When she woke up, the pain in her side was gone. Hazel glanced down, choking back another scream. Her bottom rib was a raging red, yet the others were still a neon blue. She glanced at her clock: 5:30 a.m. She had exactly one hour to get Jake's body out of the house, hide it somewhere, and get the blood off of her carpet and off her hands before her mom woke up for work. How on Earth am I going to hide a body? Hazel thought, a sick feeling in her stomach. Better get started, then. How her mom slept soundly through Hazel's screams she did not know.
Pushing that to the back of her mind, she carefully lifted Jake's body, trying not to retch at the thought of what she was doing. He was heavier than he looked, due to all of his lean muscles. Hazel was fairly strong as well, but this proved to be a challenge. She lifted his body through the window, trying not to drop it too harshly. This is so wrong, this is so wrong, her mind kept repeating. Just then did she realize that she only had a sports bra and shorts on. Quickly pulling on a t-shirt, Hazel climbed out of the window, landing beside Jake's crumpled body. It was still dark, but not for long.
Hazel figured that the best way to to carry Jake's cadaver was not to drag it, but to carry it bridal style. She had to walk painfully slow, for his body was over 150 pounds. It took a good ten minutes to get just to the edge of the woods.
From there on out was just a blur for Hazel. She remembers throwing his body into a large, rocky trench, and cover it up with rocks and the biggest boulders she could push. Once she was satisfied with his covered cadaver, Hazel ran back home, seeing that dawn was creeping over the horizon. It was already 6:10 when she finally got the carpet cleaner and tried in vain to get the blood stains out of her carpet. She went through three washcloths, scrubbing the floor until there was only a brown stain left. With her mother's hawk eye, Hazel knew that she would notice it and shoot a million miles of questions at her.
"I'll just move my bed then," she murmured to herself, grunting with the effort of moving her queen sized bed.
It was exactly 6:30 by the time the claret blood was washed from her hands and down the drain. Swiftly closing her door and changing into actual sleeping clothes, she turned off the light and climbed into bed, pretending to sleep.
Not long after Hazel got settled, she heard a knock at her door. "What?" She pretended to say groggily, acting as if the knock woke her from a deep sleep. If only, she thought.
"I heard you moving around this morning," her mother's muffled voice came from the other side of the door, "are you okay?"
"Mom, what are you talking about?" Hazel decided that her mother would think she was sleepwalking.
There was hesitation before her reply. "You must've been sleepwalking then. Go back to sleep hon, you've had a long night." Hazel froze at her mother's last words. You've had a long night. Did she know? Did her mom know that she was a murderer? The more Hazel thought, the more she worried, and the more guilt gnawed at her. What would have happened if Jake would have lived? Would I have married him? What if I never find love again? What will his family do once they realize that Jake is missing, and will never turn up again? When will the police find out that it was me all along? Will they send me to jail for life? Will my mother ever forgive me?
"What have I done?" Hazel broke down into tears once more, crying until there were no more tears left to fall.
