Page 60 of Hazel and Elijah Find Out: First They F*cked Around

“I’ve got one hundred and seventy-five. Can I get two hundred?”

Linda Hengsbach lifted her arthritic hand from her seat at the front. She was a friend of my grandma’s and had baked the cake for my graduation party. I really adored her.

But my clinic was falling apart—it should have been fixed yesterday—and I couldn’t just back out.

“Two hundred and twenty-five,” I called out.

“Two hundred and fifty,” her weak voice cried out.

“Two hundred and seventy-five.”

The group’s attention had shifted to Linda and me battling it out. She’d switched to ten-dollar increments, so when it was my turn, I yelled, “Three hundred and sixty dollars.”

I hoped the bidding would end soon, since I had a bit more I could spend—but not much. I’d put a lot of my own funds into Echo’s care over the past few weeks, and my bank account was seriously depleted.

She bid three hundred and seventy.

I shouted out, “Four hundred and twenty-five dollars,” hoping it would scare her off.

Her hand lingered at her shoulder, jerked up, then went back down. She shook her head.

“Sold for four hundred and twenty-five dollars!” Ben confirmed.

I punched my fists in the air and jumped before I remembered that I’d just beat out a sweet old lady. Smoothing my hands down the front of my dress, I cut my celebration off early. When I looked up, Dennis strode through the crowd. Everyone was watching me, and their scrutiny pricked at my skin.

His arms went around my waist, scooping me up. I clung to his shoulders—the ground felt very far away. Setting me down, he beamed. “That was exciting!”

I forced a smile to match his. “It was!”

Chapter 19

Elijah

HazelfitwellinDennis’ arms.

And I hated it.

The past few minutes were frayed at the edges. A blur of attention so tightly focused on me—giving me flashbacks of being loved by this community, only to be shunned by it. I wanted my quiet corner back. I wanted Hazel back.

Then… the adoring expressions around me turned pitying as she bid for Dennis.

I clenched my jaw tight, grinding my teeth. I’d told her she could bid for work she needed done. But even as my rational brain spoke reason, my gut twisted.

They looked good together. That was the kind of man she deserved, not someone like me. Not someone who couldn’t do the work she needed help with. Not someone whose own father couldn’t love him.

Years of therapy whispered,That’s not your fault.

I’d been a wounded, unloved child begging to be seen. But I wasn’t that kid anymore. I’d worked through my shit. If she chose Dennis over me, that didn’t make me undeserving.

It was a struggle to relax the anger from my body.

“They’re cute, aren’t they?” Lily looked up at me through her lashes as she took hold of my bicep.

“Excuse me?” My expression must have gone too sharp because her hand dropped from my arm.

She lifted her chin, and I could practically see her incoming barb. Whatever she was about to say, she was aiming to hurt. I remembered this back-and-forth from when we dated in high school, but I didn’t have to do it anymore.

“Excuse me,” I repeated, moving away from the conversation. My first step took me toward Hazel, but I hesitated before taking the next. She was still with Dennis. They weren’t doing anything inappropriate—he’d taken a step back, and so had she—but it was him. And despite how much I wished it wasn’t true, I felt threatened by him.

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