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She kept talking to the man on her other side. After a few moments, it was clear she was going to ignore me. I watched her laugh and smile with the other guy. He was some writer named Jay. I didn't think much of him, and I planned on telling Hazel that. I didn't like seeing her get friendly with someone else. It also irritated me that she was ignoring me.
Jay eventually excused himself and left the group. Hazel continued to ignore me and started writing in her notebook.
I leaned closer to her and said, “You know that guy is a creep. Nobody likes him. Just the other day, I saw him hitting on one of the other writers in another group.” I waited for her response, but there was none. I got frustrated and tried to peek at what she was writing.
She slammed the book shut in anger. “Why don't you just leave me alone? I'm sticking to my end of the bargain and minding my own business, so why don't you?” she snapped. Grabbing her notebook, she stormed off.
I was shocked to hear my own words thrown back at me like that, so I just sat there and watched her drink coffee across the room. Hazel seemed to enjoy herself as she talked with the other writers. Even though I had my eyes on her, she managed to avoid my gaze.
Staying in my chair, I pouted like a little kid. I didn't recall Hazel having this much fire or sass when she was younger. She seemed to have grown into an extraordinary woman. I didn't know what to think of that, and there really was nothing to think about. I had messed up by treating her so bad.
It looked like I was going to be on my own during this retreat, which was what I had initially wanted. I turned my attention to the other writers who were busy sharing their ideas. I couldn't concentrate, though, because I still watched Hazel from the corner of my eye. I just couldn’t let her go.Chapter Five - HazelOur hour-long brain-storming session had just wrapped up. Some of the other writers that were in the group were still standing around talking. I was the only one that left. Aside from the whole drama that had happened with Alex, I felt pretty good about my day. I certainly felt more productive than I had in a long time.
I was impressed to see that there were so many diverse and talented writers at the retreat. Each was there for a different reason, but they all had shared their passion for their projects, which I found to be infectious. All I wanted was to get back to my room and start jotting down some of the ideas I had from the group.
So far, there was only one writer there that I trusted enough to talk to, and that was Jay. Despite Alex's warning, Jay seemed like a friendly person and a decent guy. He was enthusiastic about the idea I had shared with him. It was his positive reaction to it that made me want to write again. It was refreshing to have a different person react to my writing. The only other person I had ever shared it with was Alex.
As I walked out of the hotel lobby, my former mentor suddenly appeared at my side. I tried to ignore him as I made my way to the elevator. I was in no mood to deal with him again. All that mattered to me was my book.
Alex followed me into the elevator. I sighed as the doors closed, and we were alone. “What do you want?” I asked with irritation.
He seemed to get upset every time I talked to him like that, but I didn't care. He looked at me and said, “Can you just stop being foolish and listen to me?”
I was furious after he said that. “You were the one being foolish and childish, Alex. I never would have treated you the way you treated me when we met yesterday. Why should I listen to you?”
The elevator doors opened as we arrived on my floor, and I didn't give him a chance to respond. I hurried up and walked out, hoping he wouldn't follow as I walked down the hall, but I was wrong about that.
“Will you please just listen, Hazel? I'm not leaving until you do.”
I groaned in frustration and opened the door to my hotel room. He followed me inside. As I threw my writing stuff down in the chair, Alex stood right behind me.
“Hazel, just look at me,” he pleaded.
I turned around in anger, but I wasn't expecting him to be that close to me. Our faces were mere inches from each other. We were both shocked into silence. I could still feel the anger between us, but I also felt the feelings of loss, desire, and torment.
