Nightmares & Stupid Boys

ALANA

Knight lies on the ground, blood pooling out of his left arm and my feet move to step forward but his eyes beg me to go, to leave and never look back at these horrible people. I cry, yet I don't move to help. Even though his ripped shirt shows me all that I've been suspicious about but never gotten confirmation for.

The brutal scars. Scars scars scars

Blood blood blood

I stumble back until I'm running. I'm running but I'm also crying and because of those tears, I can't see anything. I can't see and there's so much noise. So many cars honking. So, I cover my ears.

And then I'm screaming.

I woke up with a jolt, feeling my throat raw and sweat made my thick camisole cling to my body. Looking to the left, I found both my roommates fast asleep and thank God for it. Very few people know about my nightmares; specifically my adoptive parents and Esra. Over the years, they've become non-existent. Seeing Knight must've triggered the monsters.

I dabbed at the tears streaming down my face and checked my phone to see the time. There was only half-an-hour left till seven, so I decided to get up and get ready.

My suitcase lay open in one of the cupboards, clothes disarrayed since I'd taken out my night suit in a rush last night. I let out a little cry at hearing male voices. Wasn't this a girls-only building? There was banging on the door and I was too stunned to even move from where my bare feet were glued to the tiled floor.

Raucous laughter filled the hallway and I was seconds away from hurling out last night's dinner.

Clare got up first, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and headed straight for the door after glaring at me.

"What are you doing?" I barked, putting my arms over my chest as if that would stop the boys from seeing me. "Clare! I'm not covered!"

She gave me a disapproving frown. "You do it for your parents anyway, who cares? Live a little." Then she straight-away opened the door.

Me? I hid inside the cupboard.

I was an expert at it after all.

. . .

After establishing some ground rules with Clare, she was dumbfounded enough that she couldn't speak. I was harsh with her, maybe. But nobody gave her the right to decide what's best for me. Who was she to invade my private space? I was seriously beginning to regret my decision of sharing a room.

You see, sharing had never been my strong suit.

When she finally kicked them out—three males, to be specific, God knows why—I could finally get dressed in the outfit I'd been dying to wear since I'd bought it last week with Esra. It was a plain white blouse with slightly flared arms tucked into a gridded blue pencil skirt. I'd also worn skin-coloured leggings cause let's be honest, I didn't want to show off my legs and this skirt ended just below the knees.

I thought I looked pretty damn good, even with the plain midnight blue scarf.

The bus came to a halt and the sign showed it was my stop but my eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing. In a daze, I stepped down and got my first good look at the hotel. This was where I'd be working?

The web pictures didn't do justice to whatever this was. Tall glass building that almost seemed to reach the skies. It wasn't that what had me breathless. It was the view to its right. The azure river of Bosporus where ships were sailing with the cold waft of wind. I felt like an ant.

Alone, I stumbled over to the main door, feeling more than a little lost. People flew past like a herd of birds and the constant chitter-chatter lit me up like new year eve's fireworks. I loved noise. Lots and lots of it to be exact. It helped in not getting lost in my own little world. And my ex-therapist believed it was because of the trauma of living in Mr Steve's house without a single sound.

It wasn't that Mr Steve or his wife were loud. Neither was it their friends. It was us. Knight and I had to ensure we never spoke a word, lest either of them got angry and decided it was time for fists.

Happy thoughts, I sang to myself. This was a new beginning and I'd be damned to let that stupid man ruin it for me.

Who could've thought someone like me could end up in a hotel like this? Granted, I wasn't staying here but I would've probably felt too bad to spend so much money for a single night. Even if the view was spectacular.

My Timberland boots smacked against the smooth marble tiles as I made my way over to the receptionist.

"Gunayden," I greeted her good morning, "Alana Deniz. It's my first day of work. Could you please guide me to the kitchen?"

She nodded and went on to check something on her computer before ringing a few people. At last, I was escorted to the kitchens through a huge elevator by a guy who kept checking me out for some reason.

"Hi," he said, eyes on my chest. With a sneer, I looked the other way, tugging on my hijab till it covered me.

The door of the elevator was about to slam shut when a file interrupted it halfway. I gasped, eyes widening as I got a full view of who was on the other side.