ᴛʜɪʀᴅ ᴘᴏᴠ

𝘍𝘢𝘳 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦

♛♛♛

Hazel's had many dreams in her lifetime.

Most she cannot remember and some she could. Certain memories from her childhood have left her damaged or have filled her with nostalgia.

And every now and again, her dreams are so vivid that she wonders if it was all a dream after all.

The next morning she woke up with initial pain all through her body. It wasn't just in one spot; it was everywhere.

The pain felt more like an ache, a horrible, never-ending ache.

After she awoke, Hazel had some time to reflect on the previous day, becoming abruptly aware that what she thought was a vivid dream was completely realistic.

That is to say, what she had assumed was merely a bad dream turned out to be real.

The next thing Hazel did was search around the room. Searching for her friend, or rather, best friend.

Julius was the one who stepped in to help her. He arrived and took care of her, healing her hurt and putting an end to her tears, giving her something to hold on to.

He was nowhere to be found in her field of vision. As she sat up and began to rise, she let out a loud exhale, her knotted hair tumbling down her back.

Each step was excruciating. It was agonising, from merely sitting up to simply flipping her legs over her bed to get up.

It took Hazel some time to fully submerge, to regain control of her strength—whatever was left of it—and to push herself to the bathroom.

By the time she painfully walked inside, her legs were already aiming to give up on her. The pain in her legs was most likely from all the running, no, sprinting, she did yesterday.

But, it was also because of the downfall. Either one was as bad anyways.

Hazel had completed her morning business. Which concluded of brushing her teeth and hair, rinsing her face and drying it out.

There wasn't any way Hazel would be going to college today. She couldn't stomach missing a lesson, but she knew deep inside that she needed to stay at home.

Despite the fact that it was only 10:30 a.m., Hazel made it her mission to get her body back into its proper place today.

Beginning with her limping down a staircase. When Hazel looked around the house, it appeared to be untouched, implying that either her parents hadn't returned, or that they had and hadn't bothered to clean up their mess.

When do they ever? Hazel thought with an eye roll.

Reaching the kitchen, she walked around the kitchen counter and pulled open the refrigerator door. Scanning the contents, she came across eggs and chocolate milk.

Smiling with approval, she took out the ingredients, deciding on scrambled eggs and chocolate milk for breakfast.

The girl started on her breakfast, moving slowly and cautiously around the kitchen. She hummed along to a tune, a familiar song that repeated in the back of her mind.

"We never go out of style. You got that long hair slicked back, white t-shirt. And I got that good girl faith and a tight little—

Hazel's body swung around as her heels propelled her forwards, and a scream escaped her lips when her brooding best friend sat in front of her at the counter.

"Juls!" She stumbled back in surprise, her palm shooting to her lips as she was absolutely taken aback. Julius stood motionless, unfazed by her apparent shock.

"Careful, Hazel," He motioned to the stove, which she was getting close to. She snapped her head back to him after leaping away.

"How'd you get in?" She clenched her hands on the counter's ends, a wry look on her lips.

He leant forwards, both arms on the counter, shrugging as his form towered over her.

"How are you feeling?" He gazed at her gravely, a neutral timbre to his oddly quiet but dark voice.

"I'm a lot better now. But...my muscles are killing me," She paused for a moment, stirring the eggs in the pan. "Did you want to eat anything, Juls?"

Hazel raised the spatula and swung it around as she peered over her shoulder at him, referring to her question. When Hazel realised she had dropped egg all over the floor from the excess on the utensil, Julius suppressed a chuckle.

Julius let out a soft sigh and stood up from his spot, coming over to help the poor girl out.

"Are you going back to Dubai?" Hazel scooted to the side, eyes watching him move around the kitchen as if he was the one who owned it.

"No," He answered shortly. Frowning, she turned her attention back to the eggs and continued stirring as they were now nearly ready.

"Then what are you going to do? Don't you need to be there for work?"

Julius went behind her after tossing the cleaning wipes into the trash, and she could feel his body heat radiate off him and against her backside, leaving her nearly faint.

He leaned beside her, his hip pushed against the stove's edge, and his arms wrapped across his chest. Her gaze trailed across the area, taking in the muscles bulging beneath his shirt's fabric, as well as the mysterious marks and tattoos strewn across his arms.

"Hazel," He called, possessing her attention straight to him. "Yes?" Her hazel eyes burned into his, piercing the grey.

"The eggs," He cast a glimpse over her shoulder at the burning eggs, causing her to gasp and immediately turn down the heat. She flushed bright crimson and shifted the pan to a clean plate.

She poured the contents of the pan onto the plate, causing her to squirm slightly at the sight of the half-burned eggs.

"I had someone else take care of the business," Julius answered Hazel's previous question. "Oh? Are you planning on staying here for a while?"

Hazel had rotated her entire body to face Julius. They were so close to each other that their chests were almost touching. Overwhelmed by the proximity, Hazel had to take a deep breath.

"I am." He murmured grimly, leaning his head to one side while his hand gently reached up and touched her cheek.

The light touch of his thumb grazed the side of her left cheek, his gaze following his motions whilst Hazel stared at him wide-eyed, completely in a daze by the sudden butterflies fluttering down below.

He removed his thumb and then wiped it on a damp rag beside her. "Egg." He explained with a small smirk of amusement.

She reddened with embarrassment, Julius not missing the way her head turned to cover it. He stepped to the side, allowing Hazel to move behind the counter and away from his intimidating demeanour.

"I feel like I should've gone to school today..." Hazel mentioned, her brows furrowing while scooting her bottom onto the stool. Doubt was set in her mind, running over the numerous classes she had to attend.

"No." Julius responded solidly. His powerful form leant against the kitchen stove, arms folded across his chest, with a stoic, expressionless expression on his face. Hazel snatched up her first bite of egg and frowned again, this time directing her frown towards Julius.

"You need to rest. Recover."

She dropped her down the fork and rested both hands on the table, ignoring his burning stare as she swallowed the bite with a rush.

"I know, Juls. But this is school, I'm missing out on so much work." Her tone quieted down with her last protest, weakening at the realisation.

When she returned her gaze to Julius, she was almost startled at the strong look in his gaze, which was a bizarrely dark grey. "It's one day, angel."

Her heart began to pound rapidly in her chest. The small crush had swelled slightly as a result of her new pet name, which he had only used twice before. That string grew an inch longer.

Hazel took a deep breath and vowed not to sigh again. "You're right." She nodded, putting an excessively large amount of chocolate milk in her mouth, causing the liquid to flow down the side of her lips.

She blushed as she drank it and looked down at her swaying feet. "Sorry. You will learn that I'm a bit of a grub."

Julius was fairly amused by the small woman. Amused enough to almost have him smirk a length again. He shrugged solemnly as if he didn't care about anything, which Hazel was beginning to suspect he didn't.

"What are your plans for the day?" Hazel swiftly changed the subject, a fresh fascination forming and blossoming within her. She continued to eat her burnt scrambled eggs until she couldn't take any more bites.

"Running errands." His gaze was drawn to her hands as they moved away the half-eaten plate.

"Oh? Shopping?"

The grey in his eyes had returned to that darker tone. A shade that resembles the colour of clouds from an oncoming thunderstorm.

"Sure."

Gulping the rest of her chocolate milk, she nodded her head, somehow satisfied with his subtle answer.

"Well, if you have time for me today make sure to stop by. We can watch a movie or something." She shrugged and slid off the stool. "Whatever you like to do. We can compromise."

His lips tipped and a new expression appeared as he became totally amused. An almost devilish smirk.

She dumped the wasted eggs into the trash, then presumed to place both dishes into the sink.

When she turned back around, she was taken aback to see Julius standing right behind her. It surprised her that she hadn't felt him before noticing him; his body heat was undeniably noticeable.

Especially when it radiated off your skin in waves or even ripples, wreaking havoc and driving hunger-filled butterflies deep into your belly.

Yep. Hazel definitely noticed.

"I'll be back around lunchtime." Julius tilted her head with the tips of his fingers, staring deep into her eyes.

Hazel could only blink. Once and then twice. "Okay," Breathlessly, she spoke. With one more intense look, his fingers were removed slowly and he patted her hip once.

The small gesture had her entire body lighting up. Particularly the exact spot he touched, it burned up like an irrational fire.

She took a step back, Hazel watched as he exited the kitchen, and Hazel ran after him, obnoxiously running past him to the door.

Huffing, she yanked it open in a flash, much sooner than his final two strides could come to a halt at it.

"Goodbye Juls." She grinned, leaning up against the frame with her chest puffing up and down. Out of breath.

He gave her a single nod while staring her down. Hazel caught a glimpse of the muscles shifting around beneath his long trench coat as one veiny hand reached into his pocket.

His solitary car key was clutched in his fist—well, it was really just a small button with the car brand's name etched in gold on the back.

Moving past her, she got a whiff of his potent cologne. A smell she's become accustomed to.

As he made it to the short staircase outside of her home, Hazel had closed the front door and locked it for safety measures. She was sure her parents would have locked the doors before leaving for work, how could he have gotten in?

Hazel shrugged, indifferently puzzled but dismissive. It's not like it was a stranger or an insanely insane person entering her home.

Flipping her bathroom light on, she started the process of a good shower—hopefully, to rid of the unsatisfactory breakfast and the unsettling nerves in her system—good nerves.

Resting her head under the water, Hazel's body melted underneath it, and so did her mind.

♛♛♛

She gazed with shock, her lips parted with the same notion.

A white plastic bag sat on her kitchen counter, a sweet and syrupy smell coming from inside.

Walking forward, she took out the contents, grasping out a hot container of food. When she opened it up, the sight of freshly made waffles filled with much syrup and some blueberries on the side in addition.

There wasn't any note inside or outside the bag, but it didn't take much for Hazel to know who dropped this breakfast off.

Without wasting another minute, the girl sat on the counter and dug into the food with the plastic fork provided.

The food was desperately relieving. It was like heaven absorbed into her mouth.

Just as she was halfway through the so-called heaven, her phone made an appearance next to her as it lit up with a flash.

She swallowed the bite in her mouth and reached out to the side, grabbing the phone in her sticky grip.

The name 'Trace' flashed across the screen and Hazel instantly tapped onto the answer button.

"Hello?" She hesitated.

Gracie yelled into the phone, earning Gracie a gentle smack from Trace and also managing to make Hazel flinch as the sound travelled through the phone.

Hazel giggled and blushed a light pink. "Hey, guys,"

Hazel heard Gracie sigh while Trace hummed with agreement.

Trace had said, Gracie following after.

And then, all of a sudden, memories from nearly 24 hours ago surfaced, delving through the slight distraction Hazel had created in her mind.

Her normally rosy cheeks turned cold as her smile faded. "Um, there is something you guys should know."

Hazel was stumped as to where to begin her story. She didn't know what to say or where to even begin.

But when they quickly asked what was wrong, figuring the distraught shift to her tone, she had somewhat managed to spill the details of the distressing experience.

She caved and held back tears with every lace of venom when his name escaped her mouth, every mocking word of what he'd done to her and how she'd fought back.

Gracie spoke first, after the long-listed silence.

"No, don't apologise," Hazel quickly bugged in, her eyes bulging for a second as her friends were quick to blame themselves. "It isn't your fault, it's nobodies. How could you have known when I didn't?"

She sighed, picking her fork at her nearly finished waffles. "It's over now. Julius somewhat saved me." Hazel smiled only between her and herself.

"I called Julius right after. He came back from his business trip to help me. He stayed with me until I fell asleep and then he appeared again this morning."

Hazel had hastily poured the words from her mouth. Without realising it, the two women on the other end of the line were completely taken aback.

They had never imagined Julius caring or stopping his certain business for anyone in a million, billion, or even trillion years.

Let alone to even handle someone for another. The only other times Julius eliminates a person was for himself, business, or just because someone managed to piss him off.

Because that was who he was. He was a cruel, cruel man. Not someone to be showing any kind of affection.

Of course, the girls knew the other young woman didn't know that.

Trace said, nearly unsure. Gracie replied more firmly.

She took a deep breath—a long deep breath—and held it.

"I'm better. The scenes are still taunting my mind, though the distractions are nice."

The two women then had added up why he sent them both on that mission so last minute now. Of course, he didn't explain why he had, and they were never allowed to ask.

But now it made sense.

Hazel realised at the same time that those were the people Julius had sent to take his place. And she couldn't have been more grateful.

As much as it is selfish of her, she couldn't help but think of the more time she could spend with him.

"Don't worry about it guys. I'm okay now, Julius is with me."

Hazel giggled at the surprise coming from the two. "No sillies! I meant it metaphorically."

They spoke at the same time, having Hazel giggle again.

The three continued to converse for a few moments longer. The two girls tried to take Hazel's mind off the situation by giving her a quick rundown of where they were and what they'd been up to. Except for the job they're expected to do.

After an hour or so, the girls had hung up, leaving Hazel alone.

Hazel got out of her chair and started washing her dishes, placing them in the dishwasher.

When Hazel was finished, she went back up her staircase and into her room, where she picked up the book she was reading and sat in the depths of her bed.

Today she decided not to make her bed. Given how cold, rainy, and windy it was outside, it was definitely for the best that she would be snuggled up in her bed all day.

She returned to the page where she had left off in the book. Hazel didn't use bookmarks because she didn't have any, so she'd tear a corner of blank paper and lay it between the pages whenever she needed something to maintain her place.

She used to have the habit of folding the corners of the book and marking her page that way when she was younger. Her older sister, on the other hand, caught her and scolded her to the point of exhaustion for it.

Her words were along the lines of "You cannot hurt the heart and soul of a book. Bending and squirming the pages is much like breaking a human heart."

Hazel had always believed she was a bit dramatic, but as she got older, she realised she was only creasing the book, which requires a great deal of care because it is so delicate.

The young woman sank into her bed, sighing, and let the book fall on top of her chest. She hadn't even read a single word yet.

Closing her eyes, it was like she could feel her sister with her sometimes. Amongst these old thoughts, Hazel felt as if her sister wasn't gone—instead, she was just somewhere far away.

Far, far away from her.

Hazel's already closed eyes began to drop without her noticing. Her body felt heavy and her mind seemed light as she progressed through the stages of going into a deep sleep.

And before she knew it, she was deep in slumber.

♛♛♛

Hazel was startled awake by the sound of thunder.

As she rose from the bed, her senses returned to normal—as her sight and hearing came back to earth, she soon realised that booming sound was nothing more than a voice.

A familiar, deep, and melodious voice.

As she sought to hear more, she sat up gently, rubbing her eyes and pursing her lips. It got quiet, the voice went mute, and she seemed to be alone once more.