1.92 Sick of hiding

Matt could see the stress in Hazel’s eyes as each week went by and he could feel her pulling away from him. 

As he knelt down beside her he said, “Baby we will get through this.” Tears were streaming down Hazel’s face, “I want to go home. It’s not fair that we are being punished.” Matt pulled her towards him and sweetly replied, “We need to get out of this house, come on.”

They took a short walk to the beach and for a while they watched the wave’s crash into one another as they cuddled up together.

“Matt I’m sick of hiding and I know your Uncle wants to keep us safe but I really want to go home.” 

He turned her around and quietly said, “I understand but would we be putting our friends and family at risk?” Hazel looked down at the sand replying, “You could be right but we are married now. I’d love a place of our own; to decorate the way we want and maybe even try for a baby but we are stuck in limbo not allowed to do anything accept live in fear of my mother.”

“I’m afraid the longer we stay here that I’m losing you.” Hazel looked shocked and replied, “I love you, I’m just mad with my Mum. Please speak to your Uncle and let’s go home.”

“I will but just for the next few hours can we have some fun?” Hazel smiled and cheekily asked, “What do you have in mind?”

“Remember our date at the beach…well we never got to see how that would have ended because we were interrupted.” Hazel tried a feeble attempt to be horrified but Matt saw through it and started to tickle her. When Hazel started to giggle, Matt was happy to see his wife smile even if it was for a brief moment.

Later that evening he called Estevan and asked, “Uncle Estevan, Hazel and I have been talking and we really want to go home. We want to carry on with university in our dorm and do what normal people do.”

Matt was greeted with silence and then finally Estevan spoke, “When you say home do you mean return here or Lucky palms?” Matt hesitated for a moment, “I want to come home but not just yet because I need to see my parents and Charlie not to mention Kay and our friends. However after university I want to return home. Is Art and the twins ok and what about Uncle Will?”

“I will fill you in but I can’t at the moment because your Aunt is screaming at me to help with Nathan because he won’t go to sleep again. If you want to return home I won’t stop you but remember Hazel’s Mum could try anything and if she does, I’m only a phone call away. Speak to you soon Mathew.”

“Bye.” Matt wanted to know what Estevan wasn’t telling him but he knew he would find out soon. 

When he turned he saw Hazel looking at him impatiently, “Well, can we go home?” Matt smiled and replied, “Yes we can go home but any problems and call them straight away.” Hazel jumped into his arms, “Can we leave right now because Kirsten will be showing by now and I’ve missed so much. Plus she will be pulling her hair out trying to keep Laura at bay.”

“Laura won’t be that bad, would she?” 

Hazel raised an eyebrow and firmly said, “Without a referee yes she might be.” Matt hugged his wife tightly, “Fine, we will pack up and leave but remember it will be dawn when we get there.” 

Hazel kissed him deeply and replied, “Thank you.”

They packed the truck and locked the door behind them. Matt asked before they got into the truck, “Are you sure?”

“I miss everyone and so do you besides, I want to sleep in my own bed.” Matt smiled, “Kay must be huge by now and properly driving Jake nuts.” Hazel laughed, “My money is on it being the other way around.”

When they saw the canyons either side of them, they knew they were home. It had been a few months since they’d seen this place and it was a welcomed sight after what they had been through. As Matt pulled into the drive they noticed how quite it was so they made their way to the basement to their room to unpack.

Kirsten heart jumped when she heard noises coming from the kitchen, “And, Jake and Kay are at Spencer’s so who is downstairs?” Andrew told Kirsten to stay put and he would go and look. 

Suddenly Kirsten heard Andrew say, “You could have rung.” Kirsten slowly made her way to the kitchen when she heard a familiar voice say, “Look at you, I want to know everything.” When Kirsten finally saw it was Hazel she burst into tears. Hazel didn’t wait for Andrew to help as she took her best friend to the living area and asked, “Why are you crying?”

“I missed your wedding, I was missing my friend…lost a baby and my Mum is trying to interfere again.” Hazel was now in shock, “What! Lost the baby, when? Kirsten was trying to speak when she heard Andrew say, “We were going have twins but we lost one of them.” Hazel looked back at Kirsten and softly said, “I’m here now and you won’t lose this baby while I’m here. Did the doctor say to rest?” Kirsten nodded, Hazel responded with, “Come and eat breakfast and tell me everything and fill me in what your Mum is up to.”

Kirsten laughed slightly as she followed Hazel to the kitchen.