Chris And Hazel - Volume 1 Chapter 24 23

‘Are you shifting elsewhere?’ a voice asked as Hazel exited her apartment. She turned to look at Mrs. Hugh, a middle-aged woman, living next door walk out of her apartment with two huge garbage bags.

‘Yes Mrs. Hugh, I am actually moving closer to my office’ Hazel answered locking her apartment.

‘How did you know Mrs. Hugh?’ Hazel asked placing the keys inside her handbag.

‘Well I noticed that there was so much shifting going on the previous night’ Mrs. Hugh answered walking towards her.

‘Oh that was Chris, he arranged all that’ Hazel answered smiling at her.

‘Is he your boyfriend? Are you moving in with him?’ Mrs. Hugh asked beaming at her.

‘No, he’s just a friend… anyways I have to get going I have to unpack and stuff’ Hazel said turning away from her as her face slightly turned crimson red.

‘Okk…’ Mrs. Hugh laughed silently seeing Hazel’s face.

‘What about Ava dear?’ Mrs. Hugh asked.

‘She’s moving in with her boyfriend’ Hazel answered as she waited for the elevator to reach her floor.

‘Ok dear, take care. May the lord be with you’ Mrs. Hugh blessed her.

‘Take care, Mrs. Hugh. Hope to see you soon, bye’ Hazel bided farewell getting into the lift.

Hazel informed Charlotte and Ava that she was moving to her new place today; she told them that she will call them as soon she settle down in her new apartment. As Chris suggested she took two days off work to arrange her new apartment and she had meet the apartment’s owner to confirm whether he received the payment she had transferred to his bank account, she wanted to meet in person as still some of the details had to be clarified plus he wasn’t answering her calls nor was he responding since morning so she decided to go meet him in person once she was done with all her works.

As she unlocked her phone to book a cab, she received a call from Ryan.

‘Hey Ryan!’ she said answering the call.

‘Hey haze, I heard that you shifted to your new place. Why didn’t you call me for help?’ he asked.

‘That’s ok Ryan. I didn’t want to disturb you’ she answered walking along the road slowly.

‘Come on! How did you manage to shift then?’

‘Chris helped me’

‘Oh? That’s nice, did you guys resolve everything?’ he asked curious.

‘No’ she answered quickly.

‘Then? Did he come clean?’ he asked worried.

‘Nope’

‘Oh my god! When is he going to?’

‘I don’t know but I will make him to’ she answered firmly.

‘Atta girl! If you need any help just call’ he said smiling.

‘Ryan thank you so much but I kinda feel guilty getting help from you’ she answered in a low voice.

‘Hey Haze don’t feel bad I told you, right? I deserve better than you’ he joked trying to ease up the mood.

‘I know but it doesn’t seem right, you already helped me so much. I just feel so bad’ she answered in a broken voice. Ryan might be okay with helping her to find out about Chris but still no one else in his position would volunteer for such a thing, even if Ryan hated her she wouldn’t have felt this guilty but he did something more worse…he forgave her.

‘Look Haze, I am not gonna lie, it did hurt when you told me that you didn’t have any feelings towards me but it also helped me come back to reality and I am already moving on so don’t push yourself so hard and just try and find everything fast because I don’t want you to chase something if it’s not worth you, ok?’ he said trying to console her.

‘Okk Ryan. You are really a good friend’ she told him smiling lightly.

‘I know, right?’ he said laughing.

‘Stop being a narcissist now’ he replied laughing.

‘Anyways if you need any help you just…?’

‘I will call’ she said completing his sentence.

‘Good girl, bye’

‘Bye’

Hazel got the keys from the watchman as she entered her new place. Chris told her that the people after shifting left the key with the watchman. She unlocked her apartment and went inside, as mentioned the house was furnished and she noticed that all her stuff was placed in the right corner of the house. Though the place wasn’t big like her previous apartment it was spacious and comfortable for a single person to live in.

As she sat down to unpack she received a call from Chris;

‘Did you go to your new place? Is the place comfortable?’ he asked as soon as she answered the call.

‘Yes, it is’ she answered smiling.

‘If you need anything just call ok?’ he said in a concerned tone.

‘You know Ryan told me the same thing’ she said teasing him.

‘…’

‘Chris?’ she called out as Chris grew silent but she heard other voices around it seemed as though he was in between some work.

‘Well then why didn’t he show up yesterday?’ he managed to speak after sometime.

‘He was busy with some work’ she answered in a defending tone.

‘You think I am jobless?’ Chris asked in an angered voice.

‘Well you too showed up because you wanted my project’ she answered calmly. She knew Chris was angry but she wanted to tease him a bit more.

‘Are you really this dumb? Forget it! Will you able to unpack by yourself, do you need help?’ he asked not able to figure whether she was acting dumb or was actually dumb.

‘No I guess but if I do then I will call Ry…’ she started.

‘ME! You will CALL ME! OK?’ He said cutting her short.

‘But you aren’t here’ she replied quickly.

‘You needn’t unpack till I come’ he told her in a stern tone.

‘Now you are just being unreasonable’ she said pouting.

‘I don’t care’ he said childishly.

‘Fine, I will call you if I need any help’ she said laughing at his childishness.

‘You better do’ he said, though it sounded like a warning Hazel knew it was his way of saying that he cares.

‘Ok bye’

‘Bye’

‘Still adamant’ she said smiling as she placed her phone on the floor.

She opened a few boxes and unpacked all the necessary items required for a week and decided that she would unpack the rest on the weekend.

She went to check on the kitchen and found some boxes on the loft. Right now she didn’t buy the required materials to arrange the kitchen and so she just did some minor cleaning and reminded herself to ask the owner about the boxes in the loft. By evening, she was quite tired from cleaning the whole house and so decided to go to bed early and left the rest of the work for the next day.

The next day she left early to visit the landlord of the place, she went to his house but unfortunately he wasn’t there and only his wife was there in the house and so she informed his wife about all the details and his wife promised her that she will ask her husband to contact Hazel regarding all the information she had asked for.

Hazel made her way back to her apartment; the only good thing was that her place was just walkable distance from her landlord’s house. She unlocked her apartment and ordered some breakfast and got back to the unpacking process plus she had a project to complete. By afternoon she sat down to finish up her project, it was almost 7:30 p.m. when she completed her project. Though the project wasn’t fully finished she managed to make a detailed overview of it. She mailed the details to Chris and decided to take a walk and buy dinner. She grabbed her wallet from her bag and locked her apartment and went to take a look at her neighborhood.

When she returned it was already around 9 p.m. because she decided to have dinner at a restaurant instead of getting a takeaway. As she entered her apartment she heard her phone buzzing inside her room. She realized that she forgot her phone when she was at the restaurant. She hurried to her room and answered the call;

‘Were you dead?’ Chris shouted as she answered.

‘I am sorry boss, I forgot my phone’ she answered trying to calm him down.

‘When are you planning to take things seriously? Do you know how much worried I was? I have been trying to reach you since 8’o clock’ he yelled angrily.

‘Chris calm down! I didn’t realize that I forgot my phone. I am sorry for getting you worried’ she apologized.

‘…fine. Don’t repeat it’ he said as his anger flew away right at the moment when she said Chris.

‘Ok …now tell me why you called?’ she asked sitting down.

‘I told you take two days off because I wanted you to stop being a workaholic and take some time off for yourself but instead you are still working from your house’ he said angrily.

‘No I am not’ she defended.

‘I saw your mail’ he told her.

‘Oh Shoot! I decided to unpack everything at the end of the week so I had some time to spare and that’s why…’ she said trying to come up with some excuses.

‘Christ, you are a factory loaded with excuses’ Chris commented on listening to her explanation.

‘You are the only boss who scolds an employee for completing the work on time’ she complained.

‘Well that’s because I am worried, ok?’ he told her.

‘Say that again?’ she asked without giving it a second thought.

‘Because I am worried about you’ he said again.

‘Are you drunk, Chris?’ she asked after a moment.

‘Good night, Haze!’ he said and hung up the call.

‘What’s wrong with me? The way he said that he was worried about me…something felt strange…it was as though…as though…the tone of his voice conveyed as though he liked…no…as though he loved me. Maybe it’s just my imagination. Forget it Hazel! Go and sleep’ Hazel told herself but yet she couldn’t get his voice out of her head.

Hazel’s alarm rang at 7:30 a.m. she woke up with the start thinking that she was gonna run late for office.

‘Haze, your office is just fifteen minutes away, you could sleep for another hour and not be late so just sleep’ she told herself smiling as she pulled up her sheets.

She reached her office on time and settled down in her desk; it felt as though she hadn’t been there for ages. She resumed her work and when she wanted to take a break it was already noon but she didn’t expect to have this much work by just taking two days off, she knew that she was gonna work late today.

‘Hazel, aren’t you leaving?’ her colleague shouted from her desk.

‘I will in some time’ she answered smiling at her. Hazel looked at her watch and it was already 8 p.m. and she still had more to do. She didn’t want to take work home fearing that she might procrastinate and so she continued working at her desk.

‘I think I should fire you’ a voice said behind her.

‘Mr. Finch? You scared the hell out of me’ Hazel shouted in fear.

‘Ms. White it’s already 9:30 p.m. please don’t tell me that you have this much work by just taking two days off’ he said in a worried tone.

‘I do and I am almost done’ she said turning towards her system.

‘Enough, I am not gonna eat you up if you miss the deadline’ he said sitting next to her.

‘But I never miss the deadline’ she told him.

‘I know but I don’t want you to work late. Are you even worried? You will have to go home alone and it’s already late. Get up Ms. White, I will drop you home’ he said saving the file in her computer.

Hazel gathered her things while Chris switched off her computer.

‘When did you return?’ she asked as they walked out of the office.

‘Around 1:00 p.m.’ he answered taking out his car keys.

‘Why did you come to office? You should have taken some rest’ she told him as they reached the parking lot.

‘That’s fine, I am not tired’ he told her getting inside the car.

Chris started the car and drove out of their office.

‘So I am assuming that you know the way’ she said looking at him.

‘Don’t ask questions you know the answer to’ he answered his eyes on the road.

It was a quick ride; Chris dropped Hazel home and waved her goodbye.

‘Bye Chris’ she said turning around.

As she reached her apartment she reached into her bag in search of her keys.

‘Where are my keys?’ she asked looking into her handbag.

She thoroughly searched her bag but couldn’t find her keys; she called Chris hoping that she left it in his car.

‘Hello?’ he answered.

‘Chris, just see whether my apartment keys are there in your car’ she said.

‘Please don’t tell me you lost your keys’ he asked praying silently.

‘I think so’ she said in a low voice.

‘Hold on, I am coming’ he said ending the call.