Whatever It Is

Hazel rolled her eyes at the man who had been hitting on her for the past half hour, and opted for wiping down the bar instead of responding to him.

When she heard a “Leave the lady alone” come out of a familiar voice, her eyes snapped up and widened. She saw A.J. Pierzynski and the man who was bothering her standing face to face, staring each other down.

“A.J. come on,” Carlos said, putting a hand on the catcher’s shoulder to hold him back a little. “Step back and calm down for a second.”

“What, are you pussies afraid of getting your asses kicked?” One of the men asserted, making Carlos clench his jaw.

“Just leave the girl alone and drink your beer in a corner,” Carlos waved them off.

“Listen, hombre, I’m trying to get laid here,” the guy said, causing his goonish friends to chuckle.

“She’s not interested,” Carlos tried ushering the man away.

“Let’s let her answer that, okay?” The man said, ripping himself out of Carlos’ grasp and walking back towards the bar. “So, baby-”

“I’m not interested,” Hazel answered. Carlos grabbed the man again, giving him a pointed glare.

“The bitch is just saying no while you’re here but once I get her alone-”

Carlos slammed the man against the wall, cutting him off.

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Carlos said, dangerously low. “Don’t talk about her like that. Don’t even think about her like that. Don’t talk to her, don’t talk about her, never set foot in this bar again. In case you haven’t noticed, you’re on the Southside. This is our territory. Go act like a douche in Wrigleyville.” By now, Hazel had come out from behind the bar and put her hand on Carlos’ bicep, tugging him away. Carlos roughly pushed himself away from the man, putting his hand on the small of Hazel’s back as he led her through the goons and their clenched fists.

As soon as Carlos had turned fully around, the guy lunged at him. Hazel stumbled into Jermaine Dye’s arms while Carlos and the man toppled into a table, taking chairs down with them. Carlos miraculously landed on top, not hesitating one moment to haul his fist into the man’s face.

The moment all the other men saw it happen, all Hell broke loose. Jermaine set Hazel upright and she froze as he, Carlos, A.J., Scott, Chris, and Mark all began exchanging punches with the other men. She didn’t want to call the cops on her boys, but at the same time she knew she couldn’t just let this go on all night.

When the police finally arrived, everyone in the bar had formed a circle around the action and were looking on with entertainment. The cops broke up the action, finding it fairly easy to separate the two groups. Six men were White Sox players, and the other six were Cub fans.

The officers began cuffing the belligerent Northsiders, leaving the baseball players untouched.

“Aren’t you going to arrest them too?” One of the men exclaimed.

“For what?” An officer responded, snapping the gum in his mouth.

“For the same thing you’re arresting us for!”

The cop looked over at the baseball players and exchanged shrugs with all of them.

“What’d they do?” The officer asked, playing dumb before turning to the customers of the bar. “Did any of you see them do anything?”

A unanimous “no” sounded throughout the bar, and the cop slowly stepped to over to the man.

“Listen here, boy. From what we gathered, you were kindly asked to step away from the lady. You didn’t, and you didn’t like the way you were set straight. So you and your buddies here attacked. Sounds an awful lot like self defense on their parts to me,” he shrugged, turning away. He suddenly paused and turned back to the man. “This is White Sox country, son. Watch what you wear around here,” he added, motioning to his Cub’s hat.

After the cops left with the men, Hazel turned to her group of men.

“You guys are nuts,” she scolded. “Are you trying to get in trouble? Are you trying to get me in trouble?”

“Ozzie’s not going to get mad at you,” A.J. waved off.

“No, but Gordon is,” Hazel mumbled.

“Gordon can’t be mad that we protected you.”

“First of all, you don’t even know that I needed protecting. Second, you don’t know Gordon. He’s already mad at me, and while he wouldn’t normally be upset about something like this, it’s just going to make things worse.”

“What’s he already mad at you for?” Chris asked. Hazel glanced at Carlos who looked away quickly.

“It’s nothing,” she answered. “Listen, I’m thankful and everything, but those boys were harmless. I could have handled it. I’ve handled much worse. You guys don’t need to watch over me.”

“Told youuu,” Scott sang at A.J.

“Doesn’t mean we can’t get territorial,” A.J. grumbled.

“Why don’t you guys call it a night and go on home. It’s late, and I’m sure ya’ll have practice or something,” Hazel ordered.

“Actually, it’s optional work out,” Jermaine supplied.

“Well then you should go home and clean yourselves up and weigh your options,” Hazel said firmly, noting all their cuts and bruises. “Ozzie is so gonna kill me.”

“He’ll understand,” A.J. offered, kissing Hazel on the cheek. The other men, excluding Carlos, did the same as they got ready to leave.

“Carlos, since you live by Hazel, why don’t you escort her home?” Mark Kotsay suggested, shrugging on his coat. “We’d all feel a lot better if we knew you weren’t alone, Hazel,” Mark added before either of them could protest. Since Chris had driven them all over, it wasn’t like Carlos could argue.

“Yeah, sure. Whatever,” Carlos sighed. The men all departed, and Hazel looked over at Carlos.

“You can leave if you want,” she told him. “I know you don’t want to-”

“It’s fine. Chris drove anyways, and besides, they’re right. We live by each other, I might as well wait,” Carlos plopped down on a stool and waited for Hazel to finish her shift.

After the bar was returned to it’s normal state before the fight, Hazel was able to leave. She and Carlos walked out of the bar, heading through the parking lot.

“Where’s your car?” Carlos asked.

“I didn’t bring it,” Hazel answered quietly.

“You walked?” Carlos narrowed his eyes accusingly. Hazel looked back at him sadly, wishing that for once he wouldn’t be so judgmental.

“I took the El,” Hazel told him, referring to the elevated train of Chicago. Carlos relaxed slightly, feeling a little guilty for his harsh tone. “Traffic is always really bad when I have this shift, and it’s cheaper for me to just take the El than to waste the gas circling the block for parking.”

The station was just a half a block over, so their walk was relatively fast. It was the actual ride that was awkward, because they just sat in silence.

“How are Gordon and Anne?” Hazel finally questioned. Carlos looked over at her confused.

“You still don’t talk to Gordon? And Anne isn’t talking to you either?”

Hazel shook her head, looking out the window quickly so he wouldn’t see her get upset.

“She came over the day after the fight and said she sided with Gordon and when he forgave me she’d forgive me. And he hasn’t,” Hazel said. “I think…I think I’m going to go back to Georgia.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” she said, looking back over at him. “I mean, I’m all settled here and I like it here and everything, but it’s stupid for me to stay if no one wants me around.”

Carlos wanted to tell her he wanted her around, but he kept quiet. He was sure once he told Gordon Hazel was thinking about leaving, the younger man would come to his senses.

“How long have you been working at the bar?” Carlos asked, changing the subject.

“Since I got here,” Hazel informed.

“Does Gordon know?”

“No,” Hazel said, smiling a little. “He’d kill me. Or he’d at least be there every night making sure I wasn’t talked to by any male customers.”

“What else do you do?”

“Like, job wise?”

“Yeah,” Carlos nodded.

“I teach dance,” Hazel stated. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s just, I could have sworn Gordon told me you were a masseuse, but then JD said you were a nurse.”

“I am,” she confirmed, causing Carlos to look even more confused. “Or, I was, anyways. Back in Georgia I worked at a hospital and also a spa for extra cash.”

“Why aren’t you doing that now?”

“Well, the massage thing isn’t really my cup of tea. I like giving them and everything, but not for a living. I just did that to make money so I could go to college and become a nurse. And I’m not working at a hospital here yet because I wanted to get acquainted with the city before I’m tied down to a serious job. Which was obviously a good idea,” she finished sadly.

“You teach dance too? What kind?”

“All kinds,” Hazel laughed. “All ages, too.”

“You learned as a kid then, I assume?”

Hazel nodded, smiling softly.

“I’ve been dancing since I was three.”

Carlos gave Hazel a once over, realizing he knew next to nothing about her.

“This is our stop,” Hazel said after hearing the recorded voice announce the station. Carlos grabbed her hand and led her off the train, keeping her close.

As they were walking along the sidewalk to her building, Hazel pulled her hand out of his grasp. Carlos didn’t say anything, and they both just kept walking.

“Do you want me to give you a ride home?” She asked once they had reached her building.

“No, I’ll just walk the rest of the way,” Carlos replied.

“Sorry you got stuck escorting me,” she said sincerely. “I know you aren’t exactly…fond of me. But thank you anyways.”

Carlos was about to respond when his phone started to ring. He glanced at the caller I.D. and saw it was Gordon, and he glanced up at Hazel.

“Goodnight,” she waved, trying to let him go.

“Wait a second, okay?” He requested.

Hazel nodded, stepping away from the door as Carlos answered his cell.

“Hello?”

“Hey, where you at?”

“Uh, on my way home from the bar. Why?”

“Are you drunk?”

“I’m a little buzzed, yeah. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I just needed some more medicine for Anne, and since I didn’t want to leave her I figured if you were still out and about you could swing by and drop some off. But it’s no big deal. I can go.”

“No, it’s fine. I can get some.”

“Not if you’ve been drinking.”

“I’ve got a D.D.,” Carlos said, intentionally being vague. Hazel looked at him cautiously, wondering what she was about to become a designated driver for. “What do you need?”

After Carlos finished up his conversation, he turned to Hazel who raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

“Anne’s sick, and Gordon was wondering if I’d pick up some medicine for her. Will you drive me?”

Hazel stared at him, hesitant.

“Hazel?” He said after a moment.

“I don’t think I should,” Hazel finally replied.

“You don’t have to go up or anything, just drive me to the store and their apartment, and then drive me home,” Carlos said. Hazel still hesitated, but eventually nodded.

“Is it just a cold?” Hazel asked once they got to the store. They had to go to the twenty-four hour place, since it was two thirty in the morning after all.

“I think it’s the flu,” Carlos said, grabbing some water bottles as well. After Carlos grabbed the medicine he began to head to the check out desk.

“Wait,” Hazel said, grabbing his upper arm lightly. “Can I grab a few things for her too?”

“Of course,” Carlos nodded. Hazel quickly walked around the store, grabbing things left and right. Once she announced she was finished, they paid and drove the rest of the way to Gordon and Anne’s apartment.

Hazel refused to look over at Carlos, because during the short moments he was nice to her, like this one, she found herself way too attracted to him. Plus, she was still reeling from how hot and rugged he looked when he fought for her.

She mentally scolded herself, knowing he was no good for her, knowing it wouldn’t last, knowing he’d hurt her, but still wanting to be in his arms.