Page 22 of Unexpected

“What? I fell trying to replace a light bulb outside last week. I landed straight on my back on the concrete.” It sounded a lot like an excuse, but what proof did I have that it wasn’t actually an accident as she said? I had none, that was the problem.

I had my suspicions, odd bruises on her body and shitty texts from her fiancé. Sadly, none of it amounted to much compared to what I was on the verge of alleging.

“When does he get back?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them, and then heard what sounded like the garage door opening behind me.

Hazel’s eyes went wide, and I could finally clearly read her expression: full-fledged fear. “Fuck,” she all but whimpered. Her eyes darted around in a panic, and she tried to shove me toward the back door. It was the closest exit that didn’t require passing the garage to leave.

But it was too late. The door leading from the garage into the house closed and her fiancé called her name. He rounded the corner into the living room where I stood just behind Hazel and a large armchair missing the cushions.

“What’s going on?” The accusation was clear in his voice.

“Michael, you’re home!” Hazel said cheerfully, replacing any trace of the fear from just a moment ago.

She crossed the room and flung her arms around his neck. Michael accepted the hug but didn’t return it. His eyes were still locked on me as they had been since he first walked in.

For the first time in the years we’d lived next to each other, I saw him up close. He was the blond-haired asshole I was expecting and not much else.

Finally, he hugged Hazel back, running his hand down her bruised spine. I narrowed my eyes at him as a smile split his smug fucking face. I ran the odds of me beating his ass in my head as he kissed her cheek. Even after a flight, he was wearing an expensive suit and his hair was perfectly styled. I decided my odds were good.

“Hi, baby,” he whispered. “Who’s this?”

Hazel pulled back from him and looked my way. She didn’t make eye contact, but said, “This is Luke, our neighbor. He came by to ask if he needed to mow our yard and ended up helping me fix the coffee table.” Her words were sweet but measured, like she was choosing them carefully.

“Mm-hmm. How neighborly of you,” Michael said with a sly grin still plastered to his face, narrowing his eyes at me.

“No problem,” I responded, looking back to Hazel, hoping she’d finally look at me. She looked everywhere except at me.

“Well, if you don’t mind,” Michael began before kissing the top of Hazel’s head and pulling her closer. The movement was too aggressive, and I tensed. “I haven’t seen my fiancé in more than a week, and I’d like to greet herproperly.”

What he was suggesting was clear, but I was hesitant to leave. To leave her there alone with him. Finally, Hazel looked me in the eyes. “Thanks for your help, Luke.” She dismissed me and her eyes were as steadfast as her words.

A mask firmly back in place. Or was I seeing something that wasn’t there? Did I see abuse in every relationship now?

I knew I couldn’t stay but leaving was harder than expected. In my experience, if she left her situation, it had to be her idea. It wasn’t the time to confront either of them, so I balled my fist and headed to the door.

“Bye, Hazel,” I said before closing the door behind me and praying there were no new bruises the next time I saw her.

ELEVEN

Luke

Like the psychoI had apparently become, I cleaned up the front yard and sat in my room waiting to see something of Hazel or her fiancé, but the blinds were closed. If they were in there, I wouldn’t have seen it anyway.

The trick-or-treaters began ringing the doorbell just after five that night, so I sulked into the living room, where I planted my ass on the couch with a beer.

I did my best to not think about fuckface (which was his actual name in my book and an upgrade from douche) or the fact that I had no other choice than to trust Hazel and leave her alone with him. Every part of me wanted to rush over there and pull her out of that house. His grip on her was aggressive as he tried to mark her as his territory earlier. He might as well have pissed on her instead.

I needed to do something, but I knew if I did anything in that moment, I would likely make it worse for her. I hoped he’d be careful with his actions, knowing I was right next door. There was no way he’d missed the warning on my face. But the last thing I wanted was to make it worse, so in the interim, I needed to find a distraction.

The constant trick-or-treaters were enough of a distraction for a while, but by nine p.m., most of them were high schoolers who were probably too old for the shit anyway. After I answered the door to find the third kid, who was about as tall as me, wearing street clothes and a boring-ass “scary” mask, I flipped my porch light off and hunkered down with Sadie.

I searched for a scary movie, but nothing sounded like it would hold my attention. I went back toThe Exorcistand turned it on for my hundredth viewing. During the movie, I declined three calls from an unknown number which served as another distraction. They left no voice mails, so I chalked it up to kids playing games, prank calling people on Halloween.Normally, I would’ve answered and fucked with them a little, but I wasn’t in the mood.

My phone began buzzing again, and I was about to chuck it across the room when, to my surprise, Hazel’s name began scrolling across my phone screen. It was past eleven, and my pulse began racing as I hit the green button as quickly as I could.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Josh.” My brother’s voice bellowed on the other end of the phone. I did a double take, looking back at my phone to make sure it was Hazel’s number. He was obviously calling from the bar based on the loud thumping music in the background.

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