Her House, My Rules

Chapter 47

As soon as I entered the party and ignored Sky Halter's presence, Caroline and her friends jumped on me, unexpectedly. They were old friends from school but to be honest, I didn't remember half of them except Caroline and a few faces that were moving their hips on the dance floor from a small distance. You're so handsome, Hawk Wale. They said to me. Thank you, ladies, but my queen is standing right next to me. I replied with so much confidence. Hazel felt special and proud.

Hazel was uncomfortable, the evidence was marked all over her face. She was the only one who didn't know anyone from the party. It was tough but she wanted me to stay by her side and it was an impossible call. My old friends from school kept dragging me from my original spot. It was really hard to give her the attention that she needed. I wanted to catch up with them at the same time. I was enjoying their company.

The party was going great but after a few good hours, it started to get out of hand. The crowd was going crazy, drunk and wasted. Some of them were smoking weed in the corner. I wanted to take Hazel home. It wasn't safe for her. I felt guilty for ignoring her for hours and hours but I didn't do it on purpose. I needed a distraction. It was already three in the morning and my eyes started to scream for mercy. I was really tired and I didn't want to sleep on the road with Hazel by my side.

Out Of Question.

"Have you seen Hazel?" I pulled Jack to the side from the lousy crowd. "I searched for her everywhere. She's nowhere to be found." I tried to sedate pieces of information from his mouth.

"No," He replied, with a serious face. "Oh yeah, I did. She was sitting right there like two hours ago but she wasn't alone." He took a sip of his lemonade juice. "She was really pale."

"Who was she with?" I was running out of patience. Maybe Hazel was with a random drunk guy. "Who was it, Jack?" I rephrased my question with a better scenario from my bad imaginations.

"Oh," He shared a nervous smile. "She was with a girl." He explained. "They were talking to each other. That was the last time I saw her. I promise." His words made the situation worse.

"Where did she go?" I said to myself, worried. "Where is this girl?" I reached out for my phone but it was dead. Jack tried to call her on his phone.

No answer.

"Hawk, everything is going to be okay," Jack assured. " Just breathe." He suggested, patiently. "She's probably outside or in the bathroom. Stop overreacting."

"I checked everywhere, Jack." I panicked. "Where is she?" I panted, nervously. "What if she's with a guy right now? What if she... What if she..." I stammered, trying not to think about the worst possible things.

"You need to calm down." Jack grabbed me by the shoulder to comfort me. "Hazel is fine." He promised.

"Try to call her again." Caroline interrupted us. Jack greeted her presence with a decent compliment.

"The birthday girl is killing it. Your dress is gorgeous by the way." Jack complimented Caroline. "Do you have plans after the party?" He tried to seduce her with his silly words. "I'm free."

"Jack, stop playing with me." Caroline laughed. "Hawk? Are you okay? Why do you look so distant? Is everything okay?" Her questions made me uncomfortable. I wasn't in the mood to share my personal issues with an old stranger.

"She's looking for his girl," Jack stated. "Have you seen Hazel?"

"Who's that?" Caroline played the victim. "He's talking about the girl you came with, Hawk?" I nodded my head 'Yes'. "She left an hour ago. She was talking to Cassidy." She measured her pride to steal my full attention. "She obviously doesn't care about you. She left you without saying goodbye. That's pretty messed up."