I trip on the top step in my hurry to get to him. I’ve tried calling him all morning, and after the eighth unanswered call and fifteenth unread message, my mind went to the worst-case scenario.
“It’s fucking noon,” I growl, shoving open Hudson’s bedroom door.
Relief slams into me when I see him sprawled across his bed, the comforter tangled around his legs.
“He’s allowed to sleep in, you know,” Hadley whisper shouts.
Of course he is. But the last time Hudson didn’t answer my calls…
I just stand there and stare at him, every terrible scenario I conjured dimming.
He starts to stir, a loud groan leaving his chest. “Someone shut off the sun, please.”
“What the fuck, Hud?” I shout. The relief of finding him crashes headfirst into irritation. “You scared me half to death.”
Hadley gets in my face, her anger bitch slapping me harder than she ever did.
I take a step back and glare down at her, my teeth grinding.
“Get yourself in check, Cullen. He was asleep. Do not come in here with this crap.” She’s seething. I’ve never seen Hadley so pissed before, and that’s saying something. It almost makes me smile that she’s defending Hud.
Almost.
“What’s going on?” Hud sits on the side of his bed, squinting at his phone. “Shit, is it really noon?” He massages his temples before curling back on his side. “My head feels like someone took a sledgehammer to it.”
“What happened at Ella’s? Did you take more pills? You’re not—” My words trip over each other. “I mean, is your mind okay?”
Hadley’s scowl deepens. She crosses her arms and plants herself between us, chin tipped up.
Hudson stares at me, confusion flickering across his face, followed by what looks a lot like hurt. “Hads, will you give us a moment, please?”
Hadley steps in close, her voice dropping low. “Do not come in here and set him back because you refuse to deal with your own shit. I wasn’t there for Hudson before, but you can bet your ass I’ll fight like hell to protect him now—even from you if I have to.”
Then she tosses her hair over her shoulder and storms out.
Once her footsteps fade, I pull out Hudson’s computer chair and sit. “Protective Hadley is kind of scary.”
A ghost of a smile tugs at Hudson’s mouth before disappearing just as quickly.
“We fought. No. And it’s fine.”
I blink.
“What?”
“Those are the answers to your questions.”
He looks away, his expression carefully blank. It might work on someone else, but I know him too well. There’s a slight tremor in his chin, and his nostrils flare almost imperceptibly.
Something happened.
“You’re hiding something,” I snap.
Instead of answering, he reaches for his phone.
“Sorry I missed your calls. My phone was still on silent from therapy yesterday.”
“You didn’t have an appointment yesterday. You were at my house most of the day.”
