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"I. I don't know what to say" Hazel chuckled despite knowing none of this is comedic.

She was in a world she knew nothing about and when an explanation was given, she was more than lost. Forgotten and never to be found maybe.

"Hazel" She moves away from him, her brows furrowed in both anger and confusion.

What on earth is going on?!

This is hard to comprehend.

"I am sorry Hazel. I never intended to put you through this. Of anything, I don't want you to ever find out about this" Vincenzo said

"What do you mean you don't intend to drag me into this?" She asked a sign of subtle sager in her tone.

Vincenzo hesitated.

"Don't lie to me. This news is far more devastating than you think. If you lie to me, you will only make this worse" She reminded

"Can we take this one step at a time? " He pleased.

He could feel exactly how unsettled and amazed she was. A tiny bit of her was frightened even.

He hates to see her that way…

"Is…is there anything else I need to know?" Hazel asked

Vincenzo sighed, it was bad enough she didn't want him to touch her, she wouldn't even look at him at this point.

"You're just like me. You have attuned yourself"

Hazel chuckled and then followed by pitiable laughter. This comedy is getting even more intense, isn't it?

"Woah. I can cast spells myself. How amazing is that?" She said in sarcasm.

"Hazel"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She yelled.

She got out of bed heading towards the door.

How Vincenzo got there before she could be yet another mystery.

"Listen to me, Hazel. This might sound like bullcrap but I promise you this isn't a joke. I am being serious" he said

"Get out of my way" she pleaded, again unable to meet his gaze.

"Look at me Hazel," he said calmly

"All my life, I have believed it. Hook, line and sinker…that I was hallucinating. Even the times when I…I was able to touch and feel what I was 'hallucinating'.....I was told it wasn't real. That I was seeing things"

"Hazel…"

She met his gaze and his heart sank on seeing tears run down her chin.

No.

This isn't what he wanted.

If it were a third party who made her cry, he knew Evan would have loved to rip their hearts out but now…..the third party is…him.

It's sadly….

"Please Hazel. I can't stand seeing you like this"

"My parents were normal. They were programmers who dealt with dangerous and bad people"

"Hazel"

"If you told me you knew those people and that you would find them. Maybe I can believe you. Maybe I can relate to that but you tell me you are…attuned??" She asked

"I didn't make myself this way okay? Most of us wanted a normal life, heck we all want a normal life." He exhaled "There's nothing wrong can do about that. Nothing we can do to undo whatever thus is with us!" He offered

"My parents were normal. It can be" Hazel said

"They were normal for your sake. They could have cast a rune in your presence and you wouldn't notice. They did that to protect you" he offered

"And what else? That the bad people were attuned to? tot, the, ey wanted a programmer to do what exactly?" She asked

"Some humans know about us and they would use that to their advantage. Your parents lived a normal life and that is undeniable. Your father was an excellent programmer. Another reason why attuned should never live like a human. Their excellence attracts problems and that was the case with your father" Vincenzo explained

Hazel stared at him shaking her head, it can't be possible. It is all an illusion. One big illusion…

"This is not an illusion Hazel. You know it. Why can't you accept the truth?" He asked

"Accept the truth? Has anyone shown up and told you your whole life was a lie?" She asked

Vincenzo glanced away from her he's been through worse!

He had to experience this before anyone told him anything. He had made so many mistakes in his early years and he had no one to yell at him.

Years had passed before anyone told him anything and how could he undo those errors now? Even though those errors might be one reason why Hazel might disappear one day…

"As I thought" she pushed past him, heading to the door.

"Hazel" he called

"Just….please.Stay away from me" she pleaded

"If that is what you want" Vincenzo muttered

Hazel chuckled. Does their supposed gift make them so insensitive?

"Hazel"

Hazel slaps the door hard behind her, running down the stairs. Everyone seems to mind their business. It was almost like no one saw what had happened to her.

Hazel found her way to her room and clenched hard at her pillows.

What is the meaning of all this? Her whole life was a lie? Her parents had lied to her? Ella inclusive?

Hazel had no idea who to trust anymore. Everyone she knew was lying to her. All her life she's seen herself as a pathetic person who had the weirdest imagination. She had felt different in a world where everyone is expected to be the same in some respect…

She was called names in high school. A phyco, cry baby, creep …..

It was great for her to have friends and the one friend she had was Orna. She'd told her that not everyone is normal and that it was okay to be different in a way.

Not everyone is normal if the standards of being normal were to be met….

Does that even matter now?

Everyone lied to her! Everyone she knew lied to her. Rina had held so much grudge against her and Greg had lied to her about Riba being okay with him rushing over to her place to make sure she was okay.

Lies! Lies! Lies!!

They were all Lies!!

//What about Vincenzo?//

Hazel stared at nothing in silence. She was visibly in her bed sobbing but her mind was blank.

No thoughts ran through her head as that question popped up.

"I just want him to stay away from me" she muttered

But why?

Vincenzo had done absolutely nothing wrong. Why doesn't she want to see him?

The truth was, she didn't want to see anyone. She wished she had the room to herself so no one would bother her…

Time went by and no one came into the room. As night drew near, she could hear chatters of people walking past the room but no one came into the room.

Her thoughts were that Choke was probably busy with the kitchen. Hazel didn't realise when she drifts off into sleep and Choke never came.

She didn't hear the door crying nor did she hear anyone call her name. She could make out Orna's giggle from a distance but nothing about Chole.

Just great!

She must have developed the ability to push people away from her without so much as a look.

Still thinking about Vincenzo's words, she drifts into a long and surprising sound sleep.

At a done point, she felt a soft but warm fur cover her up like a blanket. She had sighed in contentment but never opened an eye.

The next day came like a blur and the next two days after. She never took a step out of the room and she barely had as much water to drink.

Hazel had stuck to the energy she had and she was exhausted last night. She had gone almost a day without food and she was starting to feel it in her body.

A portal appeared in her room, huge enough for a grown person to walk through. Vincenzo stepped through it, approaching her with a plate of fruits.

Hazel had turned her back on him, covering herself up with the blanket.

"I know you don't want to see me, or anyone else but…it's been days since you walked out of here." He placed the plate on her table.

"Eat something, Hazel. It's hard enough not to see you for days. I made sure no one bothered you and the least I can ask of you …." He pleaded

Hazel said nothing.

"And I'm sorry" he apologised

Hazel exhaled, none of this is his fault, to begin with.

"Why are you doing this to yourself," he asked in concern.

"Leave. Please. I want to be alone" she pleaded

Vincenzo exhaled and took his leave, a vacuum sound followed and then silence returned to the room.

Hazel couldn't wait a moment longer to have something to eat. She's been starving for most of the day and bless Vincenzo's precious heart for reading her mind. Hazel soon realised the tray didn't give only fruits. There were buns and pastries on that plate.

Hazel munches on as many as she could at once despite the dull ache in her heart.

If anyth7ng, she found the world of the attuned quite astonishing and she had no doubt Vincenzo would show her so much…

But, living a life of lies isn't something you walk out of in a day or two.

She wanted to know more…

About her family….

And this world….