His brow scrunches and he slowly pulls away from me. “That seems a little hypocritical, don’t you think?”
“You’re calling me a hypocrite?”
“If anyone isn’t dealing with their issues, it’s you, Cullen,” Hud accuses, his jaw set hard. “I’m putting in the work.”
“I wouldn’t have issues to deal with if you didn’t try to fucking kill yourself!” I yell, chest heaving. I’m now standing, towering over Hudson where he sits, shocked at my outburst.
“Get the fuck out.” I spin around to find Hadley standing in the archway, seething.
“Butt out, Hadley. This is between your brother and me.” I turn back to Hud, already prepared to apologize. I went too far, and I’m kicking myself for being such a fucking asshole.
Before I can even get a word out, I’m being grabbed by the back of my shirt and dragged out of the kitchen.
“Hadley, let him go,” Hud hollers as he follows us to the foyer.
Hadley is a lot stronger than I ever gave her credit for, and it shows in the sheer power she’s using to haul my ass out of here.
Once we make it to the entryway, she lets go of me, planting her hands on my chest and shoving me into the door. She points her pink-tipped finger in my face, her other hand on my chest to keep me in place.
“You preach about people respecting Hudson, but here you are, disrespecting him in the worst possible way.” The last word comes out in a growl, her eyes blazing with anger. “We all went through something horrific. I’m sorry you had to witness it, Cullen, but you are not going to project your shit onto Hudson by throwing what he did in his face. He has worked his ass off to make sure something like that never happens again, so it’s about time you trust that he’s getting better.”
I swallow down the emotion threatening to spill over. My eyes burn, but I will the tears not to fall.
“You are going to leave. You will think about your priorities, and while I know you think it is Hudson, you need to fix yourself first.”
Hadley grabs the front of my shirt, pulling me away from the door and opening it in the same movement. She shoves me out, the door slamming in my face, not even giving me time to tell Hudson I’m sorry or goodbye.
The sound of the deadbolt locking into place is a clear signal that even if I wanted to, I’m not getting back into the house today. I’m trying not to dwell on the fact that Hudson didn’t try to stop Hadley from kicking me out, but I can’t blame him. I crossed a line with what I said, and it wasn’t fair of me to throw his past in his face.
Pulling my phone out, I send Hud a quick text telling him I’m sorry and that I’ll talk to him later. He replies that he loves me and that he’s not upset.
Honestly, that makes me feel worse.
Hud forgives too easily, even when people don’t deserve it.
And I don’t deserve it.
I definitely don’t deserve him.
Hudson
“Did you really have to kick him out?” I ask Hadley, more amused than I should be.
“The dickhead needs to sit in the corner and think about a few things.” She saunters back to the living room and drops down on the couch.
I sit next to her and grab the remote, flipping through the channels. “He’s struggling, Hads. I know what I did has had consequences for all of you, and I’m trying to be patient while everyone works through it. Cull isn’t any different.”
“Don’t make excuses for him.”
I relax back into the couch, my head resting against the cushion. “I’m not. I’m just trying to be understanding.”
“Well, you should learn to be less understanding.” She flips her hair over her shoulder, then snatches the remote from my hand.
“Should I start with you taking the remote? I absolutely won’t be understanding if you make me watch some housewives of somewhere.”
“I don’t count. I just kicked your boyfriend out for being a little shit, so I get brownie points.”
I give her a raised eyebrow, but she just blows me a kiss.
