Shattered

Carter (e)

Carter
17.
I couldn't shake the unfamiliar feelings that flooded through me when she made her way into my office, the ones that made my heart pound a little less and had the familiarity of anger slipping through my fingertips. Yet, I couldn't help but feel nervous; one wrong move and Hazel would notice.

It was second nature to hide behind a cold mask, a sense of comfort, but with Hazel, I was struggling to keep the scowl on my face.

Any sense of peace, though, seemed to be fleeting as I ushered the brunette into my office, as my eyes fell over the bruise and the eyes that flit nervously around the room before landing on me.

A beat of silence had my heart in my throat all over again. I hated silence.

"I'm sorry about yesterday. About what I said." She finally responded with.

Her words caught me off guard. It was something I should have been used to by now, with all that I've learned about Hazel already. But I didn't think I ever could. I drew my brows to my nose, remembering our conversation in the car just yesterday morning. Why was Hazel apologizing?

"I...I shouldn't have assumed those things about you." She added.

I watched as she lifted a hand to her face to lightly skim over her cheek, frowning slightly when Hazel met my stare.

"Why are you saying this?" I asked, the only words I could find.

A sliver of panic filled my chest, something that should have been so familiar, but this time, it suffocated me. I couldn't understand what Hazel was trying to do, didn't like the way her words penetrated right through me. Soon, I was sure the anger wouldn't be enough.

"They keep saying you hit me...the stares, but I know that's not true."

Now it was Hazel who was confused, eyes darting from mine to the floor and back again. I couldn't help but know exactly what she was thinking.

That if the rumors weren't true, then what was? That maybe Carter Wright wasn't the big and bad guy everyone always talked about.

But Hazel couldn't know any of that because I wouldn't let her.

"Don't you have work to do?" Just like that, the cold was back, emotions tucked carefully swept behind a shield. "Aren't I paying you to do that?"

The relief flooded through me when Hazel's wide-eyed gaze looked back at me. That was much better.

Hazel opened her mouth to speak, but she pursed her lips with a slight shake of her head. For a moment, I was afraid she was going to see right through me and keep pushing for answers. And there was a part of me that wanted Hazel to say what she was going to, but instead, she said,

"Yes, sir."

Hazel turned to leave, but I wasn't done.

Just for good measure. A false sense of comfort. "Don't you dare speak to me again."

Immediately, I regret my words as Hazel gave me another quiet, "yes, sir" before slipping away quickly, head hung with embarrassment.

I wanted to call her back and apologize, but I knew better, knowing that I'd only come to make myself feel like an even bigger fool than I already was. Instead, I continued to stare down our office door, reminding myself that I didn't care.

It wasn't until the afternoon that Hazel returned to my office. Her eyes searched my face, but they quickly darted away when I looked at her. Expectant.

Although I did my best to hide that it bothered me, I could feel the facade slipping. The anger dissipated, the scowl with it.

When Hazel's dark eyes met mine again, I opened my mouth to snap at her, but she beat me to it.