Chapter 8 - Fight

• Logan shook his head at my question. “No. I cannot disclose her name at this time.”
• I pushed the thought from my head. There are a million actresses in the world. The odds of it being Natalie were nearly impossible.
• I didn’t know the full story of what happened in that studio and Logan didn’t seem to want to discuss it, but I did want to try and help. I thought for a moment before I spoke.
• “Sir, I also know an actress. From what I know about her, I’m not sure the date I planned for you tonight would work. Maybe a more lavish first date would be appropriate for her? Something to spoil or pamper her after a long day on set. They also seem to enjoy being given gifts.” I smiled at him.
• Logan frowned at me. I tensed. Oh, I’ve spoken out of line.
• I looked down, waiting for him to eliminate me from the running as his assistant just like he had done to Elena when she crossed a boundary.
• But Logan just sighed. “You’re right. I was only thinking of the kind of date I would prefer, not what she might enjoy. Perhaps I should have a more formal date with her.”
• I realized I had been holding my breath, and I released it with a relieved sigh.
• “Thank you, Hazel,” Logan smiled at me.
• When I returned home later that evening, I stood at the front door, rummaging through my purse for my keys. Just as I found them and pulled them out, the door cracked open, startling me.
• My parents peered out at me. “Hazel,” my dad said.
• “Father,” I said, confused.
• There was a moment of silence. I stared at them as they nervously glanced at me, then over their shoulders, then at each other, then back at me.
• “Can I come in maybe?” I finally said.
• “Of course dear,” mom said, then cleared the doorway so I could enter. I shook my head as I entered. My parents weren’t exactly normal but this was weird behavior, even for them.
• I walked through the entry way towards the living room. All I wanted to do was kick off my shoes and zone out with some terrible reality TV. As I turned left into the living room, my heart and purse dropped to the floor.
• On the couch was my ex-boyfriend Chance. And draped over him was Natalie.
• My face burned as several emotions flooded through me at once. I hadn’t seen Chance since Vegas. I hadn’t wanted to. I felt hurt and angry and embarrassed. Chance also seemed to be embarrassed that he had been caught here, at least a little bit. Natalie, on the other hand…
• “Oh, hey Hazel,” Natalie’s voice dripped with fake sweetness. She didn’t take her eyes off Chance as she spoke to me, she just kept stroking his hair.
• “Oh, I’m so sorry to interrupt your alone time with my man,” I snapped at her. I stormed into the kitchen to find my parents. They were sitting at the table, dad casually reading the paper and mom touching up her makeup, as though everything were right in the world.
• “How can you even let him in here after what he did to me?” I yelled at them.
• “Inside voice, dear,” mom spoke to me like I was a five-year-old.
• “Dad, please,” I pleaded with him, tears beginning to form in the corner of my eyes. “Please, I can’t bear to see the two of them together like this.”
• Dad’s face softened, but before he could speak mom cut him off. “Then go up to your room. No one is forcing you to stay here,” she said, still looking in her compact mirror.
• “Kitten,” dad said, using a nickname I hadn’t heard since I was young. They were both treating me like I was just a bratty little kid. “There’s nothing we can do. They’re adults, they can do what they want.”
• “But this is your house,” I said meekly.
• “Oh, grow up,” mom snapped, giving me her full attention now. “Look at you, standing there sniveling. Do you think Natalie would act this way if she were in your shoes? No man wants some whiny little brat for a fiancé. It’s no wonder he was seeing her behind your back. We said a long time ago that you practically pushed him into her arms.”
• Wait, what did she say? “He…what? He was cheating on me with her?”
• Mom and dad exchanged wide-eyed glances. “I’ve already said too much,” she said, then stood and went into the kitchen, pretending to search for something. I followed her.
• “How long did you know about this?” I asked. No answer. I turned back to dad. “Dad? How long?”
• Dad let out a sigh and finally set the paper on the table. “No sense hiding it now I suppose. It’s been going on for about a year now. We caught them outside together late one night and they confessed everything.”
• A year?? How was I so blind to this for a whole year? “Why didn’t you tell me?”
• “Oh stop, it was for your own good,” mom slammed a cabinet shut. “You’re welcome for that, by the way.”
• “Oh yes, I’m sorry. Thank you. You’ll be receiving your mother of the year award in the mail any day now,” I angrily snapped.
• “That mouth of yours does not help you in the relationship department either,” she said.
• I stormed back into the living room to grab the purse I had dropped. The happy couple was still cuddling on the couch.
• “Hey Nat, mom told me you were upset that I hadn’t congratulated you or anything on your engagement. Well here, I got you something to make up for it.”
• They perked up and looked at me, confused. I stuck my hand in my purse and pulled it out, with just my middle finger sticking up.
• “Cute Hazel,” Natalie rolled her eyes. “Real mature.”
• I turned on my heels and bounded up the stairs to my bedroom, slamming the door shut behind me. A gift for my parents, I knew how much they hated that.
• Now that no one could see me, I let the tears that I had been holding back fall down my face. I laid face down on my bed and buried my face into my pillow, crying as hard and quietly as I could. I knew I wasn’t my parents’ favorite child, but how could they let Natalie do that to me? How could they let Chance? If they had even a shred of empathy among them they kept it well hidden from me.
• As soon as I was all out of tears I sat up and dug my phone out of my purse. I opened my text message thread that I had with Maria.
• “I have got to get out of this house,” I text her.
• A moment later she responded: “Uh oh…what happened now?”
• “I don’t want to get into it, I just…I need this executive assistant job, I need that money so I can afford my own place,” I sent back.
• “Oh, you know what? I just heard about this new apartment complex where single people can apply for a discounted rate. They’re not the best apartments, but you’ll at least have your own place,” she wrote.
• “OH MY GOD. Send me the link immediately,” I wrote as fast as I could and pushed send.
• She laugh reacted and sent me a link. I clicked on it and navigated to the “How to Apply” page.
• “Maria you son of a bitch,” I said to myself, smiling. “You are a lifesaver.”
• The following morning I walked into work and immediately felt something was off. Normally there was a buzz of small talk and people hustling here and there. Today was eerily still and quiet. People mostly stood in place, whispering to each other. I set my stuff on my desk and looked over at Maria across the room.
• “What’s going on?” I mouthed to her.
• She frantically waved me over to her. I sped walked to her.
• “Word around the water cooler is someone messed up big time,” she whispered. “They’re talking about firing someone over it.”
• “Oh wow. Who?”
• Maria gulped. “You.”