Page 51 of The Wreckage of Us
“It’s okay. At least I didn’t end up spending it alone.”
Later that night, I heard her tossing and turning in her bed again. It made it impossible for me to fall asleep knowing she was in such distress. So without an invitation, I tiptoed into her bedroom. I quietly closed the door behind me and moved over to the distressed girl, twisting and turning in her sleep.
“Haze. Hazel, wake up,” I whispered, nudging her in the arm. She sat up, alarmed and terrified.
“What?” she screeched, covered in sweat.
I shook my head a bit. “You were having a nightmare.”
Her breathing became more controlled as she combed her hands through her hair. “Oh.”
“Here, move over.”
“Why?”
“When I was a kid, I used to have nightmares after my parents left. Grams would lie with me every now and again, and on those nights, the dreams weren’t as bad. It helped to have someone lie beside me.”
Warily, she scooted over and lay against the wall. I climbed into bed beside her.
As I lay beside Hazel, her body was trembling with nerves or fear or sadness. One of those things. Maybe all three.
I wrapped my arms around her body and held her against mine.
My eyes drifted closed after she felt safe enough to shut her own.
15
HAZEL
“Hey, can you come help with something in the barn house?” Ian asked, popping his head into my bedroom as I was writing in my journal. “Big Paw has this big log he wants moved, and I can’t do it on my own. Meet me there in five?”
“Sure.” I tossed on a pair of shoes to hurry off to help him. It had been a week since I’d gone to visit my mother, and for the past seven days, Ian had crawled into bed to lie beside me. I didn’t understand why he’d been so nice to me, but having him lying beside me made it much easier to sleep at night. Whenever I’d wake in a panic, he’d be right there, soothing my troubled heartbeats.
I headed over to meet Ian at the barn house, opened the door—and gasped when I saw it decked out with decorations. Balloons, streamers, and a huge hand-painted banner that read,Happy Birthday, Hazel Stone.
There was a table set up with a huge cake and minicupcakes around it. Along with pizza and snacks.
“What is this?” I asked, my voice shaky as butterflies filled my stomach. Big Paw and Holly stood next to the table of food with smiles on their faces. Well, Holly smiled. Big Paw sported his grumpy face, which was one of my favorite looks on him. Beside them was Leah, looking as cheerful as ever.
“Can’t you tell? It’s your birthday party. We even went all out and got you a band,” Holly said.
Leah raced toward me and wrapped her arms around me. Over the past few weeks, she and I had been spending a lot of time together. I never thought I’d be one to have a girlfriend as cheerful as she was—but it was turning out that Leah was a light in my dark world. Laughing with her had become effortless.
“Do you like it, Hazel? I did all the decorations myself, even though the boys tried to put in their input on it all. But I told them to stay in their lane and prepare their gift to you.”
“Their gift to me?”
Leah grinned ear to ear. “Oh my gosh, Hazel. You’re going to love it. It’s really special.”
Before I could reply, Ian and his three bandmates walked out to the barn stage. My eyes were wide as they picked up their instruments.
Ian wrapped his hands around the microphone and gave me a half smile. “The Wreckage has been together for years now, but we hadn’t truly tapped into the depths of our music until a girl dressed in black came around and helped open us up to the possibilities of what we could create. Hazel, without you, these songs wouldn’t exist. Without you, I would’ve never delved deeper into the music. These songs are for you; these songs are because of you. Happy birthday, Hazel Stone. I hope it’s as special as you.”
He looked to his bandmates, and the four of them held a conversation with no words, and then Marcus began on the drums.
It only took seconds for me to realize they were playing the songs Ian and I had been crafting over the past few weeks. They felt so unique and complete due to the way the band had pieced together the instrumentals. The passion they had for their music was showcased as I watched those four men fall deeper in love with their creation, and every inch of me belonged to Ian’s voice. He moved on the stage as if it were made solely for his talent. His voice dripped with charm, smoothness, and sex appeal. Oh, how he looked so good up there, singing those words that he was delivering straight to me.
If I had a favorite day, it would’ve been that one. It was a memory I’d replay over and over again when my days got hard and my emotions overpowered me. I’d go back to that moment in time when Ian sang his songs solely for me.