“It was all for nothing,” Hudson murmurs, ignoring what his dad just said.
“Son, it’s going to be alright.”
“Everythingwas for absolutely, fucking NOTHING!” He explodes—shoving out of his chair and flinging it across the kitchen. It slams into the wall with a sickening crack.
His hands claw through his blonde hair, gripping fistfuls of it like he’s trying to ground himself. He paces the kitchen, energy crackling off him like he’s being electrocuted.
“Hudson, calm down—” his mom starts.
He lets out a dark, bitter laugh and lets his hands fall. His gaze shifts to his parents. “I worked my ass off at school,” he grits out, voice trembling with fury. “I made perfect grades, crushed the SAT, played soccer, joined clubs—allof it to get that scholarship. Because I didn’t want to add to your load.” His hands are on his hips as he stares down at the floor. “You’re already paying for Hadley, and she deserves it, but I know you can’t afford both of us without stretching yourselves too thin. Especially not with the college I am…wasgoing to.”
“You are not a burden.” Mr. Daniels white-knuckles a kitchen chair, his stubbled jaw set in a hard line. “We’ve told you that a hundred times. And you will go to AB State. You’ll get the scholarship back. Until then, your mom and I will figure out tuition, one way or another.”
“But you shouldn’t have to!” Hudson yells, his voice breaking. “Everything was set. I did everything right.And it’s all been ripped away because some girl got her feelings hurt. Because someone is obsessed with me and is turning everyone against me. He’s already gotten to Hadley. Ella, too, if her mom’s meltdown was any indication. He’s even tried to scare Cullen!”
Hudson’s chest heaves as his words tumble out in a raw stream. “Instead of taking pressure off you, I’ve just added more. What’s next? At this rate, something else is bound to happen.”
He turns and storms out of the kitchen.
I drop the university letters back on the table and rush after him. “Hud, baby, wait!” I call, just as he yanks open the front door.
To my surprise, he climbs into the passenger seat of my truck and slams the door shut. I blink.He’s not shutting me out.That’s something.
I hop into the driver’s seat and start the engine. The truck roars to life, muffling the chaos we left behind.
“Where do you want to go?” I ask softly.
“The river.”
Forty-One
Hudson
With each passing moment, I feel myself slipping further into my mind. I’m sitting next to the person I love more than anything in this world, in the one place that’s always felt safe, but I can’t see even a flicker of light at the end of this tunnel.
Just one never-ending fall into nothing.
The smiles I’ve been forcing stretch like cracked glass. They hurt to wear, but I’ll keep doing it. It’s easier than watching them worry. Easier than admitting I don’t know how to fix myself.
Cull sees through all of it, though. He always does.
That invisible thread between us won’t let me hide from him, no matter how hard I try. He can feel the emptiness hollowing me out. That might be what hurts most—not the scholarship. Not Hadley. Not the false accusation.
It’s that Cullen knows.
I never wanted him to know what it’s like to carry this kind of despair. The kind that walks behind you like a prison guard, making sure you never feel too much hope.
“You haven’t touched your fries,” Cull points out gently.
His voice pulls me back from the edge. I glance down at the food in my lap. “I’m full. The burger was enough.”
He takes the sandwich from me and re-wraps it in the foil. “You only took two bites. I’ll save it in case you want it later.”
“That’s fine.”
I won’t. I had to force the two bites I did take.
We sit in silence after that, legs dangling off the tailgate of his truck, the river glinting in the late afternoon sun. He eatswhile I pretend to be present. My mind is far below, somewhere beneath the surface of that water, untouchable and chaotic.
