Flying Free *Hawks x Reader*

Chapter 12

The sunshine along with my alarm waking me up only cause my head to pound.

"Shut up!" I yelled turning my phone off. It was eight in the morning, I opened the emails Ms. Ross has sent me even though I was still half asleep.

All it read was her thanking me for my work, and she and her team where very pleased with how the pictures turned out. I was to have the photos they chose edited and emailed back to her by eight PM tonight and that I would be paid for each picture. She also mentioned that I would receive ten percent of every magazine the company sold, which was the first pleasant news I had heard in a while.

After I replied I tossed my phone on the couch, ignoring whatever other notifications had for the time being. I grabbed my tooth brush, cleaning out the taste of alcohol that still lingered while I waited for my shower to heat up.

I changed into a pair of joggers and a basic t-shirt for the day. I started working on editing to get it over with as soon as possible, that way I could go back to sleep. While I listened to music in the background, I also answered the texts I had woken up to.

Just the group chat asking if I was okay, along with any pictures or videos taken from last night. I let them know that I was fine and that I made it home safe. Next I slid open the text Hawks had sent.

I frowned thinking about last night. He texted me,
Dove I know you're drunk and you might not remember much, but I'm going to be gone for a while. I'm so sorry I didn't let you know sooner, text me to let me know ur ok, k?

I quickly typed an I'm fine thanks for letting me know. I dropped my phone in my lap as I continued working on my laptop.

This would be good for me, I reminded myself that our relationship couldn't go any further. While everything was nice for the time being, this kind of thing wasn't supposed to last. I didn't deserve to be happy.

"You're supposed to be alone (Y/n)." I was so stupid for ever thinking I could develop normal relationships after what I had been through, what I had done. In the end people would just end up getting hurt. As long as it was me being hurt and not others, everything would be fine.

I had finished my work sooner than I intended, after emailing the finish products to Ms. Ross, she let me know that they looked great and was thankful that she had chosen me to do the pictures.

I laid one my couch, staring at the ceiling, I had the rest of today and tomorrow off as well. I didn't know what to do with myself. Now would be as good a time as any to do my own photography, being out in the wilderness would help clear my head too.

I packed up my backpack and grabbed one of the cameras I had laying out on my bookshelf. I put on my shoes then began walking down the street.

I scrolled through my phone trying to find a destination to go to, once I clicked on my notes, I found a reminder telling me to "follow the creek down trail seven." I stared at it dumbfounded, not understanding what I even typed.

"Trail seven? Why does that seem familiar?" As I continued to walk on the side walk, it soon came to me. That was the nature reservation Hawks and I had gone to weeks ago. I went to the bookmarks in my phone, copying the address into the search browser. Now that I had a destination in mind I picked up my pace.

Spring was right around the corner, the cherry blossoms would begin to bloom again by the end of March, they always made the spring season such a rare, beautiful site; perfect for photography.

Upon entering the reservation, I found the trail I had wrote to myself. Even if I wasn't taking pictures of anything, I found the hike to be fairly peaceful. I walked along the creek instead of taking my shoes off to walk through the water, my motivation for today was still lacking, but I knew coming here would distract me from my thoughts.