her voice cracked as she said the last sentence. Watching her eyes fill with tears hurt something deep inside me.
Feyza asked hopefully: "Please tell me you at least made sure he won't be able to become a father."
"I couldn't exactly aim for that while we were sitting down, but I did give him a good slap." Her wounded smile only made my hands curl into fists out of rising anger.
"Leave that to me. If I don't wipe out his entire family tree the next time I see him!"
Feyza wasn't any calmer than I was. Pacing the room angrily, she turned to Aylin.
"Give me that bastard's number! I'm not letting him get away with this! Who does he think he is, doing something like this to my friend?"
Aylin forced a small smile.
"Forget it, Sapphire. He's not worth the trouble. I don't want this dragging out any longer."
Feyza and I exchanged helpless looks. We didn't want to upset Aylin further, but what had been done to her wasn't something you could just ignore.
That evening, while questioning my trust in men yet again, the blue-eyed jerk came to mind—uninvited.
Could he be like the guy in Aylin's story too?