The Coffee Date

Chapter 21 - Meet Stitches

"Where are they? Did they leave?"

Despite hearing his brother's panicked tone at their sudden disappearance, Nathan remained silent, allowing Hazel's hands to cling to his arms and her head to dig deeper into his shirt. She wasn't ready to brace the world yet. She needed a moment, a single moment after all this time, where she could break. Where she could be held. Where she could be loved.

Commotion continued to erupt just around the corner, the two still swimming in the dim seclusion. The best space to rest and regain.

He could feel a shift under him and Nathan's eyes retracted from where he had been staring in the direction of the noise, fearing someone would saunter by. Instead they rested upon the face of the girl wrapped in his arms, his grasp loosening, his gaze softening from the stern one he once wore to ward off passersby.

"I'm ready."

Nathan eyes squeezed in uncertainty, examining the form her expression took. To be fair, she had stopped her gentle sobbing a while previous. She had only really wept right at the beginning until she had been taken into his hold. After that, she had simmered. Silent, occasional tears and shivers instead taking home in her body. She was equipped to handle whatever was out there. But the matter was, Nathan wasn't sure if he wanted to drag her through it. It felt too soon. Too raw.

"Hazel, you can take a few more minutes."

She shook her head, the strain in his throat relaxing. She was afraid at first that when she stepped back that she would crumble again. That if he said a certain phrase or if his eyes bore deep enough she would shatter once more into his adoring grasp.

"No, I'm ready to leave."

Nathan nodded, his hands sliding away from the bottoms of her cheeks and falling back to his sides, one automatically sliding into his pocket. He could see the fatigue in her eyes; the churning aches from her side displaying on her face.

"I'll take you out of here."

As soon as Hazel felt his hand against her back and his shoulder just behind her own, she took a deep breath and started forward, pushing herself back into the light with her light.

"Miss. Daniels, there you are." Nathan could feel his shoulders tighten at his brother's voice.

While through this ordeal he had grown to be slightly more compassionate and lenient towards the two - probably due to their work ethic compared to his staff - he still lacked the human empathy he needed. Especially to be in the policing field.

"We need you to fill out a statement."

Nathan glared. "You aren't serious."

David raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms and placing more weight on his left foot than his right. "I am. We need the paperwork done and in."

Nathan scoffed. "After all of that? She needs to get home, can't you tell she's not feeling well?"

"Nathan, it's okay." Hazel chimed in stepping forwards, closer towards David and sheepishly rubbing one of her arms in the process. The movement inadvertently allowed David to get full glimpse of her pale skin and hazy eyes. "I'll do it, lead me to it."

Nathan sighed, reaching out and setting a hand on her shoulder, hoping to encourage her to drop it. But of course, knowing Hazel, she refused.

"I'll just get it done. Then we can leave."

"Hazel, you need to take your medication."

Her eyes closed. "I just want to be done." She pleaded softly, her voice hitching on the last of her words. She was overworked, over medicated, and overly sick. One last thing off of her month-long to-do list would leave her ecstatic.