Four

Chapter 4

 

Beep�"beep. Beep�"beep!

Hazel groaned and turned to slam her hand on the black alarm clock that tore her away from her precious sleep. She yawned and pulled the covers over her face in rebellion to the morning. A few minutes later, the same beeping went off again and Hazel slowly rolled off her bed and onto the cold, wooden floors along with her blankets. The beeping sound continued as she laid there, face first on the ground.

The clock read 6:00am and Hazel finally turned the alarm off. She got up with a pout and surrendered to the new day. She threw her blankets back onto her bed and went into her small bathroom. This is the last time I’m doing a favor for Eva, Hazel thought as she trudged to the bathroom.

The night before, when she was embarrassingly dropped off at home, Eva had asked her to open up the aquarium for her since she had some business to take care of elsewhere. After questioning Eva about the whole situation to no prevail, Hazel gave up and agreed to the task. It wasn’t until this morning until she felt the stupidity and regret of the agreement weight on her shoulders like a ton of bricks.

Down the hall, Eva’s room was already empty. Hazel sighed and turned the lights off in her bathroom. She still had a few minutes before she had to leave, so she sat dumbly on her bed, staring at her white picture frame, which was sitting on her nightstand. It was the beach picture that Eva had given her the day she woke up in Haven Shore. The picture was nice and sunny, like it was supposed to be, but there was a tint of pink, as if the angle of the sun was perfect enough to shine a beam of pink onto the photo. Hazel furrowed her eyebrows in thought. She was still bothered at what had happened the night before. She hadn’t talked to Luke yet, and she was nervous upon meeting him today at the aquarium. She debated on whether she should tell him the truth or not.

She couldn’t just ignore that it had happened, so not mentioning last night would not be the right move either. Hazel sighed again and buried her face into her light blue pillow. She didn’t want to face the problem and didn’t even want to go to work, but she had to. A few minutes later, she finally pulled herself away from her blankets and pillows and went downstairs. The old wood under her feet creaked throughout the empty house. Moose was slightly snoring next to the kitchen table as she tiptoed by and grabbed some orange juice from the white fridge. As she took a sip of the sweet juice, she packed her bag quickly and was out the door a few minutes later.

The outside air was still a little chilly since it was so early in the morning. The sun had started to rise, but the warmth had not yet reached civilization. A wave of nervousness ran through Hazel as she started walking down the empty streets by herself. She thought about how embarrassing it was for Dave to come in like that and interrupt them.

If she really did tell Luke the truth, then it would be all out and things between them would hopefully be normal, maybe something even deeper than friendship. But there was just something that held Hazel back from completely agreeing to the idea. She had no idea what part of her didn’t want him to know. She rubbed her forehead and walked on. The sky slowly turned brighter as the sun rose higher over the jagged, brown mountains that were beyond the horizon.

Hazel crossed the empty street and looked across to see the flat, calm white beach in front of her. The peaceful picture turned into a dark and menacing memory as she remembered Dave. Her thoughts scratched at her head and she had to consciously stop thinking about it in order for her mind to be at peace. The aquarium was already in her view and she slowed down to a lazy stroll as she decided on what to do.

Okay, she thought to herself. I’m going to go inside, and set up. Once Luke comes in, I’ll apologize for everything and then tell him the truth. She took a deep breath through her lips but a wave of nervousness shuddered through her. Her slight smile dragged downwards, showing the heaviness within.

“Hey Hazel!” A voice came from across the street. She turned to see a black-haired girl strutting over to her.

“Morning Scarlett,” Hazel replied with a small smile and a wave of her hand. “How are you?”

Scarlett fell into step next to her. “I have a good feeling about today, I don’t know why, I’m just in a great mood.” She said. “Are you opening up today?” She put her hands into her blue jeans pockets

“That’s great and yeah I am,” Hazel nodded as a gust of wind dove towards them, blowing her long hair back against her face. She brushed it away with a hand, “Eva was busy this morning, so she asked me to do it,” she replied.

Scarlett nodded. “Oh I see,” she looked away at the neighborhood around them. They still had about four hours until opening hours, but the supervisor had to set everything up for the new day every morning. It was a slow Tuesday morning, and only a few cars were on the streets. Her co-worker turned back to face her. “So how are you liking it here?” She motioned towards the aquarium building that was ahead of them.

“Oh, I really like it. I’m enjoying it here,” Hazel replied with a smile. “I could get used to it here,” she added and pulled out the small key to the building. She unlocked the doors and a blast of cold, murky air hit Hazel’s face instantly making her nose scrunch up unpleasantly.

“That’s great,” Scarlett said and entered the building behind them. “I’ll help you set up,” she half-sung and went off to turn the lights on.

Hazel nodded and looked around the place with a sigh. The aquarium looked different from last night but she couldn’t place her finger on it. The lighting was different, obviously, but the air seemed alien-like. All the problems swirled around in her head and she decided that she would tell Luke the truth when she saw him. With a confident nod of her head, she set off to unlock Eva’s office. The inside of the room was quiet and peaceful as she flicked the light switch on. There were papers scattered everywhere on Eva’s desk and Hazel shook her head slightly in amazement at Eva’s hard work.

She decided to leave her a nice little note, so she pulled open the first drawer and took some sticky notes out.

Eva, lay off the paperwork and take a day off at the beach.

     Yours, Hazel

She quickly scribbled with a black pen and stuck it on the black, computer monitor screen. With a smile and a snap of her pen, she looked out the window and noticed a certain blonde haired boy. Her smile faded into somewhat of a slight lift of the lips as she remembered that she had a task. She quietly switched off the lights and left the door unlocked. Putting one foot in front of the other, she carefully stepped down the stairs and headed over to her friend who was standing by the information desk. Only a few employees had arrived, and the aquarium was still mainly empty.

Luke looked up as Hazel approached and waved to her. She smiled and said, “Good morning Luke.”

“Hey.” He had turned around to face her and put the papers he was organizing back on the dark blue desk.

“Um,” Hazel said, looking away at the large replica of a whale hanging over them. “About last night,” she said nervously. “I don’t know,” She started but stopped at the loss of words. “Dave was�"“ She sighed and looked down at the ground.

Luke saw her struggling and the left corner of his mouth started to drag upwards into a slight smirk. “Hazel,” he said softly, and she looked up all of a sudden from the sound of his voice.

“I’m sorry Luke, I didn’t mean to run away. I didn’t plan on…I didn’t expect Dave to�"and then the yelling�" I got so mad and,” She said in a hurry, as if not explaining quickly would make Luke annoyed and disappear into thin air.

“Hazel,” Luke said sterner, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Its okay,” he said.

“Its…okay?” she repeated, confused. “But�"“

He held up a finger to stop her. “Its not your fault,” he smiled at her. “I don’t blame you. In fact, I’m glad that you ran away, as long as it got you as far away as possible from Dave,” he explained.

“But I just left you there and I was so selfish, I didn’t know why I did it,” she looked down again at her shoes. He motioned her to sit down on a nearby bench. She sat besides him and felt the warmth of his body near hers.

“Don’t even think about it,” he said to her comfortingly. “Its over now, Dave is gone, and we’re here,” he said with a smile.

She looked at him and returned with a small grin. She sighed in relief and rested her head on her propped up hands. “What happened afterwards?” She asked curiously, staring at the front doors.

“Well, the manager soon came out from complaints from the other customers, who told him what happened. Basically, everyone was on your side and he wound up getting kicked out.” He said triumphantly. “After you had left, I told him that he had no business in your life.”

Hazel tilted her head to look back at Luke. “Thanks,” she said quietly through her hands. He nodded in reassurance of his support. There was a moment of silence as they both thought about what had happened and where it had brought them. They both let the event sink in one last time.

“Luke, about what Dave said about me…” Hazel brought up and leaned back to rest her back against the bench.

He shook his head, “Look, you don’t even need to talk about that,” he said with a wave of a hand. “If you didn’t want me to hear that, then consider it unheard.”

“Your such a great guy,” she said, and suddenly realized what she had said and looked away. Luke stared at her with an amused expression on his face. But she looked back, serious. “I want to tell you though,” she said. His silly expression turned into something serene and quiet. He nodded and leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees.

“I didn’t run away from home,” she started.

He smiled slightly as he heard this. “I think you made that part pretty clear last night.” Hazel laughed in response and nodded.

“Yeah, I was pretty mad…” she said slowly, remembering her rising anger. “But what Dave said was completely untrue, and I just wanted to scream at him for accusing me of these things.”

He nodded in response. “I know what you mean.”

“The truth is,” Hazel started. She was suddenly interrupted by a blood-curdling scream that echoed through the entire aquarium and beyond. The horrifying high shriek pierced Hazel’s eardrums and rattled her brain so that her balance was impaired. It only lasted a few seconds, but the sound of scratching chalkboard and glass shattering dragged on for what felt like hours. The sound made her want to cover her ears and curl up in fetal position. Every hair on Hazel’s back was standing and a sheer icy cold chill ran up her spine, paralyzing her body.

Once it stopped, the dead silence was just as bad as the scream. Hazel felt her own heart pounding furiously against her ribs. She stood up immediately after she regained movement in her limbs. “What’s going on?” She looked around, but had no idea where it had come from. Luke stood up as well, looking startled. He stepped closer to Hazel instinctively.

The silence was then filled with more screams and horrifying gasps, creating a tight tension in the air. Hazel turned around and started running towards the one direction she just knew to run in. Luke followed closely behind her.

Her footsteps were pounding against the cold, hard floor and she saw a few people gathered together, close to each other. Scarlett was on the ground, hands to her mouth, covering her terrified expression. There were tears in her eyes and her makeup was running black. Another girl was bent down with her, holding her in comfort although she, herself, was having trouble with whatever she was looking at. Two other employees were standing next to each other, talking swiftly among each other in terror and panic.

“What happened?” Hazel asked, but as soon as the words had escaped her mouth, a sinking feeling from her heart dropped into the gut of her stomach like a large, metallic nuclear bomb. Her legs grew weak like twigs and she had the urge to give back the orange juice that she had this morning.

“Holy s**t,” Luke was behind Hazel but took a few steps backwards with his hands over his mouth. “Jesus Christ…” He whispered to himself. He stepped forwards to hold Hazel steady and she turned towards him, burying her face into his chest, her back facing the murky aquarium tank. He ran his hands through her hair in comfort and felt her trembling in his arms.

There was a faint sound of sirens in the background over the commotion in the room. Hazel felt her surroundings blur together and the sense of time was lost.

“It’s going to be okay,” Luke whispered into her ear although he had no idea what was going to happen. All of them were scared and helpless as they tried not to stare at the two sinking bodies in the motionless, purple and green water in the shark tank.

***

 

     Hazel squinted every few seconds from the flashes of red and blue coming from outside and turned to face the other way. It was hard focusing on the face before her’s.

     “Miss?” A man with dark eyebrows asked again. He fixed his blue police hat as he waited for her response.

     Hazel regained her attention and looked straight in front of her. “I’m sorry, what was the question again?” She closed her eyes from the pounding pain coming from her head.

     “At what time did you open up the aquarium this morning?” He repeated patiently. They were sitting on a bench on the main floor and Hazel could feel her legs going numb.

     “I don’t…” she started but stopped to think. She shook her head, “6:30 am maybe?”

     The officer jotted a few notes down on his pad and nodded. “That’s good enough, and can you state what happened step by step?”

     Hazel swallowed and felt the bulge in her neck at the lack of moisture. “Well,” her voice was a little shaky but she continued. “I left my house at 6:15am and walked to work. Outside, I met up with Scarlett, and we went in together. When I got inside, something felt weird to me, but I didn’t pay much attention to it, I thought I was just tired.” Hazel took a deep breath and continued. “I went up to Eva’s office to unlock the door as Scarlett went to turn on the main lights.” Her memory flashed back to seeing the back of Luke’s head from the upstairs window.

     “Take your time,” the officer said as he was scribbling words onto his paper.

     A wave of fear mixed in with sadness ran through her, but she moved on. “I went back downstairs to the main floor and talked with my friend Luke.” As she said this, her mind wandered off to Luke’s whereabouts. Once the police arrived, people were everywhere and she and Luke were separated by the commotion. After a few minutes, this police officer had pulled her to the side to ask her a few questions.

     “We were in the middle of our conversation when we heard a scream,” a shiver went up her spine as she remembered the glass-shattering sound that hit her like a tsunami wave. She was loosing focus again as her mind turned away from the memory. “We then ran over to the noise and�"“ she couldn’t hold her emotions in anymore and tears streamed from her hazel eyes. She covered her face with her hands and the officer put a hand on her back, trying to comfort her.

     Hazel’s shoulders shook with each sob and she tried taking a deep breath to calm herself down, but the breath only turned into stuttering and she let out more weeping sounds.

     “Its okay,” the man said. “You did good, that’s it for now.” When Hazel didn’t look up from her tears, he pulled out some tissues from his chest pocket and handed it to her. She took it slowly and wiped her red eyes with them.

     “We’re going to find out what happened, okay? The good news is that you guys are safe,” he reassured her and she nodded and attempted a smile, but did not succeed. He patted her one more time on the back and got up off the bench. He motioned to another girl wearing blue and she ran over.

     Hazel scanned the area for Luke as the girl checked her temperature and health condition. She gave her more tissues and some water before running off to check on someone else. Eva was talking to some serious looking officers. She was standing with her arms crossed but holding a hand up to her mouth as if in deep thought. She had called Eva as soon as she pulled herself together after first seeing the scene. Eva was quiet over the phone from shock and drove over as fast as she could from a different city. When she had arrived, the police had already come and started their investigation. Hazel had not spoken a word to her yet since the phone call.

     A hand touched her shoulder and she immediately flinched away with startle. She turned her head and saw a familiar face. All the tension melted away. “Luke,” she said, getting off the seat.

     “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said and sat down next to her. She resumed her seat as well and didn’t look at him.

     “How are you holding up?” He asked her after a while of silence.

     She didn’t respond for a bit, but then nodded. “I’m still…” she shrugged and didn’t know if she was about to break down again. The line between okay and broken was still a blur to her. Her heart felt numb and no feelings came to her.

     “I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

     “Its not your fault,” she responded. “How are you?” She looked at her friend who was sulking in his seat.

     “I don’t know. I know I’m not okay, we just witnessed something horrible.” He paused for a second to shudder at the thought of the shark tank. “I’m still trying to accept it.”

     Hazel nodded in agreement and didn’t say anything. “What happened?” She asked slowly.

“That’s what everyone wants to know,” he replied. “I think they think Tessie did it,” he said sadly.

Hazel’s eyes grew wide in fear, “What?” But Tessie wouldn’t hurt anyone!”

“Yeah, tell that to the police. One of the most dangerous sharks known to humans wouldn’t hurt a fly,” he said bitterly. Hazel’s heart sank with pain and she looked away, she felt her eyes begin to water again, but she held it in.

Luke realized what he had said and opened his mouth slightly. “I’m sorry Hazel, I didn’t mean that, I’m just…” he said, trying to justify.

“Yeah I get it,” she said, still not looking up. They were both taking it hard. The two of them sat in silence for another few minutes, thinking in their own separate worlds.

“You look cold,” Luke said, his old, friendly voice had returned. Hazel suddenly realized that she was slightly shivering from the air conditioning. For the second time now, Luke took off his black sweater and handed it to her.

She looked at him but took it after he nodded at her. She slid it over her head and felt the warmth within the cotton. “Sorry for stealing all of your sweaters and jackets,” she said after splitting her long hair to one side of her neck. She slightly smiled at Luke.

He managed a grin and nodded. “I don’t mind, as long as you’re warm.” A slight tingle of feeling returned as he said this and Hazel smiled inwardly to herself.

Eva and an important looking man walked over to the two and stood in front of them. Hazel looked up and saw the sadness in Eva’s eyes.

“Hazel, Luke, this is Officer Daniels, head of the police department in Haven Shore.” Hazel and Luke stood up in respect and she shook the tall man’s hand. He was wearing a dark, navy blue uniform and was holding his hat in his left hand. He had dark green eyes and a dark brown, almost black mustache. His hair was thick with grey mixed in with black.

“Pleasure to meet you, Officer Daniels,” Hazel said and felt the strength in the man’s handshake.

“Nice to finally meet you too, Hazel,” he replied with a nod. “We are doing everything we can to try to help you,” he said quietly to her. She stiffened in surprise and nodded back, not sure if she should thank him or not.

“I’m sure both of you were questioned by an officer today?” He asked both of them. His voice was strong and clear. Luke and Hazel nodded without saying anything.

“Some bad news for us,” Eva said, looking at them both. “The aquarium will be closing down for a while until everything is sorted out.” Her voice was calm, but there was a hint of control in it as if she were trying to hold in her panic and shock.

A heavy weight loomed over Hazel’s shoulders. “Who…” She was scared to ask the question but pushed on. “Who are they?”

Officer Daniels sighed and put the notebook he was holding into his pocket. “It has not been confirmed yet, but we suspect Thomas and Dylan Tryst.”

A breath caught in Hazel’s throat as she heard the two familiar names. The pain in her heart had returned again and she felt her gut kick. “Tom-Tommy and Dylan?” She had trouble breathing again and looked at the ground. Luke put an arm around her and rubbed her back.

“Sadly, yes. We have asked Mr. and Mrs. Tryst to come down to the station to identify their bodies,” the officer said and crossed his arms. “It looks like the two of them must’ve wandered into the aquarium last night and accidentally fell in.”

“But I just saw the two the other day!” Hazel exclaimed. “They were riding their scooters just fine!” She denied the claim. Eva gave her a sad look and Luke’s grip on her tightened.

“I’m sorry Hazel.” The tall man folded his hands and held them limp at his stomach. He looked down at the ground. Everything around them was no longer colorful. The bright blue walls seemed to fade into a tired shade of grey and the dark blue carpeting turned into almost black.

“Brett, Eva,” someone called from a few feet away.

Officer Daniels turned around and nodded hastily before turning back to the group. “Eva and I have some business to discuss,” he said to the two. “We will be in contact,” he told Hazel and she nodded back.

Luke still had his arm around Hazel after they left and she realized the coldness after he pulled away from her. “You should take it easy and go home,” he told her gently.

She nodded but looked back at him. “You don’t look too good yourself,” she said back. Her hands found her way to her jacket pockets. Her eyes were tired and droopy as she soon felt her fatigue.

“Don’t worry, I wont be sticking around here,” his voice sounded gloomy and down. His usually happy tone had disappeared and sounded as if he hadn’t slept in a week.

Hazel nodded as his answer satisfied her and her eyes wandered to her left hand side. Something green had flashed by but she already looked away. She looked back again, however, and saw the same green shades from last night and she recognized the strong built face of Castiel. Her eyes widened in confusion and surprise and he beckoned to her.

“Hazel?” Luke had asked, waving a hand in front of her eyes.

“What?” She asked, snapping back to what was in front of her.

“Would you like me to walk you home?” He repeated.

She looked past Luke again for a fraction of a second before returning her gaze back to the question before her.

“Um,” she uttered. “You look really tired,” she paused and took the actual time to look at her friend. “I’ll be fine,” she said and pulled at the black sleeves of the sweatshirt.

“Are you sure?” He asked, doubtful.

She nodded and waved her hand. “Yeah, go home,” she smiled slightly.

“You can keep the sweatshirt for now,” he told her and grinned back. He waved with one hand and walked towards the door. After Luke had left, Hazel searched for those green eyes again in the large crowd. She didn’t have to look for very long, however, since a shadow appeared in front of her.

“How are you doing?” Castiel said, crossing his arms and looking carefully at her.

Hazel shrugged. “Okay,” she answered simply. “I thought you said you didn’t work for the police.” She said, noting his blue uniform.

“I did, I’m only in training,” he said. “My dad is the head of the police department, so I guess that has an upside,” he nodded to Officer Daniels who was in deep conversation with a man in a black suit and Eva. There were still a bunch of photographers, taking snapshots at the scene. A few specialists were ready to lift the bodies out, putting on their yellow gloves with a smacking sound that made Hazel mentally flinch.

Castiel saw her watching and pointed to the doors. “Let’s go outside,” he said. She nodded and sighed. He signaled to his dad and he returned with a nod. The air outside the aquarium was fresh and open compared to the tense and serious atmosphere inside. Hazel breathed a breath of relief and felt the heaviness in her heart lighten a little bit.

Her eyes were still a little red and swollen, but no more tears came. There was a silence that passed between them as they both stared into space. They were both thinking the same thing.

“It happened last night…” Hazel started. She stopped, however, at the loss of words. A shiver ran up her body and she closed her eyes at the thought. He nodded slightly in response.

“Have you been questioned?” She asked. Even though the sun was out and shining over their heads, Hazel was shivering and she pulled the sweater around her neck.

“Yeah, I left around 3am, and there was no sign of anything.” He looked down at the ground. His neck hung low from tiredness as well. An older police officer with graying hair came out of the doors to pull out a cigarette. He eyed the two but turned back to his lighter.

Castiel shifted weight onto his left foot and said in a low voice. “Listen, lets talk later,” he motioned to the people around them. Hazel understood and nodded.

“Its not safe to walk around the town right now,” he continued. “I’ll pick you up at 9pm tonight,” he said and looked away at the surroundings.

“Okay,” Hazel could feel her own exhaustion as she longed for her bed. “I’ll see you then, Castiel,” she said. He looked back at her at the mention of his name and paused. He was in deep thought and Hazel looked at him curiously.

“What…are you looking at?” She felt uncomfortable under his deep gaze.

“My name,” he said. He lifted an eyebrow in interest yet confusion. “The way you pronounce it.” She waited patiently in her own cloud of perplexity.

“What is it?” She asked, aloud this time.

“You pronounce it correctly.” He said.

Hazel bit her lip and looked at him. “Okay?” She asked, not getting the point.

“I’m just saying, most people don’t…” he said, after not finding a better excuse for bringing it up. He looked at the ground and shrugged. “I’ll see you later then. This is just in between you and I okay?” He turned with a wave and went back inside the tall building.

***

 

     It was already 8:45pm and there was not a sound in the empty and still house. The water faucet that usually dripped water was even silent. Moose was under the kitchen table, awake but aware of the tension in the air.

     Hazel stared at the clock in her room and heard the faint ticking of the hands. Eva had not come back yet and she had left numerous of messages for Hazel, wondering where she was and to let her know that she was going to be home late. Not wanting to break the muffled silence in the house, Hazel sent her a text saying she was safe at home. She lied on her bed and looked up at her white ceilings, wondering if Eva was okay. She heard the quiet tapping of Moose’s paws on the wooden floor as he came walking into her room and hopped onto her soft, blue bed. Hazel smiled to herself as he snuggled up to her and she brushed his soft fur. It was nice not being along and she felt comforted with his presence.

     Luke had texted her a couple of times, but she couldn’t bring herself to respond. Having nothing to say in response, she spent her time slowly on her bed, fidgeting around in positions. She looked at Moose, who stared back at her with his icy blue eyes.

     “You’re a lucky one, you have no worries, no burdens on your shoulders.” Moose just licked her hands and she smiled as he put his head down on the soft covers. Hazel sighed again and realized that she should text Luke back. She just reached for her phone when it started blasting Pumped Up Kicks again and she picked it up. Luke was probably wondering what she was doing.

     “Hey, I’m so sorry Luke, I’ve just been out of it, I meant to text you back,” Hazel said as she closed her eyes and faced the ceiling with her arm over her face from exhaustion.

     “Who’s Luke? Is it that blonde guy your always with?” The voice said over the receiver.

     Hazel opened her eyes in confusion. She brought the phone in front of her face and stared at the caller ID.

     “Its not Luke, its Castiel.”

     She sighed and furrowed her eyebrows. “I figured that much out…” She shook her head at her mistake and realized that Castiel was still on the line. “What is it, Castiel?”

     “I’m a little early, but I’m here,” he said. Hazel peeked out her window and saw the white headlights on the curb. The navy blue car was parked right in front of the house. She groaned in frustration and let her curtains fall back.

     “You said 9pm! Its only,” she checked her clock on the nightstand next to her. “8:54pm…” she trailed off, sinking into her stupidity.

     There was a silence on the phone and she thought she heard a faint chuckling. “Alright, be out in 6 minutes then, don’t be late,” and with that, Castiel hung up. Hazel furrowed her eyebrows in frustration. She got off the bed and pulled on a jacket and headed to the front door.

     Castiel was looking down and was reaching for a few dials in his car when Hazel opened the passenger door.

     “Someone’s a little early,” he noted with a nod and continued switching radio stations.

     Hazel rolled her eyes, “Shut up,” she said and strapped her seatbelt on. “Where are we going anyways?”

     Castiel started the car and started pulling out into the street. “The Harbor Café off the docks.” He said and started driving.

     Hazel just nodded and she looked out the window, wondering if Eva was okay. Castiel looked over from the road and glanced over her quickly, before staring back to the front.

     “You okay?” He asked nonchalantly.

     Hazel nodded unsurely, but then shrugged. “I’m not sure.” There was a silence in the car as Castiel drove on, not knowing how to respond.

     “I’m just so confused,” Hazel said, staring out the window. “I don’t understand…” She struggled with her words and it was as if a snake was gripping her throat, limiting her vocal cords.

     “Its okay, its normal to be in shock.” A few minutes later, Castiel parked in the nearly empty parking lot and opened the door to get out. When he saw Hazel still sitting in the car, he ducked his head back in. “Come on, we’ll get something warm to drink, it’ll make you feel a little better.”

     Hazel looked up at him and nodded. She too got out of the car and they walked to the little café by the water. Inside, there was a warm and mute coziness that Hazel felt immediately. They followed a waiter to an empty table and Castiel ordered them two chocolate cappuccinos. 

     “How’s your dad?” Hazel asked, rubbing her hands to keep warm.

     “He’s…well,” Castiel said and looked off into space. “He’s the same old, always working.” She nodded in response and looked down at the old, wooden table.

     There was an uncomfortable silence that passed by and Castiel struggled to think of anything to say. “How’s…Eva?”

     “I don’t know, I haven’t seen her since…” Hazel said, trailing off, remembering the entire event from beginning. Her lips trembled, and she took a deep breath to keep calm. Castiel regretted his question and smacked himself mentally.

     “Look, I’m sorry. You don’t know me, its weird talking about this with a stranger. Maybe we shouldn’t have done this,” he said, looking at her nervously.

     She shook her head, “Its okay,” she paused to think. “We might have been the last ones at the accident scene before it happened.” A shiver ran up her spine and she flinched physically. “Don’t you ever wonder…” Hazel took a deep breath and shook her head. “Don’t you ever wonder what would’ve happened if we stayed a few hours later?” She whispered as if it were unspeakable. “We could’ve saved them.”

     “Hey, don’t think like that,” Castiel said gently. He leaned back in the small booth and thanked the waiter who brought them their drinks.

     “But its true,” Hazel exclaimed, wearing a sad expression on her face. She felt defeated and all the exhaustion that had left before had now returned. It rested comfortably on her shoulders. She covered her face with her hands, holding the weight of her head. “I even encouraged Thomas to teach Dylan how to swim. What if,” she had a horrified expression on her face. “What if they went to the aquarium to do that? Dylan always wanted to be brave and strong like his older brother.”

     “Look, we may not know what happened to them, I feel guilty as well.” He gave her a pat on the hand. “I keep thinking, what if I stayed the whole night? What if I had just…” Castiel trailed off, the guilt showing on his face. “If we keep asking ourselves “What if?” where would that get us?” He paused and Hazel looked down.

     “It gets us nowhere. The important thing right now is to accept it and move on.” His voice was gentler now and there was a faint sorrow that showed in his eyes. He took a sip of his hot drink. Hazel nodded in response and put her hands around the white mug.

     “Then, what now?” She asked quietly. The hot steam rose up into her face and she breathed in its warm aroma.

     Castiel sat motionless for a few minutes, staring into space. “Does it seem kind of strange…” he looked directly at Hazel, his green gaze penetrating her. “That Eva specifically told me to bring you back on the same night of the accident?”

     “What are you trying to say?” Hazel asked, starting to get angry. “You think Eva had something to do with this?” She took her hands off the mug and crossed her arms.

     Castiel’s eyes grew wide, “No, no! That’s not what I meant! I’m just saying, haven’t you ever though about that though?”

     She calmed down and settled back into her position. “I don’t know, maybe? I feel like we have all these questions,” she said. “I asked Eva about last night, but she never gave me a straight answer.” Hazel shrugged and leaned back in her seat with her coffee in her hands.

     “Don’t you think that’s a little bit strange?” Castiel asked cautiously, trying hard not to upset her.

     She sighed, “I really don’t want to think about it that way, okay?” The tall boy looked at her from across the booth silently. “Alright, its a little suspicious, but Castiel, trust me, Eva has nothing to do with this.” She said confidently.

     He backed off, “Okay, if that’s what you think, I trust you.” He replied and looked away.

     “I know you don’t officially work for the police, but is there anyway you can let me know what’s going on right now?” The worried expression grew back slowly onto her face.

     Castiel sighed and nodded. “I did hear about one thing.” Hazel sat up straight and scooted in closer to lean across the table. “The event may have been an accident, but there are suspicions of otherwise.” He paused a second to drink the rest of his coffee.

     “What do you mean?” Hazel asked, confused.

     Castiel shrugged. “I heard my dad talking to a couple of people, and it’s not good.” He looked around out of suspicion that his dad was right behind him. When he was satisfied that they were alone, he looked back at her. “Let me just warn you now Hazel, when innocent lives are taken away, someone has to pay.”

     “Are you saying that there’s a possibility that this wasn’t an accident?” Hazel asked. She felt her heart pounding in her chest and she took a couple of mental breaths to keep calm.

     “Maybe, but don’t say anything about it, its just a mere hunch, nothing more. But in the mean time, things are just as bad.” She waited patiently, twirling her empty mug in her hands unconsciously.

     “They’re investigating the bodies right now, but as of right now, there may be a possibility that the shark that is linked to the deaths may be executed.”

     A wave of blood rushed into Hazel’s head, making her dizzy. She propped up her head with her hands but her vision blurred. Her heart had skipped a couple of beats and she struggled for air. “T-Tessie?” She shook her head.

     “No, you think Tessie did this?” Hazel asked, bewildered. “She wouldn’t hurt anyone!” Her mind was racing, thinking back to what Luke had said. He was right after all.

     “Hazel,” Castiel said, reaching a hand out to her. “When two boys are found dead in a tiger shark tank, there is a high suspicion that the shark ended things for them.” He said sadly, looking down. “Its only natural.”

     Hazel shook her head again and put her hands in her lap. “You don’t understand, none of you get it. Tessie is harmless, I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true! You have to believe me!”

     Now Castiel shook his head. “I wish I could Hazel. I really do.” He stared at the ground, missing out on Hazel’s pained expression. Her hazel eyes started glistening in the dim lighting of the café and a silver streak ran down her face.

***