Page 32 of Unexpected

Replaying the scene in my head and the terrified way she scurried inside their house, I unlocked my phone. My thumb hovered over her name, ready to dial her number, but I waited.

I didn’t want to make this worse. I didn’t know what happened, but I knew hearing from me—or God forbid, if Michael saw “Neighbor” flash across her phone screen—would do just the opposite of what I was hoping to accomplish.

I quickly gathered my belongings, said “fuck it” to the work I planned to finish, and sped home. Pulling into the driveway, I felt some relief when I saw that Michael’s car was still gone. He’d left after I’d gone to work the day before, and I didn’t think he’d returned.

Hazel’s white jeep sat alone in the driveway and with the knowledge that they didn’t ever use their garage that was packed to the brim with old furniture, I didn’t give it a second thought before jumping out of the truck and striding over to her front door.

I rang the bell, then felt the need to knock as well against the wood door. I nervously shuffled my weight from one foot to the other and peered through the glass in the door, waiting to see her. I wasn’t leaving until I saw that she was okay with my own eyes.

After thirty seconds passed with no answer, I knocked even more urgently a second time. I prepared myself for the possibility that Michael may have answered the door even though his car was gone. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, so I decided, if he did answer the door, I’d do whatever was necessary to make sure Hazel was safe.

I raised my hand to ring the doorbell again when Hazel stepped into view. At the end of the entryway, she stood frozen, staring at me with a deer in headlights look. My eyes roamed over her face, down her exposed arms, and although I couldn’t see much from a distance, it didn’t look like she had suffered any new injuries. When she didn’t move, I waved and smiled.

She shook her head. Confused by her response, I nodded. This happened twice more before she rolled her eyes, folded her arms over her stomach and opened the door.

“What are you doing here?” she whispered.

Finally able to inspect her closely, I noticed her red-rimmed-and-swollen eyes, but that appeared to be the only issue. She was still beautiful, but I couldn’t get past the obvious outward signs of her sadness.

“Luke,” she said my name harshly. “You need to go.”

“I just wanted to check on you. You haven’t responded to me, and I’ve been worried since you disappeared yesterday morning.”

“Okay, well, here I am. I’m fine. You can go now.” She tried to shut the door, but I stuck my hand out and stopped it.

“You don’t look fine.”

She scoffed, “Thanks for that, but I am fine. Now, leave.” Her words were harsh, but I saw her chin quiver slightly as she backed away.

“I don’t think you’re actually fine. Hazel, please tell me. Did he hurt you?”

Her eyes went wide once again when I bluntly asked the question that had been stewing for the past few weeks. She softly, ever so slightly, shook her head, but it wasn’tbelievable.

“Don’t lie to me, Hazel. I can’t help you if you lie to me.”

She peered over my shoulder and glanced around for a moment. I thought she was going to say something before she reached in her pocket and pulled out her phone. She groaned and the quivering of her chin became more prominent.

“You have to leave. Please, Luke.” She was at the point of begging, which was alarming since I’d never heard Hazel do anything close to begging.

“Angel…” The pet name I had started calling her slipped and she shook her head violently.

“Do you want to help?”

“Yes.”

“Then I need you to leave.”

“No. That’s not going to help you. I—”

She opened the door wider and stepped toward me. One of her shaking hands landed on my chest. It was the first time she’d voluntarily touched me, and her hand felt so tiny against me. She had to have felt my heart attempting to beat out of my chest as she crowded me.

Reflexively, my hand found her hip, urging her not to move away too soon.

“Do you…” She trailed off for a moment, lost in thought. “Do you want to help? Do you… really care?”

I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “Yes,” I whispered.

I watched her mouth as she bit her bottom lip, hard. “Then please, if you care about me, leave.”

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