Hazel in the Demon's Den

Will sat down on the bed next to Hazel a minute later wearing a tee shirt and some basketball shorts. His wet hair was plastered to his head and his topaz eyes gleamed hopefully.

"Did you save any for me?"

She glanced down at the box. She had eaten nearly all of them without even noticing. Oops.

"I…saved you one."

He gaped at her. "One? There were six! You seriously ate five of those all by yourself?"

Hazel shrugged, embarrassed. "I was hungry. Sorry. I didn't have any of the champagne though."

"You have quite a sweet tooth, don't you? First the milkshake and now the strawberries," Will noted as he poured two glasses after popping the cork.

"I didn't get much sugar growing up. I suppose I'm making up for lost time."

They hadn't served any sort of desserts in the mental hospital. The closest thing she ever got was sugar-free Jell-O. She had hated Jell-O of any kind ever since.

Her uncle hadn't kept sweets on hand either so the only time Hazel got candy or cookies was when there were class parties in elementary school. When she went to college and could eat whatever she wanted she discovered the joys of sugar more fully.

Hazel was lucky her metabolism was so good considering her eating habits. She wasn't much of a cook so she typically lived off of frozen food you could stick in a microwave and different types of crackers.

A sinister frown crossed Will's face so briefly she might have imagined it. A second later his smile was back and he handed her a glass.

She let out a small, wry chuckle. Normally she was such a cautious person but today she had used up twenty-four years' worth of impulsiveness.

"To impulsive decisions," Hazel declared.

Will saw the humor in her statement and laughed too. "To impulsive decisions then. We wouldn't be here without them."

He clinked his glass against hers and they both downed their champagne quickly. Hazel didn't drink very often so her head instantly felt fuzzy but she was too keyed up to sleep.

There was only one bed in this room. He promised he wouldn't take advantage of her but she had still never shared a bed with a man before. This was going to be weird.

Will was sipping his second glass and looking thoughtful. Was he thinking along she same lines she was? What was going through his head right now?

He caught her staring and reached out to muss her wet hair. "Go brush your teeth, Hazel. You've had a long day and need sleep."

She was shocked to her very core. It had been over a decade since someone messed up her hair like this. For a moment she was transported back to the grove of trees behind the mental hospital.

She shook those thoughts loose. No. She couldn't think like that anymore. Billy wasn't coming for her and she was married to someone else.

Hazel heeded her husband's advice and robotically walked to the bathroom to brush all of the chocolate residue off her teeth. When she came back he was still drinking his champagne and staring intently at the wallpaper.

"Will? Are you going to bed?" she asked hesitantly.

"Mm, as soon as I finish this. Why don't you make yourself comfortable first."

Hazel peeled back the covers and crawled under them, pulling them back up to her chin. She peeked at him as he finished off the remainder of his drink. His shoulders were broad and his arms were well muscled despite his height. He could probably pick her up as if she were no heavier than a loaf of bread.

She wasn't sure why that actually seemed like an intriguing prospect. Normally she was fairly averse to others' touch. Maybe it was the champagne getting to her. She couldn't even remember the last time she had touched alcohol before this.

Shortly afterwards Will brushed his teeth and shut off the light before climbing into bed next to her. Her heart thudded in her chest as she felt him shifting next to her in the darkness.

She wasn't used to having another person in the room with her as she was trying to sleep. Even in the mental hospital she never had someone occupy the other bed in the room because of her nightmares. The nurses hadn't wanted to force someone else to deal with that even though her screams typically woke up half the ward anyway. How was she supposed to get used to sharing a bed with someone else?

"Goodnight, Hazel," Will said softly.

"Night."

It took her a very long time to fall asleep but eventually she was lulled into unconsciousness by the sound of Will's deep breathing.

When Hazel woke up she felt something hard underneath the top of her back. It took her a moment to realize it was Will's arm. At some point in the night he had stretched his arm out and she had ended up in his embrace though he wasn't holding onto her fully now.

She hastily rolled off of his arm and pushed it back towards his side of the bed, praying he stayed asleep. Thankfully her wish was granted. He didn't seem to notice anything had happened.

The clock read 5:40 AM and the sun was beginning to stream through the crack in the blinds. Hazel pulled the blanket over her head and groaned. She had gotten so little sleep!

Try as she might, she couldn't fall back asleep completely. She drifted in and out of consciousness for a few hours until Will woke up. She was vaguely aware that he had turned over to face her from the mattress bouncing slightly.

A warm hand brushed a strand of hair off her forehead, causing her to stir.

"Billy?" she mumbled deliriously.

"Go back to sleep, sweetheart," he said in a gentle voice.

Hazel made a sleepy noise somewhat like an 'nnnnn' and went back to sleep happier and more relaxed than she had been in a long time as that warm hand continued to stroke her hair. When she woke up for real it was a little after 9 AM and she couldn't remember anything that happened in her hazy half-awake state. It felt like nothing but a nice dream.