Chapter nine.

Eren has been taken away to police custody, awaiting criminal conviction and sentencing. Irem finally did what's right, what she should've done a long time ago. It's going to be something strange and to return to a home without her husband, they've been together for over a decade. She depended on him for income, for driving and transport and for other needs. But that was not what she was going to be thinking of right now, it's done. She can't get the old Eren back and this was for the best for her and for her son.

She caressed her son's hair before planting kisses on his forehead, waking him up by accident. "Are we going back home? Do I still have to go to school tomorrow?" Miran asked his mother. She smiled at her son's simple question. "No, I'll let you be off for school for a couple of days. I'll let you go visit Emin or you can always invite him when you feel a bit bored or lonely. It's going to be alright."

"Excuse me ma'am, this is your house, right?" the policewoman asks, she offered Irem and Miran a car ride home from the police station.

"Oh yes, thank you so much! Thank you for all the help too, I'm more than grateful." Irem expressed her thanks and gratitude to the policewoman before heading out the car, carrying her son in her arms.

"You're welcome, I'll contact you to update you on the legal actions on Eren's case and his upcoming trial." The policewoman assured her.

"Thank you again!" Irem nodded with a smile before heading into her home, with just her and Miran for the first time.

The house was undeniably a mess, reflective of being a broken home. It was all up to Irem now to repair all the damage. Not just the damage Eren has emotionally done but also literally the physical damages. He's left holes on the walls, broken cupboards and the broken TV and other things.

There was some shattered glass on their kitchen floor, Irem instantly feared that Miran might accidentally step on them and injure himself. She grabbed the cleaning brush and asked Miran to leave, "Miran, go to your room and sleep, there's glass in here so don't come in. I swear if something else happens to you tonight I'm never forgiving myself." She said her last sentence quite abruptly, not realising she's thinking out loud. She had a headache that interrupted her from clearly thinking.

Miran ignored his mother's warning and ran to throw himself in her arms instead, crying out loud as he finally processed things.  Irem held him tightly "I'm so sorry baby, I'm really sorry about this, I promise you to make sure no one ever hurts you again." Irem assured her child, while also failing to constrain her tears once more.

"I just - I just want you to stop saying sorry. I don't understand why you are saying it because my dad is the one who beat me. He has also beaten you! He should be saying sorry to me and not you!" 

"It's not how that works, Miran. He's not going to be here again, we won't be seeing him again."

"I think that's a good thing. I don't want him, I hate him! I hate him more than anything . I  always hated what he did to you, he always scared me. I want to beat him back, I want to show him! Like this!" Miran exclaimed, throwing punches into the air as Irem chuckled at him.

She smiled at her son, "I'm glad you can be happy about this, I'll make sure you feel safer here now." She patted his head. "I'll find myself a job soon, I'm sure. I'll be the one to buy everything for you. Once I manage things, I'll fix around the house, buy a new TV for us both. But for now, I need you to go and sleep and leave me to take care of the floor, I don't want accidentally stepping on the glass"

"Do you really promise?" Miran asked, doubt in his tone.

"Yes, of course! Trust your mother! You know that I can do this." Irem said with an eager tone, trying her best to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince her son. Her mind clouded with doubts and uncertainties, but she couldn't let Miran see that.

"Well, I want to promise you something too. I promise you I'll do everything to protect you, no one will beat you again like my dad did. I'll  beat whoever dares to try me, I'm going to be a very strong boy!"

Irem chuckled at her son's words, how she truly loved his innocence.

"Why are you laughing? It's true. I love you a lot, like a lot! I'm going to keep my promise! You should believe me too."

"I do believe you, I really do. Now please, go out the kitchen, I'm getting more worried with each passing moment about this glass, I'm dead serious. Shoo, now, will ya?" She laughed as she tickled Miran away, making him run to his room while laughing on his way.

This was going to be difficult for Irem, but she was willing to do all that takes for her son to be happy again, to live in a safe environment. She regrets what happened to her son, but she cannot dwell. It's up to her to start change and rebuild a loving home for her and Miran. For a minute, she wondered if she really had to do that alone, without any help. Soran came to her mind, he was the only other person than Eren that she was familiar with. He visited them every once in a while, he'd always be sweet towards her. She wondered if she could tell him what happened, maybe he could do something. She knew it's not appropriate to call at such a late time, she hesitated looking at her phone but after contemplating more, she decided to dial his number. "Soran?" She said once he picked up, her voice trembling in nervousness.

"Oh, Irem - why are you calling now? Is there something up?" His voice sounded groggy and tired, his words slurred as he had just woken up from his sleep. 

"Yes, can you - can you come over? I-" Irem's voice continued to shake trying to search for the right words. She already thought this might be a bad idea, that she was being unreasonable by asking him to leave his house at this time.

"Yeah, yeah I can. You don't seem like you're okay with the way you sound on the phone, you don't usually sound like that. I'll be there as soon as possible." He reassured her with a sense of urgency.

Irem grabbed the cleaning brush again as she waited for him, she felt a glimmer of hope that Soran's willingness meant she won't have to do this alone. The sound of the doorbell echoed through the quiet house, and Irem's heart skipped a beat. She hurried to answer it, finding Soran standing there. Soran looked like he had just rolled out of bed,  his appearance dishevelled. His hair was tousled, and he had a half-asleep expression on his face. "Come in," Irem told him as she shut the door behind.

Soran stepped into the house, his eyes scanning the mess. He saw the holes in the wall, the glass on the way to the kitchen floor, the smashed TV screen and the one of the broken lightbulbs.  The sight of the chaos made him furrow his brows in concern, he realised the severity of the situation.

Soran turned around to face Irem, noticing her anxious demeanour and fidgeting fingers. "Did Eren do this?" he asked, gesturing towards the chaotic state of the house.

Irem nodded in response, struggling with what she should say or begin. Soran's hand went through his hair as he paced around trying to think quickly, "Where is he now? First let's get you and Miran away, my car's outsi-"

"He's with the police, I called. We just got back, Miran's in his bedroom." 

"Oh." Soran says as he steps close to Irem, tucking her hairs behind her ear gently. "You did what's right, Irem. Don't think about questioning that for a minute." He embraces her by tightly wrapping his arms around her. 

As lets her go, he looks at her, noticing her hand bleeding. "Oh your hand -" 

"It's from the glass, I was trying to clean the floor. I didn't want Miran to get injured by accident." 

Soran nodded as he reached into his pocket, taking out a medical plaster and some clean tissues. He gently wiped away the blood from her hand before carefully applying the plaster to the cut. He gently holds her hand, "I carry these around in case anything like this happens." He says, his eyes meeting hers. 

"Thank you." She replies, her heart warmed by his caring gesture.

"There's bruises on your arm, I'll bring some bandages to take care of that tomorrow. Why didn't you tell me about this earlier? I would've stopped him, I would've done something." Soran's tone was concerned, his fingertips traced the contours of Irem's bruised arm.

"I should have, I only realised that now." She confessed, her eyes fixated on him.

"I'm thinking the times I visited you, I always provoked him. Did he take out his frustration on you? I'm sorry, Irem. I shouldn't have visit-" 

"It's not your fault, don't apologise for him. Besides, I liked to see you when you came around."

Soran held her face in his hands, his thumbs caressing her cheeks, "Is that so?" He asked, a soft smile forming on his lips.

"I mean it made things seem okay for a short while. It felt nice talking to someone who didn't spend his time making my life hell." She replied, slightly laughing at her remark.

Soran's hand left her face, but their distance remained intimate. "I'll talk with my company tomorrow, I'm sure I can get you a job to work as a secretary or something. Would you want that?" 

"Yes! I need that. Oh my god Soran, you're a lifesaver!" She exclaimed as her face flushed. 

"It's nothing, I'll tell you when they want you to start training. For now if you need anything, any money or help. I beg you to ask me, don't ever hesitate. Promise me?" He insists.

Irem looks at him in hesitation, her fingers scratching her head.

"Hey, I said no hesitation." Soran remarks, making her laugh. She appreciated Soran for lightening the mood. "Okay, no hesitation."

"Have you got a copy of your keys? I'm going to be here more often now." He asked, she nodded and fetched the keys to hand to him.

"I'll clean the place before leaving and locking up. You go to sleep with Miran, you deserve some rest." He told her as he grabbed the cleaning brush.

"Are you sur-" 

"Yes, I'm sure."

Irem nodded, a smile forming on her lips "Thank you." She expressed her gratitude.

As she walked past him to Miran's room, Soran stopped her in her tracks. "Hey, Irem," he called. 

"Yeah?" She moved back closer to him.

"Goodnight." He said, his lips graced her cheek in a kiss. Irem's heart skipped a beat, "Goodnight," she replied, her voice tinged with shyness as she quickly hurried to her son's room.