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“Just as lonely, scared, and sad as you are?” Ivy asked, and I nodded.
“I think that’s how he’s feeling. Gabe told me when he explained to Irving the situation, he nodded, said, ‘That sounds like my Hazel,’ and then rolled away without another word.”
“My Hazel,” Audrey said. “That’s a man who knows who you are and is afraid of losing you to bigger and better things.”
“There’s no one better than him,” I said, my damaged lip trembling and reminding me of the pain I had brought on myself. “He deserves someone who can be honest with him and not hurt him like I did.”
“That’s hogwash,” Ivy said, shaking her head and adding an eye roll. “You were honest with him about everything that mattered. Would you have eventually come clean about the protected witness aspect of your life? Yes. I have no question in my mind that you wanted to tell us but knew you couldn’t until the trial was over.”
I nodded sadly. “At least not before I had to testify,” I said. “The day Marissa showed up, I had decided I would tell Irving that night. He needed to know, just him, so he wasn’t blindsided by the whole thing when I had to leave for Florida or if the FBI pulled me early. My biggest regret is waiting.” I closed my eyes and put my hand to my head. “I’m so tired.”
“Come on,” Audrey said, sliding an arm behind my back. “You need sleep. I will tuck you in and sit by your bed until you fall asleep. If you don’t, you’ll end up back in the hospital.”
Audrey walked me to my bed while Ivy cleaned the kitchen. Once Audrey had my shoes off, she literally tucked me into bed and pulled the shades. “Sleep now, and I promise that everything won’t seem so bad when you wake up.”
I snuggled into the pillow and sighed as my eyes closed. Sleep would help me heal, but the chances were good when I woke up everything was still going to hurt, including my heart.
Chapter Twenty
The knock on my door was firm, and I flicked my watch over to see who it was. Dawson stood at my door, and thankfully, I didn’t see anyone else around him. “Star, door,” I said, and the dog leaped toward the door and hit the button. The door swung open, and Dawson stepped in before the door closed.
“Hey, Irving,” he said, giving Star some attention. “I thought I’d check in before I go to work and make sure you’re doing okay.”
“Thanks, Dawson. I’m bored but fine. I hate elevating and icing this so many times a day.”
“True, but that’s better than ending up in the hospital, right?”
“Been there, done that,” I agreed. “Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate that you’re checking in on me.” I was hoping that would be enough to get him to leave. Instead, he sat down on the corner of the couch.
“I noticed Hazel packing her car.”
“Is she?” I asked with a shrug. “I wouldn’t know. I can’t see the parking lot.”
“I heard she resigned her position, too.”
My shrug was the only answer I could give because my heart was breaking. I suspected she would leave, but getting confirmation was a knife through the heart.
“That’s all you have to say?” Dawson asked and I shrugged again, making a show of fixing the ice on my ankle so I didn’t have to make eye contact with him.
“Have you talked to her?”
“Nope,” I said, popping the P. “Nothing to say. She’s not who she says she is, and that is a real relationship buster.”
“I don’t know,” he said, leaning forward on his palm. “From what I can gather, Hazel didn’t lie about who she is or even why she came here. Besides her last name being different, she’s still the same person she’s been the last three months you’ve worked with her. You're not being fair if you’re mad that she didn’t tell you about the protected witness situation.”
“I’m not being fair that she didn’t tell me she was a protected witness? I’m not being fair? I was shot because she was reckless and didn’t care who she put in danger!” My voice rose with every word until I forced calm back into my soul. I couldn’t let the situation spiral out of control any more than it already had.
“Hazel couldn’t tell you that, Irving, so instead, she told you more important things.”
“More important things?” I asked, completely confused.
“Things like her heart and soul. She shared herself with you the only way she could because she wanted you to know her. Are you surprised by what she did in Florida now that you know?”
“Not in the least,” I admitted. “Hazel is always going to do what’s right first and worry about herself second.”
“If you think about it that way, she gave up a lot to do what she did, but she didn’t hesitate because it was the right thing to do. When are you going to do the right thing?”
“When am I going to do the right thing? I didn’t do anything wrong, and look where it got me.”
