Page 47 of Haze
They went toward the back of the house where the bedrooms were. In the few weeks that Charlene had known about Hazel, she completely redecorated her second bedroom for Hazel. It was a little girl’s dream, and Haze’s heart smiled at the fact that no matter where Hazel went, she would be spoiled.
Hazel was sprawled out on her bed, lying on her back with her mouth slightly open and snoring softly. This right here was the calm to his chaos. He didn’t need to hit a blunt anymore. Being around Hazel and Devyn was enough for him.
A smile spread across his face as he leaned down and picked her up gently. She stirred a little and cuddled into his chest. For some reason, tears were brought to his eyes.
Once again, he had moved recklessly today. If he had been anywhere else or surrounded by anyone else, he would be in prison. He would have missed this moment right here. He knew something had to give. He couldn’t keep jeopardizing his life. He knew he needed to make good on his promises to Devyn, and it felt like he kept letting her down.
With a heavy heart, he walked out of the pink room and met his mom in the hallway.
“I’ll pick up her things tomorrow,” he whispered.
Charlene nodded and patted her back before they moved back through the house. Haze leaned down and kissed his mom’s cheek before he walked back out into the night. He quickly got Hazel into her car seat. She woke up briefly and asked, “Mommy?”
“We goin’ to her right now, baby,” Haze promised as he backed out of the driveway.
Before he could hit the end of the street, Hazel was snoring again.
Haze’s thought swarmed him on the ride home. When he pulled up to his house, he felt heavy.
Hazel was dead weight in his arms as he walked up the stairs to his home and opened the door. Instead of taking her to her room, he decided to bring her into the master bedroom. He wanted to be close to both his girls for the night.
Devyn was still awake when he got into the room, but he could tell she had been dozing. She didn’t even sit up when he entered. She simply reached her arms out. Haze placed Hazel on the bed beside her and kissed both their foreheads before he disappeared into the bathroom.
In the shower, he allowed a few tears to drop. His chin hit his chest as he let the water fall over him.
“I gotta do better, man,” he whispered.
The weight on his shoulders felt immense. He didn’t know who he was without his empire and motorcycle club, but he also knew that continuing on as he had would land him in more shit. He felt it in his chest. God himself had him by the ear, and it was time Haze listened.
Slowly, he got out of the shower and dried off. After putting on a fresh T-shirt and basketball shorts, he finally climbed into bed. Hazel lay between him and Devyn, whose tired eyes were on him.
There was nothing else Haze could say but, “I’m sorry.”
So, he did. Repeatedly until more tears spilled out of his eyes. He felt like he had already failed as Devyn’s man. Her soft palm on his cheek forced him to look at her.
Her eyes let him know that at that moment, she was the strong one.
“We’re going to be okay,” she whispered.
Hazel must have woken up while he kept apologizing because he felt her little hand on his arm next.
“Daddy, okay,” she mumbled, half asleep.
Haze smiled through his tears and nodded. He held the rest of the waterworks back and nodded once again. They had noidea how they’d just given him strength. The last thing he did before he fell asleep with his girls in his arms was thank God and promised him that he would do better, starting at that very moment.
Work was the last place Devyn wanted to be that Monday, but she’d already taken off a couple of days to attend the race. The thought of the race event made her cringe. It sucked because she had actually been having fun until Azul showed up. The memory of his hot breath on her neck, laying his plan out to them, made her feel queasy.
Thankful that her workday was finally over, Devyn said goodbye to her employees and made a beeline to her truck. It was Haze’s first day alone with Hazel. She hadn’t even been nervous to leave them alone, but she knew Haze was a little, which caused her to check in on them every hour. As the day wore on, he seemed more confident, which made Devyn happy.Haze was an excellent father, and his confidence with Hazel grew every day.
Pride filled her when she thought about her little family. They had taken the weekend to spend time together. Not once did they step outside of Haze’s house on Saturday or Sunday. They spent most of their time in bed, eating, watching movies, and talking. It had quickly become one of Devyn’s favorite memories.
Excitement filled her when she made it to Haze’s home, but confusion filled her when she saw a moving truck. Quickly, she got out of her truck and rushed inside.
“Haze?” she yelled as she dodged a couple of movers.
Her eyes widened when she noticed her bookshelf, complete with all the books, sitting in the living room. And there was her coffee table . . . her sofa . . .
“What the fuck?” she mumbled as Haze rounded the corner holding Hazel.
