2 Her Hero

That drunkard man whose grip had moved to Yara's arm glanced at the intruder with a shot of reddened eyes. His teeth clattered, venting all his anger through his tight clasp on the girl's arm; and she winced in reaction to his pinch.

"H-help me, please!" while struggling to release the man's hand, Yara whimpered, imploring the man in a dark suit who looked like the fiance at the engagement party in her weak intonation as the man's hand moved to her neck.

Stepping closer to them, the man caught dread in the girl's woeful green orbs and white face. Her weakened voice indicated that she almost suffocated under the siege of the man's hand.

The evil man's grip loosened; he faced the man in front of him who was acting like a hero. Chuckles burst out of his mouth before warning him to stay away from them.

"Mind your own business, Bro! This is my girlfriend. We are just having a little fight."

"No…that's not true," rejected Yara, coughing and trying to free her neck of his strangle; but the man's palm spontaneously smothered her yell of refusal. "Umm. erm…" That girl still strove to open her mouth under the cover of his palm.

"I know I made a mistake by seeing that girl but she and I are not in any relationship." That thug played a drama in which he created the scenario. Yara managed to save her lips from his hand after biting his palm.

"He's lying!" Her exclamation bombed his hearing loudly; he attacked her again with his hand covering her mouth.

"I am not lying, love!" He hissed.

"Let her go!" That man could no longer watch the ominous view before him; his intimidating glare stabbed the rascal man.

Provoked by the man's intrusion, the thug man's hands formed into fists; anger heated his chest. He rudely shoved Yara's body forward.

Yara screamed at the sudden push on her back but her mouth shut as soon as she landed in the man's arms. Yara's heart pounded, getting lost in the deep ocean of his blue orbs when their eyes met. There was a wild desire inside her to stop the time for a while.

"Are you okay, Miss?" The man released her body; minding not to get too close to her, he took some steps away from her.

"I'm scared," her voice trembled;

That rascal man picked up the empty bottle on the floor; staggering up to his feet, he tossed it to the man whose back was facing Yara. That man grabbed the object out of his hold before it hit his head.

His mouth growled, complaining about his failure in knocking the man down. His empty hand flew toward him but instead of smashing the face of the man in front of him, it slammed the blank area, letting his tottering torso fall headfirst to the ground. Groans of pain fled his grimaced lips.

The man called the security guards to take care of the helpless body of the drunkard man before ambling through the corridor. Yet, Yara's voice compelled him to quit.

"Thank you so much. May I know what your name is?"

"Erhan." He responded shortly in a flat tone without looking back at her.

***

Esma stood at the dock of the cruise on Bosporus strait, looking down at the immense Marmara sea gulped by the blackness of the night. The tapping shoes behind her prompted her to veer around; her lips spread into a smile, seeing the man she adored.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting," That man put her palm in his; they walked toward the barrier of the dock and stayed there with Esma's head resting on his shoulder. Their eyes shut, reminiscing the moment.

"I am just thinking how lucky I am to have you," Esma mumbled; Erhan did not comment, letting Esma's hair dance with the breeze over his face. "I hope it is not a dream when I wake up, all is over."

"It is not; it's reality." Erhan finally opened his mouth.

"Promise me that you will never leave me."

"I can't promise you anything but time will prove if my love for you is true."

Esma's head jerked away, surprised at her fiancee's response; she stared at him with a sulky face. Erhan's eyelid flickered open, and he grinned at her pouty expression.

"Do you plan to go from me one day?" Esma attacked him not only with that question but her grip on his upper arm. "Tell me honestly." She pinched his arm this time; that man's mouth groaned spontaneously while automatically pulling his arm off her clasp.

"Ouch…. Do you think I can live without you?" They both smiled and drowned in laughter, neglecting the world around them. Erhan then tickled her in return; that girl laughed while avoiding his hands. They dived into a world of happiness where there were only them both inside.

Far from them, the envious eyes watched them, desiring all the joy they displayed. And the evil heart whispered to loot them all one day.

***

Yara's lips winced in pain on her shoulders, neck, and arm; that man's grab was so powerful that nearly cracked all her bones. And the backpack she carried on her back deteriorates her health. She whined to reduce the burn and cramp sensation on her skin while wading through the cramped dark street toward her apartment.

However, the man's face who abruptly dropped into her mind erased all the bad occurrences she experienced in the corridor today. The frown of pain on her visage altered into a wide smile of delight on her lips. To her, he was a hero she had dreamed of coming into her life, the one who would take her out of her hell.

"Erhan…." She covered her mouth for its audacity to mumble that name. "No…I should not let this hope live in my heart." Shaking that man's face out of her head, Yara continued her stride under the blurred street light.

After enduring her fatigue of walking a kilometer from the bus stop, Yara eventually arrived home which looked like a haunted house with no light on. She carefully tiptoed inside the room, wishing that her mother had gone to bed.

She stepped on something sharp on her way crossing the living room, and her mouth moaned at the pain it caused. With one foot lifted, Yara attempted to resume her walk to go to her bedroom.

However, the light lit the whole corner of the place suddenly and that was when she discovered the room had turned into chaos as if the storm had struck the house. The table and chair spread here and there with papers coating the floor; the glass had broken to pieces along with flower vase splitting into two.

"Where have you been?" She jumped around and almost lost her balance because her painful foot could not stand properly.

That woman - her mother- sat on the chair, drunk with a bottle of drink in one of her grips. Her sleepy reddened eyes of hangover swayed at Yara.

"Give me…your money…otherwise you are not allowed to sleep tonight!" She trailed off, threatening her. And in the next few minutes, the bottle in her hand flew over Yara's head.