After the Earthquake

Part 11

Jordan groaned as he made his way down the stairs. It was almost 9 o'clock in the morning, and he wondered why Hazel wasn't up yet. She was an early riser at heart, after all. He smiled happily as he spotted the new locks on the doors. That was sure to win back Hazel's favour... right? He was treating her the best way he knew how, and they still ended up in arguments. The world was truly a tiring place.

A note on the dinner table distracted Jordan, and he picked it up to read it. 'A friend needs my help. I should only be a short while. See you later xoxo.' Surprise washed over Jordan. It was such an odd message, and Hazel was barely even in contact with most of her friends nowadays. He shrugged nonchalantly and assumed she would be back soon. Besides, it gave him time alone to do his own thing.

***

Hazel felt numb. Her tears were still overwhelming her, and she felt a raspy soreness in her throat, likely caused by her long screaming and crying. Should she have been more defiant? Should she have put up a barrier to protect herself? Perhaps not. Her breath was shallow and fast, her head was throbbing, but worse than that was the searing pain in her chest. Was this what hurt felt like? Was this suffering? She didn't want it.

Robinson sat beside her, and she was barely even aware that she was in a car, though this was betrayed by the gentle thrumming noise made by the engine. "I've often heard that time is the best cure. Give yourself some time to think it over." You could tell that he was just as pained as Hazel was by this new revelation.

"Don't worry, Detective, there is not a chance I need to think this through." It took everything she had to prevent her voice from trembling, and she took in a deep breath, wiping her tears from her face. "I can't think of any other way to repay him. He wants this fight? Well, game on."

***

A few hours later, it had reached noon, and Hazel was arriving back at her home, to which Robinson had brought her. Upon glancing down at her hands, she noticed them trembling, and it took an immense amount of strength to stop them from doing so. She took one deep breath in and then let it out. Her hand gripped the door handle, she stood up tall, and confidently pushed her way into the house, shouting a greeting.

Jordan rushed into where the doorway was and clasped Hazel into a warm embrace. She grimaced behind his back. "Where have you been all day? You haven't been answering your phone, and I was worried sick!"

Chuckling awkwardly, Hazel backed away from the hug and told him, "I left a note telling you where I was. My phone ran out of charge and I didn't think. Why were you so worried, silly?" She rubbed her hand up his arm gently, smiling until her cheekbones hurt.

"I know, I know, but I care about you. I want you to be safe." Hazel rolled her eyes as he pulled her in for another hug. Her stomach growled loudly and her eyes widened. "Has your friend been starving you all this time? Who was the friend you saw, anyway?" She realised she had not eaten since the previous afternoon, and she was unbelievably hungry. She groaned and headed for the kitchen cabinet.

"All we have is spaghetti loops here. Remind me to buy some actual food tomorrow. We've been eating too unhealthily since the earthquake, and that stops now." She avoided Jordan's questions tactfully and smacked the tin against the side of a pan, trying to prepare it for cooking. As she placed it on the stove, she noticed Jordan's stare.

"Who called you out so early?"

"Just an old university friend, why?"

"Which friend?"

"It was Wendy... are you feeling okay?" Hazel gritted her teeth as she realised she had chosen the worst name she could have.

"You haven't talked to Wendy in years, and she decides to call you at all hours of the morning for a crisis?" He noticed Hazel's growing frustration, and he took in a breath as though he would have liked to say something else, but stopped himself just in time. "Never mind, my love. I was just curious as to whether you might be meeting other men in your spare time." He winked at her, chuckling.

With a big grin, Hazel hit his arm. "Hey! I have a bit more tact when I'm with those men." Her laugh, as though contagious, passed quickly to Jordan and he gripped her around the waist before tickling her teasingly. For just a moment, things were like old times, but Hazel's face suddenly dropped. They could never go back to then, and she wouldn't allow herself to fall for his tricks again.

She pulled away from his embrace and headed to the dinner table to eat. She noticed Jordan passing her a strange glance, but she did not have the capacity to deal with his torment at the moment. Her eyes met his for a moment and she found herself lost in the trance of his dark eyes. Her world seemed to revolve around those eyes. Those were eyes she had always trusted.

Always. She used the word so lightly. Now, she realised it was no longer the truth. The trust between them had been shattered. "I'm going out," Jordan told her.

"Where to?" The tiny hairs on the back of her spine prickled as she anxiously waited for his response.

"Just the usual – I'll probably take a walk around the block a few times before I return. If you're feeling tired, don't wait for me to come back and just take a nap, my love. I'll see you when I get back." He planted a delicate kiss on her forehead before leaving the room.

"Take care, and don't forget to look after your eyesight." Hazel watchedhim leave and once he was out of sight, she scrambled for her phone. "Yes, Detective? He's leaving now. He hasn't taken the car so he must be picked up by someone or else it's close by." She craned her neck to look out the window and she was sure that he had left the vicinity. She had no idea where he had gone by now.

"Thank you, Miss Anderson, we know. Our detective is trailing him right now. I've got him on another line." He went silent for a few seconds and then returned to the phone. "Drat. He lost him. Don't worry, Hazel, we have your house under watch. At night I've posted a plain-clothes policeman to wait nearby and during the day our detective will be outside, waiting for you."

Hazel frowned. "Which detective have you asked? I don't want to be any trouble."

"Well, actually... and hear me out..." Hazel grimaced at these words. "I've actually sent Detective Leonard to stay outside your house." She gasped at the mention of the heartless detective she had met only a few times. "I know it's unorthodox, and I'm sorry to put you in such an uncomfortable situation, but everything about this division is unorthodox. It was the only way to suitably punish him while still keeping him on duty. He's my best detective, you know."

"Detective Robinson, listen to me. I feel this is greatly disrespectful to me." Hazel found it hard not to be seething about the decision of the detective. "This may be important to your division, but it's also important to me. I want him away from my house immediately."

"Hey, Tears, you wouldn't be kicking me out already, would you?" Her attention was grabbed by a muffled voice coming from near the window. She spotted the ginger detective smirking through the glass, raising his hand in a mocking wave. "Come on, I promise I won't make you cry anymore. It was wrong of me." Despite his apology, Hazel clearly noticed his grin and his tone was as far from serious as possible.

"Get lost. I wasn't talking to you. And one more thing, don't call me Tears." She banged one fist against the glass, hoping to make him jump, but he didn't even flinch.

Scott rolled his eyes, groaning. "Listen here, Tears, if you want to see what your fiancé is actually up to, I'm the best man for the job. More to the point, I'm the only man for the job. Nobody will be able to do a better job than I can. Honestly, I suggest you just embrace our differences and let me stay. I won't bother you."

Hazel could see the sense in what he said, especially if what Detective Robinson had told her was true. Although, she was extremely stubborn, and she didn't want to let him win. "Oh yeah? And prancing about on my driveway is meant to be not bothering me? If Jordan comes back, I'm not making up excuses for you."

"I'm staying, whether you like it or not. You'll learn to love me." With this, he winked and jogged away into the bushes. Just a few moments later, Jordan approached the house and she opened the door warmly to him.

"See? I told you I wouldn't be long. I just needed some fresh air." He entered and spotted her half-eaten spaghetti loops on the table. "Why haven't you eaten? You were ravenous when I left."

"Oh, um..." Hazel wasn't too good at lying yet. "I just got side-tracked. I'll eat it now." She sat down and, realising how truly hungry she was, she gulped down her food as quickly as a wolf.