𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓, 𝐡𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐧

ten.

      THE GIRLS were all hanging out at Hazel's, trying to cheer her up. Josie and PJ weren't there, obviously. Hazel's face was covered in bruises and cuts and bandages. She was lying on the couch, watching TV without really seeing it. Her head was resting on Peyton's legs who was gently stroking her hair. They were watching Pirates of the Caribbean - Brittany had chosen the movie - but Hazel had barely said a word. She seemed really demoralized by everything that had happened.

      After the movie, the girls left one by one until only Peyton and Sofia remained. Sofia looked at her watch then at her cousin.

"It's late. We should go, Pey."

       The blonde nodded and Hazel got up to follow them to the front door. Peyton turned to talk to her before they leave.

       "Call me if you need anything, okay?" she told her with a caring look.

       Hazel smiled softly. "Thank you."

       Peyton smiled and ran a finger over one of the brunette's cuts. Sofia waited patiently by the door, watching them.

      The blonde gave Hazel a gentle smile. "See you tomorrow. Get some rest."

      Hazel nodded. The two cousins ​​left the Callahan house and got into the car. Sofia was driving. As they approached Peyton's house, her phone rang. She frowned when she saw the unknown number and picked up. "Hello?"

      "Hey, Peyton."

      "Allan. I blocked you for a reason. You're not supposed to call me with any other number."

      "I just wanted to check in on you. Ask how Hazel is doing." he said and she could hear by the sound of his voice that he was smiling. And not a kind or caring smile.

      Peyton felt the ground open beneath her feet. She had just understood. She knew Allan, she knew what he was capable of. Deep down, she already knew the answer, but she asked the question anyway. "Allan... are you the one who asked Tucker to beat up Hazel?"

      She heard a laugh. "I told you when you broke up that I wasn't going to let you go like that. And I always keep my promises."

★

      The weekend passed and on Monday, when Peyton saw Hazel in the hallway, she knew what she had to do. The brunette still had a few bandages but her wounds had started to heal.

       "Can we talk?" Peyton walked up to her.

       Hazel gave her a surprise look at the tone she used. "Uh, yeah, sure—"

       Peyton grabbed her arm and pushed her in an empty class room. She closed the door behind them and looked at the Callahan girl. "Allan is the one who made you beat up."

       "What—"

      "I know. He's fucked up." the blonde took a step towards the other girl to look at her. "And I am so sorry it happened. I didn't know he would go that far. I should never have asked you to pretend to be my girlfriend, if I hadn't it wouldn't have happened."

       Hazel's eyes widened. "No, that's not your fault."

       Peyton shook her head. "The thing is, I think it's better we stop. He called me this weekend and I know what he's capable of now and I don't want anything bad to happen to you again. I'm going to tell Sarah in my history class that we broke up. She's the biggest mouth of the school, everyone will know about it by the end of the day."

      "But, no, we don't have to do that— If we pretend we broke up, Allan will start bothering you again." Hazel said.

      "But if we don't, he could come at you again and I won't let this happen. I won't." the blonde shook her head. "We can still be friends, but I think it's better if we keep some distances in public, just so the breakup is credible."

       Hazel's eyes were full of pain. Too much pain for what was supposed to be a fake relationship. "But—"

      She was cut off by the Holloway girl who took her in her arms. "Thank you, for everything you did. I really appreciate it." she whispered.

      And with that, she pulled away from the short-haired girl and walked out of the room, leaving Hazel alone, tears in her eyes and with one more wound. But this one wasn't on her face.