Sergej wore that casual, unaffected expression, the one that noticed everything she was trying to hide. When he saw her, a cocky smile crept onto his lips.
Evin forced herself to keep walking, ignoring the tingling sensation creeping into her face. What am I doing? Her mind felt blank, but her legs moved on autopilot. Her pulse raced, and her hands clenched as she grabbed the car door. A thought flitted through her mind—just walk away, leave him standing there—but she sat down, stiff and unable to follow through.
“What does he want from you?” Sergej’s voice broke through her thoughts.
“There was something left unresolved. He just wanted to remind me. Nothing important,” she mumbled, pulling the passenger door open with a sudden force, as if trying to bury herself inside.
Sergej started the engine and eased the car out of the parking spot. “You look tense,” he remarked, his eyes fixed on the road, though his words carried that familiar sly smile that always seemed to pull at her.
Evin turned her gaze away, staring out of the window as her fingers traced the fabric of her jacket, clinging to it like a lifeline. “I’m fine,” she replied, but her voice sounded hollow and unconvincing. Even she couldn’t believe the lie.
The ride passed in strained silence until her phone vibrated in her pocket. Instinctively, she reached for it, her heartbeat quickening when she saw the name on the screen—Bas. Her thumb hesitated above the screen, but before she could open the message, Sergej’s glance flicked briefly toward her.
“What’s going on?” he asked, his tone weighted with curiosity and subtle suspicion.
She stuffed the phone into her pocket before he could say anything. “Nothing important,” she said, hearing the unconvincing tone in her own voice.
The car came to a stop in front of his apartment, and Sergej turned off the engine. For a moment, everything was quiet, save for the faint hum of the car.
“Come on, let’s go inside,” he said finally, the casual tone in his voice now feeling slightly forced.
Evin nodded, even though every fiber of her being resisted.
Her fingers tightened around the cold metal doorknob, and she forced herself not to look back. Bas’s words still pierced through her mind like arrows—words she neither wanted to hear nor believe. Just keep moving. She stepped through the door.
From the side, Sergej glanced at her, a sharp smile on his lips, as if he already knew everything. “So, did someone step on your foot today, or are you just lost in thought?” His voice was light, almost casual, but there was something in his tone that clung to her, like an unspoken accusation.
Once upstairs, he shrugged off his jacket, tossed it onto a chair, and walked into the living room like he owned the place.
Evin closed the door behind her, pulling her own jacket tighter, even though it wasn’t cold, and followed him hesitantly. Her thoughts were spinning, loud and chaotic.
“Just a long day,” she murmured finally, her voice so thin she barely believed it herself.
Sergej sank into the couch, draping an arm lazily over the backrest, his gaze locking onto her like she was some kind of puzzle he was determined to solve.
“Hm. You seem a little distant today. Something on your mind?”
Sergej’s voice was soft, almost casual, as he leaned back against the couch, stretching his arms out along the backrest. It was the kind of tone that could be mistaken for genuine concern—if she didn’t know better.
Evin hesitated, fingers pressing into the fabric of her jacket. She had been lost in thought, replaying Bas’s words in her head, the weight of the cafeteria encounter still pressing against her ribs. She shook her head, forcing a small smile. “Just a long day.”
Sergej studied her for a moment, then exhaled through his nose, shaking his head slightly.
“Yeah… you’ve been carrying a lot lately, haven’t you?” He ran a slow hand through his buzzed hair, his eyes trailing over her as if he could read the tension in her shoulders. “I just hope you’re not stressing over things that don’t deserve your energy.”
Her phone buzzed in her pocket and her breath hitched the second she saw the name on the screen.
Bas.
A voice message.
A sharp, almost electric current shot through her limbs as her thumb hovered over the screen.Play it or ignore it?The simplest decision in the world, and yet, it felt impossible.
Before she could make up her mind, Sergej’s gaze flicked to her hands. “Everything okay?” His voice remained light, almost teasing, but she caught it—the slight edge beneath the words. The barely-there shift in his expression.
He saw the name.
Evin forced a nonchalant shrug. “Yeah, nothing important. Probably an apology from my project partner.” The lie slid off her tongue before she could think it through.
