Crashing Into You

“Good evening, Mr. Dursun. This is Hale.” “Good evening, Ms. Hale. I was actually about to call you about the paperwork.” “I already handled everything. You won’t have any issues with either the documents or customs. I sent you the updated files anyway.” “Thank you so much, Ms. Hale. Then I’ll hit the road first thing in the morning. Have a good evening.” “You too. And if anything else comes up, please contact me directly.” The moment the call ended, Hale leaned her head back against the seat and finally felt some of the tension leave her body. She had been dealing with the customs issue for hours. At least now she could go home, crawl into bed, and sleep for a hundred years. She was exhausted, but she could survive the drive home. Starting the car, she pulled onto the highway. She was getting closer to the city center. The window was down, music filling the car as she tried to fight off sleep, though it wasn’t working very well. Then suddenly— A dog ran out in front of her car. Hale slammed on the brakes. Everything happened within seconds. The car behind her couldn’t stop in time after her sudden brake. It crashed straight into the back of her vehicle. The force jerked Hale forward. Before she could even process what had happened, her head slammed against the steering wheel. While Hale tried to regain her senses, the men in the other car were still recovering from the shock of the collision. The first one to react was the passenger. He got out immediately and rushed around to the driver’s side. “You okay, brother?” “I’m fine. You hurt?” The other man shook his head before exhaling deeply. Then both of them turned toward the car in front of them. No one had stepped out yet. Inside her car, Hale slowly opened her eyes, holding her aching head as she tried to understand what had just happened. The sudden sound of her door opening made her flinch in fear. But the door had only been opened with concern. “Are you okay?” Hale only stared at him for a second, still trying to understand who he was. She unfastened her seatbelt and slowly stepped out of the car. The man lightly held her arm to help her. So lightly that if she hadn’t seen it herself, she would’ve thought he never touched her at all. Meanwhile, the man was carefully controlling his strength, as if afraid he might accidentally hurt her. “I… I think so. A dog suddenly ran in front of me. I hit the brakes and then… I think I crashed into something.” The man gently guided her toward the hood of the car so she could lean against it. At the same time, he calmly explained what happened from his side. “It’s okay. You braked suddenly, and I couldn’t stop in time. We collided. But we’re all fine. Your head doesn’t look too bad. Maybe a couple stitches at most.” Hale listened to him in confusion and simply nodded. When she finally looked behind her, she saw the vehicles. The damage didn’t seem too serious. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down and shake off the shock. Behind them, the music inside her car was still playing softly. That was when she finally noticed them properly. Two broad-shouldered men stood in front of her, watching her with worried eyes. Only now was her brain fully processing what had happened. The confusion in her eyes slowly turned into panic, guilt, and embarrassment. “I didn’t even understand what happened. The dog just appeared out of nowhere. Are you okay? Did you get hurt? I’m—I’m so sorry. I really didn’t notice it—” “Shh. Calm down, miss. We’re okay. And I don’t think you’re seriously hurt either. Oğuz, there was water in the car. Bring it.” The other man nodded and walked back toward the vehicle. The man in front of her gently held her hands and looked directly into her eyes. “Take a deep breath first. Everything’s fine. Drink some water, then we’ll figure out what to do.” Hale nodded and took a few sips from the bottle he handed her. A few minutes later, she had calmed down slightly. When she looked up again, the two men were standing a little farther away, talking while one of them lit a cigarette. She hadn’t even realized they’d stepped away from her. As soon as she stood up, both pairs of eyes turned toward her. “Feeling better?” “Yes… I just don’t know what to say. We should call the police and an ambulance immediately. You’re hurt.” The man gave a small smile. “We already called. Someone’s on the way. It’s nothing serious.” Hale stared at the blood trailing from his eyebrow down toward his cheek. The other man’s left arm had been cut too. It didn’t look deep, but it was still bleeding. “How is that not serious? Your eyebrow is bleeding, and his arm is cut.” As she spoke, her eyes kept darting over their injuries before returning to their faces. “I know apologizing won’t fix anything, but I’m really sorry. You got hurt because of me. It could’ve been so much worse. Your car’s damaged too. But don’t worry, I’ll cover everything. Actually, I—” “Take a breath first. Do you always talk this much, or is this a special occasion?” Hale frowned instinctively. How rude. She already felt guilty enough. “I’m sorry. I was just trying to explain myself.” Then quietly: “When will the police get here?” She wanted an answer and then wanted to get away from them as quickly as possible. The man with the injured eyebrow simply kept looking at her. The other one answered instead. “Couple hours probably. Tow truck too. Don’t worry.” Hale nodded and walked back to her car to grab her jacket. It was well past midnight, and the cold outside had become unbearable. As she pushed her hair back, her fingers brushed against her wound. That was when she remembered her own injury. She grabbed the first aid kit from the glove compartment and two bottles of water from the back seat before walking back toward them. She still looked genuinely upset. “You should clean your wounds. If you can’t, I can help.” Oğuz immediately jumped in. “I’m useless with that stuff, but Cihangir knows what he’s doing. Though he should probably check your head first.” Hale turned toward the man whose name she had finally learned. Cihangir hadn’t taken his eyes off her once. With a small nod from him, they moved beside the open car door. Hale sat down while Cihangir crouched in front of her. He opened the kit on her lap and carefully cleaned the dried blood from her forehead. He was so gentle, so careful not to hurt her, that even the cotton barely seemed to touch her skin. While cleaning the wound, he finally spoke. “Cihangir Demirkan. Nice to meet you.” A small smile appeared on Hale’s lips. For the first time, Cihangir’s attention lingered on her smile instead of her injuries. “Are you sure?” He looked at her in confusion. “You said ‘nice to meet you.’ Are you sure about that? Look at us. You got hurt because of me, your car’s damaged, your friend was with you too… What if something worse had happened? God forbid.” As she said the last part, she lightly tugged at her ear and tapped the car door. The gesture made Cihangir smile unconsciously. His grandmother used to do the exact same thing. “I’m sure. Very sure, actually. But we still haven’t properly met.” This time Hale smiled a little more openly. “Then I’m Hale. Hale Cevheri. Nice to meet you too.” From a distance, Oğuz watched their small conversation while they bandaged each other’s wounds. A faint grin appeared on his lips. His friend had definitely been affected by the woman at first sight. For now, he chose to stay quiet and watch. Then his phone rang. The moment he saw who was calling, his heartbeat sped up again—faster than it had during the accident itself. He answered immediately. “Yes, beautiful?” “Where are you, hubby? I got worried. You said you’d be here soon. Has something happened?” Now what was he supposed to say He never lied to his wife. “No, sweetheart. Nothing bad happened. Just a small issue on the road, so I’ll be a little late. Go to sleep. I’ll come hold you after you fall asleep.” A quiet sigh came from the other end of the phone. Damn. He wished he were beside her right now. How many days had it been since he’d seen her? “Promise you’ll come soon? I missed you so much. It’s been exactly thirteen days—” “Seven hours and forty-six minutes,” he corrected softly. His wife giggled through the phone. While Oğuz disappeared into his own little world, Hale and Cihangir continued talking nearby. Cihangir had finished the temporary bandage on Hale’s head. Now it was Hale’s turn to treat him. She was just as careful and gentle as he had been. The moment their eyes met, Hale’s movements slowed. For a second, she forgot everything else and focused only on his eyes. Up close, he was unfairly handsome. His eyes looked like a forest—dark, deep, carrying countless shades within them. The sudden sound behind them startled both of them at the same time. They immediately turned toward the noise.