The Hudson Boys

C H A P T E R 7

C H A P T E R 7

The next morning I wake up tangled in my sheets, still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. They are crumpled and smelly, so I slowly untangled myself from the blankets and make my way into the small bathroom down the hall to have a shower. Fifteen minutes later I am dressed and standing in front of my mirror, trying to tame my wet hair.

Once I have finally managed to pull it back into a semi-presentable ponytail, I make my way downstairs in search of breakfast. My slippered feet scuff across the carpet as I walk through the threshold into the kitchen. Once I enter I find Tate standing in front of the stove cooking what smells like bacon.

"Morning," I say to his back only to get a grunt in reply. He moves away from the stove to find a plate before returning to his pan. Okay, well he's friendly in the morning.

"Did you sleep well?" I try again to make a conversation as he puts his bacon onto the plate. This time I do get a reply but it isn't one that I was expecting.

"I did until you started yelling and screaming. Try and keep it down next time." He says harshly, a cold edge to his deep voice. Then he stalks out of the room, food in hand. Well, that didn't go very well.

Marcia comes into the room a few minutes later and starts bustling around the kitchen just as she had done the night before.

"Good morning Hun. Did you sleep okay?" She questions over the whistle of the kettle as she puts some slices of bread in the toaster.

"It was good." I lie. I don't want to give her anything else to worry about.

"That is wonderful. I'm glad you're settling in. Do you think you'll be up to going to school with the boys tomorrow?" She asks cheerily. That's a good question. I haven't really thought about school yet. I have been so focused on getting through each day, the hospital checks, the move, meeting all these new people, the nightmares, that I hadn't had time to think about what came next. About returning to some sort of normal. 

"It's okay if you want to stay home another day darlin' but I think it would be a good distraction for you. Ryan will take good care of you, I promise." She continues cautiously. She's right too. Maybe if I get my mind onto something else then the nightmares will go away. At least I hope so.

"I think I'm up for it," I say, trying to sound confident in my decision. "It'll give me something else to concentrate on."

"Wonderful. I'll let Ryan know."

"Let Ryan know what?" The brown-haired boy asks as he comes into the room and it's a relief to see a friendly face.

However, he looks exhausted and I instantly feel bad. He's yawning and running his fingers through his tousled hair, looking like he has just woken up. However, he is already dressed for school with a light blue t-shirt pulled over his frame, a pair of blue jeans, and the same boots as yesterday. He also has a grayish-coloured shirt swung over his shoulder. He somehow looks both sleep-deprived and like like utter perfection. Which I happen to think is completely unnatural for seven o'clock in the morning.

"Maya is going to go to school with you tomorrow," Marcia explains to Ryan as he walks right into the room and takes a seat on the stool next to mine.

"Are you sure?" He asks me, concern in his eyes.

"Yeah," I confirm. "I need a distraction."

"Well, okay then. But if anything happens you let me know okay?" He says sternly. I nod in reply before turning back to Marcia who had been listening to the whole exchange.