Page 43 of Hazel and Elijah Find Out: First They F*cked Around

It was The Sterling Show, as Ransom and I had dubbed it when we were kids. He was telling stories and cracking jokes, and we were his avid audience and hecklers. We were about to enter into one of my favorite tales about the time he’d gotten a terrible sunburn on some unfortunate places. Ransom and I shared a shake of our heads, but Sterling wasn’t deterred.

My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out of my pocket, expecting a text from Hazel. Instead, it was my mom.Is Hazel okay?

Concerned, I lost the ability to breathe for a moment.What happened? Why wouldn’t she be okay?

Pastor Lou did a service on the auction. They just posted it to the community page.

“Shit.” I groaned. I remembered being the “inspiration” of sermons given by the pastor of my dad’s church. Even if Lou didn’t call anyone out by name, the town was small enough that everyone knew who he was talking about.

They had known it was me, and his personal vendetta against me, when he’d pounded on the pulpit, warning all of the young women to guard their virtue from serpents in the grass.

He had sway in this community—even more than my dad—and I knew firsthand how he could ruin a person’s standing.

It’d happened to Mom, too. I didn’t want her to think Hazel would be alone the way Mom had been.

I’ll make sure she’s okay. Thanks for letting me know, I texted.

“What’s up?” Sterling asked.

“Pastor Lou did a service against the auction, and there’s a recording. That old bastard.”

“Fuck.” Ransom’s face typically rested at stern, but it turned dangerous with the slightest twitch of his mouth.

Pocketing my phone, I didn’t bother searching for the video. “I gotta go find Hazel.”

“Yeah, man. I’m texting my sisters for help to turn the narrative. I’ll get this fixed up.” Sterling looked down at his phone as he typed out messages.

“Thanks.”

I drove to the clinic first, where her car was parked in the lot. There was still a half hour before close, so I walked through the front door.

Relief washed over Nora’s face when she saw me. “She’s in her office. She made me come out here, or I’d be back there with her.”

I could practically see Hazel telling Nora she was okay, and Nora should do the closing tasks.

“Yeah, I get it.” I walked through the door between the lobby and the front desk.

It only took a few long strides down the hallway to get to her. The doorknob for her office wasn’t latched, and I pushed it open. She had her hands pressed to her chest as she sucked in deep breaths. Her eyes were wide and watering when they landed on me.

“I’m fine.” She gasped.

“I know.” I didn’t argue with her as I took a step closer, prepared to hold her or give her space, depending on what she needed.

“I’m fine,” she repeated.

“Yeah.”

“It’s just they’re…” she had to stop to catch her breath before she continued, “saying so many things about me. That I took advantage of your dad. That I’m sinful and disloyal. That I can’t be trusted because of the company I keep, but like, what the fuck does that mean?”

Me.

Did she really not know? Or was she sparing my feelings?

“It’s fine, baby. Just breathe. I know it feels terrible, but it’ll pass. Just breathe.” I held my arms out, and she fell into them. Holding her, I rocked back and forth, making shushing noises. Her tears leaked onto my shirt. Little by little, her lungs filled with air—expanding a little more with each inhalation. “Good job.”

“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered into my chest.

“Keep doing what you’re doing. It doesn’t feel like it now, but this community is changing. This bullshit might not be eradicated, but you’re not alone. And that alone is progress. Sterling, Bet, and Lola are already on the defense for you. Hell, my mom told me about all this. She was looking out for you.”

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