POV: Mason
After I woke up from my nap, I got a call from Hazel's Mom.
"Hey Momma,'' I said, not looking forward to the conversation ahead. "Mason, you didn't respond to my text last night and I got an email from her teacher this morning saying she wasn't at school. Care to explain?". She sounded mad, and it was only going to get worse.
"Before I do, you have to promise me you won't freak out ok?'' I said, hoping this wouldn't be as bad as I thought. "I'll try, but I make no promises." She said, less mad, but more impatient.
"Yesterday after school, there was a fight in the parking lot. Hazel was not injured but the fight was about her so she was pretty worked up about it. I'll explain more about that in a minute. The point is, we both fell asleep then Jackson and Taylen came over and we started watching a movie. They left, and then my dad came home," I paused, reliving that night in my mind.
"I'm still listening." She said, waiting for me to continue.
"He was drunk," my eyes started welling with tears. "and when he gets drunk, he gets abusive.'' I said, my voice shaking. "Mason, oh my God" she gasped, worried.
"He only does it when no one is home, but since Hazel was here, he hurt her, to get to me.'' I said, sobbing now. "I tried to protect her, I promise i did!'' I said, all but yelling into the phone.
Tears were cascading down my cheeks and running down my neck. "Mason, honey, why didn't you tell me? I would have done something about that a long time ago!" she said, more worried than angry now.
"I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want my mother to know, but she left 2 days ago. he blamed it on me, which is why he started hurting me in the first place." my voice was nothing but a whisper now.
"I'm on my way right now! I'll be there as fast as I can!" she said, quickly, hanging up the phone. I let it drop to the bed, and put my head in my hands, trying to stop the tears from flowing but they wouldn't stop.
I felt like Christina in that one episode of Grey's Anatomy, when she couldn't stop crying and yelled "somebody sedate me!". remembering Hazels laugh as we watched that on the couch together made me smile. She always seemed to make me feel better even if she wasn't here.
Around 10 minutes later, I heard a knock on the door. I looked up to see Hazels mom, her eyes full of worry. "I'm so sorry Momma," I said, the tears starting to form again. "I did everything I could! All I wanted to do was protect her, but it just made it worse!"
She walked over to me and embraced me in the biggest hug I could've ever imagined. She stroked my hair saying things like "i'ts ok Mason" and "i'ts not your fault" and my favorite one "She's going to be ok".
After a few minutes of this, there was a light knock on the door. We both turned to see the same nurse from earlier. "Hi," she said cheerfully. "You must be Hazels Mom?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, my name is Amy." she said, calmly.
"Hi Amy, I'm Pheobe", she said, holding her hand out and holding mommas. "Let me tell you, this one over here." she said, pointing a finger towards me, "has been asking nonstop how Hazel is, or if there are any updates, or things like that." when she had finished, they both looked at me, smiling.
"That's my boy" momma said, putting a hand on my cheek. "speaking of, are there any updates about Hazel?" she asked, her smile faltering. "Yes actually, that's why I came here. She is out of surgery and is in recovery. Now, she'll be asleep for a while, and there is a chance she won't wake up, due to brain damage, but we'll just have to see as time goes on. Let me just warn you, this won't be easy, for her or for you, so we have to be strong and supportive of her, ok?"
She just told us that Hazel may not wake up. She may have brain damage. I don't know what I'd do if I never heard her laugh, saw her beautiful eyes, never watched another Grey's Anatomy episode, or had a sleepover where we talked all night. Never had another car concert with our favorite radio station, never got to see her graduate. I don't know what I would do if she never woke up.
Or if she didn't remember me. I might never be myself again.
Phoebe led Momma out of the room to do some paperwork, leaving me there to overthink about everything.
I looked at the clock, seeing that it was already after 2:30 meaning school was out, I texted Jackson
Me: hey bro, come to the hospital, I gotta talk to you.
Jackson: already on my way. Taylen is coming too.
Waiting for them to get here was like waiting for paint to dry. It felt like it took forever. finally, I heard a knock at the door. I looked up and saw two friendly faces poking in the door.
"It's about time you guys get here!" I said smiling. "dude, you look like shit" Jackson said. He pointed to the Mirror in the bathroom and I saw I had a black eye, a swollen busted lip, a purple bruise on my jaw, and my nose was partially crooked.
"Good to see you too I guess" I said, punching him in the arm. The movement sent pain down my right side, making me wince.
They noticed this and asked the infamous question "What happened?". I told them the same story I told Momma, but left out the part they already new. "Oh my God, mason, why didn't you tell us?" Taylen said, almost sounding disappointed.
"I didn't think it was that bad, until he started hurting Hazel." I said, looking down in my lap. "I know what you're thinking, and it's not your fault, '' she said. "I just feel like I could've done more," I said, shaking my head.
"You did everything you could, and I bet you that was good enough for her." She put her hand on my shoulder. Another knock at the door caught all of our attention. It was Phoebe.
"More friends of Hazels?" she asked, gesturing to the other two people in the room. I nodded. "Alright, well you'll have to take turns, but she's stable enough now to have visitors." She Smiled.
My face lit up like a firework. She had the same nurse as before with the wheelchair, bringing it to the bed so they could take me to her room.
"You guys coming?'' I asked when I saw they were not following. "No no, you go ahead, have your moment, '' Taylen said, sweetly. I looked at Jackson and he just nodded with a wink at the end.
Once we got there the nurse stopped me outside the door. "What you might see might be a little shocking at first. She looks worse than she actually is so keep that in mind." she said, before opening the door.
As I got closer to the bed, I barely recognized her. Her eye was swollen and black, with a purple and blue bruise on her jaw. Her head was wrapped in gause. She had a tube stuck down her throat and had wires everywhere and her IV was in its usual spot on her hand. There were so many machines in her room. I recognized most of them because of the show, but some of them were new.
"You can get closer and hold her hand if you'd like, '' the nurse said from behind me. I just nodded and she pushed me right beside her. I slowly reached my hand up and gently grabbed Hazels, in fear of it breaking.
She looked so peaceful, and yet she had been through so much trauma in the past twenty four hours. "I'll leave you two alone for a little bit. If you need me, just press that red call button on the remote by her bed" she said pointing to it. "Thank you" I said, gratefully.
"Hey, Haze, it's me, Mace. I'm here." I know she probably doesn't hear me but I still want her to know. "I've been really worried about you, ya know. I'm pretty sure the nurses are annoyed by me asking so much.'' I chuckled.
"Jackson and Taylen are here, and so is your mom. We're all here for you". I didn't know what else to say, so I just laid my head down on her bed. I stayed like that for a few minutes before saying "I wish I could've done more to help you. Please don't hate me", I was about to let go, and went back to my room when I felt the slightest squeeze in my hand.
"Hazel?" I said, looking at her. Her eyes were still closed but I felt her squeeze my hand. "Do it again, just so I know it wasn't a muscle spasm, and that you're really in there," I said, getting excited.
It took a minute, but I felt it again. It was still weak, but this time it was longer. I pressed the red call button and had the nurse come in and check her out.
She said there were enough brain waves that she would wake up, only time would tell when. I shouted with joy and couldn't stop smiling. "I knew you could do it Hazel!" I said standing up and kissing her forehead. I had the nurse go to her mom while I went back to my room to tell Jackson and Taylen the good news.
Before I went in I heard them talking, "He knows she's not going to wake up right? After what he told us there's no way she'll come back from that" Jackson said, emphasizing words here and there. "Don't say that, Jackson! you and I both know she's a fighter and she'll make it through this" Taylen said confidently, while smacking his arm.
I'm glad at least one person believes in her.
"She's right, you know," I said , pushing the door open.
Jackson's face paled and his eyes grew wide. "Mason, you weren't supposed to hear that." he said, defending himself. "And you're supposed to be her friend." I snapped. "What do you mean, 'she's right'?" Taylen asked, pushing away from her boyfriend.
"While I was there, she squeezed my hand. She's going to wake up, despite some other negative opinions." I said, directing that last statement towards my so-called best friend.
"Oh my god, this is great! Did the nurses tell you when" Taylen said excitedly. "They said time would tell, meaning it could be from hours, to weeks" with that, I looked down and played with Hazels Charm bracelet.
I'd kept it with me since the nurse gave it to me. "Are you sure you didn't imagine it?" Jackson asked, cautiously.
"Yes, Jackson, I'm sure. Hazel is in there. You weren't there to see it because you were too busy here bad mouthing her!" i nearly shouted, getting a concerned look from Taylen.
"If you're not going to believe in her, then leave. She doesn't need anyone's negativity." I said, walking out to find Hazel's Mom. I found her in Hazel's room, rubbing her thumb on her cheek.
"Hey Momma, did you hear the news?" I said quietly, so I wouldn't startle her. "Yes, hun, I did, and I'm so glad to hear it" she said smiling. But it was a pained smile.
"The doctors didn't tell you this because you were too excited but she said even though she could be waking up she might have amnesia." She said, slowly, giving me time to process what I just heard.
Amnesia? Like memory loss? Not Hazel. I won't believe it. She's still in there, I know it. The dorky, beautiful, fun, smart, kind, adventurous Hazel was in there, I just know it.
Some days later
It had been almost a week since Hazel squeezed my hand. I visited her every single day, telling her anything and everything. She's always been a good listener, even if she was asleep.
They discharged me 3 days ago, saying I was strictly on bed rest and to take it easy when moving, or driving. I didn't really go home, so I just stayed in Hazel's room most of the time, and so did Momma.
They told me that it would be best to stay out of school for the rest of the week, which I was fine with. We were already behind in so many things, and I didn't want to go back without her.
I also didn't want to face the people who would start talking about it, and spreading untrue rumors around.
I heard a faint knock on the door. I turned to see Taylen, but no Jackson behind her. 'Thank god' I thought to myself. I didn't want to talk to him right now. I had enough going on.
Taylen walked over, sitting on the opposite side of the bed I was on. "Hey," she said quietly. "Hey," I said back. I didn't really know what to say since we never really talked without the other two.
She grabbed Hazel's other free hand. "I'm sorry I haven't been here a lot lately," she said, either directing it towards me, or Hazel, or both. "I just can't stand to see her like this," she said, looking into her lap.
She looked better than she had a few days ago. her bruises turned from a deep blue and black, to a lighter yellow and green. Even still, she was beautiful. She still had the tube down her throat helping her breathe, just until she woke up. The bandage on her head was still there, but it was less wrapped like last time, exposing more of her blonde hair. There were less wires connected to her body, and a few of the machines had been taken away.
This meant she was definitely getting better.
"I know it's hard, trust me, I still think this is all my fault." I said, rubbing my thumb over the back of Hazel's hand. "But I still believe in her" I whispered.
We sat there in silence for what seemed like half an hour, when it was really only like 10 minutes. "You know what she would say if we were in her position right now?" Taylen asked, giggling a little bit. I looked at her funny, which she took as her cue to continue.
"She'd say -" she stopped. "What?" I asked, slightly concerned. "She just squeezed my hand." she mumbled but I still heard her. She looked at me, with a look of shock and hope combined.
I smiled. "I hate to say I told you so but..." I said, with a cocky tone. I didn't get to finish my sentence though, because I felt her squeeze my hand too. "Oh my God, she did it again!" I exclaimed.
I high fived Taylen, and sighed happily. I watched as her eyes started to flutter. "We need to get the nurse!" I said loudly. "You go, I'll stay with her just in case!" She said, using her free hand, to shoo me out of the room.
"Pheobe!" I called down the hall, seeing her walk past. "Hey, Mason, whats up?" she said, slightly confused. "I think shes waking up!" I shouted, even though she was less than a foot away from me.
Her eyes lit up, and she ran with me back to her room. "Alright, you two will need to wait out here, until we can make sure shes fully aware and all." She said, ushering Taylen out of the room, and blocking my entry.
She closed the door, and we sat in the chairs outside the room. "I can't believe it." I said, not being able to control my excitement. "I can't wait to be able to see her beautiful smile, hear her adorable laugh, and hug the life out of her" I said more to myself than Taylen, but she responded,
"I can tell you really love her, Mason. anyone with eyeballs can. So why don't you just tell her?" She said, placing a hand on my forearm. "Secause I know she doesn't love me back. And if I told her, it would ruin our friendship and I never want to lose her, so i just have to suck it up.'' I said, looking at her.
She had the same look Phoebe had when I told her, but Taylen was more sympathetic. "I'm sorry Mason," she said, taking her hand away and looking at her shoes.
The door opened and Phoebe stepped out, leaving the door cracked a bit. "Alright you two, you have to remember, she's still very sore and has been through a lot. Need I remind you, she may have some spotted memory for a little while. For example, when we asked her if she remembered what happened to her, she couldn't fully remember, so keep that in mind ok?" she said, pushing the door open wider.
"Miss Hazel," she said with a smile. "You have some Visitors!". She waved us inside and I couldn't help the huge smile that was plastered on my face.
As soon as we made eye contact she said "Who are you?"
Hazel is awake!! Bet you weren't expecting that though. don't worry, it'll get better in the next chapter i promise :)
Edited Feb. 7th 2023