The Coffee Date

Chapter 24 - Meet Us

Her auburn eyes looked up, locking with the side of his face.

"She is the perfect partner for me, and whether you like it or not we're working together."

He scoffed. "Nathan, you aren't understanding." He shook his head, Nathan's already thin patience wavering. "She--"

"Don't say another word about her."

His father, for the first time Hazel had seen in her life, stood silent in shock. Dumbfounded at the audacity his son had to stand up to him, to refuse him to continue his words of hate against the people or things he loved.

Nathan was standing up for himself and, somehow, that wasn't expected.

Nathan ran a hand through his hair, messing it up more than the outburst already had. "I think you need to go."

He slipped away from his spot at the table, his father mirroring his actions and bitterly following him to the door.

"We'll return to the office when we're good and ready to."

"Nathan, I think--"

"Goodnight."

The door slammed shut.

There was silence. Followed by him crumpling against the door and sighing in defeat. His back lay flat against the entranceway. His head lowered to study his shoes. His eyes closed in exhaustion. His hands limp in dismay. Yet again, a battle won that he felt like he had lost.

He took a moment, collecting himself and the turmoil that wracked his body before he glanced up, searching the room for his ray of light. But he couldn't find her. Instead he found a bundle of clouds.

She stood before him, hands grasping her napkin tightly in her fists, squeezing them, allowing her fingers to shake with raw emotion. Her head was downcast, but he could tell her eyes were open. Her body was still, yet pale. She was in pain.

"He's right, you know. About me."

Nathan stood upright, pushing himself off of the door in astonishment. He had never heard her speak such a way before. So harshly about herself. She seemed genuinely upset and infuriated with herself, despite doing nothing wrong. His father had a way of doing that to others.

"I am weak, I am shy, I am..." She hesitated, her voice catching. "Worthless to you guys." She finished, sighing quietly. Her sigh was weak, almost as if giving up on holding back the pain that dwelled beneath her surface. Instead, she turned and started towards their bedroom door. She moved quickly, but compared to how fast she would normally walk she was slow. It was the defeat. The hatred. Like anchors on her feet.

Immediately, he ran after her.

He reached out, his fingers brushing against her arm, tugging against the delicate skin and pleading for her to pause.

"Haz..."

"He's right!" She screeched. Her voice loud, as if her patience had snapped like a twig producing a screech of desperate agony. "I'm not good enough for you guys." She groaned, her hands working up to her hair. "For anyone!"

His heart broke as she spoke and shattered completely when her arm removed itself from his grasp. She reached forwards for the doorknob of their room, hoping to distance herself as she allowed herself to break. Maybe she could gather her things. Brace herself to completely break from his life. The life she so enjoyed being apart of. A life she didn't belong in.

A swell of courage filled in his chest, a moment of realization, of acceptance. He spoke. "Haz, I meant it when I said you're the perfect person for me."