Dolphin Tale 3

Bonus [1]

**Sawyer's POV**

I've been stabbed. Not physically, but metaphorically, yet it still hurts. It hurts like a real stab wound, and it feels like my heart has stopped. I was stabbed in the heart by her departure. Stabbed, and left bleeding, with nothing to patch it up with. Nothing to compensate for the sense of loss, or the constant ache in my heart. Nothing. Not even the world's best surgeon could stop the pain. No amount of stitches could close the gaping wound. No amount of painkillers could wash away the immense pain. And no amount of pretty, smart, hilarious girls could ever compete with Hazel Haskett.

Everyone at Clearwater Marine Aquarium just goes about their business like it's a normal day. But, I know that they're missing Dr. Clay and Hazel. They're even missing Reed. We're missing all of them.

And it's only been two days.

If this is what two days feels like, then what is two weeks going to feel like? What about two months?

As they all say, the show must go on, but without Hazel and Dr. Clay, the energy just seems so low. Phoebe and Kat have been working tirelessly to keep Clearwater Marine Aquarium on track, and I help them as much as I can. There's not much I can do, though. I would do the paperwork, but I'm not a legal adult yet.

I stared at my pen, willing for it to start moving. I was trying to write a letter, and as they said, the beginning was always the hardest, but once you began, the rest came naturally.

Dear Hazel,

I miss you. 

Why did you have to go? I know this sounds incredibly selfish and self-centered, of me, but why? If you hadn't gone, we would be cleaning the pools together, or painting the walls, or just chilling out. Everything is so different without you. I wish you could come back, right this instant, but I know that you won't.

You've left me with a broken heart, Hazel, and only you can fix it; not super glue, not stitches, and not sticky tape. You. But you're gone, and I'm left to deal with the pain on my own. The pain of longing, of regret.

Yes, I regret letting you go, but that's just my selfish side coming out again. Sometimes I scold myself for talking you into going, but I know, deep down, that you'll enjoy it. And, besides, it's not everyday that you go and get to see the world. I'll admit that I'm jealous of you. I want to see the world, but I know that when you get back, you'll inform me of all the wonderful sights you saw, and those scary nights when the sea seems like a relentless monster, tossing the boat around like a little toy. You'll be my eyes, Hazel, and I know that you'll make what you saw ten times, a hundred times, on thousand times better than they actually were, and I won't mind. You can exaggerate as much as you'd like to, and I won't mind. You can be my eyes, Hazel. Be my eyes, my ears and my nose. Tell me everything about your journey when you get back and I will drink it all in.

You've left me with a constant ache, and it feels like there is something in my heart that makes it seem so heavy. The ache isn't just any old ache from a sprained ankle or wrist. It's physical and emotional. I wake up every morning with this ache, and the last thing I feel before I drift off into the bliss of sleep is this ache. The ache will, most likely, stay with me until you come back and fill it's place.

Two days have passed, yet it feels like two years. Two agonisingly long years. Imagine what two months would seem like, let alone three to four months.

For the past few years, you have rebuilt my heart. But now, it feels like it has shattered once more. Not as shattered as it used to be, but still shattered. I need you, Hazel. I need you to come back and repair my broken heart. I need you to come back and soothe my aches.

I need you to come back, Hazel, because I love you. I love you so much. Don't ever forget that.

Everyone seems to say that when the distance between a couple becomes greater, their relationship is due to end soon. You many believe that, but I don't.

This may be the end, but it's only the end of a chapter in our love story. There are many more chapters to come; chapters that are yet to be written and published. Chapters that might have to be rewritten and edited along the way. This parting is just a comma, or perhaps a semi-colon. This really isn't the full stop in our love story. This isn't the epilogue. You know how I know? Because most love stories end with, "They lived happily ever after," or something along the lines of that. Our love story hasn't ended yet, Hazel, I know it. 

I don't really think this is the end, Hazel. No, I believe that this is only the beginning of a story that could fill one-hundred, two-hundred, maybe even more pages as it is written.

Most stories begin with, "Once upon a time," so here's our beginning.

Once upon a time, there was a boy who finally plucked up the courage to tell a very special girl that he loved her. That boy was named Sawyer Nelson. The special girl was Hazel Haskett.

"I love you, Hazel," said the boy.

And I do love you, Hazel. I love you so much. Thank you for letting me into your life. Thank you for everything.

Love,
Sawyer

I stared at the letter that I had just written. I stared at the slanting letters that made up my words. The words that made up my sentences, and the sentences that made up my letter. I had no idea how I was going to give Hazel the letter, but one thing was for sure...

I loved Hazel Haskett, and I was sure that she loved me. This segment of our life was just the beginning of a long story that had yet to be written. Just the beginning of a story that had yet to be published.

Our love story.