Will had practiced a response to this too. To every question he could anticipate Hazel asking him that would be difficult to answer. "I wasn't even sure you remembered me at first. Then I saw that drawing of the two of us from our time in the mental hospital and knew you did. I really couldn't have done anything while you were still a minor anyway."
That was what she seemed to have expected. She wouldn't be suspicious about that answer.
And he was right. She was adorably pouty about it, but that was all.
"You still should have told me."
"Yeah, sorry about that. But I'm here now."
Will would never go anywhere without Hazel again. He would stay by her side for the rest of their lives, just like he should have been able to all along.
They had already exhausted this subject, so he changed it by asking what her favorite restaurant was. And a ton of other questions, wanting to know everything about her life. She would probably be more open with him knowing who he was than she had been online.
He truly did want to know all about her life, but also didn't want to talk about his. He skirted around that as best he could, since there was nothing good to say about it that was honest.
Will experienced a critical cute attack when Hazel wanted to get luggage right away, planning to go back to Boston with him. He teased her so she wouldn't see how affected he was by it. "Someone's eager."
"What? I've waited ten years for this!" she replied defensively.
"I know. It's just cute."
"I hate being called cute! It's the worst thing to be called when you look way younger than you are. Most people think I'm about twelve."
Huh. Will hadn't known this. He didn't think Hazel looked twelve though. She just looked like Hazel.
"Twelve-year-olds don't dye their hair bright red. Would you prefer to be called 'beautiful', then?" Both descriptors applied. He didn't mind using the one she preferred.
"Yes, I would. But only if you meant it."
Ha! As if Will could ever not mean something like that. Hazel had been the most beautiful person in the world to him since she was four years old.
"My dear, sweet Hazel, I've never meant anything more. You're the most beautiful woman in the world," he said honestly, taking her hand and kissing it to drive his point home.
Her tone was embarrassed. "Don't exaggerate."
"I don't exaggerate."
"But that's definitely an exaggeration!"
It really wasn't. But Hazel could never know how or when they truly met. If she knew Will was connected to the man who murdered her parents…
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."
He helped her pack everything up and they talked all night without even going back to his hotel room. He could pick up his suitcase and check out in the morning before they went to the airport. Sleeping tonight would be a waste. Nighttime was their time anyway. It always had been.
Hazel was shocked to hear about his house, thinking he should rent the apartment out. She didn't realize how rich he was. Sharing a space with strangers was a nightmare he didn't want to repeat, thank you very much!
"It feels like a waste for you to let me stay there for free though," she said.
Will had to set her straight. It wasn't a waste at all.
"Hazel, I've been waiting to take care of you for most of my life. Just let me, okay?"
"Does this mean you're going to take me on vacations too?"
Oh, Hazel had no idea of what all Will had been planning! He was going to have so much fun traveling with her. "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."
"Could we go to Washington D.C.? I've always wanted to go to the Smithsonian," she admitted.
That was nothing. They could go anywhere in the US, aside from California. He didn't think she would want to come back here either though. Too many bad memories.
"You got it! There's plenty to see in Boston too though. We can see it all together. We have time."
Will wasn't expecting Hazel to change the subject the way she did. Asking about why he was in the mental hospital. She had never done that when they were kids and it would have been much more relevant.
"You're only asking this now?" he asked in disbelief.
"I never thought of it when we were younger."
Aha. Will hadn't prepared an answer to this question but could mostly tell the truth. He just had to leave out the 'arrested for murder' part.
"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."
"And that's why they thought you were dangerous?" Hazel clarified.
Part of it. Mostly, they thought Will was dangerous because his father was the Bay Area Blade. But how strong he was definitely didn't help his case.
"Yep," Will said as lightly as he could. He still got worked up thinking about that unfair prejudice all these years later. He wasn't anything like Charlie. "Stupid, huh?"
"Very. At least we're both free now."
They were. Just like they had always wanted to be. Nothing was stopping them now!
"Exactly. No use dwelling on the pain of the past. We have a lot to look forward to, you and I."
"Yeah. We do."
Will was so glad Hazel thought so. That she had held on to their dreams as tightly as he had all this time.