After all these years (AnnaWinters)

[DamiClo]

​

"Well then, I'm ready to go" Jordan declared as he tossed his big, yellow camping backpack into the back of his truck. The blond turned to the brunette by his side with a sad smile spread across his face "I'm sorry I can't take you with me, honey. But you know the guys. 'No girlfriends allowed'. You know I'd love to take you, don't you?" He said sweetly as he reached to cup her face.


Hazel turned her head to the side to prevent her boyfriend from touching her. "I know" She replied, avoiding his gaze.


Jordan sighed before he grabbed her chin and turned it back to the front, so that their eyes could meet "Don't be angry. I promise I'll be back monday morning, 'kay?"


"Sure, Jordan" The woman replied.


"I love you, babe. Remember, be careful. Streets can be dangerous, so don't go out while I'm not here, okay?" He leaned in to kiss her, and Hazel tried to pull back but their lips met anyway. "Bye" After pressing a kiss to her forehead, the blond got into his truck and was soon gone.


The brunette didn't enter the house until his SUV was out of view. When it disappeared in the distance, she sighed and hugged herself before she stepped into her friend's place. To any passerby, she may had seem like the worst girlfriend ever, whereas Jordan may have looked like the perfect and doting boyfriend he believed himself to be. Gosh, it made her sick. Her reflection on the mirror proved the contrary, those nasty bruises on her face were clearly not supposed to be made by a caring boyfriend.


Either way, she had never had good taste nor luck with men. A fleeting memory of her best friend's brother crossed her mind, and she quickly pushed it away. It was not the time to be remembering him of all people. Oh, how much she had changed since the last time they had seen each other. Hazel had been a late-bloomer, with a childish figure and long straight hair that wasn't anything out of the ordinary. No wonder she had been an unpopular eighteen year old girl back then. But now, her hair was shorter and silkier, and her body proportions had developed just right, and yet she was still not happy.


"But you will be" She told to her reflection, pinching her cheeks lightly, avoiding to touch any affected areas by Jordan's abuse "He will be out of town for the weekend, and you are gonna be happy and enjoy yourself, understand?"


(@AnnaWinters)

 

[AnnaWinters]

Thomas had been injured during mission, one that involved heavy lifting as he somehow had gotten something on his back. The pain had been unbearable and according to the doctor he had been lucky to even walk. But sadly he now had a bit of a limp when he didn't walk with a cane. Thought it seemed minor as he Kew he had been lucky, just as when his liver hadn't been severely damaged because of the drinking. The drinking he had done when he was much younger, making it that he barely even remembered those years until he met his girlfriend. Even when he had a soft spot for the best friend of his sister, a girl that deserved so much more then an ex drunk who had too much of his own issues.


He had made himself swear never to touch her, ever since he had those dreams of kissing her and things that went beyond that. She had been so stunning, but it was wrong for him to love a girl that was many years younger then him. Not to mention that it was illegal at the time. To be quite frank, he never would have believed that he would go back to his old town. But then again, it wasn't every day that you found your girlfriend in your bed with another man.


That was the reason why he had packed all his bags, knowing that his sister would help him out and why he had driven for 5 hours straight to get there. Parking his pickup truck on the driveway as he then grabbed his cane and got out of the car. Placing his cane first before he got out and lifting himself up.


Moving to the front door, his eyes no longer swollen from crying. But anyone that knew him would see the vacant look in his eyes. The look that often happened before he started drinking again, but he wanted to be stronger this time. And so he rang the doorbell, leaning on his cane as he swallowed. Knowing that she needed to open or he would go to the first pub that would allow him in.

 

[DamiClo]

Hazel prepared herself a nice cup of black coffee before she sat at the leather couch on the living room. If there was one thing she had always loved was that; coffee. She knew it wasn't good, though, she knew she was kind of - if not completely - a caffeine addict, but there could be worse things she could be addicted to, drugs, cigarettes, alcohol ... She never wanted to be an alcoholic. Guess it was because of what happened with Thomas that she hated those. Jordan didn't usually drink a lot, but he couldn't keep his anger under control. That subtracted those good points.


When the doorbell echoed all over her friend's house, the brunette tilted her head back towards the hallway that led to the door. Jordan, it had to be him. She sighed and scrambled to her feet with her steaming hot coffee on hand. Probably her boyfriend had forgotten something. She knew she had to open soon before he suspected she had gone out of the house as soon as he had left. She didn't want him to hit her again. The bruises she had were enough, thank you very much.


The young woman rubbed her cold arm lightly with her free hand before she used it to open the door, she knew she had to slip into a sweater soon due to the fact that her black tank top wasn't precisely the warmest piece of clothing to be around during fall.


"Forgot some-?" She started to ask, but her voice trailed off when she found a man who wasn't the blond she had expected to find on the doorway to begin with. It was impossible, it couldn't be. God, it had been years since she had last seen him, and he had changed. He was more muscular now, he was ... well he was a man now. "Thomas?" She breathed out in surprise.

 

[AnnaWinters]

((Will post in an hour. Was at work))

 

[DamiClo]

((Ok ))

 

[AnnaWinters]

Thomas knew he needed his sister to keep himself from going to a pub, he didn't want to end up being the guy he used to be. A drunk ad arrogant guy who believed the whole world revolved around him, at least that was what he made himself to be. He was indeed cocky as a drunk but he never was rude or disrespectful. He was always the gentleman towards Hazel, even when he needed a drink. Just because he had a thing for her and because she always had been kind to him. But somehow that had changed, he had woken one morning with a massive hangover and a dream that could never be real. But he assumed he had tried to get his way, she had just been far too distant the next morning. At that moment he had decided to cut back and later he told people it was because of his fiancee, even when it was far from the truth. It just wasn't meant to be.


So to say that he was surprised by seeing Hazel, wasn't even close to how he felt. She looked stunning at first glance, his eyes shamelessly moving over her figure before they ended up on her face. Realising that she was far too skinny and that she had bruises on her beautiful face.


He had to close his mouth as he moved his right hand to her face, gently cupping it as the other never left the cane. "Hazel? You look... different. I would say stunning if it weren't for those bruises. Did anyone hurt you? Because if they did... I will make sure they never come near you again." He said as he knew it could also have been with an accident. Like he had done one night when he was drunk, it had looked like he had been in a fight but he merely had fallen. So he wasn't the guy to make assumptions.


"Unless it means you have to lie" he said with a chuckle. One that seemed rather emotionless if you asked him. "So.. where is my sister... I need to speak to her... I sort of ... broke up with Ivy." He said as he had indeed broke their relationship, but the why was something that he wanted to keep hidden. At least for now, he just needed a place to stay until he had arranged everything. Making sure he had the evidence so he would get everything back that had belonged to him.


"So euh" he said as he ran his hand through his hair, hair that he had been able to keep a bit longer since he had the accident. And luckily his hair grew rather quickly.

 

[DamiClo]

Hazel pulled her head away when he reached to cup her face, an automatic response. "Easy there, cowboy. I just fell." Evidently not, that was so cliché. Like the type of answer you’d find at a Excuses to hide the fact that you’re being abused manual. I fell on the shower, I tripped, I accidentally hit myself with a door, now that last one was just plain stupid. Forget it. She didn't owe him any explanation at all.


"Didn't you heard? Emma left the city, and won't be back until next year" She stated. She'd have expected for his brother to know that. Then again, he was a marine, perhaps isolated from the rest of the world while he was away.


Her gaze trailed down to his cane, brow raising, before she looked back up at him. She noticed it. How could she not? She had watched him closely so many years ago, so much that she could notice the change on his mood. It seemed empty, with an underlining sadness that couldn't be concealed from her. What had happened for him to break up with his girlfriend? Surely, something terrible.


"Um ... Come in, I'm sure it's cold outside" She finally exclaimed, stepping to the side. Perhaps he had come to see his sister because he was sad, and who was she to keep him outside anyway? Jordan was not there, wouldn't be in the house for over the weekend, she guessed Thomas could crash there if he needed a place to stay. Above all, he was Emma's brother, that and nothing more. For her own good, she had to believe that. Even when her heart had began to dance inside her heart when she had seen him.

 

[AnnaWinters]

Thomas couldn't keep his eyes off her, knowing that she was hiding something from him. She was as nervous as when she had accidently scratched his far too precious car. He hadn't minded it and he still had that car standing in the garage of his parents. He couldn't part with it, even after he nearly had driven the beast into a ditch. And yet he didn't have the energy to argue with Hazel, it wasn't worth it after the whole ordeal with Ivy.


He merely smiled an emotionless smile as he walked in. Making sure to lean on the cane so he could walk almost normally. Taking a deep breath as he closed the door behind him and tried to figure out a way to break the news.


"Look... I need a place to stay Hazel. Ivy cheated on me with another woman and a man apparently and I came here so I wouldn't go to the pub." He said as he moved his hand through his hair once more and sighed. "I have been sober since I told everyone I was going to quit and I don't want to go back so I'll need the help. But I don't want my sister to feel bad." He said as he then moved his hand to her face again.


"Just... Please get me a coffee or something... before I break down like a baby and cry. Not that I care about the break up, but because I just feel lost you know." He said as he frowned when he saw the typical guy things. Things that didn't belong to the boyfriend of his sister. Making him realise that she wasn't alone.


"I hope you don't mind that I stay here for a while? Just so I can look for my own place." He told her as he moved to the couch and sat himself down. "Oh and I'll explain the cane later. I just need a drink." He said with a chuckle that obviously was one to mock his old self.

 

[DamiClo]

"And a woman?" Hazel repeated, clearly surprised. She shook her head after that. Now wasn't the time to ask such improper question. "I, umm, I'll pour you some coffee"


She couldn't promise him anything. Jordan disliked it even when she spoke with another guy, how would he react if he found out that a guy she knew wanted to stay in the house, no less. However, he could crash there for the weekend, she'd figure out what to do afterwards. Again, that was Emma's house, and she couldn't deny him the access, much less when he seemed so ... broken.


"So, does the reason for you to come back have anything to do with that cane?" The brunette asked him as she leaned in to place a cup filled with hot coffee on the table before him.


Hazel sat down at another chair, far away from him. Now that she was 25 she didn't see him as the older guy, just as a regular one. Years could certainly change your perception of things. She tucked a loose strand of brown hair behind her ear and crossed her leg over the other, waiting for his answer. With him there, it felt as if she could forget her own problems, and hear out his. She had always been like that. When they were young and he needed someone to listen to him, she was always there. Guess that's why one thing had led to the other back when she was 18.

 

[AnnaWinters]

Thomas watched her, realising that she had changed quite a bit. It wasn't in the good way but he vowed to make everything up to her, if she was in trouble then he would make sure she was safe. But now he just needed to make sure that he told someone before he told his sister and asked if he could stay in the home for a while. Just so he couldn't be kicked out by the guy that was with Hazel. Why did that thought even anger him?


He guessed it was because he still felt very protective of her. And so he took the coffee and took a sip. Exhaling before he decided to speak once more. "I was on a mission, working with F16s. Letting them land and I had to cary the parts to get those planes fixed. But a bolt broke and something slammed into my back. I don't remember much, but the next I woke in the hospital with bolts in my back. It took months to heal and now I walk with a cane." He said with a sigh.


"I went home and then I found Ivy with another man... so I took my stuff and texted my sister to ask if I could stay at her place for a while. And when she didn't answer I came here. So I wouldn't go drinking." He said as he leaned back in the couch and sighed. Knowing that his parents didn't believe in him anymore. And so he didn't want the fail them.


"You know ... I missed you when you were gone... I guess you were the only one that believed I could quit and that always listened." He told her as he opened his eyes and glanced at her. "All I have from those years of being a drunk.. In memories is you smiling at me. You comforting me and then my family that is shouting. I guess I never thanked you for being there for me. I'm so sorry for whatever I did wrong that last night. I know I hurt you and I want to take back everything that i did. Like it never happened. " he told her with a hopeful smile. "Let me cook for you. Just so you can relax and so I can take my mind of things." He said as he realised that he was rattling. He just didn't want to think about everything that had happened.

 

[DamiClo]

Like it never happened Now that wasn't exactly the most comforting word he could tell her. She couldn't pretend nothing had happened, not like him. Because something important had happened, because he had forgot it as always. She did believe in him, had faith in the fact that he could quit. But he was not longer a person whom she could give her hear to.


"Yeah" Hazel said softly as she looked away, so as not to meet his gaze. "It's good that you didn't go to the pub" It was really, taking into account that the girlfriend he so loved had been the one reason he had decided to quit to begin with. She felt a faint tug on her heart, a ghost of the pain she had felt in the past when she had found out about Ivy's existence in Thomas's life.


It seemed that neither of them were kids anymore. He had moved on and so had she, just that their lives hadn't turned out that well. He had been in a long term relationship just to be cheated on and go limp, she, on the other hand, had wound up with an abusive boyfriend. She missed the old days where she only had to worry about her best friend's brother finding out that she was in love with him.


"Alright. You cook while I prepare Emma's room for you" Her coffee had long gone cold and she left it on top of the table before heading to the stairs. It was better if she didn't comment on the cane, it was surely difficult as it was already for her to focus on that. Also, now that Thomas was here, and all the memories came back to her, she felt herself acting distant with him once again. She didn't resent him, not anymore, perhaps never really had, but it was a scar that still remained on her heart.

 

[AnnaWinters]

Thomas knew it had been too good to be true, once more she became distant towards him and so he felt like a fool. He wasn't the older brother anymore, to het he was just so guy who would ruin her perfect life like he had done before. He didn't even know what to do anymore as he got up and moved towards the kitchen. Wondering how he was ever going to show her that he wasn't that drunk from before.


He did wonder what would have happened if he hadn't gone out with Ivy to please his father, he should have taken Hazel for a birthday dinner instead. But the past was the past and he needed to stop thinking about the what ifs. It didn't work that way.


It was then he started in her favorite meal, knowing exactly how to make it as he did remember how she had thanked his mother while he had made it. He even put in some cinnamon rolls as an extra as he was just setting the table when she came back down.


Carring the food with one hand as he leaned onto his cane. Trying his best not to show that he was rather tired from the day. "ill unpack my things tomorrow. I just feel like my leg is wanting to kill me. Though I hope you're hungry, because you can use some good food. I tried my best."

 

[DamiClo]

Hazel pressed a hand to her chest while she sat at Emma's bed. Truth was, there was no need to tidy it up for him, the room was always impeccable, after all, the brunette and her boyfriend always slept at the guests room. She was in a bit of a haze, her mind struggling to keep up with the situation. Thomas had come back, he had broken up with Ivy, and he had said he had missed her. How was she supposed to take all that? How to react?


Not doing anything stupid, that was for sure. He had been her unrequited love for years, she had moved on. She had, right? She shook her head. Of course she had. She couldn't possibly still harbour any romantic feelings towards a ghost of her past, the big brother of her best friend.


"Right" She reassured herself before she got back on her feet and headed back to the stairs, just in time to see Thomas setting the table. He was almost done, but she'd have helped him if he had called out for her while she was on the second floor. "Thanks" She stated, sitting down at the table "This is ... Woah, I love this, it's been a long while since I had it" For the firs time, a genuine smile crept over her lips as she looked up at him. "Come, sit down. I bet you're tired"

 

[AnnaWinters]

((What's her favorite meal?))

 

[DamiClo]

((Hmm, let's say lasagna ))

 

[AnnaWinters]

"A long time since you had lasagna? That is quite strange. If I remember correctly you never went a weak without lasagna. Maybe that is why you became rather skinny." He joked as je then moved to fill her plate with the lasagna. Moving to pull her chair back as he held the cane in his other hand.


"and I'm not that tired. I just am sick of moving around with a cane." He said with a chuckle as he looked her over and then moved to his own seat.


His mind going over the bruises as he wondered how it could happen. The bruises and the shyness that she seemed to have all over her. He knew something was up and he also knew that he would find out. "Just eat your plate. I want you to enjoy yourself as long as I'm here. I'll even help you with the home." He said as he wondered why his heart still seemed to flutter when she was close to him.


"So did you write that book that you told me about when you were younger?" He asked as he then started to eat. His cane leaning against the table as his eyes never left hers.

 

[DamiClo]

"Yeah, that must be the reason" Hazel replied under her breath as she lowered her eyes to her plate while she poked her lasagna with her fork. How would he react if he found out the reason behind the bruises and her deteriorated state, she wondered. No, she didn't want him to find out. He'd just pity her, and she hated to be pitied. Call her proud, but whatever happened to her was no one else's business. Besides, Thomas could walk out of her life the next day, as he had always done so many times before. She didn't wish to rely on someone who had had such an inconstant presence on her life.


"So did you write that book that you told me about when you were younger?"


His question caught her off guard. She blinked, and her head shot up immediately, their gazes meeting. He remembered? That was surprising. She had mentioned that to him when she was still a mere teenager. Sometimes, she had to remind herself that she had known Thomas for years. Her mouth quirked up into a small sad smile before she shook her head.


"No, I ... I've forgotten all about it." She admitted. She had learnt that there was no space for childhood dreams on the real world. "It doesn't matter anymore." She shrugged. "What about you? Had you given up on music?" She used to like his band. The typical guys that gathered around on a friend's garage to fool around and play their instruments.

 

[AnnaWinters]

(Will post later today))