AGE( it is just a number)
Episode 17
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Broken
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ha-rd in Castillo
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A cold fear embalmed me as the hairs rose at the back of my n£¢k and my mouth ran dry
Steadying my breathe, I tried to calm my panic as I stared into her eyes
Revenge! You really want a revenge? I repeated, b!tt!g at my upperl-ips to st©p it from quavering…
Yes! She answered coldly and my muscle grew tensed
Alright!i simply said , looking away so she would not see the tears burning my eyes but it was of no use , she alre-ady saw it
ha-rd in! She rasped , breathing ha-rd as she tilted toward to look in my face
Are you alright?what is with the tears? Is it because of my sad story? she asked in a rush as her gaze met mine
I am alright! I managed to say and she smiled lightly , wiping my tears with her palm …
This is the exact reason why I don’t like talking about my dad , I don’t like people pitying me ! she stated and I stared blankly at her as I wondered how she would react when she finds out about me ! when she finds out that the boy she loathes is the very same person she loves ……
Love! Did I just say love! Does it even exist?if yes , why is it cruel to me?
Pheew!!I am completely messed up
ha-rd in! She Called snapping me out of my thoughts and I exhaled de-eply, running my hands throu-gh my hair
You were not listening to right? she continued with a frown and I faked a smile , c@r£ss!ngher messed up face …
Go to your room, I nee-d the sleep. I said as I nee-ded a lone time to think straight
She stared at me with a puzzled face; then shook her head
No ha-rd in, I want to spend the night with you
That is not possible! I retorted in a huff and her eyes wi-de-ned in surprise
But why? I thought you wanted it before so…….she tried to say but I cut her off
Hazel!plea-se leave . I pleaded, trying so ha-rd to sound calm…..
And without saying another word , she got off the be-d , wra-pped a sheet around her n-ked b©dy , picked up her clothes and then ran out of the room …..
I sighed in frustration knowing she was hurt but what can I do , I am hurt as well…..
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The words of Hazel kept on pla-ying in my heads
I want him to die! I want him to rot in Jail! I want revenge!
I was restless , I couldn’t sleep as I turned and tossed on the be-d all night …
how I wished this was all a dream , but it wasn’t …
What should i do, should I pretend it is all right and stay by her side or should I let her go?
My heart churned in pain, my head spun in confusion, my eyes filled with tears …..
I was going crazy and I knew it , I nee-ded someone to talk to, I really nee-ded to talk to some one ….
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Weakly, i dragged myself out from the be-d and as if in a trance, i walked out of my room to my mom room ….
I nee-ded her now and hope she will listen to me this time around ..
Getting to her room ,I pushed the door opened and walked in to see her slee-ping
I ambled to her be-d and sat on it
Ma! I called , tapping her gently as she stirred in her sleep
Ma! I called again and this time around, her eyes fluttered opened
groggily, she looked around the room and when her gaze met mine , she sat up on the be-d In a huff
Baby! What is it? why are you eyes bloodsh0t? Are you alright? she asked in a rush and that was it I could hold it any longer , I broke down in tears
Mum! I am hurting. I said , beating my che-st in grief
What is it? plea-se talk to me. She pleaded , searching throu-gh my eyes
It is Hazel . I said In between sobs and she nodded urging me to continue but instead , I chose to query her
Out of all the girls , why must she be the one? why did you employ the lady that will cause me pain?
She sh0t me a confused look, I don’t get , what are you talking about ha-rd in?
Erm thhe cops officer from three.. years ago Is Hazel father . I stuttered, choking back my tears and she froze
Peter Dakota! She called in shock as I sniffed
Is that his name? I thought within
Oh no! why didn’t I think of this , “Dakota”, but how did you know about this? she continued , b!tt!g at her lowerl-ips
That is because she told me her self! I retorted with a trembling voice
Hazel! she repeated and I nodded
But she doesn’t know I am the one . I quic-kly added and she sighed in relief
Good! we nee-d to pay her off and end her job here
No mum! this is not right , I love Hazel so much to hurt her like this . I stated , shaking my head and she sighed
You have to forget about her , you really nee-d to because once she finds out the truth, she will personally ruin you ….
I stared at her for a while and then sighed sadly ….
This is really gonna be tough for me!can I ever forget her?hell no!!!
It is gonna be alright. my mum as-sured,pu-lling me into a warm hvg
holding her ti-ghtly, I cried in her arms like a baby knowing fully well a p@rt of me would be gone forever but she is right , I have to let Hazel go so as not to cause her more pain ……..
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Hazel Dakota
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The ray of the sun poured into the be-d room window , I squint at it as I f0rç£d my eyes opened
the clock ticking in the silence of the room, it’s short hand pointing to 10
Good Lord! I exclaimed, jo-lting up from the be-d as I rushed into the bathroom
why didn’t ha-rd in wake me up? Is he still angry with me?…. but wait! what did I even do?
I sighed, he is really annoying!
Stepping into the bathtub, i squ-atted on it as I bathed ,ma-king sure to clean my v@g!n@ properly since I was too weak to shower last night ….
ha-rd in sudden change in demeanour really got to me … I mean what kind of b©yfri£nds£nds his girlfriend out of his room after a h0t S-x? only the annoying ones like ha-rd in…..
When I was done, I returned to the room , hurriedly dressed up in a pink go-wn and then rushed out of the room to ha-rd in’s room; on entering his room , I was surprised to meet a sparkling clean room
Omoo! who did this? Is it ha-rd in?
I smiled , he is so sweet!
Retreating, I was about leaving the room when a paper neatly folded on the table caught my attention
What is this? I wondered , picking it up and lol and behold , it was a letter from ha-rd in
My hands vibr@ted as I re-ad it
” Hazel Dakota! I am sorry if this will hurt but I believe you nee-d to know the truth , All we had and shared was nothing but a game to me , I never loved you from the start and have come to realise I will never will so plea-se do me a favour, no do yourself a favour and move on ; also remember to stay away from Mike”
No it can’t be! It really can’t be! It is a prank! ha-rd in must be joking!
Game! no , no , no, he loves me , he told me countless of time ….I as-sured myself , nodding like an idiot
Just then , I heard his mum call from downstairs
Yes ma! I answered loudly as I ran all the way to her
I found her seated on the dinning having breakfast and seeing the savoury meal , my stomach rumbled as if reminding me that I haven’t eaten Since yesterday noon
Good morning ma! I greeted as she turned sideways to face me
Oh Hazel! how are you? she asked, staring intently at me and I bowed my head shyly
Erm ma I am sorry for waking up late . I apologised but there was no response, I quic-kly looked up to find her staring at me
Is there any problem ma? I asked politely and she sighed
You are a good girl Hazel but I believe this is the best thing to do!
Having said that , she picked up her handbag from the table, opened it and brou-ght out two wads of note
Here , this is $20,000. She said , handing it to me
I looked at the money and then back at her
What should I do with this? I asked in surprise and she cleared her throat before answering
ha-rd in told me you are trying to get into college, is that right? She asked, fixing her gaze on me and I nodded
Good! That is what the money is meant for, you can save up the rest and use it to start a business…..
But ma, I still don’t un-derstand, is this a gift or what?
No Hazel , that is your pay off . She said and then faced Rebecca who was standing beside her
Go upstairs and bring her bags. She instructed the girl who immediately scurried up the stairs…..
Payoff! I repeated and that was when the realisation hit me , Mrs Castillo does not nee-d my service anymore
No ma! plea-se ma! You can’t do this to me! You really can’t ! I pleaded , going down on my knees but she st©pped me
Don’t try that Hazel ! She warned and i quic-kly straightened up
plea-se don’t !She repeated as tears down her eyes and I stared at her befuddled
Why is she crying? I am the only one who ought to be crying!!!
You can call me whenever you nee-d anything. She quic-kly added
Just then Rebecca returned to the room dragging my big black bag along with her
All of your stuffs are in there . She said as she handed me my phone along with my hand bag …
Is this a dream? I wondered, pinching myself and yes, it wasn’t a dream
Ma! I called , breaking down in tears and she looked away
Don’t make it ha-rd for me Hazel, plea-se leave !
But ma I did not …. I tried to say but she cut me off
plea-se leave ! She barked at me
and with h0t tears rolling down my eyes, I threw the money back at her as i ran out of the house , dragging my bag along with me till I got to the front gate ; then I st©pped to dial ha-rd in’s number but it wasn’t going throu-gh…….
I fell to the floor,crying
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ha-rd in Castillo
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Fear bec@m£ a tangible living f0rç£ , that crept over me like some hungry beast , immobilising me ; my br@in , holding me captive …
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I never wanted to go to school today but this same fear pushed me to as I was scared of seeing Hazel , I was scared of watching the woman I love being chased out by own mother, I was fv¢king scared of everything!!!
Oh! And about the letter , I wrote it so she could easily forget about me but believe me when I said , nothing written in the paper was true ……
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Castillo! a familiar voice called from behind me and I looked in the direction to see Kim
I scoffed
What do you want? I asked coldly and she laughed, drumming on my desk as she sat down on it
I am just worried about you , you were so dull during the literature clas-s today ,what is wrong with you?
Nothing! I simply answered and she chuckled, leaning towards to pl@ywith my bu-tton
Or did ” your maid” offend you? She asked mockingly and that was it , my anger exploded and I pushed her r0ûghly to the floor
Arrrrgh! She gro-an ed in pain as her bu-ttocks hit the floor ; then she broke down in tears
You are crazy ha-rd in! You are Crazy ha-rd in ! She screamed and without saying a word , I stood up , picked up a novel and was about leaving the clas-s when Steve block my path
Leave! I barked but he didn’t budge, instead he choose to pick a fight by gr@bb£d unto my collar
Let go of me ! I said calmly and he scoffed
And why would I! Don you think you can hurt Kimberly and go Scot free?
Let go of me . I repeated with a growl but this around, he punched me ha-rd on the face
I smiled lightly, now you ask for it !
gr@bb£d him by the collar , my fist cluttered on his face
he winced , staggering backward as I gave him a second punch and then a third one not minding the loud screams from my clas-smates ….
I could smell how scared he is but didn’t care , after all he started it ….
Breathing ha-rd , I was about to give him the fourth punch when a husky voice asked
What is going on here?
I quic-kly turned and met the gaze of obese principal
What the fv¢k! I muttered
The clas-s went silent and I quic-kly composed myself
What is going on here? The principal, repeated looking at Steve and then at me
Sir ! It is Steve , he started it first . Richa-rd who was standing beside the principal defended me
The principal shook his head , I wouldn’t listen to that , ha-rd in Castillo! Steve Regan! to my office. he instructed and left the clas-s….. …
No way! No fv¢king way! I muttered
And without thinking, I went over to my seat , pick up my backpack and ran all the way to the car lot …
What is the nee-d for detention when my life is all messed?
Opening the car door , I hopped into the car and zoomed off
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On Getting home , I honked the car horn and the gate was opened by the security
I drove into the compound, parked r0ûghly in the garage and alighted from the car …
I got to the sitting room just in time to see my mom about to leave the house
Seeing me , she st©pped and broke down in tears
What did you do ha-rd in? Your principal just called to tell me about the fight . She said but it sounded so distant as I was lost looking around the house for ……Hazel
I know it sounds crazy but my br@in was completely frozen and she was the only one on my mind …..
Ignoring my mum , I scurried up the stairs to Hazel room and on entering, I found an empty room
her big bags was not in the corner! her clothes were not scattered around! no make up kit! no sandals! The room was completely empty……..
I nodded slowly, she is gone! She is gone! now it is time to grant her wish !
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Leaving her room, I walked slowly to my room , pushed the door opened and walked in
The room was still the same way I left it but the letter on the table was gone
She saw it, that is a relief!
Tossing my backpack on the floor, I sat down on the be-d ; then opened the drawer to bring out my slee-ping pills ( a bottle of sed@t£d hypotonic)
I opened it and poured out the whole 25 tablet on my plan…..
Don’t ha-rd in! Why can’t you just tell the full truth? My subconsciousness asked me and I laughed bitterly
Full truth! Is there anything like that? and even if there is , will it change anything? Everyone believes I am the murderer and it will always remain like that …..
And in a split of a second, I threw all of the pills inside my mouth, chewing on it ; instantly I began seeing things….
I saw the brown eyes man smiling as he gestured me to come closer! I saw my parents crying! and lastly I saw Hazel reaching out for me as her blue eyes pierced into mine!
I smiled
Just then ,the door to my room opened but I couldn’t see who walked in as the room was spinning around
Sir ha-rd in! I heard a voice call as I blacked out…..:
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TBC