Soulmates

Chapter 46

Hazel slammed her head into her pillow and groaned.

"You good?" Cecil asked, peeking their head up from their phone.

"When have I ever been good?" Hazel countered.

"True." They paused. "What are you guys even doing?"

That was a good question.

When Hazel asked, Frank simply said, "It's a surprise."

"That's not at all menacing," Cecil said. Hazel simply rolled her eyes. "What? Honestly, Frank is too friendly. All the nice guys have an ulterior motive."

"You watch too much true crime."

"No such thing."

Hazel snorted. "Well, what about you and Lou?" she asked, trying to steer the conversation away from herself.

Their cheeks immediately reddened, and they looked down, refusing to meet Hazel's eye. "I don't know." His hands gestured wildly at the statement.

Hazel grinned. "Yes, you do."

"No--" Cecil forced a laugh, "--I don't."

Hazel raised a brow, to which Cecil buried his face in their hands. "Stop this bull-fuckery."

"Aw, you're in love."

He sighed. "Yeah. I am. What about you?"

Hazel paused, unsure of whether or not to reveal it.

"Haze, it's normal to not be head-over-heels on the first date," Cecil said, somehow reading her mind.

Hazel offered a small smile. "I know. But I feel guilty, because I know Frank is."

Cecil looked at Hazel, really looked at her. Emotions that Hazel couldn't decipher flashed rapidly across their face before settling on a reassuring stoic. "I know that even if Lou Ellen does somehow like me, it probably isn't to the same compacity that I like her." Hazel snorted at that, to which she was sent a glare. "Shut up. Anyway, I would still wait for her, because I understand. Some people need more time than others.

"Life isn't a rom-com. Relationships will always take work from both sides. This is that first piece you guys need to work through. The beginning of a relationship can be invigorating and wonderful, but it's also the most challenging part. It takes so much to get to the stability that, I don't know, Carter and Zia have.

"Do you know how long they've been together? Two years. Relationships don't just magically align like people say they do, okay. Even you and your soulmate won't have the perfect relationship because there is no such thing. It doesn't matter if you were meant for each other; you'll still disagree. You'll still want different things. That's why people and their soulmates separate. They think they're always going to agree and always know exactly what the other wants. No one believes in putting in the work.

"So, trust me--why are you crying?" Hazel shook her head and gestured for him to continue. "Trust me, if he doesn't want to even try to wait for you to feel with the same intensity as him, he isn't worth it. And guess what? That's okay!"

Hazel sniffed. "You should join the parents of the school."

"I--what?"

"Carter, Zia, and Shel. They're our parents."

Cecil snorted. "Okay." They paused. "Do you need a hug?"

Hazel didn't even answer. She just flopped into him, tightening her arms around them as he did the same.