AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, you know how my life has been since then. Things changed a couple of weeks ago when I went on a writer's retreat. I bumped into Hazel, and things sort of rekindled between us, but I think I messed everything up,” I explained.
“What do you mean, messed up?” Gibson asked.
“Well, I felt like she was getting too involved with her writing and getting too close to some other guy there, so I threatened him. We had an argument, and I left the retreat without telling Hazel.”
My friend shook his head in disbelief. “You know, Alex, you haven’t changed one bit since we were younger,” Gibson replied as he looked at me in exasperation.
I was lost. I had no clue what he was talking about. He could see the confusion on my face and decided to explain it to me.
“You are a coward, Alex. You always have been. I'm being honest here. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, but you are always running away from awkward situations, and you can't keep doing that. It's not fair to the other person. It's not fair to Hazel,” he said softly.
I knew he meant well, but those were hard words to hear. We sat there in silence for a few minutes as I thought about what he said. I realized that Gibson was right, and I had made a colossal mistake.
“What can I do to fix it?” I asked him. I highly doubted that the writers’ retreat would let me back in with open arms.
Gibson sighed softly before he replied. “Alex. My friend. If you are really serious this time and determined to make things right between you and Hazel, then I will do all I can to help you,” he assured me. He got up and left the room for a few minutes.
I was left alone to contemplate my life choices. Unbidden, a memory of Hazel’s dad popped into my head. It was something he had mentioned to Gibson years ago, and Gibson told me. “If Alex had really been serious about his feelings for Hazel, he would have fought to be with her. The fact that he just ran off and left her like that proves that he isn't good enough for my little girl, even if he was my best friend.”
I realized all the mistakes I had made, thinking about how much I missed Gary, and now Hazel. I owed it to them to make things right. I hoped Gibson and I could come up with a plan to get me back into the resort so I could fix things.
Gibson returned with the information about the retreat and started writing stuff down. I wasn't exactly sure what he had in mind, but I guessed that I would just have to wait and see.Chapter Eleven - HazelThe next few weeks that I spent at the writer’s retreat were difficult. I wrestled a lot with my feelings. I missed Alex. I was happy that I had found him, and that things between us had developed into something more. Still, it always came back to the fact that I couldn't stand the way he just ran off when things got too difficult for him. It was childish and immature.
I started to guess that stuff like that was normal for him. Just the thought of him made me so frustrated and angry I had to remind myself to take deep breaths or count to ten. It took a long time before I was able to calm down enough to function.
By the end of the first week without Alex, any feelings of love, or anything else that I felt for him was reduced to nothing. I knew he wasn't coming back. There was nothing I could do to change that. I convinced myself that I was better off without him, and I didn't need to deal with situations like the one he had caused. I had enough on my plate already.
Even though I was emotional, I had made real progress with my novel, and I couldn't have been happier. I still managed to attend the group classes at the retreat in spite of my morning sickness. Those classes were proving to be a great help to me, and I was more than halfway done with my book.
I had made some acquaintances out of the other writers there, but my only real friend was Jay. One morning as I was getting ready for the group, I decided to let Jay in on what had happened between Alex and me. I needed someone to talk to or confide in, and he was my only option.
I cautiously made my way downstairs and found him in a corner of the conference room writing.
“Can I join you?” I asked before sitting next to him.
Jay looked up from his computer and gave me a big smile. “Of course! It's been a few days since I've seen you,” he greeted me happily. Jay was always in a good mood. He put his laptop away and looked at me curiously. “Why do I get the feeling that something is bothering you?” he asked.
