AGE( it is just a number)

Pure love

Writer PoV( Princess Juliet )
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With a broad smile , Rebecca climbed up the stairs to Hardin's room
Reasons, she was extremely happy that Hazel was no longer in the mansion, it gave her Joy to see Hazel being kicked out of the house ..
"Now I can have Hardin to myself". She muttered, grinning like a fool
opening the door, she walked in to meet a shocking sight , the same Hardin she was planning on seducing was sprawled up on the bed smiling to himself as he held to his stomach
She rushed to him and squatted in front of him
"Sir Hardin". she called as his eyelids drooped close
She became alarmed! She was confused
What is going on? What will she do? She wondered, as she looked around the room for a hint and that was when she saw it , the empty bottle of sedated drugs laying on the bed ; immediately the realisation hit her, Hardin is  trying  to end his life.
    her skin tingled in fear , her eyeball bulged out in disbelief
    Why? Is he already dead? no, it can't be , I need to get help!
   She straightened up and dashed out of the room ,scurrying down the stairs and Luckily, she found the driver Zuma in the sitting room ,talking to the cook.
      "Zuma, you need to come with me upstairs". she begged with a trembling voice and Zuma exchanged look with the cook
    He was confused, what could be possibly wrong? he wondered
     Opening his mouth, he was about to ask questions when Rebecca blurted out
    "Sir Hardin is dead"
   "Dead!"he repeated to be sure he heard right and Rebecca whimpered
    "Just come with me"
  with a heavy heart , he followed behind her as she led him into the most beautiful room he has ever seen
    But there was no time to admire, the young master was laying helplessly on the bed , breathing faintly
      he sighed in relief ! there is still hope
    Quickly , he lifted the " sleeping kid" in his arms and ran all the way to the garage , Rebecca and the cook followed behind him.
        "Open the car door". he instructed Rebecca and when she did
    he placed Hardin gently in a lying position at the back seat , closing the door ; then faced Rebecca
    "Call the madam to inform her about this , tell her  i will be taking him to the family hospital"
    Zuma Hopped into the driver seat , started the car and drove speeding off  to the family hospital, Ontario hospital . And as for Rebecca , she rushed back  to the sitting room, picked up her phone from the sofa  to dial Mrs Castillo number.
  
                          Camilla Castillo
   
    The sound of my pulse racing beat in my ear, blocking all other sound as I drove to Hardin's school .
     I was lost  worrying about my son change of behaviour this morning .I mean he agreed with my suggestion last night , why then is he acting all reckless? why did  he fight with a classmate? Why did he run away from school?
  My phone suddenly rang and I glanced sideways to check out the caller and noticed it was Rebecca....
   I sighed in frustration, ignoring it
  I bet he is at it again .. well! She will have to endure till I get him another "personal maid "
  But can anyone ever be like  Hazel? I doubt it , she is such a sweet child .....too bad! She  is the daughter to Peter Dakota , the Cop officer my son murdered.

  I soon got to the school and drove into the compound , parking out in front of the administrators block ; then I alighted from the car and walked straight to the principal office .
    As usual , I walked in without knocking and saw the principal seated behind the desk , resting his head on the table..
Just so you know , he and I have been friends since high school.
"Daniel" I called him by his first name ,tapping the desk gently as I sat down opposite him
He jerked his head up and quickly composed himself
"Erm erm Camilla". he rubbed his eyes . "when did you get here?"
"Not quite long". I answered, leaning back on the sofa chair
"Good". he cleared his throat and gave me a serious look
"I called you here because of your son rude manners today "
"Is it about the fight?"I asked calmly
"Not only that , He also disobeyed me". he half yelled , banging his fist on the table and I flinched in fear
"It is just too annoying that I can't do anything to him" he added
I smiled . "Thanks Dan for considering our friendship"
"It is not that". he shook his head. "Hardin brilliance performance in the inter school maths challenge gave this school a good name . Your son is a genius and I don't wanna take chances"
I smiled proudly
I wasn't surprised at all, he has always been a brilliant kid , but his anger issues is way out of it .
"So is there any other complaints about him?"
"None that I have heard off". he simply answered
" Okay then". I stood up . "I guess I should be on my way"
He nodded . "don't forget to discipline that rude annoying brilliant son of yours"
I chuckled lightly. "I will"
Smiling , I left the office and headed for my car.

I opened the car door just in time to hear my phone ring
I slid into the driver seat and reached for the phone to check the caller and it was still Rebecca.
I received it
"Ma". She rasped , breathing hard and I became alarmed
"Are you alright? Did anything happen? Did Hardin hurt you?"
"No ma!it is Hardin, I have been trying to reach you but you weren't picking up"
"Hardin!". I half yelled. "what happened to my baby?"
" He took an overdose of his sleeping pills and Zuma rushed him to the family hospital"
"Over dosage! Family hospital". I panicked and let my phone dropped from my hand
Sucide! No way it can't be! It really can't be! I tried to calm down and when i did , I stepped on the brake and drove speeding to Ontario hospital.
So many things were running through my mind
Why will Hardin ever think of killing himself?is it because of Hazel? Does he love her this much?
"Damn". I banged my fist on the steering wheel
Hardin past is tormenting him and he really needs me, but can I handle this on my own? I don't think so, I need to let his father know ..
Quickly, I connected a smaller phone to the car speaker and dialled Dave's number .
      He picked up on the third ring
"Hi Camilla". his baritone voice rang through
"Dave! It is Hardin , he is at the hospital". I said in a rush , tears rolling down my eyes
"Hospital! Why? Is he sick?"
"No". I shook my head. "he tried committing sucide . What am I even saying? I don't even know his condition right now". I screamed in the phone
"You have to Calm down Camilla, yelling wont solve anything". he stated and yes , he was right.
   "where are you now?"he asked calmly
"On my way to the hospital"
"Good! I will book a flight right now , I will be in Tacoma before dawn tomorrow"
"Okay Dave". I sighed in relief
"Just Stay with our son , he won't die". he assured and ended the phone call.
"Of course, he won't die". I repeated

In what seems like forever, I got to the hospital and parked out in front
Alighting from the car , I ran in like a crazy woman
"Where is my son?"I yelled to no one in particular and Zuma who was seated at the reception rushed to me
"Madam , Come have a seat first". he tried to hold my hand, but I slapped his hand away.
"Where is my son?" I repeated and charged blindly towards the emergency ward , but a nurse was quick to block my path .
"You can't go in ma, the doctor is still attending to him"
"Will he survive it ? Please talk to me , will he survive it?" I yelled , bursting into fresh tears
She opened her mouth, about to say something when the door to the emergency ward open and the doctor came out of it , sweating
I rushed to him , whimpering
"Doctor! how is my son? Is he alright?"I asked , holding my breathe as I waited to hear his answer
"Yes Camilla". he answered and I exhaled deeply in relief
"but he is still unconscious at the moment"he quickly added
"Unconscious! But why?" I queried
"That is because he took in a full bottle of sedated hypnotic and do you know what that means? If he had been brought here a minute late, he could have lost his life"
"Oh God!"
He continued. "I suggest you take the kid for Therapy, he really needs it"
"Alright Doctor, but erm can I see him?"I asked , hoping he would say yes and he did
"But don't touch him in a rough way" he warned .
I walked slowly to the emergency ward and entered to see Hardin laying helplessly on the bed , two drip inserted into his body .
I sat beside him as i caressed his pale face.
"Please wake up honey , Mum is here and will never abandon you again". I snuffled  . "and so you should know, I visited the prison countless of times every month but was just too ashamed to see your face because I knew I failed you . I always watched you from afar and seeing you smile was the only reason why I kept on moving....
I love you so much baby and will always love you"

Hazel Dakota

It has been two days , two whole days of pains , tears and sleepless night yet Hardin hasn't called nor message and to sum it all , his number wasn't even going through
Where did I go wrong? Did I offend him in anyway? I repeatedly asked myself this same questions but got no answer.
I was hurting, I was the shadow of my former self and all I did was to cry , cry and cry.......

Tossing on the bed , I tried to take a nap but couldn't as my mind was in a bad state
"Hardin! Hardin! Hardin" I kept on muttering till I broke down in tears.
"Oh God" Alexia who was laying on the floor exclaimed. "Is this about him again?"
   "Yes". I nodded truthfully. "I am sorry but I don't think I can forget about him"
She heaved a sigh and got off the floor , sitting beside me
"I understand you sis, but remember you made a promise to mum never to cry again". She reminded, wiping the tears off my face .
"So please don't cry again"
The door suddenly opened and my mum walked in
I quickly composed myself , faking a smile
I couldn't let my mom see my tears, it will hurt her.
"What are you girls doing?"She asked, looking at Alexia and then at me
"Hazel is assisting me with my assignment". Alexia lied and picked up a big textbook from the floor
"Yes i am assisting her". I repeated , nervously as my mum deep blue eyes bored into mine
"Are you sure about that?"She retorted . "or are you still crying over that teenage jerk who made you this way?" she clutched her fist tightly in anger
"No mum, I will never do that". I lied and she exhaled deeply, sitting beside Alexia
"Better". She stared down at Alexia book and frowned
"but this is way too much". She queried. "how can a 13 year old be learning about this?
I looked down at the book to see what she was making reference to
"Ways to prevent pregnancy" . I read out and my heart skipped a bit as the memory of the last sex I had with Hardin flooded in .
I lied to him so he wouldn't stop as I was in the mood! I never fixed any birth implants!
What if I ..... no way! It is not possible, it can't be possible.


Hardin Castillo

I was not frightened nor was I afraid ,what I felt was beyond such mere nouns as I stood facing two men on black .....
"How could you be so reckless Jayden! how could you?".the first man who was fat yelled at me
"I am sorry!"muttered , playing with my fingers shyly
He scoffed . "sorry! Will that change the fact that you dropped your school ID in the crime scene ?
"But It was not on purpose , it happened because I was damn scared".I defended myself and he huffed
"Oh! Really! will you tell that to the police when they come knocking at your door "he said sarcastically
"And why would they". I retorted. "I didn't commit any crime! I said with a shrug and he laughed loudly
"You are so naive Jay!are you too dumb to know that the police will start an investigation with that fucking ID card?"
"Then I will tell them I didn't kill the man"I insisted and that was it , the man flared up
"Shut up Jayden! who do you think will take the blame for your fucking mistake? Is it him?" he pointed to the second man , who was tall and lanky
I slowly shifted my gaze to the second man and met his gaze
His face was bloody and his clothes were soiled with blood
"No Jayden , he can't take the blame for your mistake". the fat man finalised and I looked at him confusedly
"But he is the one who killed him?"I stated and the tall man scoffed
"Let me handle him bro"he said to the fat man and then faced me
"Jayden boy! You know how much I cherish you and in return, I will need you to do something for me"
"And what is that?"I asked , fixing my gaze on him
He stared at me for a while and then asked
"how old are you?"
"14 going on 15". I answered
"Good! You are still a kid so the law won't be harsh on you and moreover you have rich parent who can help you out"
I stared confusedly at him , what is he trying to say?
"I want you to take the fall for me". he blurted out and I took two steps backward in disbelief
"You must be crazy man".I yelled and he smirked
"Of course I am". he agreed , grinning mischievously as he continued. "I am sure you saw the way I dealt with the woman who tried to steal from me last week , I raped her mercilessly and then handed her to the other boys to use"
I swallowed hard , Why is he telling me this? I thought within
And as if reading my thoughts, he said
"That is the way I will treat the bitch you call a mother if you dare refuse"
My heart raced in fear and I was paralysed on the spot
My mother! No , I can't allow that , she is my everything!!!
"Please don't , leave my mother out of this". pleaded and he chuckled
"No, I will treat your mother differently, I will kill her once I a....
"I will do it ". I cut in . " I will do anything , so please don't kill my mom
"Good". he remarked and they both laughed "And one more thing, don't tell this to anyone not even your police father or else your mother will pay for your sins"
"I won't ! I won't! I won't ! I won't ". I screamed loudly and jolted up from unconsciousness ...

Opening my eyes, I tried to sit up when I felt a strong hand around me
"Let me go! Let me go". I screamed Loudly
"No son , I won't". a voice said calmly and on a closer look , i realised it was my Dad.
"Dad!" I muttered. "when did you get here?" I looked around the strange room
"Yesterday". he replied and I nodded absentmindedly
"Where am I?" I thought and said aloud
"In the hospital". he helped me to sit
"hospital". I muttered, and the memory of all what happened flashed in my mind .....
Oh God!why the hell did I survive ? I directed the question to myself!
I wanted to help Hazel with her revenge, She wants me dead, I just wanted to help her ...
"Hardin". My dad called softly and I shifted my gaze to him.
"you did all this because of the Dakota girl?"he asked with a cracked voice and I stared blankly at him
"I mean your mum told me all about it , but I never knew it was this serious"
"I love her dad". I said in whispers
"I know". he sighed. "it is very obvious , but does she feel the same way too?"
"I don't know , I really don't know"
He smiled lightly. "We need to fix you up first and believe me when i say , I won't leave your side until you are fully better"

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TBC