She swung around to face me, fire burning in her eyes. “Don’t you fucking tell me I don’t know shit about responsibility, Kreed. I raised Hudson on my own for sixteen?—”
“Oh, don’t even,” I snarled, growing angry, as well. “You barely raised that boy, Bonnie. That kid raised himself. He was brought up by neighbors and babysitters while you went out and partied your entire fucking life away.”
She threw her water at me, and I ducked just in time to avoid being smacked in the face with it. But a smack still sounded in the air, and we both turned to look at the entrance to the kitchen, where Hudson and his best friend, Corvus, stood.
Hudson had a nasty red mark blooming on his cheek, and water drenched part of his face and some of his shirt. The water bottle slowly rolled away from his feet.
Fuck. Not now. He hadn’t shown his face in months. I’d been so confident he wouldn’t come home for Thanksgiving, especially since he usually only appeared for summer break. Yet there he was, standing in all his glory, his wide shoulders taking up the doorway as he stared at his mother.
“Well…” he drawled, his voice low and deep. Something dangerous threaded that single word, making a shiver run down my spine. “Can’t say that’s a first. So happy to see me you couldn’t hold onto the water bottle, Mom?”
She sneered at him as if he was nothing more than a bug and not the son she’d given birth to. “Oh, fuck you, Hudson.”
He scrunched up his nose. “That’s incest and fucking gross. So, no thanks. I’ll pass.”
My words were stuck in my throat. I couldn’t think of a fucking thing to say. And when he finally turned those striking green eyes on me, I damn near choked on my breath. A slow smirk curved his lips. But he didn’t say a word. He just turned on his heel and left. Corvus looked between us, gave Bonnie one long, slow perusal, then turned and followed after Hudson, leaving me and Bonnie alone once more.
“You can eat shit,” Bonnie hissed at me before she stormed out of the room. A moment later, I heard the front door slam behind her.
I dropped into a chair at the breakfast table, my heart in my throat.
Fuck.
Chapter Three
Hudson
* * *
Corvus dropped his bag by my bedroom door then collapsed onto my mattress. He usually stayed in the guest room when he stayed over while we were still in grade school, but I had to go make sure the room was actually ready for him and not covered in dust. Fuck knew my mom never tidied up when she happened to be home, and even if she were prone to cleaning, she was never home long enough to do so. And while Kreed usually hired someone to take care of the house, I had no idea if he’d kept up with that after I left home. I mean, the house was clean enough from what I could see, but who knew if that was courtesy of him or a housekeeper.
“Well, Kreed looked real happy to see you,” Corvus drawled as he propped his arm behind his head to look at me.
I snorted and tapped my chin. “You got a double-chin going on here.”
He just lowered his chin toward his chest more to make it worse, making me snicker.
“But yeah. I’m not surprised he’s unhappy. Looked like he and my fucking mother were arguing when we came in, too.” And that woman alone was enough to put anyone in a foul fucking mood. So, there was no telling if his sour mood was due to my presence or Bonnie’s.
Corvus hummed. “Your mom’s a total MILF, dude. But she’s a fucking piece of work. I got a glance at that credit card bill. She racked up fifty fucking K, man.”
I sighed, hating that I was related to that witch in the slightest. I might be just as selfish as she was, and I might mow down anyone standing in the way of what I wanted, but I still had a lot of respect for Kreed because of what he did for me. He’d put up with my mother for years just to give me stability. And when I’d gone off to college for my freshman year, he’d also given me a credit card, telling me to use it if I needed or wanted anything.
I hadn’t ever spent more than a hundred a month on that thing, and that was usually for gas. Kreed paid all my bills, had groceries delivered to me and Corvus every two weeks, and I had a meal plan with the school that gave me a few hundred each semester to eat at certain restaurants and get food at the campus cafeteria. Hell, Kreed even paid for my tuition and all of my books and supplies for my classes.
It didn’t feel right to take more from him financially.
My morals might have been fucked-up, but even I had some boundaries.
“I’m gonna see if the guest room is set up for you,” I announced, heading for my open doorway.
Corvus waved me off and shut his eyes. “Cool beans, bro. I’m gonna take a nap. I’m exhausted.”
I rolled my eyes. “Dude, I did all the driving. You literally woke up, drank a protein shake, and got into my damn car. I even loaded your bag for you.”
Corvus huffed. “Watching the scenery pass by is hard work, Hudson.”
For fuck’s sake.
