Hazel Hart couldn’t be happier! She has a loving family, a doting boyfriend, is doing well at Uni, but she soon finds out that plans go astray. How far is Hazel Hart willing to go for love?
PART I
Hazel Hart knew that she would get pregnant someday.
Little did she realize that someday was now.
She and her boyfriend, Erik Denholm, were frequently intimate together, so it was only a matter of time before she’d find herself carrying his child.
The fact of being pregnant didn't worry her; she actually looked forward to a life with him and whatever children they may have. She just wished she had some more time before this had happened.
There are a few issues with this unexpected road bump in her life plans, though.
Erik hadn’t proposed to her.
He’d already told her several times in so many words that he wanted to spend his life with her. She knew it was what they both wanted yet it had been nearly four years and there was no indication he was close to popping the question.
She supposes she could just have the baby, and they can be dedicated partners together but knows her father would be very displeased with Erik if that should come to pass and she can’t risk any further tension between her father and her boyfriend.
Adagio is open-minded at times but he would hardly tolerate the fact Erik had knocked up his daughter before marrying her. Not many fathers of Kashmire would.
It didn't help that he still got uneasy whenever they were in the same room together and showed open affection, despite knowing that she and Erik had been in a committed relationship since she was nineteen years old.
Now, she was twenty-three.
She had finals in two months. Her scholarship house was doing a charity gig right before graduation that she was expected to help at.
Perfect Timing.
Not.
She puffs out the air in her cheeks, sending her bangs flying upward as she stares at the positive pregnancy test.
She is still in a mild state of shock and slight disbelief but knows time is now of the essence.
She needs to tell Erik as soon as possible.
“Hello!” Erik answers his phone jovially. His demeanor is usually more subdued. It makes her take a pause.
“Hello to you, too” she can’t help but smile, “Why the cheer? What’s up?”
“I’ve just been having a good day, and it’s even better now that I’m talking to you.”
Plumbobs, the way he speaks makes her blush even still. It’s cheesy but utterly adorable of him to drop that kind of line and so on point. The hint of his accent doesn’t hurt either. She wishes she could just record him reading the dictionary or something and play it to fall asleep on the nights she doesn’t get to spend with him.
“I have something to tell you,” they both say in unison, and do the same in responding, “What is it?”
He chuckles in fond amusement, “You first.”
She wants to tell him in person, though. It’s only considerate to give such impactful news face-to-face. She wants to see his reaction as well when she says it.
“Can we meet up soon?“ she asks after a nervous giggle.
“Of course, because I have missed you so much,” and while she knows it’s true there is a wryness in his tone because they saw each other only yesterday. “How about I take you out?”
“On a real date?”
“You wound me, our outings are always dates.”
“Yet I never receive roses,” she hums in playful doubt.
“When I’m a rich man, I will buy you roses every day. For now, I can afford to buy you a fancy dinner. Besides we should celebrate what I have to tell you,” his words cause her guts to twist with anxiety.
He must have great news. While she has…news…and it may be great or not taken so great.
She hopes it doesn’t disappoint him, but it’s not like it’s all her fault it happened either.
“Sounds exciting, where are we going for dinner?” she bites her lip, her tone knocked down a peg whether she meant it to or not.
She doesn’t want to potentially taint his good day, his good news with something that is going to no doubt put stress on them both.
“Is something the matter?” he notices it right away.
“I...just…I miss you too,” she sighs, it’s not the full truth but it is a truth. She glances at her stomach in the mirror, wondering how long until she is going to start showing.
“Mirnyha,” he says softly, affectionately. The word is an endearment he has taken to calling her in recent years; a term from Ruskslovia, his home country, for ‘the peace in my heart’. However, she feels that what she has to say will not bring his heart peace. “I will see you soon. Let us meet at the Top of the World in Memosa Bay at seven o'clock?”
“Sounds great,” she replies and glances at the time displayed on her own. She has eight hours to wait.
“I love you,” he says, in Rusklavan. He always says it to her in his native tongue.
“I love you too, goodbye," she replies in kind.
Eight hours until his world is turned upside-down.
Hazel arrives early surrounded by a cloud of nervous energy. Erik is not there, but she checks with the host and finds that a reservation in his name was made. She sits by herself in the restaurant foyer and watches other people come in and go out.
The morning was a whirlwind, it almost seemed like it was five minutes ago that she was staring dumbfounded at the little stick with pink lines. She had managed to get dressed, make an appointment with an OB/GYN, calculate her due date and if everything went right–she would give birth in the spring, right after graduating.
Then she had tried to get some studying done but honestly, who could study with all that on their mind? It was a miracle she had managed to pull herself together and do anything responsible and in addition, keep her mouth shut about it. She took the discarded test back to her own room in case anyone in the house, for some reason, needed to dig through the bathroom trash and accidentally saw it.
She checks her phone, it’s seven o’clock. She watches the front door expectantly. Her mind turns to Erik and wonders about what his news is. What would be the cause for him to celebrate and splurge on taking them to dinner? He was very careful with money and always had been once he got a job and didn’t spoil her that often, much less himself. She didn’t mind though, she admired his frugality.
The doors open and a family enters with two young children.
They are cute but Hazel has a little brother and definitely catches the boy pester his sister in a sneaky way, by flicking the bow on the back of her dress.
She feels her tummy rumble, her hunger has spiked drastically in the short time she has been waiting and musing. The little girl notices the sound and looks at her most startlingly.
Hazel just sheepishly smiles in return. She opens her phone again, it is five minutes after. She texts Erik that she is going to ask to be seated. She needs to order an appetizer or something. He will understand.
“Excuse me, may I please be seated if the table is ready now? The reservation is under Denholm,” she approaches the host stand and asks. She must have looked desperate because they acquiesced despite the full party not being in attendance yet.
She is seated at a table for two and offered the wine menu which she declines for obvious reasons but quickly orders some bread; that should tide her over until Erik arrives and they can order dinner.
She tries mentally practicing how to broach the subject once he arrives; should she wait until after he tells her whatever he wants to tell her?
Or should she come right out and tell him first? She tries to anticipate if he will be enthusiastic or receive the news with the same sort of inconvenienced shock she had felt that morning.
She will get there eventually–happiness–but it is scary with all the unknown factors, and that puts a damper on her mood.
At least, she thinks Erik would make an excellent father with his very calm and patient demeanor, the fierce way in which he loves, and the utter kindness he bestows on others even if they don’t always deserve it.
Then a thought hits her, so, so suddenly that she doesn’t know why she didn’t consider it before. Was Erik planning to propose to her tonight?
The Top of the World is a pretty fancy place, with a splendid view in a location that most would consider romantic. She smiles, trying not to get her hopes up but can’t help it. If that was truly what was going to happen tonight, then she feels a hundred times better and it reduces her anxiety significantly just thinking about it.
She feels on the verge of happy tears–she doesn’t know why but probably from containing more hormones than usual. It would just feel so good to finally be engaged to the person that she loves.
She eats three rolls of the bread appetizer and checks her phone again. It is 45 minutes after the time Erik had told her to meet him, and there are no texts from him explaining his absence. She bites her lip in concern but decides to wait it out a bit longer before she calls. She trusts him.
He will be here soon, she thinks.
But he still doesn't show.
Hazel starts to feel judged by the waiter for just sitting there and eating bread slowly as she’s trying to tame her hunger nearly an hour and a half later.
She has tried to call Erik a few times but it goes straight to his voicemail. She even attempted to call Noire, his younger sister but she didn’t answer either which wasn’t surprising.
Hazel tried as little as possible to intrude on Noire’s life, which was nearly impossible since she lived with Erik. Hazel had the feeling that Noire didn’t like her very much.
A part of Hazel is furious, and a part of her is very worried.
The happy tears that threatened to leak earlier have now turned to a feeling of frustration and confusion, yet she manages to keep them at bay, two hours after she's arrived without ordering dinner.
Finally, filled with embarrassment, she asks the waiter for a check for the bread.
Hazel decides that she is going to drive to Erik’s apartment just to see if he’s there or any clues as to where he might be. She gets in her car and makes a few sniffles as her throat tightens.
Those tears of hers really want to be released.
Erik’s apartment building doesn’t have an elevator which is ridiculous, but it’s an old building with cheap rent, and Erik has the smallest unit which is a converted shipping container…unfortunately at the very top of the building. The stairs were never a problem for Hazel before but she feels exhausted by the time she stands in front of his door. She knocks with a barely controlled, urgent rapping of her knuckles.
No answer.
She knocks again with the same result.
Her stomach twists into a worried knot, the like she hasn’t had since the night Erik’s mother tried to kill him. She digs her copy of the apartment key out of her clutch and enters the small space.
The knot expands impossibly larger as a gasp is ripped out of her throat.
There’s no sign of Erik or Noire but there is definitely a sign of a struggle. Items are gone–namely, the framed photo booth portraits of Erik and his sister that have always sat on the nightstand.
The chairs are tipped over, clothes are strewn everywhere, the television is askew, books are pulled out or missing from the bookshelf, the blankets of the bunk beds are rumpled and pillows are thrown to the floor.
No notes, no indication of where he could be...
...only evidence that he may be in trouble.
She feels so helpless. Sad. Hungry. Worried. Dizzied. Fearful.
What has happened to him? Is he hurt?
The tears that she had been holding back finally erupt as she stands alone in the empty room.
Eight hours ago, she knew Erik’s life would be turned upside-down.
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