POV: Mason
I woke up to whispers and footsteps. I was still on the floor with Hazel curled up still sleeping in my lap. She looked so peaceful. I looked up to see Jackson and Taylen in the doorway.
"Hey man, sorry to wake you, we were just wondering where y'all went after the fight" Jackson said trying to whisper but failing. I carefully raised my finger to my lip to shush him. I checked to see if she was still asleep and started "she blames herself for the whole thing. I feel terrible".
Just then I heard a camera clicking sound and looked up to see Jackson pointing his phone in our direction taking our picture. I glared at him for making so much noise and he gave me a half-assed 'sorry' look in return.
Hazel stirred in my lap and sat up looking at Jackson holding his phone. "guys I told you not to wake her up" I said grumbling. "it's okay" she said moving to stretch out. "how long was I asleep?"
They explained that she'd been asleep about an hour and why they were here. She sounded a bit annoyed when she asked, but I know that's not how she intended it. At some point she got up to stretch some more. It was nice having her so close to me, where I could feel her body heat and her movement when she breaths. It felt cold when she got up.
"So what happened here?" Jackson said, winking at me. I could kill him I swear. "She was telling me about school and we fell asleep" I explained again, leaving out some parts that I didn't think Hazel wanted to share. I knew I was right when she looked at me with a 'thank you' and I nodded.
Jackson asked to watch a movie, his all time favorite, Forrest Gump, and with no objections we started it. Hazel and I sat on opposite sides of the couch while the other 2 cuddled on the love-seat. Sometimes I wished I could have someone to cuddle with...and that someone was Hazel. But she could never know how I felt so I tried being as normal as possible.
Later Jackson and Taylen had to leave and Hazel asked to get something to eat. "Haze, you've been here plenty of times, you know you don't have to ask" I said with a small laugh. "okay" she said laughing too. Something about that interaction seemed off but I shook that thought away.
(⚠️T.W.⚠️)
Hazel had just entered the kitchen when I heard the door handle jiggling.
It wasn't around the time dad normally gets home so I thought it might be Jackson forgetting something. He tends to do that a lot.
But the sound of the footsteps coming in the door weren't his. They were louder and more uneven. I look over and see my dad, in a drunken state looking at me like I was the worst human in history. "I'm home boy, don't just sit there, do something!" he said pretty loudly.
I jumped up quickly trying to put some space between us, putting my hand out just in case he decided to lunge for me. After all, this wasn't the first time he'd done this. Except he always did it when we were alone. This time, Hazel was here to witness it all. Hopefully she'd call the police if anything happened.
"Dad, you're home early," I said, taking another step back. I didn't want to be anywhere near him when he exploded. "Yea, little shit," he spat, using his favorite nickname for me, "I got fired!" he said screaming.
"I-I'm sorry dad" I said my voice shaking, taking a step back. I was waiting for the moment he was going to hit me. I was mentally prepared for it. I just didn't want Hazel to have to see me suffer.
"No you're not! it's all your fault! that's why your mother left us!!" he said, still screaming.
Mom wouldn't leave. She loved me. Why would she leave? "W-what do you mean she left?" I said stuttering. I straightened up, getting defensive about my mother. I swear if he it her...i'd kill him!
"You didn't notice she didn't come home last night?" he said, his voice lowered.
That scared me. He was always loud when he was angry. He was still angry, but he was quiet. this couldn't be good.
"Or yet today? she packed her bags yesterday and it's all your f**king fault!" he yelled, getting louder as he progressed. Throughout his explanation, I hadn't realized how close he had gotten until moments before his fist connected with my jaw. And as I turned, holding my sore jaw, I got another one to the side of the head.
If I wasn't careful I could get a concussion. No more head-shots I told myself. Instead of going for the head, he went for my gut, leaving me hunched over groaning, exposing my back which he hit with his elbow, sending me to the floor.
This was not good. I tried getting up before he could start kicking me but I was too slow.
A kick to the ribs, and gut was about too much for me. More punches to the face, making my eye swell and blood drip from my nose. I was calling out in pain, hoping he would stop but this only made him stronger.
As I was laying on the floor, I saw Hazel step out from the corner of the kitchen. I knew she would try and help, but if I wasn't strong enough to fight back, there's no way she could. I looked at her, hoping she would see the pain in my eyes and have enough sense to run the other way. She had a set look on her face only meaning one thing. She wasn't going to listen.
I nodded my head no, as little as I could so my dad wouldn't turn around and see her. she looked away from me and at the back of his head and sprinted, jumping on his back. She put her arm around his neck in a choke-hold that wouldn't last long, as he clawed at her arm.
Him being an ex boxer, knew how to handle this and bent forward, sending her flying over his head, losing her grip and falling to the floor. hard.
He walked over to where she landed and said "oh, you're going to regret that Missy" he growled. That's the second time someone had said that to her today, and it didn't end well the first time so this was bound to be bad.
Before she could move out of the way he kicked her side, making the most awful sound escape her mouth. I wanted to cry. He was hurting her, worse than he had ever hurt me.
I wish he would have left her alone. It was my job to protect her and I hadn't been doing a very good job of it today. Since he likes hearing people suffer, he bent down and punched the side of her face. she closed her eyes, breathing heavily.
please pass out, please pass out. I said it over and over in my head. Then she wouldn't feel the pain he was causing her.
She was such a little thing, much more of this would have her in the hospital. He just kept going, kicking her stomach, chest, back and her head.
"M-Ma-s-son" she said in between kicks. Just hearing her say my name was like a punch directly to my heart. she opened her eyes searching for me. Damn it, she could feel everything.
I hated hearing how much pain she was in, so I tried getting up, but my whole body protested. locking eyes with her, I could tell she was almost at her limit. My dad, noticing our shared look evilly said "Say bye to your little girlfriend," swinging his leg back, aiming right at her head.
"No!" I shouted as loud as my lungs would allow me, but nothing could have stopped the blow to her head that knocked her out.
I could see blood coming through her blonde hair, making a puddle on the floor beside her. This was really bad. my dad turned back to me with a satisfied look on his face.
"Enjoy your little show?" he said grabbing a fist-full of my hair, pulling my head up, inches away from his face. I could smell the alcohol on his breath. "Maybe the next time you try to ruin my life, you'll remember this day, and make a better decision. You understand that, you little shit?".
"Yes, sir" I said, still out of breath. "Good", he said letting go my my hair and pushing me back to the floor. I laid there for a minute trying to catch my breath, when I heard the door burst open.
"Police, put your hands in the air!" I heard someone yell. Oh good, she did call the police. Thank God. I could see the blue and red lights flashing against the wall I was facing. "We're gonna need two stretchers and some EMT's in here!" another voice called.
"Let me go!". My father. He was being arrested. I'm not ashamed to say I'm glad. I mean look at what he did to Hazel. And maybe even my mother. He deserved to be in jail.
"Help," I said weakly, "my friend, she's lost a lot of blood. Please save her," I said, reaching for her. "We're gonna do the best we can sweetie," a female voice said. "I need you to stay awake. you could have a concussion, and we want to avoid any chances of brain damage." she said, calmly. Brain damage? if I was supposed to stay awake, what would happen to Hazel?!
"What about her?! She's unconscious! couldn't she get brain damage?!". "you don't need to worry about that right now. you need to worry about what you're going to tell the police when they question you, once we get you two to the hospital." The lady said, grabbing the radio on her shirt. "Wheres those two stretchers I ordered? we need 'em, stat!" she said sternly.
A few seconds later, at least 6 paramedics rushed in, 3 with each stretcher. One rushed over to Hazel and immediately started checking her vitals and all the medical stuff they do.
I heard them use words like "bp" and "low pulse" and "O neg IV line". I was so focused on her that I didn't notice they were doing the same things to me. I remembered one thing about Hazel.
She loved the show Grey's Anatomy. I remember hearing some of the things they were saying about us in the show. I knew some things were bad.
They wheeled us outside, and started pushing us in 2 different directions.
"Wait. No! I have to go with her!" I yelled, trying to get off, but my sore body, seared in pain and anger at the sudden movement. "You're both going to the same hospital, we just have to take you in different ambulances," the nice paramedic lady said to me.
"You don't understand, I have to be with her, she needs me!" I said, still fighting to get away. She pushed me down against the stretcher.
"Alright listen, I can tell you care about her a lot but in order for there to be any chance that she makes it out of this, she needs to go, by herself, in that ambulance with some of the best paramedics I know, and get treated. So I suggest you relax," she paused, pushing liquid in a syringe into a pipe that I realized was connected to my IV.
I felt my eyelids start to droop. "what about brain damage? what did you do?'' I slurred, resisting the urge to close my eyes. "and let us do our job. You have to calm down" she finished, as my eyelids betrayed me and fell shut.
end T.W.⚠️
I didn't remember going to sleep last night, but I felt the bed underneath me, sucking me in, like it was going to drown me in the sheets. I tried to adjust my position, but even the slightest movement sent daggers pf pain through my body.
That's when I remembered what happened last night.
My eyes shot open, burning a little at the sudden light in the room. It is morning now. Hazel, I had to find her.
"Hazel!" I called out, my throat was scratchy and my lungs were aching. A few seconds went by and nothing changed. I tried getting out of bed, but that sent pain all throughout my body.
I would just have to deal with it. Everything hurt, as I sat up and put my feet against the floor. When I stood up, my legs almost gave out, making me tense, sending another wave of pain.
I had to find her. That was my only motivation.
I groaned with each step closer to the door. By now, I was starting to get black spots in the corner of my eyes. 'That can't be good,' I thought to myself.
Right as I put my hand on the door handle, it swung open, almost sending me to the floor. "What are you doing out of bed?" a concerned nurse said, ushering me back. "I have to find her. I have to make sure she's ok" I kept repeating that over and over in my head.
"Find who honey? The girl who came with you?" she asked calmly. how could she be calm when Hazel could be dead?! "Yes!" i said urgently. "I need to find Hazel, can you help me?" i asked quickly.
"I need to check you out first, and then I'll go see if I can get some information about Miss Hazel, ok?" she said still ushering me back to the bed. "ok...'' I said. I wasn't going to stop worrying until I knew if she was ok.
Since there was nothing more I could do at this moment, I followed her lead and sat back on the bed. Everything hurts. "ok, I'm going to examine your ribs now. you will most likely feel some discomfort, but I need to check and make sure if they are broken or not. we didn't want to do anything too extensive while you were asleep, so you could tell us what hurt and where." She said while lifting up my hospital gown.
I looked down and saw the ugliest black and purple and blue bruise I had ever seen.
It went from just below my peck, down to my bellybutton on the right side of my body. "oh my god" I whispered. I can't believe my dad had done this. And if this was what I looked like, who knows what kind of state Hazel is in.
"I know this looks bad right now, but over time it'll start to get better." she said, injecting what I assumed to be morphine into my IV. I could feel some of the pain easing away.
"That should help with some of the discomfort," she said slipping a glove on her hand and gently placing it on my stomach. she felt around a little bit, and once she was satisfied, she slipped her glove off saying "All done! were going to send you down for an x-ray to rule out any cracked bones anywhere else and a head CT to make sure there is no brain bleeding."
She was about to walk out before i stopped her. "Wait,'' I called. "yes hun?" she said, sweetly. "you said you'd check on Hazel?'' I said, feeling slightly annoyed for asking so much. "Of course, I'll go do that right now." she said, smiling.
But before she walked away, she stood in the doorway and asked "You love her don't you?" with a lowered voice so no one but me and her could hear. "is it that obvious?'' I asked, half sarcastically.
"Ever since I met her, I knew there was something special about her. And I didn't realize until recently that i liked her. But now I know for sure that I love her. she makes me laugh because of how dorky she is, she's got the most beautiful blue eyes, and her laugh is the sweetest sound you'll ever hear." I said, looking down, my face definitely turning red. "I'm so ashamed that I let this happen to her"
"Oh Honey, this is not your fault. I know you did everything you could" She said sympathetically. "I should have been there to protect her. I can't live without her. She's everything to me" I say keeping my head down.
"I'll bet you haven't told her this either, have you?" she said, leaning on the door frame. "I can't tell her. She doesn't like me like that and I don't want this to affect our friendship." I said, sighing.
"She doesn't know, and she probably never will, so can we keep this conversation between us?" I asked , looking at her. she seemed sad, but shook her head and turned, walking out.
With nothing else to do, I decided to call Jackson. I didn't have my phone with me, so I used the landline, and dialed his number by memory. It rang two times, but cut off, sending me to voicemail. A few seconds later, I called again, but the same thing happened. He must've been busy.
Since there wasn't anything else I could do, I laid back in my bed and stared at the ceiling. There were 2 knocks on the door so I looked over and saw 2 nurses. One was pushing a wheelchair while the other held a clipboard.
"Alright, we're here to take you for your X-ray and CT scan. If you don't mind, just sit here and we'll be on our way.!" she said, cheerfully. I stood up and sat in the chair, while she rolled me out of the room.
I passed so many closed doors and I wondered if any of them were Hazels. "Oh," the lady with the clipboard said, "your nurse told me to tell you that your friend is in surgery right now. they don't know how long it will be, but she said she will let you know as soon as they are." as she said this, she placed a hand on my shoulder, lightly, just in case that was a sore spot.
"Surgery?" I asked, "What kind of surgery?" I asked, my voice filled with concern. "Her head was cracked open from the...incident," she paused not wanting to say that she got abused by my father, which i was happy about, "So they sent her to surgery to make sure there was no brain bleeding or other complications." she said with a soothing tone.
"Also, you can't have any jewelry or anything like that in the OR, so they took this off her wrist." she said, holding up her charm bracelet.
"We figured you'd want to hold on to it until we can give it back." she said, dropping it into my hand. "Thank you, so much" I said, closing my hand around it, holding it to my chest, as if to protect it.
"Of course. we know how you must be feeling right now. We're here for you if you ever need anything" she said, genuinely.
After that, the X-rays and CT scans went by quickly. Once I got back to my room, I got into bed and asked one of the nurses, "Hey, do you know if anyone has my phone? I should probably call her parents." I said, remembering that we left without telling anyone.
"Sure thing," she said, picking a bag up off the floor, "It should be in here." She handed it to me and I thanked her once again.
As soon as I opened my phone I saw I had a few messages.
Jackson: dude, where are you? you're missing school!
Oh shit, I forgot about school. I hurriedly texted him back:
Me: I may have forgotten to mention that me and Hazel are in the hospital...I'll explain more after school.
Scrolling back through I saw one from Hazel's mom.
Momma Amy: Hey, mason! I told Hazel to be back by dinner, but she hasn't come home yet. Is she staying at your house?
I didn't know how to tell her what had happened, so I told her to call me. She was probably at work so she couldn't call me right then but maybe she would later.
I got a text back from Jackson
Jackson: the hospital!? Are you two ok? What happened??
Me: I said I'll explain after school. Just come to the Hospital.
I shut off my phone, setting it beside me on the bed. I reached for Hazel's bracelet and started looking at all the charms. I remember her telling me her grandmother got it for her, and where most of the charms were from. Her grandmother loved traveling, so she tried to get one from every place she visited.
And then there was one from me, a book, with the saying "Life is better with books" on the cover. While I was fiddling with the charms, my eyes grew heavy again and I slipped into a dreamless sleep.
Sorry if this was a really long chapter, but i hope you liked it.
what do you think will happen when she comes back from surgery? leave you're guess in the comments :)
Edited Feb 7th 2023