Chapter13
Hazel
“Are you sure you don’t want to come in for a drink? You look a million miles away today,” Rachel asked, eying her suspiciously.
“No, no, I’m okay. Thanks for this. Ben was begging to come and see Willow today. I’m glad in a way. I have quite a bit of marking to get done and I want to do some work around the house. It’s always hard with him around. But I promise to return the favor next time you and Leo want to go out on a date. You just bring Willow around anytime.”
“Ah, it’s no problem at all. You know Ben is always welcome. Are you sure you’re not just planning some secret rendezvous with the delectable Damien?”
“No, I wish. Although, I do like that name for him. I better not tell him that you call him that because he’ll just get a big head.”
“How are things going with the two of you, by the way? I feel like we haven’t spoken in ages.”
“I know. We’re going to have to go out on a girly night soon. Things aren’t too bad. We went for breakfast with my parents.”
“What? Whoa! That’s big news. Your dad must’ve been giving him the stink eye the whole time.”
Hazel laughed. “He did at first. But he actually listened to everything that Damien had to say and he was quite nice about it. He likes Damien, despite everything.”
“Yeah, I also liked him when I met him. And your dad is a very sensible man. But still… be careful. And take it slow.”
“You sound just like my counselor. But yeah, we will. I am.”
“And don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do.”
“But you’d do anything.”
“Exactly.” They both laughed.
Hazel said goodbye and walked off, turning around and waving a cheery goodbye. But the truth was that she didn’t feel cheery at all. In fact, she was petrified. She had a terrible feeling that things were going to go wrong again and even though Damien kept telling her not to worry, she couldn’t help it. There was no way these guys were just going to leave them alone. Perhaps if all they had done was steal from him – but that in conjunction with all the weird messages she had been getting just didn’t sit well with her. And she was so worried about Damien going after Tom. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him again – not after she had just gotten him back. It was strange to think that she had been with Robbie for such a long time. That seemed like a different lifetime. And no matter how much she thought about it she just couldn’t understand what she had seen in him.
She decided to take the long way home. She hadn’t been completely honest with Rachel about what she had planned for the day. The truth was that she had no marking to do and no desire to do anything around the house. What she wanted was just a day to herself. A day to relax. Damien was working at the shop and had promised to come through in the afternoon. Which gave her a full day to do as little as possible. She needed to calm herself down because she was worried that Ben would notice how stressed she was. Her plan was a simple walk around the park and then to go home and have a long bubble bath and forget about her worries. Then her and Damien were going to sit together and think about what they were going to do. She was hoping that he would arrive with some leads on the whole Tom story, too. If anyone could find him, it was Damien.
She felt better after the park and she wondered if she would now always remember it as the place that Damien had first met Ben. She thought fondly back to that day and how quickly the two of them had bonded. How good it had been to see them together and how obvious it was that they were father and son. Ben had always looked far more like his father than he did of her. Once it was a harsh reminder of what had happened but now it was a lovely sight to see. They would get through this, she told herself. They had already gotten through so much and this was just a small bump in the road. She wasn’t entirely too sure what her future held but more and more, she was starting to see Damien in her visions of it. They just needed to get through this and then move on.
But the minute she got home she had a strange sensation that something was different. She walked tentatively up to her front door and was glad to see that it was still locked. Her shoulders loosened and she told herself to stop being so paranoid. But then, just as she opened up, she felt a hand on her shoulder and she spun around to see who it was. It was a man that she didn’t recognize. He looked disheveled and he smelt like he hadn’t taken in a bath in a very long time. His eyes were dark and darted all around her, as if he were too nervous to meet her gaze. He looked like a mad man. And all of a sudden, she knew.
“Tom.”
He grinned, his yellowed teeth showing. “Ah, you’re not just a pretty face I see. I assume Damien has told you all about me. We were best friends once, you know. Back in the good old days. Before Damien became a goody two shoes. Man, he used to be much more fun. Now come on, what are you waiting for, let’s go inside.”
“I’ll scream,” Hazel threatened.
“Do you feel this?” he asked and she could feel something digging into her side. “Yeah, that’s a gun. So best you just do what I say and let me inside. Yes, that’s a good girl. Okay, now close the door. Good. And now go and sit down.”
“What do you want with us? Damien is finished with you. Yeah, you saved his life – thank you. But he had your back at the bank robbery and you screwed him over. He served two years because of you. Two long years.”
“Aww… and did you miss him? What, there was nobody else around to please you? Because, you know, I can definitely help you there.” He licked his lips and she tried not to vomit.
Hazel felt her back stiffen. She said nothing. She saw his eyes dart around the room. Finally it rested on her bag.
“Okay, let’s see what you have in here.” He started rummaging around. He lifted up her wallet and took out whatever money she had lying inside. She had drawn money the day before but thankfully it wasn’t too much. “Cute boy,” he said when he came across the picture of Ben she always kept inside her wallet.
Hazel felt the blood rushing to her face but she forced herself to keep quiet. She had watched enough movies to know that talking only made things worse. Instead, she sat still and watched Tom look though her house for anything valuable. She was so grateful that she was not the type of person that had collectables or that placed value in things. Still, his eyes widened when he saw her camera and her laptop – both of which he picked up and placed in his bag. He was muttering to himself the whole time and giggling with glee – as if stealing were like crack to him. Then he looked at her and blinked as he had all but forgotten she was there.
“Ah, you have a lovely house. Thank you for these items. I wish you had more but I better not take up too much of your time. I hope you’ll keep this little meeting to yourself. I have no doubt that you’ll tell your boyfriend but I really think that it would be in your best interest to keep your mouth firmly shut. Of course, that’s entirely up to you.”
“Yes. Please leave. And don’t come back here. But listen Tom Delaney,” she was so grateful that she remembered his surname in that moment, “you do realize that my father is a cop, don’t you? Of course you do, I assume you are the type of person that always does your research before you rob a place.”
Tom’s eyes widened, then he laughed nervously. “Yeah, sure.”
And just like that he was gone. Hazel jumped up and grabbed her phone – which she had hidden under the seat as soon as she had sat down. Thankfully, Tom had been dumb enough not to ask her where it was. From what she had learned from Damien, he certainly wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. And luckily, she hadn’t been lying to him, her father really was a cop. The last thing she wanted to do was to involve him but she knew now that she had no choice.
“Daddy. I need your help. Can you come here? Now?”
“I’ll be right there.” He heard the pleading in her voice and he knew not to waste time asking questions. She had never been more grateful of his profession.
Then she phoned Damien.
“Damien. Tom came here,” she blurted out. There was no point beating around the bush.
“WHAT? Hazel, are you okay? Is he still there?”
“He’s gone. My father is on his way. Please come.”
“I’m coming, Hazel.”
It didn’t take long for her father and Damien to arrive. Damien was first because his work was just up the road and he threw his arms around her the moment he saw her. He looked as if he had been crying. His eyes were red and looked raw from where he must’ve been rubbing them. She felt so bad for him.
“Hazel. Oh my God. I cannot believe this. He actually had the nerve to come to your house. What an idiot. What an absolute idiot. When I see him again I’m going to wring his neck. I feel so angry right now.”
“He had a gun.”
“What?”
“Yeah. I mean, thankfully he just threatened me with it so that I would let him in the house. But still. He took my laptop, my money and my camera. Nothing else. I was sitting on my phone the whole time.”
“Clever. Hazel, I’m so sorry.” Damien looked both angry and defeated at the same time. As if he took blame for everything that had happened.
“It’s not your fault.”
Just then Hazel’s father came in and she ran to hug him. Her and Damien sat him down and told him everything that had been happening – from the first time Tom and come into the shop, to the three guys in the masks, to the threatening messages and then to Tom barging in. Her dad listened to it all – he was in cop mode. And she was grateful that he didn’t once say that it was all Damien’s fault.
“You should’ve told me sooner Hazel.”
“I know, Dad. I didn’t think it was a big deal. I really didn’t. I guess I was just hoping it would all just go away by itself. I’ve already worried the family so much with all my issues. I didn’t want to worry you anymore.”
“It’s always just better to be safe. And you have not been a bother at all, Hazel. You’re family. You know you can always come to us. You too, Damien, you should’ve told me.”
“I know. I’m sorry, sir. I was hoping to sort it out on my own. I didn’t want Hazel to get involved.”
“Well, she is. From now on, you two come to me. Now, I want you to tell me everything you know about this Tom character as well as everything you know about the gangs that he might move around in. Hopefully he really is as stupid as you say he is. The stupid ones are the easiest to catch.”
So that’s exactly what they did. They told him everything, even the details that didn’t seem at all important. Finally, he got up to leave, his notebook filled.
“Okay, I have what I need. I’ll call you if I need anything else. Now, don’t you two worry about a thing. Damien, do you mind staying here with Hazel until all of this is sorted out. I don’t like her being on her own.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Sir now?”
“Robert.”
“That’s better. Hazel – phone me if anything comes to mind or anything happens. You promise?”
“I promise.”
Hazel locked the door behind him and walked straight into Damien’s arms. She didn’t want to be anywhere else. “You sure it’s okay to stay?”
“Of course. I was going to stay anyway. When I left work I phoned Charles and told him that I wouldn’t be in for a few days. I suggest you do the same with your work. And… do you think Rachel will keep Ben for a while? I don’t think it will be good to have him here.”
“She won’t mind at all.”
“We’ll get him, Haze. I promise you. I won’t let him hurt you.”
“I know you won’t.”
And then, because there were no more words to say and nothing to distract them, she lead him up to her bedroom and she lay him on the bed. They didn’t do anything except kiss for a while and then she fell asleep in his arms. They were both exhausted and this was the only way that either of them would be able to get some sleep.