"My dear, sweet Hazel, I've never meant anything more. You're the most beautiful woman in the world." Will took Hazel's hand and brought it to his lips to kiss it, making her heart go even more haywire, before he patted it with such a soft smile that it was difficult to doubt his outrageous claim.
When he looked at her like that, it sure seemed like he thought of her as the most beautiful woman in the world. But why? How?
She had been a ratty, neglected little kid the last time he saw her before this. He couldn't have found her beautiful then.
"Don't exaggerate," Hazel mumbled.
"I don't exaggerate."
"But that's definitely an exaggeration!"
Will shrugged. "Not to me. Anyway, let's go. We should get you out of there before your uncle comes back to avoid a confrontation."
Hazel couldn't argue with that. She could leave him a letter saying where she went. He would probably be glad to have her out of his hair anyway. He had never cared about her.
She had to pack everything of importance. Including her parents' ashes.
She had looked up how to bring them on a plane before, just in case. She could have them properly buried wherever she eventually settled once she could afford it. They deserved to have the graves they had been robbed of by her greedy uncle.
With Will helping, it only took a few hours to pack up Hazel's entire life. He didn't mind paying for the extra baggage fees, which she appreciated.
Just like that, she was leaving everything she knew and venturing into the unknown with the only person left that she loved. He had managed to get them tickets for early the next morning.
They didn't get any sleep since they were too busy talking. She wanted to know about all the good places in Boston.
Hazel would be staying at Will's house once they arrived. It was surprising that he owned a house in what she had heard was an expensive city.
When she asked him about it, he said he had won the lottery so he was pretty well off. How insanely lucky was he to have won the lottery?!
But a lot of things about his life had been insane in general. She supposed his luck could be too.
Apparently, Will's house had a whole separate two-bedroom apartment in the basement. He said Hazel could use that whole apartment with the second bedroom as her studio, which was way too generous!
"You would be way better off renting that space to someone else," she said once she had gathered her wits after the shock.
He snorted. "You think I want random people on my property? No thanks."
Right. Will didn't like people. At least when they were kids. He had plenty of bad things to say about the nurses and other patients.
It was oddly reassuring that some things never changed. Though it really did feel like a waste to let her stay there free of charge. When she said so, he instantly refuted it.
"Hazel, I've been waiting to take care of you for most of my life. Just let me, okay?"
Hazel couldn't argue with that either. It seemed like Will was intent on keeping all the promises he made when they were kids. Who was she to take that from him?
"Does this mean you're going to take me on vacations too?" she had to ask, remembering those old conversations.
A mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. "Absolutely. You haven't seen anything yet! We need to get you a passport, but in the meantime, we can go anywhere you want in the US before school starts once you get settled."
Hazel's heart was fit to burst with happiness. This was so much better than she could have dreamed of when Will came back for her! He was way better off than she ever would have expected, so he would be able to follow through on his promises faster.
"Could we go to Washington D.C.? I've always wanted to go to the Smithsonian."
"You got it! There's plenty to see in Boston too though. We can see it all together. We have time."
They did. Now that they were back together, they had all the time in the world. Nothing could be more wonderful than traveling with her best friend so many years after they talked about it.
Well, Will talked about it. Hazel could only write back then.
She was doing much better these days, only plagued by the occasional nightmare. And they were never bad enough for her to scream in her sleep.
The main reason she had been in the mental hospital was because she was mute. Why had he been there? He never said, aside from the fact that he was dangerous. Which he never elaborated on either.
"Hey, Will? Why were you in that mental hospital?" Hazel asked, completely changing the subject.
Will raised an eyebrow. "You're only asking this now?"
"I never thought of it when we were younger."
"My dad wasn't mentally stable. When he got institutionalized, the social workers came for me and I fought back a bit too forcefully. They sent me there for an evaluation and never let me back out. I think it was easier to keep me there than in a group home."
Ah. That made a sad sort of sense. Hazel knew better than most that adults didn't care about difficult children.
"And that's why they thought you were dangerous?"
"Yep," Will said lightly. "Stupid, huh?"
Hazel sighed, thinking of how stupid all the adults at the mental hospital had been. "Very. At least we're both free now."
"Exactly. No use dwelling on the pain of the past. We have a lot to look forward to, you and I."
Her heart warmed at his words. They certainly did.
"Yeah. We do."
Will leaned over so his head was resting against the top of hers. "Ah, Hazel. I've missed you more than I can say. Talking online just wasn't the same."