Hope I Wake

Part Twenty-Five

'Welcome sweetheart.'

'Thank you Ms. March.'

'Please call me Sara.'

Rebecca steps into their house and admires the beautiful paintings Hazel and her mother have hanging on the walls. After their nice afternoon together they wanted to have a sleep-over. Her mother immediately said yes, Hazel hasn't had so many friends over after all. She is so happy Hazel has finally found the right people for her, it's been a wish of her for a very long time now.

'Girls, I'll make you some tea, I'll bring it in a couple of minutes.'

'Thank you mom!'

The two of them go upstairs, to Hazel's room. When they enter Rebecca is flabbergasted by how neat her room is.

'Wow, you have a beautiful room.'

'Aw thanks Beccie. I try my best to keep everything clean and cute.'

'Well, seems you succeeded', she laughs.

Rebecca walks over to the windowsill and stares at the beautiful view. Hazel lives in a very quiet neighborhood and it's very lovely there.

'Your neigborhood is wonderful.'

As Rebecca stands there with her back to her, Hazel looks in her room. Suddenly her eyes get caught by Mason's bracelet. It is his brown, leather bracelet, he always wears it and she knows Rebecca would immediately recognize it. In a panic she throws it under her bed, hopefully she won't notice it. Hazel has no idea how she would explain that his bracelet is on her bed. It would certainly do damage to their friendship, that's one thing she's very certain about.

'Shall we get your mattress and make your bed?'

'Yes! Lets do it.'

Hazel leads the way to the side room, where they store all their stuff they don't use very often. The light goes on and the whole room gets filled with a yellow glow. The room isn't very big, the mattress is very present in the room. They grab it and start dragging it to Hazel's room. When they finally get there, they start making the bed. Rebecca throws a pillow to her head.

'Hey! Watch it!'

A pillow smacks on Rebecca's face.

'Payback time!'

They start throwing pillows to each other, Rebecca and Hazel are crying from laughter. Hazel rubs her belly because it starts to hurt from all that laughing they have been doing.

'I can't-'

Smack. Another pillow gets planted on her face, this one leaves a light mark on her face. Hazel starts laughing even harder, it is the most chaotic situation she has ever been in. Rebecca seems to enjoy the pillow fight as much as her. Hazel feels so happy being around her, they are like sisters.

Her mother slowly enters her room but backs off immediately when she sees how much fun they're having. She doesn't want to ruin this beautiful moment. A tear falls down on her cheek, she wipes it away. Her daughter hasn't laughed this hard since the death of her husband. Rebecca makes her really happy, she can see that. This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, Sara has a new daughter and her name is Rebecca. This girl is absolutely welcome any time she wants, Sara will always be there for her. Becca's happiness is now her happiness. She softly puts down the two cups of tea and goes downstairs again. Sara has the biggest smile on her face as she walks down to continue her movie. Thank you Rebecca, for making my daughter smile again, she thinks.

When they have finally calmed down a bit, Hazel notices the tea cups.

'Ah, my mom brought our tea!'

'Aw and she even put cookies with it. She's the best.'

'You and her both.'

Rebecca throws herself at Hazel and holds her firmly. Her arms squeeze Hazel's body very tight, but she doesn't mind it, this is one of the most loving hugs she has ever received. This just feels right, they are meant to be together forever. Hazel starts crying, Rebecca doesn't let go. In stead Rebecca talks to her, very softly and calm, it makes Hazel feel safe.

'Why are you crying sweetheart?'

'It's just-'

Her voice trembles as she tries to speak.

'Breath', Rebecca lets go but she still holds her hands, 'in and out, go slow. I'm here for you, I will always be here for you, no matter what.'

It's helping, Hazel calms down slowly and keeps focussing on the sweet words and the breathing tips. Every now and then Rebecca squeezes her hand, to let her know she's still here. After a couple of minutes she feels strong enough to speak again.

'It's just that you're so nice to me. I have never had a friend like you before', she blows her nose in a tissue she just got from Rebecca.

'Of course I am nice to you, we are best friends Hazel. I love you so much and I appreciate every part of you. I accept you because of you. You and I against the world', she smiles and wipes away Hazel's tears. Then she kisses her on the cheek as she still holds her hands.

'Thank you Becca, you don't know how much that means to me.'

'I kind of do, I just saw the effect I have on you', she chuckles.

Hazel laughs through her tears. 'I swear, I'm not always a mess like this.'

'Even if you were, I would still love you and spend time with you.'

They smile at each other, it feels so loving for both of them. They're truly meant to be best friends, Hazel and Rebecca are soulmates. Hazel never wants to lose her, ever.

'Come here girl', she pulls her in for another hug, 'lets watch girls movies now.'

'Yes, lets make it a cosy girls night!'

They crawl under the soft blanket and drink their tea. The whole night they spend watching movies, eating snacks and laughing until they are too tired to open their eyes. The movie is finished, they snuggle up to each other, hold hands and close their eyes.

'Goodnight, love you.'

'Love you too.'

'You and I against the world, girl.'