──・・𖥸・・──
I miss the happiness of yesterday.
The joys of winning at something I'm good at.
The reward? A hug from someone I'm growing to consider a close friend.
I don't enjoy feeling exposed, vulnerable. As though I'm at the mercy of another person, but that's exactly how I feel right now.
The trigger? A text.
From who? The devil incarnate.
No, that's too good for him. He's far worse than that, if evil beyond that exists. I've been in the corner of my room for who knows how long, legs pulled tightly to my chest, nail beds picked until they bled. I have no idea how he got my phone number. I can't even figure out how he texted me, his number is blocked. Quite honestly, I don't want to know.
What did it say? I'll be there soon, sweetheart.
Five simple words. Usually, they wouldn't seem so sinister, so hostile, but they are. And it's tearing me up inside.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Three knocks sends my beating heart into a frenzy. Cold sweat slides down my face, my back. Every hair on my body raises.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Three more. My head is pounding, The room is spinning. I feel like I'm going to vomit or faint. Maybe both.
Probably both.
"Dove? Sweetie, it's Selene. Can I come in?"
I finally let myself breathe. Unfortunately, it results in a coughing fit, my lungs raw from the lack of oxygen. While it wasn't a full blown panic attack, it got pretty damn close. Selene takes the violent hacking as permission to enter, which I don't mind. I was going to tell her she could, but I just couldn't.
She looks around the room before her eyes finally land on mine, becoming soft and heavy with concern. "Dovey, what's the matter? What happened?"
Selene carefully approaches, trying not to frighten me. She sits down, glancing at my phone, still open on the text message. "Are your texts what's got you all wound up?"
I nod. She picks up the phone, and as she reads the text, all the color drains from her golden skin.
"Dove, I—"
"Did you give my number to him?" I ask, finally able to formulate words.
"No! Never, I swear! I don't know how Mick got your number." Her response makes me feel bad for even considering the thought, but I can't help it. He's her brother after all.
Although the text itself is alarming, the truth in it is even more terrifying. I have lived in this house my entire life. Even after Dad moved, I stayed for college. He knows where I live. I have countless memories of him in this house. Some good, but the overwhelming majority are so awful that I've forced myself to forget most.
I glance at Selene. "I can't stay here."
"Where are you gonna go? He knows where all our other friends live."
All her friends, but whatever. There's only one place in town he wouldn't think to look for me. Sure, he's probably driven past them hundreds of times, but never in a million years would he think I'd hide there. And that's what makes it the perfect spot.
"I've got an idea...could you give me my phone?" I ask, holding a hand out.
She drops it into my hand. "You're gonna call your dad or Lucas to come get you?"
I shake my head and dial the number. For a moment, I consider talking to him beside Selene, but I can already hear her protests, and that's the last thing I need. Especially right now. So, with that in mind, I get up and make the call from the other side of the room.
The phone's ringing has my stomach twisting into knots over and over until it feels like I might burst from the inside out. But before I lose myself completely, he answers. And relief washes over me like never before.
"Hello?"
"Hudson, I, uh," I pause and try to recollect myself. "I need a favor."
"Anything," I can hear the concern in his voice. I hate that I'm making him worry.
Regardless, I need to get out and I need to get out now. Even if it's just a false promise, the best thing I can do right now is leave for the night and come back tomorrow. "Can I crash at your place...something's happened."
Hudson's quiet for so long that it feels like an eternity before he speaks again. Maybe it has been an eternity. My perception of time is so skewed right now, the most I know is that it's still bright outside. "I'm coming to get you. I'll be fast, I swear."
Then the phone call's over.
I thought that the idea of him coming to get me would make me feel safer, but my paranoia feels as though it's intensified. What if Mick shows up while he's on the way over here? What if he hurts me again? What if Hudson gets here too late?
No.
I can't think like that.
Right now, I need to focus on packing my stuff. So without a moment's hesitation, I rush over to the closet and pull out all the clothes I'll need for the stay.
"So? Where are you going?" Selene asks.
Well. So much for hiding it from her. Her rage was inevitable, honestly. She would either find out now or when he got here, and I'd rather not have Hudson there when she screams at me about how I'm "stealing her dream" from her. She exhausts me.
"Um, Hudson's coming to get me." As soon as the words escape my lips, I know that she's angry without even looking at her.
She scoffs. "Oh, of course it's him. Running from one man so you run straight to another. Specifically one that I've told you I'm uncomfortable with you being around."
"I don't get the big deal, he's not into you. We're just friends plus his house is fucking massive. It's not like I'm gonna be curled up beside him in bed."
"We slept together!" she shouts.
Huh?
They what?
I don't know why my body has this visceral reaction to her words. I don't understand the emotions that roll over me like waves at high tide. All I know is that I don't like it and I wish she'd just shut up.
"Let me get this through your thick skull, cause apparently you can't listen," I make sure to get in her face. I'm sick of having this argument every time I want to hang out with my friend. "I. Do not. Want him. You can date him, but I know for a fact that he doesn't want you like you want him. So get over yourself, it's pathetic how low you're stooping, especially right now when I'm scared shitless."
For the first time in a long time, she doesn't have anything to say. And the silence is so loud, but so appreciated. It's truly music to my ears. I take the moment of silence to finish packing my overnight bag. Under any other circumstances, I'd wait here for Hudson to let me know he's arrived, but I can't be in here right now. Not with Selene and her ridiculousness. So, it's a no-brainer when I make my way downstairs and sit on the porch until he arrives.
The universe must be on my side, 'cause it's not even 5 minutes before that beautiful, black Mustang pulls into the front yard. Hudson gets out of the car and my legs move on their own, propelling me toward him in a few quick strides. I throw my arms around his necks and hold him close, trying my hardest not to break down. I will admit, it's hard not to just crumble into a million little pieces.
"I'm here, Dove. I got you, it's okay now," he murmurs, drawing circles on the small of my back.
I can only nod my head in response, overwhelmed by the emotions running rampant in my body. Fear. Sadness. Confusion. Anger. Relief. They all blur together into something monstrous.
"You ready to go?" He asks and I nod once more.
I move to grab my bag, but he beats me to it and picks it up for me. I give him a look, but all he does is smile and shrug. Leave it to him to think of the little things.
The moment I'm buckled into his car, I finally let myself breathe. The tension within my muscle resides and my head finally clears up. It's the best feeling in the world, you know? I turn around in the seat as we leave the house, watching it fade into the background.
But then, I see it.
A sleek, glossy red Jaguar XJR.
His car.
Mick's car.
I barely made it before he got there. All that I can do is force myself to turn around and try to block out the image of that car from my mind.
Easier said than done.
──・・𖥸・・──