Page 37 of Fractured Grief
Seb was all stitched up with a large bandage over much of his shin. He went through the incident the same way I had with Carol, and the more he spoke, the angrier Lyric became. “Fucking taxis! Can we please file a report? Someone must’ve seen the license plate, or maybe there’s some CCTV footage the police could get.”
Seb rubbed at his eyebrows. “Okay, can we get a copy to send to the police?”
“If you want to file a report, I’d recommend calling the police and having someone come down and take your statements. They’ll need Indy’s, too, as an eyewitness,” Carol spoke confidently, like she might have done this a time or two.
“Okay,” Seb hesitated, looking exhausted.
“Let me,” I said as I stepped forward to place a hand on Seb’s shoulder. “I can make the call. I want to check on Hazel, then I’ll call the local station.”
I patted Seb’s shoulder one last time before turning to leave, phone in hand.
Hazel was having a blast with Megan, enjoying a milkshake at the café downstairs.
“Thank you so much, Meg. This was a huge help.” I ordered coffees for myself, Seb, and Lyric.
“It’s no worries at all. She’s a sweetheart. Seb, okay?” Meg asked, her dark brows creasing with concern.
“He will be. We have a policeman coming soon to take our statements. Can you send them directly through when they arrive? Thanks again.” I gathered Hazel’s stuff and our to-go coffees, then made my way back to my office.
Hazel was too busy enjoying her milkshake to talk, so I took a moment to think about Seb and what Carol had said. I longed to kiss him again or just be near him. He was so big, and being wrapped in his arms, I’d felt safe, protected, seen. It wasn’t something I’d experienced in the past. Could I give that up and keep waiting for however long Seb’s appointments continued?
I’m not sure I could.
I wanted to get to know him, talk to him, and touch him. I couldn’t do that and still be his PT. I wasn’t sure what Seb was thinking. Would he be open to switching to a new PT yet again, if it meant we could be together? Or would he want to wait? I was prone to overthinking, so I was hoping we could chatsoon.
We were walking through the foyer before I knew it and reached the open office door to Seb, still propped up on the examination table, playing on his phone.
“Hi, Seb. Lyric went to move his car?”
Seb looked up, breaking into a wide grin. “Yes, he should be back any second.” He glanced down at Hazel. “Hi there. Thank you so much for helping me today. In all the chaos, I didn’t get to introduce myself. I’m Seb, and it’s great to meet you.”
Seb held out his large hand to Hazel.
She glanced at me, then Seb, before moving forward to shake his hand. “It’s nice to meet one of Daddy’s friends. I didn’t think he had any,” she said.
My cheeks heated as I shuffled in place. Not the best mention in front of the guy I liked.
Seb’s rugged face lifted as he let out a deep chuckle. Even through my embarrassment, the sound warmed my insides.
“Well, he does now. He has lots of friends, once he meets the rest of my family,” Seb smiled at me.
“Good, that’s good. Everybody should have friends,” Hazel spoke, so full of wisdom. “I have a best friend, and their name is Mel.”
Seb was smiling at my girl, giving her his full attention. “What were you playing? Do you like tag, or were you doing something else?”
“I like tag and playing outside, but I’ve never really had anyone to play with. Not until Mel. There’s a mean girl atschool, so Mel and I hide and usually draw or make up games for just the two of us.”
“I’m sorry there’s a mean girl at school,” Seb’s gaze flashed to mine, holding so much sadness on behalf of my girl. “People shouldn’t be mean to others. I’m glad you and Mel have found a safe place to play. What sort of games do you make up?”
Silently passing Seb a coffee, Hazel got lost in telling Seb all about her school playground and the safe place behind the library where they played tic-tac-toe and patty-cake. Miss Emerson had helped them draw their very own hopscotch. Love filled my heart at seeing my little one opening up to someone new. The fact that it was Seb just made my heart swell that much more. He kept his full attention on Hazel and asked relevant questions. He was so good with her. My mind raced at all the possibilities we could have if things worked out for us.Was it possible?
There was a knock at the door as Lyric strode in. “Hey, Indy. Quite a day you and Seb have had,” he flashed me a wink before kneeling on the floor in front of Hazel. “Hi, there. I heard you took great care of my brother today when he was hurt. Thank you very much. I’m Lyric.” He, too, held out his hand to shake with Hazel.
“Lyric, that’s a funny name,” her little button nose scrunched up as she assessed him.
“Hazel! That was not very nice,” I stepped forward. “Sorry, Lyric. Hazel usually has better manners than that.” She looked down at the floor as she mumbled, “Sorry, Daddy.”
“Hey, it’s okay.” Lyric reached out and lifted Hazel’s chin with a finger. “It is a funny name, but you know what?”
