Only ten more chapters! :(
HUDSON
I was whipped.
There was no other way to describe my feelings for Mara other than my thoughts were completely consumed of her.
She was absolutely beautiful, and not even enough words in the dictionary could express that. As she laid in my arms, the alarm clock read just past 11:00pm. Whenever I run my fingers through her hair, she naturally cranes her neck in her sleep, craving my presence. Her blue eyes were shut as she slept, as a wave of sadness washes over me knowing I won't be able to see them till morning.
It was safe to say I was reckless around her. I'm a very demanding person, and if I want something I'd get it. If other people, or any man specifically would come near her, I would get furious. She's mine, and when Ryan whistled at hear earlier I almost beat the living life out of him.
But when she's around me alone, I feel stripped of my confidence and weak. The good kind of weak. My stomach seems to fly out of my body each time she comes into view, making me lose all rational thought. I loved the way she made me feel.
There was that stupid word again. Love.
I was so helplessly in love with her, I don't know where to begin. I desperately want to tell her, but I'm clueless. I've never been in love with a girl before — they've only came and gone in my life. Do I wake her and pour out my emotions to her in this bed? Or do I wait for a better time after the Plague battle ends?
Either way, I wouldn't be able to contain that three-word sentence for much longer.
As Mara slightly shifts in bed, I look down to her face. Her eyes are slightly open as the moonlight faintly illuminates her gorgeous features. Did she love me back? The thought had me worried, desperate even, to know what the answer was inside of her head.
"Hudson, you should be asleep," she whispers, sending shivers down my spine. Fuck, I loved her voice.
I smile softly down to her, pressing my forehead to hers and giving her lips a small peck. "Sorry, just admiring your gorgeous face," I say unashamed, brushing some strands of hair out of her face to see it better.
Her cheeks turned a faint shade of pink as she hides in the crook of my neck embarrassed. "What's keeping you awake?" She asks, and my heart swells. She cared for me, more than any other person has in my life.
"I-I'm not sure," I start off as I cringe from my stutter. See, she was doing this to me. "Just the battle in a couple of days... I've been having nightmares about it. I'm worried that it's predicting the future," I say nervously. "And they aren't good outcomes."
My nightmares were full of death. So much death I would wake up in the middle of the night, and shake until my eyes couldn't stay open anymore.
"Hudson, if I know one thing for sure, it's that the Plague is going down. With you and the others by the Rebels' side, we're unstoppable. And when that battle comes in two days, they won't even know what hit them," she whispers confidently smiling up at me. "Do you still have the nightmares?"
I shake my head. "No. They only happen on nights when I'm not with you," I say in all honesty. "The first night I stayed with you in the Rebel base was the first night I had fully slept in years. Even King Red sent me into minor reform because my face looked so energetic," I say laughing at the memory.
Should I say it? Should I say just how much I was infatuated with her? It plagued my mind as I could've sworn a bead of sweat rolled down my forehead from my anxiousness. What if she didn't love me back? Did she still see me as the evil commander from a month ago?
"Mara, whatever happens in the two next days..." I say as she pulls away slightly and looks me dead in the eyes. God, this just got ten times harder as her bright blue eyes stared into mine. "I want you to know that I'm grateful for everything you've done for me. And..." I pause again. "Just know you've changed my life in ways I never knew were possible."
She smiles softly. "To think we wouldn't be here if you hadn't seen me on the rooftop that one night," she chuckles, recalling an old memory that I had almost forgotten about.
"That was one of the best nights of my life," I say pulling her impossibly closer into my embrace. "Because I would most likely be dead without you."
The thought brought shivers to Mara and myself, knowing that King Red was absolutely relentless against our kind.
"Go back to sleep, beautiful," I whisper to her one more time, as I feel her smile shyly against my skin.
But that only made me feel worse. As the L-word still lingered in my mind, I could only dream that I would find the confidence for it to fall off my lips instead.
_________
9:35am
As I walked out the doors of the mountain home, Lucy's words from last night rang in my head.
"You should talk with Ryan in the morning, Hudson. Just get to know him a bit better, and that should definitely lift the tension between you two."
I knew he was out here—I could sense it with my powers. As I looked around, I saw him sitting on the edge of the cliff. His gaze was focused straight down as I walk towards him with slow steps.
"If you're here to beat me up over your girl, I get it. I deserve it, and I was an asshole, okay?" He says gruffly as he chucks a pebble off the drop off.
I raise my eyebrows, surprised at his sudden outburst. I sit down next to him as my feet dangle over the edge, leaving enough space between us to stay comfortable.
"Lucy told me about your parents last night," I say pursing my lips. I could feel his mood drop lower than it was already. "I know exactly how you feel. Do you want to let everything out?" I question, and Ryan stays still in response.
The morning sun shined down on us, illuminating the vast mountain landscapes around us. Signs of fall were beginning to show. Tree leaves were turning faint shades of yellow and orange signaling the change in season was beginning. It was truly gorgeous in the Adirondacks, and I don't think any other mountain range in North America could beat it.
"You know," Ryan sighs. "I'm immune to fire, bullets, electricity and almost any machine. Heck, if I jumped off this cliff I'd still survive. But I wasn't immune to the pain I felt when I saw my family in their caskets," he tries to smile in irony, but it was more like a painful frown. "Before their deaths I thought I was the strongest person in the world, other than our friend Asher of course. I was so cocky and so full of it, that my friends didn't even recognize who I was after the accident. Their death's changed me. I became angry. And I wanted to kill anyone who disagreed with what I believed in. If I ever saw a Plague guard in the streets, it took every fiber of restraint to hold me back, man. I became a monster. And for that I hate myself."
My eyes widen at the H-word. "Ryan, you can't hate yourself for becoming who you are." My eyes widen slightly as I realize these were Priscilla's words she told me the other day.
"What do you mean?" Ryan looks to me with a confused face.
"My grandmother, Priscilla one day told me that everything in your life happens for a reason. When my parents were murdered by Plague guards, I was torn. I made some really bad decisions in my life, so bad they still haunt me to this very day. But my life completely turned around when I met Mara. She showed me what the true meaning of life was, and eventually turned me away from the dark path I was on." I smile at the mention of her. "She taught me that when your life seems to be at an all-time low, just hang on. Because the one light you need in your life could be just around the corner, and you'd never know if you gave up too early."
Ryan stares at me as if he were having the biggest epiphany.
"The majority of my life I believed that there was no coming back from the dark pit I was in," I continued. "And I can see in you that all you need is a small push of hope in your life and everything will get better. Trust me," I say reassuringly.
"But how will I ever find a girl to lift my spirits?" He questions. "I turn into rock, for goodness's sakes. No girl is going to want that!"
I chuckle. "It doesn't have to be a girl specifically that gives you hope. It could be a thing, or maybe an event that happens that changes your perspective on things a bit. And if it makes you feel any better, Mara and I didn't get off to the greatest start. We had a long term 'friendship' at first, and she absolutely despised me," I say smiling. "We went through a few fights and stuff, but look at where we are today," I say proudly. "If I can manage to score a girl, then it should be a walk in the park for you."
Ryan holds out his hand and gives me a bro handshake with a smile on his face. "Thanks man. And I'm sorry for my actions earlier with Mara. It was a dick move on my behalf."
"Apology accepted," I say standing, giving him a hand up. "You wanna go work on some punches? Priscilla wants us all to fight again later today, so might as well practice while we can," I say shrugging.
"Sure thing man," Ryan says with a small smile on his face. "This time I won't turn to rock on you, I promise."
We both laugh for a couple seconds simultaneously before walking to the makeshift arena.
"So I noticed yesterday that you generally go for heavy punches. Those are good, but to be a skilled fighter you have to use small and stealthy punches sometimes as well," I explain to him, fisting my hand and showing him a version of a lighter punch. "Once you've weakened your enemy with the lighter hits, use your immovability to crush them."
And all the tension Ryan and I had before diminished in that five minute span. Little did I know, I had made my first friend for the first time in years in that very arena.
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Hold onto your horses, folks. The final chapters may send readers through a series of emotions.🤠