Her House, My Rules

Chapter 6

Questions were burning my brain with curiosity. I wanted to know what happened to Cody. I wanted to hear the truth. I wanted her to be comfortable enough to explain everything to me and actually trust me.
She was hiding something. I wanted to dig more into the situation. I felt pain in her voice. Her tone was screaming for comfort.

She was hiding something really big. She didn't want to share it with me.

"Why do I feel like you're hiding something else?" I requested. "What are you hiding, Hazel?" I continued, nervously.

"I'm not hiding anything." She tried to face the situation with a dirty lie. "I'm tired. I need to sleep."

"Did you kill him?" I asked with a dangerous thought. "What happened to him?".

"No, I didn't kill him." She stated, angrily. "I can't believe you just said that." her eyes were judging my thought, harshly.

"Tell me what happened," I interrogated, gently. "You can trust me," I assured.

"I didn't kill him." She admitted, peacefully.

"And I believe you," I replied. "I just want to know what happened that night. I want to know everything. I won't judge you, I won't push you to your limits. I just want the truth, Hazel. Please." I begged.

"Fine." She finally agreed. "A few days later, I skipped school to visit him at the hospital. He was hurt and lonely. He had no family, he was by himself at the hospital. No flowers, no siblings. He was all alone in the hospital bed, crying for days. I hated him with all my heart." She started to cry, silently.

Oh no! Hazel! Did you kill him?

"What happened next?" I questioned her.

"I started to say hurtful things to him. I told him that I wanted him dead. To be honest, I did want him dead at that time. I just couldn't bury the hate that I felt against him. He killed my only sister. He murdered her. He was driving the car. That was his fault. She was dead because of him." She sighed. "He committed suicide right in front of me. I was watching him and I didn't stop him. I was there and I felt happy. I was happy that he was doing it. I was only fourteen. I wanted revenge. Back then, I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know that my words could cause damage to people. I regretted my words."

"How did he die?" I panicked.

"He had a gun under his bed. I don't know how it got there. He shot himself and his last words were 'I'm so sorry, Hazel.' Boom! It was already too late. I cried my eyes out. I felt guilty. There I was, crying over his dead body when I pushed him to his last limits. I was the cause. I was the criminal."

Her words froze with pain. Speechless, she drove herself to guilt. 'I am a criminal'

"Don't say that. You're not a criminal." I kissed her forehead. "But I can't deny the fact that your words are dangerous weapons. The way you express yourself, the way you accuse people, the way you drive people crazy, is dangerous." I caressed her skin."You're not a bad person. You made a mistake and it's normal." I consoled her.

"Do you hate me?" Her eyes were dying from fear.

I could never hate you, Hazel.

"I don't," I said, dryly.

"Thank you." She closed her sleepy eyes as she laid her head on my naked chest.

Her story touched me. I didn't know that she was that sensitive. I really thought she didn't care about anyone but herself. I was wrong. She knew when she made mistakes. I really wanted to stay close to her. She was hurting herself by thinking that she killed her sister's boyfriend. She needed company and I was ready to be with her. I was ready to stop my games and actually learn how to care for her.