Don’t Let Me Break by Linda Verji

 

 

CHAPTER 14

 

Hazel spent the rest of the evening at a comedy club. She got back to the apartment at about midnight the settled on the couch to watch TV and wait for Kenny to get home. About an hour later, she faded off.

Just as dawn was breaking, Hazel was awakened by a repetitive beeping. Someone was trying to get into the apartment. Still groggy with sleep, she sat up. Seconds later, the front door opened. Though she was sure that Kenny was the one who’d come in, Hazel stood and moved to the hallway to make sure she was right.

The moment she saw Kenny stumbling around trying to get rid of her shoes, Hazel could tell that her sister was drunk again. Immediately, she screwed her face in disgust. But before she could say anything, Kenny looked up.

Kenny’s bloodshot eyes immediately lit up and her mouth turned up in a lazy, drunken smile. “Hey, mama!”

“Don’t hey mama me,” Hazel scolded. “I thought I told you to stop drinking.”

In an instant Kenny’s smile dropped. “Hazel?”

“Are you crazy?” Hazel ranted on. “You of all people should know how alcohol screws people up. How can you stagger in here drunk and acting like that asshole we called a father?”

But the rant flew right over Kenny’s head. “Hazel, what are you doing here? Where’s Marley? What happened?”

“I asked you a question first. Answer it.” Hazel pressed both fists to her hips. “Are you crazy? Why are you still drinking?”

“I don’t drink that much,” Kenny protested.

“Stand on one leg then repeat that stupid sentence,” Hazel countered snidely. When all Kenny gave her was shame-faced silence, she continued, “Every single time I’ve appeared, you were drunk. Is this your thing now? Do you have a problem? And why are you still working at Jack’s where you’re surrounded with alcohol all night?”

“Leave me alone, Hazel.” Kenny sighed. “You’re not my mother.”

“You’re lucky I’m not your mother,” Hazel countered furiously. “Otherwise I’d drag you by the ear to that club and make you quit.”

Kenny crossed the hall slowly and carefully like someone who was trying to sell the lie that they weren’t drunk by not staggering. As she skirted past Hazel, the powerful, sickly sweet smell of alcohol wafted from her to further irritate Hazel.

“You have a problem,” Hazel said, watching as Kenny plopped tiredly on the couch. “You should check into rehab.”

“When did you appear?” Kenny asked, blatantly attempting to change the subject. Setting her head on the arm of the couch as if it was too heavy for her neck to carry, she mumbled, “What happened to Marley?”

Hazel wanted to scold Kenny more about her obvious alcoholism but she realized that they had more serious things to worry about. Her steps punctuated with anger, she stormed to the armchair adjacent to the couch and grabbed Marley’s purse. She reached inside and pulled out the envelope filled with cash.

“Did you know about this?” Hazel threw the money on the coffee-table.

“About what?” Kenny sat up to stare at the envelope.

“Look inside,” Hazel ordered.

Kenny leaned forward, picked the envelope and checked inside. “What’s all this money for?”

Hazel said, “That’s what your little sister has been up to.”

Kenny frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“I woke up this evening to find myself in a cab.” Hazel took a seat on the armchair then narrated everything that had happened since she’d woken up.

The more she spoke, the wider Kenny’s eyes grew. Soon the alcohol-induced glaze in Kenny’s eyes disappeared completely to be replaced by shock and horror.

“I think she thought that I was the one who killed that asshole,” Hazel finished her story. “That’s why she decided to pay off Leslie or whatever her name is.”

“Oh no!” Kenny cupped both hands over her mouth. “Oh no!”

“Is that all you’ve got for me?” Hazel raised her eyebrows. “Oh no?”

Her breath shaky, Kenny asked, “You didn’t pay Leslie?”

“Of course not.” Hazel harrumphed. “Marley and I didn’t kill him so why should we pay anything? The lady is obviously looking for a sucker to squeeze dry but it ain’t finna be me.”

Instead of congratulating her, Kenny just stared at her silently and with frightened eyes as if she couldn’t quite believe that Hazel hadn’t paid the woman. Immediately, a suspicion that Hazel had never even entertained crept in.

Watching her sister, Hazel tentatively started, “Kenny?”

“Huh?”

Hazel paused a moment before plunging in with, “You didn’t kill that jerk, did you?”

Kenny’s eyes widened until it almost seemed as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. “Wh- what?”

A sudden tightness in her chest, Hazel enunciated, “You didn’t kill Gary, did you?”

Her speech rushed, Kenny stumbled over her words. “You think- you think I killed Dad?”

“No, but you’re acting kinda weird like I was supposed to pay Leslie or something.” Hazel’s eyes narrowed. “Mom was the one who killed him, right?”

“Right! Right! Right!” Kenny nodded. “Mama killed him.” But she didn’t sound quite as convincing as she should have been.

Doubts assailed Hazel. Was there something she didn’t know about Gary’s death? Hazel hadn’t witnessed the murder so everything she knew about it was second-hand information. However, even with all that, it had never occurred to her that their mother might not be the murderer. Why? Because that meant that either Marley or Kenny was to blame for the murder. Marley obviously hadn’t done it. And Hazel refused to believe that Kenny was the culprit.

Kenny was a lot of things. She was stupidly brave when it came to protecting the people she loved. She was a fighter with little tolerance for bullshit. And she was certainly capable of killing in self-defense. But one thing she wasn’t was a coward.

She would’ve never ever, ever let their mother take the fall for her crimes. Kenny would’ve never let their mother rot in prison for that long without letting the world knowing that she was in there wrongfully.

At least that’s what Hazel thought.

Was she wrong?

Kenny must’ve seen the doubt in Hazel’s eyes because she said, “I didn’t kill him.” Her eyes were filled with sincerity and her voice impassioned as she insisted, “I swear I didn’t. I didn’t kill Dad. You know me, Hazel. If I did it, I would say so.”

Hazel’s doubts immediately retreated. She sighed in relief. “That’s what I thought.”

Having gathered her wits, Kenny asked, “Did that Leslie woman say she was going to come back?”

“No, but I wouldn’t put it past her,” Hazel said. “I dealt with her today, but I might not be around if she shows up again. If she goes to Marley, you already know that that gullible girl will fall into her trap. So, you need to find that woman and fix this for good.”

“Do you have her number?”

“It’s in Marley’s phone but I don’t have the pass-code.” Hazel reached into Marley’s purse and brought out the phone.

“I have it.” Kenny took the phone and keyed in the code. After sending Leslie’s number to her own phone, Kenny gave the phone along with its code back to Hazel.

“It’s a Thursday,” Hazel reminded her sister. “I have to go in to work for Marley, right?”

“Ye-” Kenny paused, and anger flashed in her eyes. “Actually, no! First, you need to explain how you ended up at her boss’s house.”

Uh-oh! Hazel had even forgotten about the whole thing with Sebastian and what had happened the last time she was around. For a second, she considered just telling Kenny the truth but her sense of self-preservation kicked in. If she told the truth, Kenny would surely ban her from ever leaving the house. She wasn’t down with that. Thankfully, she’d always been quick on her feet and great at fibbing.

“Kenny, you have no idea how drunk that guy was when I met him at the club. He was gone, gone. Like stumbling, vomiting, hitting on everything that passes by… it was awful. Just awful.” Hazel shook her head in mock disapproval and offered a frustrated sigh. “I was going to leave him outside the club because I don’t do drunks, but I realized that he was Marley’s boss. It would look bad for her.”

“That’s a damn lie,” Kenny retorted. “You think I don’t know your M.O? You tried to seduce him, didn’t you?”

“No way,” Hazel denied. “Why would I try to seduce a gay guy?”

Her sister’s jaw dropped. “He’s gay?”

“As a pride parade. Definitely not worth my energy,” Hazel said. “I was just doing a favor for Marley. Trying to score points from the boss so we can keep our job.”

Still skeptical, Kenny studied Hazel. Hazel stared right back, giving her sister her best ‘I’m innocent’ look. Kenny harrumphed, but her tone was less hostile as she asked, “Then why didn’t you come home right after dropping him off home.”

“The guy was vomiting, looking pale and sick… Ugh! I had to stay and look after him.” Hazel closed her argument with a snarky, “You know how you alcoholics can get.”

Bulls-eye! The mention of alcoholics was enough to make Kenny quickly retreat. She predictably changed the subject.

“Are you sure you can go to work for Marley?” Kenny asked. “You’ll have to pretend to be her.”

“I’m an expert at playing Marley,” Hazel gleefully reassured. “Don’t worry. I got this.”

The last time Hazel was around, she hadn’t had a chance to see where Marley worked. This was her chance. Sure, seeing Sebastian again would be a little awkward, but Hazel didn’t care. Meeting new people and making new friends was worth a little awkwardness.

Kenny proposed, “You should catch up on the vlogs she’s recorded recently before you go though.”

Hazel didn’t want to watch any more of Marley’s stupid vlogs, but if that was what it took to see the lady’s workplace then bring it on.

 

* * * * *

 

THIS WAS HEAVEN! Oh my! This was where Marley worked? Who would’ve thought? Hazel had expected a company that was stuffy and stuck-up… like Marley and Sebastian. But About It was nothing like that. It was a cheerful, vibrant place with happy people who looked like they were having fun not working.

It was Hazel’s kind of place.

Given how detailed Marley’s vlogs were, it wasn’t hard to pretend to be her. Hazel already knew everyone who Marley had constant contact with and their relationships with her. Of course, Hazel had a little trouble catching up on the assignments that Marley was working on the previous day, but she was great at making do as she went along. None of Marley’s coworkers even noticed that Hazel wasn’t her. They were all fooled. As expected.

“They’re dating,” Zion whispered. He was leaning against the partition that divided Marley and Eugene’s desks.

“No way,” Eugene whispered back. “Penn hates Felix’s guts. He would never date him.”

“They’re dating,” Zion insisted. “I’m sure of it.”

Hazel, who was an ardent fan of office gossip, leaned closer to Zion and whispered, “How do you know?”

Both Zion and Eugene turned to her with surprised looks.

“What?” she asked.

Eugene frowned. “It’s just…”

“You’re never interested in this kind of stuff,” Zion finished.

“Really?” Hazel waved it away. “This is interesting though.”

The boys gave her another doubtful look before they both shrugged. Zion continued, “You know Caleb, right?”

Hazel didn’t know Caleb. His name hadn’t come up in Marley’s vlogs. But she nodded anyway. “Yeah, I know him.”

“Caleb from accounting?” Eugene asked.

Zion nodded then continued, “Caleb likes to visit gay clubs. Last night, he went out with his friends and he saw Penn and Felix all hugged up on the dance-floor. They were dancing and kissing and touching. You should hear Caleb describe how nasty they got.”

Hazel immediately slapped her hand over her smiling lips. “Ooh! They got caught.”

Her reaction earned her another set of surprised looks from the boys. But their interest in Penn and Felix’s scandalous relationship soon overshadowed their surprise.

“No way,” Eugene insisted. “Maybe they were drunk.”

“Alcohol only brings out your true colors,” Zion reminded him.

“Whose true colors?” A black girl popped out behind Zion. Hazel recognized her as Quinn. Marley had characterized her as another ally so Hazel gave the girl a smile.

“Oh my God you scared me, Q.” Zion clapped his palm to his chest. “I thought you were Felix.”

“You guys heard it too?” Quinn’s lively eyes danced with humor. “Penn has been captured by the enemy.”

“Is he with us or with the three witches now?” Zion asked.

Hazel had heard a few things about the three witches. Dawn, Vicky and Felix had featured in several of Marley’s vlogs. Marley hadn’t said that she hated the three outright, but Hazel could read between lines. Even though she hadn’t met any of the three yet, she already hated them with passion.

“That depends,” Eugene said. “Is it a fling or a relationship? If it was a one-night thing he might still be with us? If it’s a relationship, then we’re one down and the witches are winning.”

“For Penn’s sake, I hope it’s a fling,” Hazel snorted. “Nobody deserves a headache like Felix.”

Her comment was enough to get a surprised look from Quinn. Quinn stared at Hazel for a couple of seconds then her gaze flew to Eugene in silent question.

Eugene merely shrugged and laughed. “I know, right?”

Obviously, Quinn was just as surprised by Hazel’s participation in the conversation as the boys were.

“Hey, you four!” Their team leader, Xavier, cut into their conversation. From across the room, he called out, “Team meeting with Sebastian in five.”

“Got it,” Hazel, Eugene, Zion and Quinn all yelled out.

Hazel should’ve been nervous at the thought of having to see Sebastian again, but nervousness had never been a big part of her emotional make up. Jauntily, she hopped to her feet.

As she and her three new friends were walking to the meeting room, Zion sidled up to her. “Marley, you seem a little different today.”

Hazel’s heart jumped a little, but she kept her face straight. “Different how?”

“I don’t know.” Zion frowned. “You seem happier, livelier… different.”

Hazel offered him a bright smile. “Let’s just say that I woke up on the right side of the bed.”

“What side was it?” Quinn, who was walking on Marley’s other side, asked. “I need to start waking up on that side too. Have I told y’all about my crappy landlord?”

With that, everyone’s attention moved from Hazel to Quinn’s story about her landlord. Phew! Hazel breathed a sigh of relief.

The four friends got to the meeting room first and settled around the table. Soon, the rest of their teammates filed into the room. The three witches showed up a few minutes later than everyone else because they were working on a video. As soon as they arrived, Felix made a beeline for Hazel. His sidekicks, Vicky and Dawn followed him. The three squeezed right in the space between Hazel and Eugene’s seats to tower over Hazel.

“Hey, Marley,” Felix offered her a sappy smile. “You know my birthday is tomorrow, right?”

Hazel, who already knew that he liked to pick on Marley, couldn’t find it in her to return the smile or be nice. She folded her arms over her chest and bit out. “No, I don’t know that it’s your birthday tomorrow, Felix.”

“Everybody knows,” Vicky said. “He sent an email.”

“I don’t read his emails,” Hazel drawled while glaring at the three twits in turn. Her hostile response was enough to draw surprise from all of them, including Felix.

“Well… anyways,” Felix continued, “I’m supposed to edit Ivan’s video tomorrow and hand it in. But it’s my birthday so… could you help me out?”

“You’ll help him, right?” Dawn chimed in with a smirk that said she expected Marley to fall in line like a good little worker-bee.

Unfortunately for her, Marley wasn’t in the building today. Hazel guffawed. “Hell no!”

The three were so surprised that for a second they were dumbfounded. They could only blink. Felix was the first to find his voice. “What?”

“I said… Hell… No!,” Hazel repeated slowly so the dumbasses wouldn’t miss it. “I’m not doing your work for you so you can party.”

Felix still couldn’t believe it. “What?”

“You heard me.” Hazel waved her hand dismissively. “Now scoot. You and your backup dancers are blocking my view of Eugene.”

Only Vicky caught the backup dancers comment and her face immediately screwed up in offense. Meanwhile, Dawn was still reeling from the unexpected refusal. She demanded, “You’re really not going to do it?”

“Did I stutter?” Hazel stuck her foot out to nudge at Felix’s leg. “Move!”

The trio traded glances, and it looked like they were thinking of jumping her. Hazel mean-mugged them. Just try it! She probably wouldn’t win against all three but she was sure she could pluck out an eye or two before she went down.

Looking thoroughly stunned and a little scared, the witches moved away.

It was only once they were out of her line of sight that Hazel realized that she’d attracted everyone’s attention. Everyone at the table was staring at her in goggle-eyed amazement as if she was an alien. They were probably wondering what was wrong with her today.

Oh well! Hazel smirked. They were free to speculate. She was sure that no matter how creative Marley’s coworkers were, their guesses would all boil down to a new relationship, drugs or just being sick and tired of being bullied. No one was imaginative enough to guess the truth. That she wasn’t really Marley.

Five minutes later, Sebastian walked into the room and sat down. Hazel was so glad to see someone that she actually knew outside of Marley’s vlogs that when his glance eventually landed on her, she smiled and winked at him.

His eyes widened and shock filled his expression.