Chapter 2 - Hazel

Hazel POV

“Hey, mom”, I say as I close the door behind me. Mom has been in the hospital for the last three months. I am still trying to figure out a way to pay for the bill because her insurance sure as hell doesn’t cover the stay she needs.

“Hello, my love”, she says, smiling. She has a little more colour to her face today. Her eyes scan me as I  take my coat off, revealing my waitress uniform. My washed-out yellow dress with the blue apron on top. She scrunches her nose, and I giggle.

“I know, mom, but I need the money”, I say before sitting on the edge of her bed. I have always been close to my mom, and having her here is slowly killing me. I would do anything to swap places with her if I could. She used to be the life of the party. She would dance and speak loudly. I miss having her put loud music in the flat and dancing in the middle of the kitchen while she cooked.

“How have you been, baby?” she asks as she rests her hand on top of mine, offering me a small smile. We go on and on, talking about my day and how I had to refuse service to a handy old man. He thought that just because I was serving him coffee, it gave him the authority to touch my ass. Luckily my boss witnessed and kicked him out.

“You need to be careful when you finish late, " Mom says, and I nod. I know she is right. There are so many creepy people around New York. And the commute home takes me more than one hour to the Bronx. What can I say? That’s where I grew up, and I know my way around.

“Amelia, it’s time for your medicine, my darling”, the nurse says as she walks into the room. “Oh, hello Hazel, how are you, sweetheart?” she asks. I smile, telling her I am good. Tired but good. Between school, work and coming here every day, I have barely any time to sleep.

“Do you want a ride home?” she asks, and I am not stupid. I will take it because she lives just down the road from me, and it would save me some money on the subway. I nod my head thanking her.

“I just need a couple of hours. I will meet you at the entrance in two hours, okay?”, she says right after giving my mom her medicines and leaving us alone again. Mom starts getting sleepy, as she usually does when she gets her medicine, and I kiss her forehead and decide to go out and try and find somewhere to eat. Hospital food, besides being dreadful, is super expensive. I put my coat on and walk down the corridors, and I see the most gorgeous man I have ever seen. He looks disorientated and looks like he is struggling to breathe. I take a deep breath and approach him.

“Are you okay? Do you want me to go get the nurse?” I ask as I see him breathing heavily. He shakes his head slightly and slides down the wall sitting on the floor and resting his head against the wall. He looks so lost and damaged. I wish I could do anything to help him.

“Deep breaths, come on, inhale in six, come on, one, two, three, four, five, six”, I tell him, and I can see him doing everything I am telling him to, “Hold it in in four, one, two, three, four, and now exhale in five, One, two, three, four, five”, I tell him as I remember the exercise the psychologist told me to do to try and control my panic attacks after what happened to me in school.

His breathing starts to improve, and his colour comes back, he is so beautiful with deep green eyes and light brown hair, and he is tall. He towers over me. “Feeling better?”, I ask him as I offer him my hand, and he takes it. I help him up, and I am surprised at how tall he is. He should be around 6’4 foot or something like that. I am small, very small, and I reach not even his shoulder at an excruciating 5’5 foot.

As soon as his hand touches mine, he pulls away as if he is sickened by touching me. Great asshole. My coat is opened, and he can see my uniform. Maybe he is allergic to poor people or something like that. I pull away from him, and he nods his head.

“Thanks”, he says, and I can’t place his accent, but it is beautiful and melodic. I nod as he walks away from me, “I have to go. Thanks again, " he says. I didn’t even ask his name, but that’s probably for the best. I don’t need the distraction, and he sure as hell didn’t seem interested. I have been single my entire life. I decided in high school that boys were a waste of time, especially after what they did to me. I close my eyes momentarily and come back to the present. I close my coat and walk out of the hospital, trying to find a diner to get something to eat.

As I order my food, that man doesn't leave my memory, it’s like he has taken over all the space I had left and claimed it as his. I shake my head, looking at my phone as I scroll through my social media. I can’t get involved with anyone. I need to focus on getting the bills paid and on finishing school. I am studying to be a nurse, it has been my dream since I was a kid, and after mom got sick, it made it even more sense. I see the work the nurses do and how they are so important for my mom’s recovery that I want to make someone else’s horrible experience in a hospital less horrible and more bearable.

The food arrives, and I start eating, but those green eyes keep coming back to my memory. I shake my head again as I try to keep them off of my mind, and I get startled when the chair in front of me moves, and a massive man sits. My entire body stiffens, and I can feel my legs shaking.

“Hazel, how lovely to see you here, little bird”, Pavlov says, and I swallow dry. I put my fork down and put on a brave face raising my head high. I look him in the eyes and smile, pretending not to be afraid.

“Pavlov, what can I do for you?”, I ask, and he smiles, grabbing my fork and stabbing a couple of fries and shaving them into his mouth. Mental note, get another fork. Scrap that, and get new food.

“I need you to fly to Chicago, little bird”, he says, and I shake my head. I am not going to Chicago. There’s no way in hell.

“I can’t, my mom…”, I start, and he raises one finger to his lips, signalling me to stay quiet. I close my mouth as I stab my nails into my legs to keep myself quiet.

“It seems like you think you’ve got an option little bird, you are going, and this is what you will be taking with you”, he says passing me a folder. I grab it and shave it straight into my purse. People are already looking at us because of his abnormal size, and he passes me things like that making it look worse than it is.

“When am I going?”, I ask resting both my hands on the table, and he smiles as he keeps eating my food.

“Tomorrow”, he says as he stands up, throws money at the table and walks out.

“Lovely to see you again”, I whisper under my breath as I rest my head between my hands and close my eyes, trying to steady my breathing.

“Are you okay? Do you need us to call the cops?”, the waitress asks as she approaches me. I shake my head, offering her a smile.

“I am so sorry, no, I am okay, that was just my uncle. Sorry if he is so intense”, I say, and she nods her head looking at the plate with only some leftover food.

“You can take that”, I say, and she nods her head, grabbing the plate. “Thank you”, I say, leaving the hundred dollars he left on the table and walking out. I need to get out of here, I need some fresh air to try and calm my nerves down because I can’t have Hannah noticing anything is wrong because that would only put her in danger.