Dolphin Tale 4

Chapter [12]

Hazel gazed at Sawyer intently. She looked up into his eyes and saw the guilt. The regret. The sadness.

"You lied to me. Sawyer, you lied to me."

Sawyer bit his lip, yet his eye contact with Hazel never wavered for a second. "I never meant to, Hazel. Believe me, I never meant to. It wasn't my fault, it was..." he trailed off as the person whose name he was about to mention walked up to them.

"Hey, guys. So, what did Phoebe want with you, Hazel?"

Hazel turned slowly to face Lacie. "You... You caused all of this. All of it!"

Lacie turned to face Sawyer, feigning surprise. "What's she talking about, Sawyer? What does she mean about this being my fault? What did I ever do?"

Sawyer turned to face Lacie furiously. "You happened, Lacie. You happened. Hazel is right. This is all your fault. All of this is."

Lacie folded her arms. "Please enlighten me as to how this is all my fault? What on earth could I have done that was so bad? What on earth could I have done to cause this? I have only known Hazel for less an hour."

Hazel glared at Lacie, angry, though the fire was somewhat watered down by the glistening tears held within her eyes. Eyes holding not just tears, but hatred. Betrayal. Sorrow. "You did the damage ages ago, Lacie. I didn't realise it when I was gone, Lacie, but now the wounds are open and bleeding. Bleeding blood of befuddlement. Blood of realisation. Blood of red-hot fury. And it hurts. It burns. It sears. This isn't just an ordinary cut or scrape that leaves no traces. No, this is deeper, wider, and infected. Infected by you, Lacie. This cut is going to require stitches. This cut is never going to heal properly. This cut is going to leave a scar; an ugly scar that is raised above the skin to serve as a reminder that it is there when I run my fingers over it. And you know why all of this happened? Because of you, Lacie. You are the cause behind all of this. You."

Lacie stared at Hazel, shocked. "Me?"

Hazel bit her lip, hot, angry tears running down her face that had once held so much beauty and happiness, stinging her cheeks. "Let me ask you this, Lacie. How can one person, one person, be the destruction of a bond held between two people? It takes two people to form a bond, but it only takes one person to destroy it. How? And, why?"

Lacie shrugged. "I don't know how. I don't know why."

"Liar."

Lacie and Sawyer both felt shivers run down their spines at the iciness of her tone.

"You kissed him. There is always a motive behind every action, even if it is only discovered after the action is performed. Why? What was your motive? And, how? How did you do it?"

Lacie smirked. "You're right about the motives. I love Sawyer, that's why. As for how? I'm not really sure on that one. It must have my mastermind skills of seduction. Or, maybe it's because Sawyer is as shallow as a baking tray."

Sawyer frowned at Lacie. "Excuse me?"

Lacie rolled her eyes. "Oh, you heard the right the first time, Sawyer. You are as shallow as a baking tray."

"And may I ask how?"

Lacie smiled condescendingly. "If you had been that much deeper, as deep as the main dolphin pool here at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, you may have noticed that I was trying to get you to notice me. I was trying to get your attention. I was trying to get you to love me, Sawyer. I want you to love me. I love you."

Realisation crashed over Sawyer like someone had dropped a ton of bricks onto his head. "You used me. You manipulated me. It was you all along. I never realised..."

Lacie shook her head. "No, which is why you're so shallow."

Hazel glared at Lacie, and this time, no tears watered down the intense fire burning within her eyes. This time, she was furious. She was incensed. "You manipulated Sawyer. You used him. You, Lacie, are an evil, manipulative b---"

"Calm down, Hazel," Sawyer said as calmly as he could.

"How can I, Sawyer? She kissed you. How can I calm down?"

By now, their heated argument had attracted a multitude of stares. In fact, nearly all of the guests were staring at them, and even the DJ had taken off his headphones to listen in.

Lacie glanced slyly at Sawyer out of the corner of her eyes. "But Sawyer didn't pull away. You didn't pull away from me, or push me away either, did you, Sawyer? You enjoyed it."

One by one, Sawyer felt the planks in the bridge snap. Planks in the bridge that he and Hazel had built together. A bridge that they thought would last forever.

"Sawyer...? Is that... true?"

Sawyer closed his eyes, unable to look into Hazel's eyes. Eyes that held so much beauty. Eyes that held betrayal and sadness. "Yes. But, Hazel, I can explain."

Hazel gaped at Sawyer. "Explain what? What is there to be explained?"

"I love you, Hazel. I love you so much. I have always loved you, and I always will. Please, understand. This was just a mistake. A stupid mistake. I was stupid to let this happen. Everyone makes mistakes during their lives; some mistakes are worse than others. This was one of the worst mistakes I've made, and I'm sorry for that. Forgiveness is key, Hazel. Will you forgive me?"

Hazel sighed. "I don't know. I was looking forward to coming back home. I was looking forward to coming back to Clearwater Marine Aquarium." She shook her head sadly. "I guess I should have just stayed on the water for a longer period of time and taken more time to experience the beautiful sights. We altered course so that we could come back early, you know. I guess I should have just let you two have some more time together, though."

"Hazel, it's not what you think!"

Hazel shook her head. "What should I think, then? Just forget it."

"Hazel, please. I swear I'll explain everything. I'll do anything. Just give me a chance."

Hazel took one last look at Sawyer, her eyes as cold and piercing as an icicle. "Sawyer, I want to give you a chance. I really do. But I think that, right now, Lacie is willing to give you more chances than I am, right now." And she turned and walked off.

Sawyer stared after her, his mouth hanging open in shock. He felt as though his heart had been ripped into two pieces. He felt like he was broken. He felt shattered. And the worst bit was that it was irreversible; nobody would ever be able to fix it.

Because when Hazel had walked away, she had taken a piece of his heart with her.