He whistles. “Thank god for that. For a moment there I thought you’d left me hanging.”
Handing me the bag, he takes a step back. The brown paper rustles under my hands as I open it up. It takes me a moment.
Then I pull them out, and something in my chest tugs hard.
Swallowing, I run a finger over the plastic. “Glow in the dark stars?”
"So you’ll never be left in the dark again,” he says quietly.
My vision blurs. “Hudson… this is really sweet.”
He’s been so good to me. They all have.
The sudden one-sidedness of all of this hits me, and I frown sightlessly at the wall.
I want to do something forthem.
A growling noise punctuates the silence, and Hudson laughs when I turn to him. “Sorry. Drawback of a busy lunch session. No time for food.”
He pats his stomach, a mournful look on his handsome face. “Don’t worry, buddy. We’ll get you fed soon.”
Inspiration hits, and I scramble to my feet. Hudson follows my lead.
“You okay?” he asks me, but I’m nodding absently.
“Can I… could I use your kitchen? To make something?” I ask.
His eyebrows fly up. “Of course. Are you hungry? Because I can—,”
“Nuh uh.” I shake my head. “It’s my turn to feed you.”
Hudson tips his head to the side. “You been holding out on me, sweetheart? I’m intrigued. I didn’t know you could cook.”
* * *
I… can’t cook.
As in, I should be barred from going anywhere near any cooking facilities for the rest of my life.
Staring at the solid black burnt mass stuck firmly to the side of Hudson’s lovely ceramic dish, I poke it mournfully as he peers over my shoulder.
“Gabby,” he whispers, his hand caressing my shoulder soothingly. “I think it’s done, sweetheart.”
There’s a choking noise, and I swing around to see Cade swinging an arm across his face as he walks in, his face scrunched in disgust.
“What,” he sputters, “is that smell?”
“Cade,” Hudson says in a suspiciously cheery voice, “Gabrielle is cooking dinner for us!”
I roll my eyes at the clearshut-up-you-idiotvibes he’s broadcasting.
“I think the salad is okay,” I say woefully. “I didn’t have to cook that.”
Hudson seizes on it with a bright smile, grabbing a tomato from the top.
“This is perfect.” He tosses it into his mouth, and I watch in growing horror as his throat bulges. “Hudson?”
His jaw is making some seriously weird gurning motions, and Cade and I watch in stunned silence as Hudson battles through, swallowing loudly.
