The Therapist's Daughter ||a.i.||

15

15; Old Memories

{April 12, 2012}

I'm officially sick. My nana said it was the flu which I find amazing. Note the sarcasm, I hate being sick. I'm sitting in my treehouse, reading one of the books my nana gave me. She always knew what I loved the most.

"Darling you'll be alright, just eat some soup and drink my herbal tea." Nana said and set her special herbal tea down, along with her chicken noodle soup.

Whatever my nana puts in her soup and tea, it works all the time. "Gracias Nana." I smiled at her and she nodded.

"De nada, Hazel." Nana said and left my treehouse. I set my book down and grabbed the soup.

I started eating the soup, coughing every now and then. I set the soup down and picked up the tea, slowly sipping it.  Ashton walked into the treehouse and smiled at me. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

I smiled weakly. "Fine, sorta." I coughed and Ashton rushed to my side. He took the tea from me and set it down, laying me down on the bed.

"I'm fine, thank you anyway." I mumbled and Ashton put the duvet over me.

"You need rest, you're sick." He said and brushed the hair out of my face.

"Thank you, Ash." I mumbled and Ashton smiled, kissing my cheek.

"Ash stop, I don't want you getting sick." I said.

Ashton shook his head. "It's fine. Just get some rest." Ashton said and I smiled at him, closing my eyes.

"See you in the morning, love." Ashton's voice was getting softer. Soon I was asleep, dreaming of nothing but darkness.

////

Hazel fell asleep and I smiled at her, pecking her lips. I turned around and almost fell backwards. "God, don't scare me Ryan." I said and he glared at me.

"Ok I know you don't like me but she's sick and I'm just helping her out." I said and Ryan growled.

"I don't care, just don't hurt her. She's more fragile than you think." Ryan said.

I shook my head. "I'm not going to hurt her. She's sick right now, let her rest." I said and Ryan rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, but if I hear that you hurt her, I'm going to come after you. She may have been an only child but I protected her from harm. She could've kept herself out of harm but I kept her from jail." Ryan said.

I nodded. "I understand that but I could never hurt her. She means so much more to me than I thought." I said and Ryan sighed.

"Just don't break her heart. It's happened before and believe me, it didn't end well for anyone." Ryan said.

I nodded and Ryan left the treehouse. I went to leave but I saw a box in the corner. I picked it up and read the top of it. "Old memories?" I questioned and set the box on the table.

I opened the box and saw a photo album, a red ribbon, a picture of a family, and a book. I picked up the photo album and opened it to the first page. I saw pictures of a family of three, smiling and laughing.

"Is this Hazel's family?" I asked myself, looking through the photos of the family. I shut the photo album and looked at the book.

"This is a rare book, who owned this?" I asked, opening the front of the book up.

I read the front and smiled. "For my beloved daughter, dream big babe." I smiled at the beginning of the book.

"I see you found her box." I jumped and turned around, seeing Hazel's grandmother.

"Oh um, I'm sorry for being nosey. It just stood out." I said and Hazel's grandmother smiled.

"It's ok. That's all the stuff Hazel has left of her mother." Hazel's grandmother said.

"Her mother?" I asked and Hazel's grandmother walked over to me.

"Call me Nana by the way." Hazel's grandmother said.

I nodded. "Ok, Nana." I said and she smiled, picking up the photo album and picture.

"This is Hazel's mother." Nana said, pointing to the young woman in the picture. She was holding a young girl, maybe two or three. Her hair was pitch black and her eyes were a bright hazel colour.

"She's beautiful." I said.

Nana smiled. "Hazel's mum was the prettiest woman there was. Every guy wanted to be with her and every girl wanted to be her. She was a trouble maker and wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty." Nana said.

"Really?" I asked and Nana nodded.

"Hazel has taken so much after her mother, she might as well be her mother. Hazel's mum would've loved you too." Nana said and showed me a picture of just Hazel and her mother.

"Hazel's mum's name was Rosalinda Martinez Parker. Mika and Rosa were twins so Hazel has a very special connection with her aunt." Nana said.

I looked at Nana. "And you?" I asked.

"Hazel loves me more than her own father. Hazel stopped loving her father the day he met Karen." Nana said.

"She loved him before?" I asked.

"Oh yes. Hazel and Hunter were irrespirable, like Hazel and her mother were. When Hazel's mum died, Hunter tried his best to make Hazel happy and keep her from harm." Nana said.

I nodded. "Oh, huh. Well thank you for telling me that." I said and Nana held up the ribbon.

"Oh this was the ribbon Hazel's mum always put in Hazel's hair. Hazel's mum wore it all the time before Hazel was born as well." Nana said.

I smiled. "That's so sweet. How come Hazel never speaks about her mother?" I asked.

Nana sighed. "She never liked speaking about her. After her mother's death, Hazel stopped talking about her mother and put all her things in a box, hiding it." Nana said.

"Oh, that's sad that her mother is dead." I said.

Nana nodded. "Rosa got into a car crash a month after Hazel was born. As Hazel was growing up, Rosa kept complaining about pain in her body. Turns out, after a bunch of testing, Rosa had a tumor in her brain, giving her brain cancer." Nana said.

"Oh." I said.

"Yea. When Hazel was ten, her mother was put in the hospital for good. Then when Hazel was thirteen, her mother died. Talking about her mother is a very sensitive topic for Hazel." Nana said and I nodded, hearing a crash behind me.

I turned around and saw Hazel on the ground. "Hazel!!" I yelled and ran over to her.

I picked her up and saw blood on her forehead. "Hazel are you ok?" I asked and she started coughing up blood.

"Nana, call an ambulance." I said and Nana called the ambulance.

"Please hurry," I mumbled hugging Hazel. "You'll be ok Hazel, I promise."