A/N :  This chapter is a bit longer than the other ones because I couldn't stop writing from Christian's prospective. It's fun hehe
Hope you enjoy
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Christian.

"I'm coming over lil bro."

I continue to stare at his message while thinking of all the possible situations that might happen once he gets in this house.

I need to stop him. I can't let him meet Hazel.

"Chris?" I glance at her face and find it closer to mine. Damn those eyes.

I shut my eyes and let out a long sigh. If I tell her about my brother and his terror she will probably be worried and if I don't she will be in danger.

Protecting her comes first.

"Hazel I need to tell you about my brother."

"Okay. Go on, but eat first. You haven't eaten anything." She says taking away my phone. "You are not getting this back until you eat." I watch her as she keeps it inside the pockets of her jeans.

Unwillingly I pick up my burger and start taking its huge bites. She stares at me quietly with concern. She shouldn't worry about me that much. It's not like I'm going to die if I miss one dinner.

After finishing it we clean up the table and come into living room. Hazel lies lazily on the sofa while I'm sitting in an armchair. "Can I have it back now?" I say pointing at her jeans.

"Oh right, I totally forgot." She yanks the phone out and throws it towards me. She forgot? It's literally been fifteen minutes. Something must be going in her head. I don't know what she and Jayson talked about but I know something has happened.

Something has upset her.

"So about my brother, we can't let him see you." I say nonchalantly.

"What?"She slips off from the sofa and falls on the floor. Such a baby.

"Are you okay?" I extend my hand to her but she doesn't bother to grab it.

"I prefer lying on the floor here, thanks." She says and smiles. At least she smiled.

"You're a weirdo you know." I say trying to stop myself from smiling and lie down on the floor next to her.

Her jet black hair tickle the back of my neck as I lie down. "Tell me." She whispers. I feel a tug at my heart. She is too close. I need to look away. I have to control.

"My brother is a monster. I cannot let him see you...He will.." I shut my eyes and images flash in front of my eyes.

Images of my past.

I remember me begging him to stop. Emily was crying continuously, her body was shaking. There was nothing I could do. I was tied down. All I did was watching Emily die that day. I couldn't do a single thing. He must have enjoyed that.

"Christian?" Hazel squeezes my palm gently. I look down at our linked hands. When did she reach there? I look up at her and the concern in her eyes soothes me. I care about her. I can't see her cry. I can't see her in trouble. Also I can't fall in love with her.

"Hazel. We need to hide your presence from this house. Your shoes, your clothes, your stuff in the bathroom." I sigh moving my other hand in my hair. "Let's do that tonight before going to sleep. Okay?"

"Okay."

********

We do everything to hide her presence from this house. I hope this will work. I sit rubbing my temple, worry doesn't seem to leave my mind no matter what.

I watch Hazel as she's staring at the TV. Some romantic movie is playing on it and she seems to like it as she's not even blinking and the popcorn she picked up five minutes ago is still near her mouth, in her hand.

I decide to watch the said movie with her and plop down on the sofa beside her. She doesn't notice me. Her eyes have become glossy. It seems like its a sad movie. I hate to see her cry even if it is because of the movie. I wipe a single tear which falls on her cheek. "Ch-Christian?" She stutters jerking away a bit.

"Why are you watching that movie if its making you cry?" I mumble softly to her. She shifts further away from me. "I love this movie. I used to watch it all the time with Logan." She says smiling.

Logan?

"Who's Logan?" I pry. I generally don't ask her about her personal life or what is bothering her because I want to give her space but it's the first time I've heard this name and its making me uneasy for some reason.

Her lips tremble a bit before she speaks. "He was my boyfriend."

She had a boyfriend? She has never mentioned him before. Maybe their breakup was hard for her. Well it certainly has nothing to do with me.

"Oh" I reply and go silent. I don't know what to say. She already looks like she's on the verge of crying. I pat her head gently and scoot closer to her. Surprisingly she spreads her arms and hugs me. Her tiny body wraps itself around me. I don't feel it for a while but soon I notice her body shaking a little. Is she crying?

"Hazel?" I hug her back and softly rub her back. "What happened?"

"Everything is such a mess." She sobs. I can feel her tears on my shirt as she sniffs tugging on it.

"Shhh." I take her in my arms completely enveloping her shaking body. Why does she have to suffer so much? Why can't I do anything? I keep cooing her as if she's a baby for I don't know how long.

**********

I wake up hearing someone yelling. Sunlight is burning my skin as I open my eyes and find Hazel sleeping with her body tightly wrapped around mine. I realise we were like this for the whole night and can't help but feel a bit flustered. I brush my hair back and forth with my hand while Hazel is sleeping soundly in my arms.

"April!!" I hear that shrill voice again and wince. I don't understand why someone would waste their morning yelling. With a groan I get up but Hazel is still glued to me so first I gently push her hands and make her lie on the sofa. She murmurs something in her sleep and I can't stop myself from smiling.

I open the door to face a very annoyed Leah. "What ?" I ask bluntly.

"I came to meet April." She grins. "Or you can say I came to check upon her." She walks inside ignoring my glare.

"Why is she sleeping here?" Leah says as soon as I step in the living room her eyes narrow at me suspiciously.

"We kind of fell asleep watching a movie last night." I say yawning.

"Oh my god! Did you sleep together?" She sqeals excitedly. What is wrong with this girl I haven't realised yet. She gets super excited very easily and always takes the wrong meaning of things.

"No. It's not like that. It's not what you think." I keep brushing my hair while I move around searching for my towel. I need a shower. Hazel's drools and tears have made me sticky.

"Then what does it-"

Leah gets cut off as the doorbell rings.

"I think it's Jayson." Leah smiles to herself and runs towards the door. I follow her grunting. I really don't want to see that idiot right now. Especially because Hazel looked terrible when she returned home last night. It must be his fault.

Leah opens the door and a chill runs down my spine. My throat goes dry when I see him.

My brother, Christopher McDermott stands at the door looking devilishly at me.

"It's been a while Chris."

_________END OF CHAPTER__________