Crack
1062 Words
HAZEL
The next morning, when I woke up, I wondered what kind of day I wanted this to be. Am I going to stay in my room all day? Am I going to get out? But then, thinking of seeing Nico… thinking how he must be feeling right now… he must be blaming me, right? I mean, there’s no way he’s not blaming me.
I would have gone out....well, not out exactly. I don’t know, maybe I would have gone to watch a movie in the movie room, or maybe I would have gone to read a book, I guess, or play with the piano. But when I remembered Nico and what happened, I lost all strength and decided....you know what, today’s another day I’m spending under the blanket.
And that’s exactly what happened.
I got under the blanket, and of course, Angela came in the morning. She cleaned the room, she brought me breakfast, she brought me lunch, and then, of course, she came and reminded me it was dinner and I had to leave the bedroom and go downstairs.
I still remember what she said yesterday.
She doesn’t want what happened to Nico to happen to her.
So I guess… I’m going down to have dinner with him...
When I stepped out of my room, all I could think about was how much I dreaded sitting in that dining room again, with Axel, pretending everything was fine, pretending I didn’t hate him with every breath I took.
But I had made a decision.
I wasn’t going to engage him.
I was going to do what he did best....eat, stay silent, and leave.
As I closed the door behind me, I froze. There was someone standing in the hallway.
It took me a full second to register who it was — Nico.
I frowned.
What the hell is he doing here?
After what happened, he should be in a hospital bed. And he did not look okay. His face was unreadable, but his posture… tense, guarded, stiff with pain.
“Nico,” I said softly, taking a few steps toward him.
He didn’t even let me get close.
He lifted a hand sharply, palm out.
“Don’t.” His voice was cold, hard, ice slicing through the air. “Don’t get closer. Don’t touch me.”
I stopped immediately.
The anger in his voice was sharp.
The hatred… even sharper.
And I deserved all of that.
All I wanted was to comfort him, to ask if he was alright. But of course he wouldn’t want that, not from me. I am the reason he’s in pain. I’m the reason blood ran down his back. I’m the reason Axel punished him.
Of course, he’d hate me. Who wouldn’t?
I swallowed, trying to steady myself.
“How are you?” I whispered. “Are you okay?”
Nico stared straight ahead, jaw clenched, refusing to answer.
“I just want to know you’re okay,” I tried again. “Just tell me if you’re okay.”
He didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
Didn’t speak.
I turned my face away, blinking back tears. Stupid, unwanted tears.
Because for some reason, Nico had always been the only one who engaged me in this place. Not in a friendly way, we weren’t friends. But he talked to me. He responded. He teased me. He argued with me. He filled the silence in this house of ghosts.
Axel barely spoke unless it was to command something.
Angela was polite but distant, chained to her duties.
The maids ran from me like I carried a disease.
Everyone else whispered behind my back. Nobody wanted to be near me..... Except Nico.
And even though he was doing it because it was his job… he was still someone I could speak to. Someone who at least acknowledged I existed.
Now he couldn’t even look at me.
Now he wanted nothing to do with me.
And it hurt more than it should have.
And I couldn’t even blame him....not really.
I gathered myself, stared up at the ceiling for a moment as if it would give me strength, and then I started marching toward the dining room.
That anger in me was hot and inhaled, coiled tight, simmering under my skin. I wasn’t going down there to have dinner; I was going down there to tolerate it. To tolerate him.
But then I remembered Nico’s words.
The way he disregarded me.
The way he loathed me.
Oh my.....
It triggered something sharp and reckless inside me. I just wanted this dinner over with, over before I snapped, before I broke my own rules, before I did something I couldn’t take back.
Nico trailed behind me like a shadow. The moment I reached the dining room, he stopped outside the door, standing guard, while I walked in alone.
And of course...there he was. Axel, sitting in his majestic chair at the head of the impossibly long table like some ancient ruler carved from stone.
I wasn’t going to sit next to him. Obviously.
I took the same seat I’d taken yesterday. I guess I was angrier than I thought, because I thumped down into the chair, maybe harder than I should have....but that shouldn’t have mattered. These chairs were sturdy. Heavy. Solid. They looked like they could carry a whole grown man, let alone a girl who barely hit 140 pounds.
But the second I sat,
CRACK.
Just like that, the world dropped out from under me. I hit the floor so fast I shrieked.
One—because I was shocked.
Two—because what the actual hell?
Three—because why am I suddenly on the f*****g floor?
Before I could even process it, Nico appeared at my side. He didn’t touch me, but his voice was controlled as he asked,
“Are you okay? Do you need any help?”
“Yes. Could you help me stand, please?” I said quickly, reaching out my hand.
But Nico didn’t take it. He wasn’t looking at me at all. He was looking at Axel. Like he needed Axel’s command before he could even breathe.
Axel didn’t say anything, at least I didn’t hear anything, but whatever silent message he gave sent Nico straight out of the room.
I was left there alone on the floor, angrier than I had been all day.
- Writer
