Chapter 8
Hazel's POV
As we walked back toward the farmhouse, Laura didn't press the topic of Lexi further. When we reached the turnoff to the fields where we'd part ways, Laura stopped. "See you later, Hazel."
I nodded. "Yeah. Later." I watched her walk off toward her usual path, then continued on to the farmhouse with the groceries.
Stepmom was in the kitchen when I arrived, looking up from her preparations for dinner with a scowl. "Got everything?" she snapped.
I nodded quickly. "Yeah. Flour got spilled a bit but I got it all."
Stepmom's face twisted in anger. "Spilled flour? You useless girl! You can't even carry groceries without messing up!" She slapped me hard across the face, the sting making my eyes water. "You'll be punished. No dinner for you tonight, you'll do all the chores tomorrow before bed, and you'll get no breaks."
I bit back tears from the sting of the slap. "Yes, Mother."
My stepsisters, Ava and Mia, were sitting at the table, watching with smug looks on their faces. "Serves her right," Ava said with a smirk.
Mia nodded eagerly. "Yeah, stupid Hazel."
Stepmom's voice was cold. "You girls focus on your tasks. Hazel, get out there and start doing the evening chores. I don't want to see you slacking off."
I went out to do the chores, feeling humiliated and angry. The work was hard and long, but I did it all, every last bit of it. I fed the animals, cleaned the stalls, and did everything else Stepmom demanded.
When I finally trudged up to my attic room, exhausted and hungry from missing dinner, thoughts of Lexi kept coming back despite the sting of the slap and the punishment. His piercing green eyes, the lean in, the way he'd looked at me... it was like a thread in my mind I couldn't untangle.
I collapsed onto my narrow bed, too tired to think much more. Tomorrow would be a day of endless chores again because of the spilled flour. I drifted off to sleep thinking of Lexi's intense gaze and the unfairness of my life with Stepmom and the stepsisters.