Hale

by K. Webster

  I remain still, staring at the bright red blood gushing from the line.

  That didn’t hurt.

  No, the only thing that hurts is knowing I’ll never see Hudson again.

  That fucking hurts.

  My hands begin to shake and my tears fall harder. With fumbling hands, I move the scissors into the other hand. The blade, this time, pokes harder and immediately breaks the skin. Burning pain tears along my flesh as the metal opens me up, but I don’t hate it. I welcome the burn. I grow fixated on the blood.

  It reminds me of when Hudson shaved my legs. When he accidentally cut my knee. His lips to my flesh gave me hope. Hope for a future and happiness. That small gift was a tiny seed that grew inside me. Nourished only by him. It grew and grew and grew and grew until it bloomed. Love. It bloomed into everlasting love.

  And then they cut it.

  Cut that hopeful, soul-rattling, blinding love from its source and stomped on it.

  I was dead the moment they took him from me.

  Sleepiness washes over me. I don’t want to sleep, though. I want to stare at the beautiful blood that has colored my thighs and carpet. I want to use it to help me remember that time in the bathroom. I want to think of Hudson and him inside me.

  Kissing and touching.

  Not sick. Not wrong.

  Love.

  My head hits the carpet with a thunk and I have trouble keeping my eyes open.

  I’ll sleep now.

  “What have you done?” he says, falling on his knees beside me. He’s not here. He’s not real. They’ve taken him away for life. That’s what Aunt Becky said. “I’m here,” he growls.

  Blinking up at him, I smile. “I think I’m dying.”

  His perfect lips rain kisses down on me. Soft and worshipping. So Hudson. “You’re not dying.”

  I hold up my bloody arm. The gash is gnarly. Open and gushing. He tries to hold it closed. Hudson, my strong, beautiful brother, can’t hold it closed. I’m too far gone.

  “Every good love story ends in tragedy,” I say.

  “Ours wasn’t supposed to.”

  He holds up the scissors, bright with my blood. “Show me how,” he says.

  I run my shaking, bloody finger along his forearm. “There.”

  Together, we stare in awe as he cuts open his flesh. Hudson doesn’t want to be alone either. He wants to be with me.

  Sick. Sick. Sick.

  Together, we’re healed.

  He cuts the other side and then he bleeds. Pulls me to him and holds me close. Kisses my head and promises me our love won’t end here.

  A love like ours transcends the simple minds of those who occupy this world.

  Our love is too powerful to exist in such a place.

  “We’re not a tragedy,” Hudson says, his voice sleepy like mine.

  Kiss. Kiss. Kiss.

  Our mouths mate like our bodies no longer can.

  “Look at us. We are.” I laugh, but no one hears it. No one but Hudson. Like always.

  “No.” His voice is fierce, even though it’s fading. “We’re a happily ever after. Just a complicated one.”

  Hudson

  I’ve made bail.

  Unreal.

  Barely a night spent in jail. I was sure I’d spend the next decade or two locked away. Bradley told me I was looking at some time if they could somehow secure a testimonial. The claims of incest and assault would prove to be a violent concoction that could earn me many years. As I fell into a fitful sleep, worrying over Rylie, I’d come to accept my fate.

  As long as the shit didn’t touch Rylie, I’d do all the time required of me.

  After I’m released, I walk into the lobby of the police station expecting to see Bradley. Instead, I find Uncle Randy. His face is swollen and bruised, but he isn’t angry.

  Sad.

  His eyes are watery and filled with pain.

  My anxiety spikes as my heart cracks.

  “Rylie,” I growl as I approach him.

  He flinches at her name. Hot tears streak down my cheeks as I shove past him, desperate for air. As soon as I’m outside, I gasp in breaths as I hold on to a railing on the steps. My stomach clenches and my head spins.

  “Listen,” he says behind me.

  “W-Where is s-she?” I can barely choke out the words.

  “She’s in the hospital.”

  Swiveling around, I grab him by his shirt. “Why? Why is she in the hospital?” I roar and shake him. “Why?”

  He doesn’t fight me, not like hours ago. Instead, a pained sound escapes him. “Jesus, Hudson. There was so much blood. I…I…she…” He swallows and his chin quivers. “She took your mom’s scissors to her wrists. I swear we didn’t know they were down there.”

  I did.

  I knew.

  My knees buckle and the world tilts on its axis. I hit the concrete painfully, my knees screaming as they’re scraped and bruised through my sweatpants. I shudder and sob as I rip at my hair.

  No.

  Fucking no.

  Why, Rylie?

  I was always coming back to you. Eventually.

  “Your aunt wants you to get up there,” Uncle Randy says, his voice choked with emotion. “She thinks it’ll do Rylie some good to see you.”

  I’m too weak and broken, but he grabs me from behind and lifts me to my feet. I lean on my uncle for strength as he walks us to the car. Both of us cry, uncaring if anyone judges us for it. Rylie needs me. I need her to fucking be okay.

  “I, uh, we’re not pressing charges,” he says huskily.

  Charges are the last thing I’m worried about. I simply nod as he pulls out onto the road. The drive to the hospital is short and the moment we arrive, I burst from the car, suddenly surging with newfound adrenaline. Uncle Randy hurries past me to show me where to go. When we arrive in a lobby, I find Amy sitting in a chair, her eyes red from crying.

  “I’ll text Becky. She’s back there with her. They’re only letting one person in at a time. I’ll let her know you’re here.” He pulls out his phone and I pace the floor. “She says it will be a few minutes. I’ll go grab us some coffee.”

  The moment he walks away, Amy lets out a ragged sob. “Oh, Hudson. Come here.”

  I crumple to my knees beside her and hug her waist. Amy and I may not be a couple anymore, but she’s been a part of my family for years. Other than Rylie and my aunt and uncle, she’s the closest person to me.

  “I can’t lose her,” I rasp out. “I can’t.”

  “Shhh,” she says, stroking my hair. “You’re not going to lose her. She’s fine.”

  We’re silent for a moment, her soft crying the only thing that can be heard.

  “Hudson?”

  I lift up and regard her, my eyes burning but no match for the pain inside my heart. “Yeah?”

  “I wish you both the best.”

  I clench my jaw. “I just want my sister well.”

  Her bottom lip quivers. “You never looked at me the way you looked at her. I would never be able to compete with that.”

  I blink at her, my face becoming hard like stone. The tears don’t get the memo and streak down my face.

  “Don’t say anything,” she breathes. “Just know I may not understand the whys, but I do understand you. For the first time since I’ve known you, your eyes would sparkle. Your smile would be so wide it looked like it hurt.” She sniffles. “Your eyes would track and follow her every move, as though the mere thought of her out of your sight was painful.”

  “She’s my sister,” I bite out, my words not holding venom. I’ll never admit to what Rylie and I have. Not in a thousand years. It’s our secret. Nobody has to know.

  “I know…” she says. “I know you love her more than anything in this world. And what I’m trying and failing to say is, I want you to have that. I want you to be happy, Hudson.”

  “I just want to keep her safe.”

  She purses her lips together. “Then to keep her safe, you’ll need to make a new life. You
r life can’t exist here where everyone knows you.”

  Gritting my teeth, I don’t let on that her words are true.

  “Room 305,” Uncle Randy calls out from down the corridor.

  I jerk to my feet and stalk away from my past toward my future.

  Once I find the room, I knock. The door opens and Aunt Becky steps out. Her eyes are swollen from crying. As soon as she sees me, she yanks me to her and hugs me. I remain stiff in her arms.

  “I need to see her,” I choke out.

  “I know you do, baby.” She squeezes me tight and whispers, “I’m so sorry.”

  As soon as she pulls away, I slip past her into the room. Rylie is awake and staring at the ceiling. The door closes behind me. Quietly, I approach her bed. Her arms have been wrapped with white bandages, but blood is still in the crevices of her fingernails.

  “I was always coming back for you, heathen,” I whisper.

  She flinches and turns her head. Her impassive features crumple as all the feelings at seeing me rush in. A loud sob hangs in her throat.

  “Shhh,” I coo as I sit on the bed next to her. My hand is gentle as I take hers in mine. “Don’t ever fucking try to leave me alone again.” She blurs as my tears leak out.

  “I…I…thought they t-took you away f-forever,” she sobs. “I couldn’t live without you.”

  “I’m here, baby.”

  Needing to be closer to her, I twist my body and put my legs on the bed beside hers. I lay my head on her stomach and hug her to me.

  “We’re going to leave this place, Rylie. Just you and me. We don’t belong here anymore. I’m not sure we ever did. But where we do belong is together.” I kiss her stomach. “You can’t hurt yourself, though. I won’t fucking be able to deal with losing you. Promise me.”

  “I promise,” she chokes out.

  Her weak fingertips run through my hair and I close my eyes.

  “We’re not a goddamned tragedy.”

  “I know,” she breathes. “We’re a happily ever after. Just a complicated one.”

  Two months later…

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Aunt Becky asks, a frown marring her features.

  “She needs the vacation. And then…”

  She sighs. “I know. I just…I hate to see you both go.”

  I hug my aunt and let out a heavy breath. “She needs a change of scenery. I’ll always take care of her.” I pull away and start for the truck that’s packed with our luggage where Rylie’s already waiting inside. Finally, after weeks and weeks of physical therapy from the damage she inflicted on herself, the doctor says she’s on the mend and safe to do normal things. While she missed vital veins when she cut herself, she did a number on her muscles, nerves, and ligaments. But she’s worked hard to get where she is now. A long overdue vacation is in order.

  “Hudson,” Aunt Becky calls out.

  “Yeah?”

  “Just so you know, this isn’t me condoning…you know.”

  Incest?

  I grin at my aunt. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” To this day, Rylie and I deny it. Even when Aunt Becky finds us glued together, clinging desperately to each other in our sleep in her downstairs basement.

  She cracks a rare smile. “You’re a little asshole like your mom.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment, Aunt Becky.”

  I climb into the truck and wave at her as she goes back inside. Rylie reaches over and holds her palm out to me, her long rosy-pink scar visible on her forearm that no longer dons bandages. I take my ring from her palm and slide it on my finger before kissing the side of her head.

  “Can we make a couple of pit stops along the way?” she asks, her hand settling on my thigh as we pull out onto the road.

  “Yeah. Where are we headed?”

  “I need to see Travis.”

  I arch a brow and shoot her a questioning look.

  She grins at me—bright and beautiful. “You’re not jealous, are you?”

  “Jealous of that fucker? Hell no.” I grunt because even though I’m twice his size and my cock is no doubt bigger, it still bugs me she needs to see him.

  “I promise it will be fine. And then I want to go to Eureka Springs.”

  “You do realize that’s in Arkansas,” I say with a huff.

  “Yep.”

  “Four and a half hours south.”

  “I know where it’s at,” she sasses.

  Goddamn it’s wonderful hearing the real Rylie again. I thought I lost her. These past two months helping her find herself have been trying. She’s been frustrated at not being able to do simple tasks like dress and fix her hair. Luckily, she has me. And I know how to shave her legs for her, too.

  “Lake of the Ozarks is only an hour and a half away,” I complain.

  She laughs. “Just go with it, Hudson.”

  With a smile that exactly matches hers, because we’re siblings and all, I do as she wishes. She’s practically jumping out of her skin when we pull into Travis’s driveway. When she starts fishing through her wallet and pulls out a wad of cash, unease skitters through me.

  “Where’d you get all that money?” I demand.

  She scrunches her nose up as she frowns. “Aunt Becky gave me money for my graduation.”

  “And why are you about to give it to Travis of all fucking people?”

  She turns her head and parts her lips. “You’ll see. Wait here.”

  I press a kiss to her pouty mouth and watch her climb out of the truck. Today she’s wearing a simple white dress with sandals. Her dark hair is down and hangs in smooth chocolate waves. She’s gone for about five minutes and then she comes bounding down the stairs with a huge grin on her face, a yellow envelope in her hand.

  “To Eureka Springs,” she says as she buckles in beside me.

  As we drive, I wrap my arm around her and hug her to my side. “What’s in Eureka Springs anyway?”

  She rests her head on me. “It’s where Mom and Dad got married. I always wanted to get married there too.”

  Guilt sluices through me. Some things I’ll never be able to give her. “Ry—”

  “I worked it all out, Hudson. Don’t worry.”

  She seems so happy and sure of herself. I’ll be damned if I rain on her parade. “What’s in the envelope, heathen?”

  “Everything we need to change our future.”

  Turns out, everything we needed was a new fake ID, birth certificate, and social security card. Heather Miller. The woman I legally married—or illegally depending on how you look at it—in a whimsical forest in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

  “Tell me you’re happy,” she says as we walk up to the treehouse cabin hidden in a thicket of trees. “Please tell me you’re okay with this.”

  I hook her waist with my arm and pull her against me. Not even an hour ago, I pledged my loyalty and love to her until death do us part. The ordained minister was an old man with bifocals an inch thick and who could hardly hear a thing. He didn’t correct us when I vowed to Rylie not Heather that I’d love her through sickness, especially through sickness. Being allowed to say my vows to her meant the world to me. And seeing the happiness shining in her wide brown eyes meant she loved it too.

  “I’m so happy,” I tell her, kissing the top of her head. “Now let’s go check out this place you secretly booked using my credit card.”

  She laughs as we climb the steps. It’s high up in the trees. Such a cool fucking place nestled in the middle of nowhere. When we get to the top, she unlocks the door, but I don’t let her enter the cabin.

  “Not yet, wife,” I growl.

  She squeals when I scoop her into my arms and carry her over the threshold. “You’re so romantic, husband.”

  We both chuckle because it’ll take some getting used to calling each other those names.

  I kick the door closed behind me and set her to her feet. The space is quaint with lots of windows but furnished with a modern flare.

  “A heart-shaped bathtub?
” I ask with a laugh.

  “Shush, it’s cute.”

  She runs over to the bathtub that’s situated in an alcove on the other side of the king-sized bed and sits on the edge. It’s surrounded by windows that overlook the dense forest below. “It’s beautiful.”

  I stand behind her and run my fingers through her soft hair. “It is.”

  She turns to face me and stares up at me with so much fucking devotion in her eyes it hurts. “I like it here. Maybe we could…”

  I know what she wants. I feel it running through me as well. “Stay here and make new vacation memories?”

  She bites on her bottom lip and nods as though she’s worried I’ll tell her no. I’ll never tell her no. Not ever. Rylie will have whatever she wants in this life. I will see to it that she does. That’s all I want.

  I cup her cheeks and bend over to kiss her lips. “Yes. Let’s do it.”

  She launches herself into my arms. I grab her ass and hoist her skinny body up. Our mouths crash together as I guide her over to the bed. Gently, I drop her to the mattress but then make haste at pulling off her white dress. I’m careful of her arms that are still healing. Even though the stiches are out and the wounds have healed, she still has a lot of pain not only to the touch but when she uses her arms too much.

  “Look at you,” I say as I take a minute to admire her in her sexy undergarments. Hale, in my signature, is scrawled across her ribs in harsh black ink, claiming her as mine. The wedding band glimmers in the sunlight pouring in through the windows behind me.

  “Look at you,” she replies, a smile on her lips. Then, she unhooks her bra from behind and frees her perky tits. The nipples are hard and at attention, just begging for my teeth.

  I reach forward and pull her sandals off one by one, letting them clatter to the wood floors. She lies back and stares at me with desire swimming in her eyes. My cock aches in my shorts. We haven’t fucked much in the past two months. Having gone through all the shit we did with Aunt Becky finding out, we’ve made sure to only have sex when we knew they were at work and not in the house. I’m eager to have her today and by the sultry look on her face, I’d say she’s more than ready to have me too.