Dying Light ~ Tate Langdon

11 | Invisible Intruder

"Godammit!" Hazel heard a man exclaim from down her hallway. Soon after, Tate walked in, looking angrier than Hazel had ever seen him.

"Tate?" Hazel asks, concerned for the boy at the doorway.

His hands were balled into fists. No response came from him.

"Tate!" Hazel yells this time, finally earning a look from Tate. "What happened?"

"Your Dad said I can't keep working with him. Says that ' I broke a boundary by being at the house'" He recalls, Hazel could see him tensing his fists.

She gets up and walks over to Tate. "When?"

"When those psychos came!" Tate practically yells.

Hazel looks the boy in the eyes. "But you saved us, shouldn't he be grateful?"

Tate shakes his head. "I don't know. But what am I going to do? I can't just stop seeing him! What if I start to have those dreams again?"

Hazel takes her hands and places them on either side of Tate's face. "I'll help you"

Tate shakes his head. "What if you get scared of me?"

Hazel leans in, and plants a small kiss on his lips. "I won't"

Tate hung his head low. Sniffles began filling the silence between the two.

"Baby, you don't need to cry" Hazel assures him, wrapping her arms around him in an embrace. She took in his scent, one that she'd gotten used to. "I'm never going to leave you"

Tate looks up, pain evident in his deep brown eyes. He turns around and closes and locks the door. He kisses Hazel's lips  feverishly.

Hazel returns with the same amount of passion. Tate picks her up and lays her down on the bed. They had been dating for about a week now, and makeout sessions had become a common occurrence.

"You make me feel so much better, Hazel" Tate whispers in between kisses. Hazel smiles into the kiss.

Tate's hands roam her body, finally landing on her thighs. Hazel gasps in surprise, looking down at them, breaking the kiss in the process.

He leans back in with a lot more force than before. Hazel felt butterflies in her stomach. Tate felt impossibly close to her, but in the best way.

He grips onto her thighs harder, breaking the kiss and looking at her with his eyes. Hazel felt like she could melt. She loved his eyes. The deep brown that they were, the way they shone in the sunlight. She loved them.

"I want to, Hazel" Tate admits softly.

Hazel realized what he meant. Her eyes widened. "Tate, I-"

She was cut off. "It's okay if you don't want to, I'll wait as long as you need"

Hazel nodded. "I'm not ready"

Tate nodded before giving her a soft peck on the cheek, rolling off of her and onto the bed. Hazel shoots him a smile.

"Are you a virgin?" Hazel asks.

Tate shakes his head no. "I've done it once. I was drunk, I don't want to count it"

Hazel smiles and kisses his lips again.

...

Tate had left, leaving Hazel alone with her family. She walked into the living room and saw her mother watching TV.

"Mom, can I ask you something?" Hazel asks, sitting down beside her.

"Of course, honey" Vivien answers, turning her full attention to her daughter. "What is it?"

"What do you think of Tate?" Hazel asks.

"I think he's a great boy. Brave. Most boys his age wouldn't walk into danger and save a family" Vivien answers. "Why?"

"Dad has been so mad at him. He doesn't want me around him. But he loves me, mom. And I love him" Hazel shakes her head.

"Trust me, I know" Vivien smiles. "He saved you first. Only hung around you while you were getting stitched up. He's a good match for you. Your dad, he's an asshole"

Hazel quietly snickers. Vivien hardly swears.

"I want you to keep seeing Tate. He makes you so happy. And if it means sneaking behind your dads back, honestly, I'm okay with it" Vivien says. "But tell me when he's over"

Hazel nods eagerly. "Thanks mom"

Vivien smiles.

"He's staying over tonight" Hazel says.

"Staying the night?" Vivien questions. "What do you plan on doing?"

"Sleeping. I help him sleep. He gets into a lot of fights with his mom" Hazel says.

"Okay, but I'm doing check-ins" Vivien warns.

"Don't worry, you won't walk in on anything" Hazel laughs before walking back to her room.

...

Tate was asleep beside Hazel, who was still awake reading Twilight.

She heard light footsteps outside of her room, thinking it was Violet, Hazel brushed it off. But after about five minutes of constant steps, Hazel had enough.

She quietly got out of bed, trying to her hardest to not wake Tate. She peaked her head out the door and held back a scream.

A woman in a blue dress was walking around her home. Her blonde hair was up in a fancy hairstyle, Hazel would have said it was beautiful, if it weren't for what soaked through.

A large gash was seen on the back of her head, blood dripping down onto her hair. Hazel watched as the woman walked around. She was looking over the stairs, the paintings, everything. She was taking every detail into account.

Once she walked into a separate hallway, Hazel looked back at Tate. She closed the door and ran to her parents room.

"Mom! Dad!" She opened the door with a yell, both parents sat up with worry immediately wiping away the sleepiness.

"What happened?" Ben asked, walking over to his daughter.

"There was someone in the house. A girl. She was just walking around" Hazel explains through her shaking voice. Ben grabbed a bat and Vivien began to call the police.

"Go get Violet and go into your room. Lock the door unless it's me or your mom" Ben orders. Hazel nods and runs to Violet, practically dragging her out of the room.

They run into Hazel's room, where Tate was still sleeping. Once the door was slammed and locked, he shot up, looking for Hazel.

She put a finger over her mouth, telling him to be quiet.

"Baby, what is it?" Tate asked, his voice tired.

"There's someone in the house. Her head was fucking bleeding Tate! But she was just walking around" Hazel explains in a hurry.

Tate's eyes widened. "Did she say anything to you? Did you see her face?"

Hazel shakes her head quickly. She noticed how badly she was shaking. So did Tate. He took his hands in hers.

"It's okay" He assures her, looking up to Violet as well, nodding at her.

A few minutes passed and a knock sounded on the door. "Girls!" Her dad called.

Tate made his way to under the bed and Hazel unlocked the door.

"They couldn't find anyone" Ben says. "Just try to get some sleep okay?"

The twins nodded, Ben and Violet leaving the room.

She closed and locks the door again and as she turns around Tate is back on the bed.

"Goodnight, Tate"