CEMRE DENIZ
Twenty-Eight. chef at Villa Vitale.
sister. cousin.
cresthill meadows.
• • • • • • • • • • GIRLS LIKE ME ARE CHAOS RIGHT DOWN TO THE CORE // L.H.Z
With almost anything in life, Zeynep was used to taking care of things herself, but that was especially true with her younger cousin. Her brow lifted as she watched Cemre leaning over to watch her cooking, hand lifting to make a shooing motion. "If either of us needs a night off cooking, I'd think it would be you," she pointed out. In reality, she wouldn't mind the break herself, but the last thing Zeynep would ever ask for was help. "Do I have any wine is the most hurtful question you have ever asked me, for the record. I have a few bottles up here and several hundred down in the wine cellar if you have something specific in mind."
Cemre sighed when she was shooed away, but reluctantly moved away from where Zeynep was cooking and took a seat at the island. "I like cooking. Personally it's very relaxing to me." Seeing other people cook for her though was stressful to say the least because she didn't want to burden them. Tucking her hair behind her ear as she laughed at Zeynep's words. "My bad. I should have known better in a house like this." She was still in awe of Zeynep's place in general, her kitchen was stunning to say the least. "Nah, I'll drink whatever, Italy only spoiled me some. It couldn't take the box wine out of me." She admitted teasingly knowing that the wine she would have tonight was far better than anything she ever probably bought herself. "Where is it? I can at least make myself useful and pour us two glasses."
He stood there in a bit of shock; he had no idea he would see her again. "Well," he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I came back to New York... a while ago." It was just better off to let that all go, then try and track her down after he got back. "Sure," he chuckled. He didn't mind her looking at his Instagram; he knew he checked hers time to time. Hearing she had family here too, that was wild, but how life worked sometimes. "I got a job at the steakhouse here, and my sister has her family here, so I wanted to come around." Well, it was just his sister and husband. Now, his sister had a baby, it was growing and changing. "But how are you... settling in?" Eh asked, hoping she was doing well still. @cemrexdeniz
“I’m sorry I probably should have just avoided you, just heard you talking and well instantly knew the voice.” While she wanted to stop herself from talking she couldn’t help but ramble on. Knowing it was just simply the nerves of seeing someone who she’d once been close to both physically and intimately. It had been a long time since she’d even considered letting anyone in. “I promise I don’t.” Adding a laugh of her own. Tucking her hair behind her ear as she listened to him with a smile creeping up across her lips. “That’s amazing congratulations!” She responded cheerfully. “Courtney right?” Recalling his sisters name from conversations they’d had about family. “She had a baby though? Wow. That’s crazy.” Hearing about a baby actually pained her slightly and reminded her of setting on the bathroom floor and praying that their pregnancy test was negative. Shaking off the thoughts as a chill ran down her spine, she shrugged. Knowing that she had to put on the façade of always being happy so that way people didn’t see the pain she was constantly feeling. “Good. I got a job at Villa Vitale and I’m staying at the Inn for now. I’ll probably look for a place soon since Fatma and Zeynep are here.” @sebastianxthomas
He did love to shop at farmers markets, he got food for the restaurant he was working at at times, but mostly for at home. He was goind from booth to booth getting what he needed and looking at what was offered. He had a bag at his side already full of a few veggies he had picked up. He didnt see a lot of people from his past around town, since he was from the East Coast and now lived on the West Coast. Feeling the tap, he figured it was a friend, but here was part of his past. "Cemre..." he turned to face her. "It's been a while," he said with a nervous smile. "Yeah, same here. I've been here a year or so now." he moved here for work and to be around his sister. @cemrexdeniz
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” She remarked with a teasing laugh before adjusting the bag on her shoulder. “It has. I didn’t even know you were back in the states.” She admitted, then realized how creepy it sounded and put a hand to her head. “I don’t stalk you or anything just sometimes you pop up on my instagram feed….” Trailing off her ramblings as she realized she was making this worse. “Anyways—“ Changing the subject as she nervously rocked back and forth on her heels of her shoes. “I see. Well I’m here now too. My family needed me so…” Trying to not delve too much into Fatma or Zeynep’s personal lives since she wasn’t exactly sure how small this town was or if people gossiped. “I guess we’ll be seeing each other around for a while.”
Cemre hated being a burden to her family, so instead of being one she had decided to walk back to her hotel. On the way back to her tiny room though she saw a park and strolled through it. There was something about an empty park at night that was almost sad, knowing it was once filled with laughs and cries from the people around town. Taking a seat on the park bench, she closed her eyes as she imagined the park once full.
It wasn't until she heard footsteps behind her that panic set in. Reaching for her pepper spray that was on her keys, she stood up. "Stay back or you'll get it." Holding up the blue pepper spray to show she was serious. Turning to look at the person coming up, she hadn't ever seen them before, which granted she only knew a handful of people, but still. "Are you a serial killer or something? Cause I promise I'll fight."
"Are you sure you don't want me to cook?" Cemre asked as she leaned against the counter top in the kitchen. While she wasn't use to giving up the kitchen especially when it came to cooking, she was trying her best to not take over. Scratching her arm nervously as she watched everything closely. "I mean really you should get a night off." It wasn't that she hated other people cooking for her. just it was the simple fact that she knew she could help and she hated being useless. "Also do you have any wine? I feel like that might take the edge off."
All Cemre knew was that Fatma had separated from her husband and that it was time to be there for her family. So she'd left her life in Italy and showed up in Kismet. While it wasn't exactly where she'd planned to end up, family was most important to her.
"So..." Trailing off as she picked a couple dresses off the rack in the closet and put them on the bed. "Do you want me to leave the hangers on these or just fold them?" Asking clarifying questions to make sure she was doing this right for Fatma since the last thing she wanted to do was add stress. "Also Altan won't be coming home any time soon right? Cause if I need to pack faster I can." She wasn't apposed to just throwing it all in boxes if need be and helping her sort it out later.
Cemre was still adjusting to the relaxed pace of Kismet Harbor and how different it was from the places she had called home, but for right now this was her new home. Her family needed her, a part of her needed them too even if she didn't want to admit it. Mostly because after all these years she realized how truly loney she's become, but most of it was due to her own doing. Since getting attached to people was a liability, she'd been there enough times to know people always let you down.
As she smiled and handed over the cash for the fresh tomatoes she'd bought she heard a familiar voice in the area. One she hadn't heard in many moons — Sebastian. Turning to look and she saw the familiar dark hair at the stand behind her. Taking her tomatoes as she walked up behind him and carefully tapped him on the shoulder with two fingers. "Long time no see, Stranger." She hadn't seen him since he had left New York other than occasional looks at his instagram. "Never thought I'd see you here."
Hande and Berk Deniz had always wanted to have a big family, however the thing about plans is they never go as expected. For years the two struggled to get pregnant, after they had their first child it felt like a weight had been lifted. However, when they tried for a second they were met with miscarriage after miscarriage, with even doctors warning them that this wasn’t health for Hande. However, they still didn’t stop and eventually Hande fell pregnant for the last time with Cemre. As they got near the due date, things had started to look up, until the contractions started. When Hande was rushed to the hospital they found out the baby was breech and that they would have to do a C section.
However, as the two went into surgery everything proved to be more complicated than they had originally planned. After hours of surgery the doctor came out to inform Berk that while his wife hadn’t made it, he did have a healthy baby girl now that needed him. In that moment the hospital was filled with soul crushing screams, that would forever haunt those walls. While Berk was happy that he had his child, without his soulmate though it meant nothing. For weeks he tried to pull it together for his daughters only to fail miserably to the point his and Hande mothers showed up. Both of them sat him down and advised him that the best decision would be to move back home near their families so they could help raise the girls. Berk was reluctant at first, but by the time Cemre was six month they were in the car heading back to San Diego.
Life in San Diego was different with both sides of the families involved, it allowed Berk to step back and to fully grieve. While the family was more than willing to help, Berk took full advantage disappearing almost completely between work, the bar, and other women he found along the way. Most of Cemre’s earliest memories involved her grandparents and not her father, to her he was just some man that sometimes appeared, but as the girls got older the less they saw of him. It didn’t matter how much that Cemre cried or tried to impress him, the fact she had killed Hande always was a dark cloud looming over them. By her 10th birthday Berk disappeared completely saying that he couldn’t do it anymore and just needed a fresh start, Cemre and her sister watched from the window as he drove off in a black car never to be seen again.
Life without her father should have rocked her harder, but things had barely changed in Cemre’s eyes, if anything she had gained more freedom, she could finally stop trying to force her father to love her. Instead she started to branch out more, even joining different school activities and getting closer to her cousins to the point they felt like her actual siblings too.
By the time she turned eighteen she was thriving or at least pretended to be. While she had the grades with a scholarship to prove it, something felt like it was still missing. However, she knew that her grandparents would never understand why she would want to track down her father, so instead she lied. Saying she was planning a road trip across the country for her graduation gift, instead she tracked down her father with the help of Facebook and her online detective skills. Driving all the way to Florida, where she found him playing outside with three little kids. In that moment her heart broke, while he never could be there for them, here he was completely involved with his new family. For days she debated going back to scream at him over leaving them, but as she sat in her motel room, she knew she couldn’t and that she wouldn’t be defined by one man’s choice for the rest of her life. So she got back in the car, finished out her cross country trip, then came back like nothing had ever happened. Vowing never to tell another person what she had saw.
When college rolled around Cemre picked the same college her mom had went too, in the hopes that it would make her feel closer to the stranger who had given birth to her. Unfortunately though she didn’t get the closure she was hoping for, in fact she felt like a fish out of water at school. Her grandparents had poured into her education though and giving up wasn’t an option. So despite being miserable she stuck it out and after four years she eventually finished with a bachelors in English and Communications.
Reality came at her fast, Cemre did what was best for and moved to New York City on the promise that she’d made it. Hoping to find a job at a magazine or in publishing, but she with met with reject left and right. With both her grandparents getting too old to support her, Cemre took multiple jobs bartending and as a waitress. However, she constantly found the kitchen calling to her. While she made more money with tips there was something about it that she loved and reminded her of cooking at home with her grandmas.
The first day she stepped into her new job she was met with Sebastian who was also in training with her. Off the bat the two took an instant disliking to one another, but there’s always something between them. After one bad shift and a bottle of wine, they explored that something. However what was suppose to be just fun, turned serious when Cemre missed her period. Thankfully though it was just a pregnancy scare and not an actual baby, leaving both of them relived. Rather than continue the hook up the two parted ways as Sebastian went to culinary school in Paris. It wasn’t the relationship that inspired her though as much as seeing him follow his dreams.
For the next year Cemre applied to different culinary school around the world. It wasn’t until she got into her dream school in Italy that she found her new adventure. Staying in Italy for the next few years while she went to school and got a job at a local restaurant that was down the street from her apartment. While she was content for a while being away took its toll on her and something still felt missing. Maybe it was being away from the only family she knew, or the fact that she doing exactly what her father had all those years ago. As she started looking for places back in the states her grandma called with news of Fatma’s divorce. Knowing that her family needed her more than ever and not wanting to be like her father she packed up her things and hopped a plane to Kismet. While it was a culture shock to say the least, there was more familiar faces hanging around than expected, Cemre is determined to make a life for herself here.
