face down;;

Zekai shuts the door behind him, looking down at the doorknob for a second as he breathes in deeply. He has to remind himself, their dad isn’t here. He’s not six and he’s not in a competition with the man currently exploring his space. He brushes his tongue across his lower lip as he lets go of the doorknob, turning around to walk over towards the direction his brother went, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “You’re probably right, I probably wouldn’t have answered.” He clear his throat. “You picked helluva time to move here, ya know?” He lifts his eyes up towards his brother. “So, what happened?”

...

There’s a tension that lingers, wrapping around his shoulders like an invisible weight that’s lurked even since his escape from under his father’s thumb. Had he found the courage to do so he would have left Turkey many years prior, long before he could pave his own career path only to end up fronting his father’s disappointment anyway. To think he could have been reunited with his family years prior, was a pill he hadn’t anticipated he would be able to swallow. Hindsight was as much of a blessing as it was a curse. “I’ve noticed. I take it, it hasn’t always been like this?” He questioned, certain their mother wouldn’t have allowed them to settle in such an unsafe location. “What always happens. I said not to our father and he asked me to leave, only this time I don’t plan on going back.” Exhaling a sigh he raised a hand to rub the back of his neck, a nervous tick that he’d had since they were kids. “I should’ve left years ago Z, followed you all here even because I was never the son he wanted me to be. I could never be you.”

“No, I didn’t,” A flash of horror striking Bianca’s features before she lets out a low groan, both hands covering her face to hide the embarrassment. “Oh my god. I really said I would shank you? And you’re still here with me?” Letting her hands finally drop back to down to the bed, she used to them to bring herself up into a seated position— reaching for the only things that would help her get through the day. “You’re a god-send, Emir, really. I don’t know what I would do without you,” and she means that. Popping one of the painkillers into her mouth, a large chug of water not to far behind, Bianca brings her attention back to him. “Please tell me you were able to enjoy the rest of your night. I didn’t ruin it for you, did I?”

...

Melina could only stand there, eyebrows furrowing as she stared up at him. She hadn’t expected an apology to come from him, and she found that she didn’t want to hear it. Not after all these years. She could still remember that entire letter, word for word. How he urged her to forget him, as if that was a possibility to begin with. How she was better off without him, despite her giving him her entire heart, trusting that he’d take good care of it. Melina tried to think back to her therapy sessions, but she was violently unprepared for this anger coursing through her, because she truly believed that she had been fine. That she had moved on from him completely. In her head, had he come back, she believed she would have been composed, civil, possibly even friendly but as she stared into the eyes of the man she had wanted a future with, the ache in her chest reminded her there wasn’t any chance of that. “You are a coward,” Meli spat out. The last thing she wanted was to be mean, or callous, but the pain was making her more liberated with her words. Less inclined to think about the other’s feelings and allowing herself to be selfish enough to just think of her own. He had said his piece all those years ago, now it was her turn. 

“You honestly think I’d care about your apology? Now? When it’s too late?” She asked, bitterness coating her words as she clenched her shaking hands into fists, and held them behind her back, hiding them from him. “You didn’t even give me a choice. You just decided for the both of us, and you just–” Meli scoffed, head shaking as she looked away, remembering everything. The first time they met. The first time they kissed. His proposal. Her talking about her parents’ death and him talking about his father. How happy the two had been. How fortunate she believed herself to be. She had never trusted anyone as much as she trusted him, only for him to leave her. “If you’re not leaving my town, then do me this one favor. I deserve at least that,” Melina said, steely blue eyes looking right into his as she panted slightly, still unprepared for how suddenly intense her emotions were. “I’ve been completely fine out here without you.” A semi-lie, but not one he needed to know. “I have a whole new life now, one that doesn’t and will never include you,” Meli said before she swallowed hard. “I’m happy. I’m fine,” she said, her voice cracking once more and she hated it. “So do what you need to do here but you stay the hell away from me.”

...

It was too late. It would always be too late. That much he knew, he had accepted it even if the weight alone felt like an anvil on his chest. Only it wasn’t that the struck a nerve with him in that moment, it was witnessing first hand the consequences of his own actions, the way in which he had hurt her. It was one thing walking away and knowing that she was hurting far worse than he, but to finally see it in the flesh, and the way in which that hurt had lingered. It struck him like a white hot poker being shoved into his chest cavity. It burned. “Meli--” he began, only the words caught in his throat. The anger he could take, hell, if she wanted to lash out and strike him he would have accepted it. Encouraged it even. But the raw emotion that seemed to bubble out of her throat, foreshadowed by unshed tears. For a brief moment he shifted to step forward, reaching for her as he so effortlessly would have all those years ago, only to abruptly think better of it and retract his hand before he could make contact. 

“He’d never uproot his life. He didn’t do it for mom, why would he do it for me?” Part of her always blamed her father for letting go of their family, and it took her years to be able to forgive him enough to be around him for more than a week. Now she regrets doing it like this more than anything, but she can’t turn back time. The only thing she had left was to give him his daughter for however long he had left. She didn’t like asking for help, and she found it hard to believe she’d seek it out even when she needs it, but she hopes with a little more time she’ll grow enough to be able to do it. “You’re right, but it’s hard to do.” She wished she would of opened up what felt like a lifetime ago, but there was no point to dwell on it when she can’t do anything about it. “I’m sure I’ll be fine, Emir. You don’t have to worry about me.”

...

open \ @nightreststarters location \ anywhere!

Selda sighed, patience almost at its end. “What do you want?” she asked, turning around at the voice. “Because I’m warning you now, I’ve had a really long day, and I don’t know how much longer I can pretend to be nice.”

...

“Why the fuck would I do that?” Zekai was six. All that pressure at such a young age to be the best kid or else the disappointment was thrown at him. He could barely remember it but his sisters always told him about how their father compared when each Arslan boy met their milestones and the only thing he could think about was how could someone be disappointed with their kid? He couldn’t imagine doing anything to make KK feel bad about herself. He stares at Emir when he admits that he lives there, turning his head to look over his shoulder towards the inside of his apartment. He uses the tip of his foot to push the door open more as he takes a step back from it, not saying a single thing but letting the gesture be known he was inviting him in.

...

“If you ask me a fourth serial killer in the spawn of six months should be enough to say to hell with his place,” every time she saw Catherine Graves appear on her screen to announce devastating news, because God forbid she has something good to say, she came closer to packing up and leaving. But every time she talked herself out of it, something she wished she learned to do years ago. “Ask for help?” she mumbled, it was a foreign thought, because if she knew how to maybe the two of them would of already built a life together, but fear played a greater role with her emotions. “I don’t think it’s going to help. What will actually help is police doing their job and showing freaks that Nightrest isn’t a free hunting zone.”

...

Hearing both her name and her nickname in his voice was jarring, to say the least, especially after years of no communication between the two. The coldness coming from the same person she envisioned a life with, wanted a family with, wanted to grow old with, momentarily rendered her speechless and frozen, but then the anger flared up again with a vengeance. Between the two of them, he had absolutely no right to be mad at her, no damn right to be anything but apologetic for how he chose to end things between the two of them. She deserved a whole lot better than that and for the first time in her life, Meli understood why people willingly slapped others. She had to clench her hands into fists to keep them steady by her sides. She’d always been the type of person who cried when things became too much – it didn’t matter if she was happy, sad, angry. As long as the emotion was overwhelming, it brought tears to her eyes and she hated it, she thought as she blinked back the tears pooling in her eyes. Hadn’t she cried over this man enough? 

“I also live here. Have been since the day I came home from work to find a note and nothing else,” Meli spat out, feeling like she was merely watching someone else put her hands on his chest, shoving him back lightly. The act itself was so unlike her that for a moment, all she could do was take a step back, her heart pounding in her chest, horrified by what she had done. It wasn’t a lot, but it was more than she ever thought she’d do, especially because she never thought their reunion would have him being cold with her. What was it? Had she not been enough? Had she done something so wrong that he couldn’t even afford to have a conversation with her to her face? She felt affronted, shunned, and as much as she hated herself for it, seeing him again now, a small part of her missed him. Missed them. Missed who she had been when they were together. Knowing he was here now made her feel so unsettled because she reveled in the belief that she had completely moved on from that part of her life, and the comfort that came with that belief. “Leave,” she said, hating the way her voice shook, the hurt evident in just that one word. “I don’t want you here, E–,” Meli whispered, not even able to say his name. A name still shouldn’t hurt this much. 

...

Turning it off was easy; a skill he had been encouraged to use by that of his father. Or so he thought. Between work and a minimal social life, the surgeon hadn’t the time to stop and dwell on any such emotions that bubbled away within the confines of his chest. Swallowing them down came as easy as breathing air, not by choice but because it was all his father had taught him. Emotions were nothing but a sickness, a weakness that worked to tear down ambitions men of their caliber that sought for nothing but success in every aspect of their lives. Being alone was but an offset of that and looking back it all now made sense as to why his father had become the bitter old man that he was. Because every small intricate aspect of his life that sparked some form of emotion, happiness and joy he had all but snuffed out. And in favour of what? Wealth and a formidable reputation within the plastic surgery world? It was what Emir had believed he wanted too, but time had he second guessing it all. His move to Nightrest was a chance to escape the regiment of his former life, to expand beyond his career and find even just a small piece of that happiness he had experienced in his younger years.

I also live here. Such an admission was not one he expected and before he could swallow the jolt of surprise there was a flicker within his darkened hues, a wariness meddled with a concern that lingered before he dropped her gaze, the muscles in his jaw tightening in place. “No words I offer you are going change the past, but I was a coward and for that I am sorry.” It wasn’t all he wanted to say, nor what he needed to say nevertheless it was an attempt at something. A notion that felt foolish as her voice cracked with emotion. If he was a good man, a better man perhaps he would have obliged her and done exactly as she asked. “If the circumstances were different, I’d do as you asked Melina. That much I can promise you. But my family is here, my brother and sisters and I can’t leave them --- not while it’s unsafe and not when I’ve only just started to repair the damage that my father.. that I have done.”

open starter : @nightreststarters​

location :  literally anywhere .

“.. Don’t ever let me drink like that again,” Bianca groaned, the pounding feeling in her head still present even after taking a couple painkillers. “I mean it. It’s all fun and games in the beginning, but the aftermath isn’t worth it.”

...

open to: anyone ( @nightreststarters​ )

location: medusa 

Just two days after Maya’s body washed up on shore and three nights since the last time she saw one of her best friends, Adee found herself walking into the club where she used to work, ready to say fuck it. It was her birthday and she just wanted to block everything else out for a moment, whether it be with multiple drinks or with someone else’s company. 

Turning towards the person next to her at the bar, she decided to start the night off with some kindness. “Can I buy you a drink?” Adee asked, showing them a small smile.

...

“Oh come on!” Rami squeezed Emir’s shoulders with a shake before settling back in his seat. “I wouldn’t necessarily call that wingmanning me…” he teased lifting a hand to signal the bartender once more. “Oh come on, always with the dramatics Arslan! How you managed to get women before is beyond me.” He wasn’t doing too hot himself but his excuse was of a singular brunette he couldn’t stop thinking about. “Okay who’s catching your eye? I’ll show you how a wingman should operate!”

...

For someone who thought love was overrated, Analu always somehow found herself falling for someone and when that happens the fear of everything breaking apart, much like her parents marriage, forces her to push them away or straight up run away. But these past months she’s been working on that flaw, she tries to tell herself she wasn’t her parents and it makes a big enough reason to stop her sabotage. “Yeah, I’m sorry too,” she felt horrible, all these years passed by and so many opportunities to be with him were gone, but she was here now and she was going to stay. “Even if it means they could get themselves killed?” her eyebrows rose as she stared at Emir. “Home is home, but when you reach the breaking point what happens then?”

...

Zekai reaches for the doorknob, his gaze falling on the man he hasn’t seen since he was six. He raises his arm to rest against the edge of the door, a low chuckle leaving his lips, that’s bitter. “Is this why dad is calling me?” He exhales as shrugs his shoulders. “If you think you are guest in my house… You’re mistaken, big bro.” Their childhood was nothing short of a shit show, a man who forced the two of them to compete with one another to prove who the better son was and the sick part was Z was barely old enough to understand what was going on half the time. It makes his stomach churn to think about putting Kaia through something like that (despite the fact she’s not actually his). He still wouldn’t dare. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

...

closed starter for @emirarslan​​

location: around town 

The last person Melina expected to see around town that night when she decided to go for a quick walk was Emir. Her ex-fiancé. The one person in this entire world she could truly say she loved and wanted with her entire heart and soul, the one person who made her feel safe and cherished after everything she had been through, the one person she planned a future with. Melina trusted him with everything in her, only for her to come home from work one day to find a note for an excuse and numbness as a flimsy replacement for where her love had been. That numbness turned into sadness, and it stayed there until she believed she had come to accept it. Throughout the years, she had foolishly believed she had skipped the anger part, which she was grateful for because she hated feeling angry, especially about things out of her control, but at the sight of him, Melina realized she wasn’t just angry at him. She was absolutely furious, and that fueled her as she practically stomped her way towards him, the words flowing past her lips without a second thought. “What the hell are you doing here?”

...

There were very few people on the planet that had successfully managed to part the iron curtain and burrow beneath Emir Arslan’s hardened flesh to make a home between the blood and bone there. Melina Kaya however, was the very first. It was that reason that had him running when the opportunity arose. Because to grow attached to someone, to accept that there was a future there, not just one was visible but one that was wanted, terrified him beyond all else. Because according to his father, to love was to loose. “Meli-- Melina.“ The surgeon mused, the nickname slipping from his lips before he quickly corrected it. Even the way her name sounded foreign upon his tongue felt wrong and yet there she stood, just as he remembered her, only this time there was a fire in her eyes. Anger, fury or perhaps it was rage which was one hell of an aesthetic for the brunette. “I live here. What’s your excuse?” The cold afront was forced, a knee jerk reaction to the storm he knew was coming his way. 

Her expectations of Nightrest months ago were to be met with people who she, more or less, left behind and conversations that made her uncomfortable. But she never thought she’d have to face him. She didn’t know what to say or do. She nodded her head at family, something she understood completely and her own reason of staying in this town from hell. “Family,” she replied her voice going down at the thought, “my father isn’t his best anymore, I came home to spend some time with him.” Analu will never regret leaving with her mother when she was fourteen, nor when she graduated high school, but she’ll always regret not making enough effort to spend as much time with him when he was healthy and younger. But at least he was one of the only members of their family that didn’t hold it against her. “And then Nightrest went to hell, which is apparently happening again and it’s a big red flag to leave, but everyone is staying… I don’t want to be across the country and get a call something happened.”

...