Tequila

by Toppen, Melissa

  “I’m not going anywhere.” Before I have a chance to react, Gage’s mouth is on mine. His hand tugs on the back of my hair. Pain shooting through my scalp.

  I push at his chest but it doesn’t do me a lot of good. He’s solid against me, his lips pressed so hard to mine I swear my bottom lip splits open under his attack.

  I try to shake him loose but he’s too strong. Pulling my leg back as far as I can, I kick, my foot connecting with his shin so hard it sends pain shooting up my leg.

  He stumbles back, seemingly shocked. But before either of us has recovered, his body goes airborne, hitting the concrete so hard I hear the air wheeze from his body.

  All I can see are fists flying. I’m fairly certain it takes me a full thirty seconds to realize what is happening and even then I’m not sure I’ve grasped it.

  “Hudson?” I question, watching his arm draw back as he lays another hard punch to Gage’s face, the bridge of his nose splitting open.

  “Hudson!” I scream, my body on autopilot as I attempt to pull him off Gage. “Hudson stop!” I scream, my mind not able to process a single second of the scene unfolding in front of me.

  Gage takes a swing at Hudson, missing his chin by the smallest margin before Hudson’s fist connects with his nose again. Blood splatters all over Gage’s face and Hudson’s shirt.

  “Hudson, stop! Stop hitting him,” I plead, grabbing his right arm mid-air when he swings downward again.

  I may slow the speed of his punch, but I don’t stop it.

  Hudson shakes off my hold and leans down in Gage’s face.

  “If you ever come near her again, I will fucking kill you,” he warns, his voice low.

  “She doesn’t fucking belong to you.” Blood flows freely from his mouth and nose.

  “Like hell she doesn’t.” Hudson pulls back and lands another hard punch to Gage’s face. “Do not ever.” Another punch. “Fucking touch her.” Another punch. “Ever again.”

  Gage groans, his head rolling to the side as blood pours to the concrete.

  I’m frozen in place, not sure what to do. My heart is beating so fast I’m afraid I might be having a heart attack.

  I don’t know how this went so bad so quick. I didn’t even know Hudson was here. He wasn’t supposed to be back until tomorrow.

  Before I have a chance to say anything, blue and red lights appear to the right, speeding through the parking garage toward us.

  I don’t remember calling 911, but when I look to the ground my phone is lit up, connected to the emergency number. Realizing my finger must have slipped when Gage kissed me, I look up at Hudson with sheer and utter panic.

  Hudson is still on top of Gage when the first officer advances, managing to wrestle Hudson to the ground. He puts up no resistance what so ever when the officer pins his arms behind his back and slaps a set of cuffs over his wrists.

  “Ma’am,” a female officer says next to me but I can’t tear my eyes away from the scene unfolding in front of me.

  Hudson handcuffed on the ground. Gage unconscious, his face bloody and swollen as a male officer assesses his condition.

  “Ma’am,” she says again moments before her hand touches my shoulder.

  I jump at the contact, finally turning my attention to her. She’s not what I would expect a cop to look like. Middle aged, petite, shoulder length red hair pinned back from her face. It’s like I’m seeing her, studying the lines and dips of her face but not actually seeing her at the same time.

  “Ma’am, are you okay?” she asks, her hand tightening on my shoulder.

  “I don’t know,” I answer, my voice shaking uncontrollably. “I don’t know what happened,” I say, pretty sure I might be going into shock.

  “Dispatch was requested to this location after two people were heard arguing over an emergency call line. Was that you? Did you call?” she asks, looking at me expectantly. “Is that the man you were arguing with?” She points to Hudson as he’s being placed in the back of the police car.

  “No.” I shake my head, pointing to Gage who’s being placed on a stretcher and rolled toward an ambulance I never saw arrive. “He’s my ex-boyfriend. He was drinking.” My lip quivers seconds before tears start pouring down my face. “I didn’t mean to call. My finger must have hit the button,” I stumble out.

  “And him?” She points toward the car Hudson is sitting in the back of.

  “He’s my boyfriend.” My vision blurs as I try to get a visual on Hudson.

  “Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?”

  “I’m okay.” I shake my head, knowing physically I’m fine. Mentally however is a completely different story. “Wait? Where are you taking him?” I make a move toward the police car as it starts to move.

  “He’s going to be taken to the station, ma’am.” The female officer holds her arm out in an effort to stop me.

  “Why?” I practically scream in her face. “He was just trying to protect me,” I say, even though I have no idea if that’s the truth. For all I know Hudson saw the kiss and assumed I was a willing participant.

  The thought makes my stomach heave and for a moment I think I might be sick.

  “We’ll work all this out at the station,” she reiterates, gesturing to the second cop car, a male officer in the driver’s seat.

  “Are you arresting me?” I ask, confused.

  “No, ma’am. But we need to get your statement. Figure out exactly what happened here.”

  “I already told you. He was trying to protect me.” I scream toward the car holding Hudson right as it passes.

  I catch a brief glimpse of him in the backseat, his face turned down toward his lap.

  “Hudson!” I scream so loud there’s no way he doesn’t hear me, yet he doesn’t flinch.

  “Ma’am.” The female officer steps in front of my line of sight as the car disappears around the corner. “The best thing you can do for him is to come down and give a statement,” she informs me, gesturing toward her car.

  Knowing I don’t have a choice, I nod once, allowing the officer to lead me toward the cruiser. Within a minute I’m tucked in the backseat and we’re speeding down the road toward the station, a million thoughts running through my mind.

  Is Hudson okay?

  Why was he here?

  Does he think I was kissing Gage back?

  All I can think is that this is my fault. All of it. If I had just ignored Gage when he showed up at my house. If I had gotten up to leave the moment he approached me at the bar. If I hadn’t let him corner me in the parking garage tonight. In a way I feel like maybe I encouraged his behavior. Maybe if I had done things differently none of this would have happened.

  Instead, I’m in the back of a police car scared to death that my bad choices may have created a shit storm that won’t be swept under the rug.

  My mind drifts to Gage. The way his head rolled. The way his eyes kept fluttering open and closed like he didn’t have the strength to keep them open. The blood that poured from his face. His nose and mouth both swollen and split open. He looked like he had been beaten with a baseball bat. I’ve never seen anything like that in my entire life.

  Every worse-case scenario jumps through my mind.

  What if he’s not okay?

  What if Hudson did damage that can’t be undid?

  What if. What if. What if.

  Honestly, I didn’t know Hudson had it in him to hurt someone like that. The way he kept hitting him over and over again. The look on his face as he did it. It was like he wasn’t himself. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my entire life. And in that moment I don’t know if I was more scared for Hudson or of him. I think that’s the most unsettling thing of all. The knowledge that maybe I don’t really know the man I’m in love with as well as I thought I did. I think that terrifies me more than anything else.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  I’m startled awake by a gentle nudge to my shoulder. Straightening, I look around confused and disoriented, before meeting Colto
n’s soft gaze.

  “Hey.” He settles into the chair next to me.

  “Hey.” I rub my eyes, trying to pinpoint exactly where I am. “What time is it?”

  “Just after four in the morning.”

  “I must of dozed off.”

  The events of the night before seem to catch up to me in a flash and I look around again, taking in the drab interior of the local police department.

  “Hudson?” I ask, my stomach instantly knotting.

  “He’s okay.” He reassures with a soft hand to the back of my neck.

  “The label sent over an attorney. He should have a hearing sometime in the morning. I’m sure they’ll take care of everything.”

  “I don’t know what happened,” I admit. “I’ve never seen Hudson like that. Makes me wonder if I really know him,” I admit, staring down at my hands that are knotted in my lap.

  “You do, Lennon.” Colton takes my hand in a way that feels almost protective. “Don’t judge him based on this one incident. I’m sure it wasn’t a pretty thing to witness and based on how you look, I’m guessing that it scared the shit out of you, and I get that. But Hudson is still the same guy. He saw someone he thought was hurting you and he reacted.”

  “I tried telling them that. I tried telling them he was just protecting me.”

  “I know. You did what you could and I’m sure in the long run your statement will help him.”

  “This is my fault.”

  “It isn’t. Hudson made his own choice and he’s going to have to deal with that. This isn’t on you, Lennon.” He pauses. “Why don’t we get out of here?” He stands, looking down at me when I make no attempt to move.

  “I’m not going anywhere until I see him.”

  “Lennon.” He holds his hand out to me.

  “No, Colton. I have to see him,” I insist, crossing my arms over my chest.

  He gives me a sad smile before crouching down so he’s eye level with me.

  “Babe, he’s going to be here all night. You’re not doing either of you a bit of good sitting in this station. I promised Hudson I’d make sure you got home safe and I plan to do just that. Now get up. I’m taking you home.”

  I open my mouth to argue but snap it closed, noticing how exhausted Colton looks.

  Only then do I realize that he’s likely been up all night to get here. I know that because it’s exactly what Emma would do for me if I were in the same position.

  “Okay,” I concede, allowing Colton to pull me to my feet and guide me out of the police station.

  —-

  I don’t sleep well. Completely unable to shut my mind off or block out the vision of Gage’s face every time Hudson’s fist connected with it.

  No matter how much I wish Gage would go away, I never wanted to see him hurt like that. It makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it and even sicker that I’m more worried about Hudson when he was the one that did it to him.

  By nine a.m., I’m up, showered, and ready to head to the courthouse. I was able to confirm that Hudson’s hearing is set for ten and I have every intention of being there when he walks in so I want to get there early.

  When I make my way into the living room, Colton is awake, and like me he doesn’t appear to have gotten much sleep.

  “Hudson’s hearing is at ten,” I tell him, stepping into the kitchen and heading straight for the coffee pot that I set to brew before getting into the shower.

  “Yeah. Jerry called a little bit ago,” he says, standing and making his way toward the kitchen. “I think maybe you should stay here, Lennon.” He leans his hip against the kitchen counter.

  “Why would I do that?” I ask, turning my attention back to my coffee as I drop a couple packets of sweetener inside and pop on the lid.

  “It should go pretty smoothly and there’s really nothing you can do for him. Why don’t you wait here? I’ll go. The minute I know anything I’ll call you.”

  “You think it will go smoothly?” I ask, turning to face him.

  “Gage isn’t pressing charges so I can’t see them holding him any longer.”

  “What do you mean Gage isn’t pressing charges?” I don’t try to hide my shock.

  “I take it you expected him to.”

  “There’s no way Gage would roll over and take what Hudson did to him. I know him. He’s vengeful and selfish. What could he possibly gain from letting Hudson walk?” I pause when I see the look Colton gives me. The one that says I should already know the answer to my own question. “They paid him off.” I shake my head in disbelief.

  “That’s my guess.” Colton shrugs.

  “Wow.” I don’t even know what to say. A part of me feels immense relief, the other part of me feels angry, though I’m not entirely sure why. “I’m still going,” I announce, knowing there’s no way I won’t.

  “Lennon, honey, Hudson doesn’t want you there.” His words feel like a physical slap to the face and I pull back from their impact.

  “What?” I shake my head, confused.

  “He doesn’t want you there,” he repeats. “Jerry called me specifically to tell me that you are not to be there per Hudson’s request.”

  “I...I don’t understand.” The reality of his words sink in and tears instantly well behind my eyes. “He thinks this was my fault, doesn’t he?” My voice gets louder as my emotion threatens to take over.

  “No, Lennon. He doesn’t. I don’t know why he doesn’t want you there but if I had to guess it probably has everything to do with him and nothing to do with you.”

  “I watched him beat my ex-boyfriend to the point he was almost unrecognizable. I sat in a police station lobby half the night waiting, worrying, just needing to make sure he’s okay. And now he doesn’t want to see me?” I think on that for a long moment, anger bubbling in my gut. “Well fuck that.” I snag my keys from the counter and run out the door before Colton can even think to stop me.

  He yells after me, but by the time he makes it out of my condo, the elevator doors are already sliding closed behind me.

  I ignore my phone that rings in my pocket and quickly step off the elevator into the parking garage, my feet stuttering the moment I see the stain right behind my car.

  The blood that painted the concrete has been haphazardly washed away but the remnants of what happened here still remains.

  Trying to shake off the image, I quickly climb into my car. The faint spoiled smell reminds me of the groceries that were left abandoned in the trunk last night.

  Not having it in me to worry about that right now, I quickly fire the engine and back out of my parking spot. My one and only focus right now is getting to Hudson. Everything else can wait.

  —-

  “Lennon, stop,” Colton hisses behind me as I march through the courthouse.

  Not sure how he got here so quickly, I pick up the pace, heading to the courtroom the lady at the front desk referred me to.

  “Lennon,” he says seconds before wrapping his hand around my forearm, pulling me to an abrupt halt.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I bite, not caring that my voice echoes through the quiet hallway.

  “I need you to trust me here, Lennon.”

  “Why are you pushing this so hard? Why is it so important to you that I not be here? What aren’t you telling me, Colton?”

  “I’ll explain in the car. Please, just come with me.”

  “Not until I see Hudson,” I insist, refusing to budge.

  “Seems like he’s a popular one this morning,” a female voice says from behind me, causing me to swing my gaze to the left. I lock eyes with a brunette woman just as she steps up beside us.

  “Fuck,” Colton mutters under his breath.

  I have no idea who this woman is but given Colton’s reaction she isn’t someone he’s very thrilled to see.

  I look from him back to her, not able to ignore how beautiful the woman is. And not in the overly done up way either. She’s naturally beautiful. High cheek bones, full lips, thi
ck brown hair. She’s wearing simple skinny jeans and a red top, but she manages to make it look so much sexier than it would on a normal person. Oddly enough, I feel like I’ve seen her before but for the life of me I can’t pinpoint where.

  “Steph.” Colton gives her a stiff nod.

  “You’re pissed he called me.” She crosses her arms in front of her chest.

  “I knew he did. And I know why too.” Colton seems uncharacteristically angry, while I’m just trying to figure out who the hell this woman is.

  “I think it’s pretty obvious why he called me,” she responds, narrowing her pretty eyes at him.

  Nothing is confirmed but I get the feeling these two go way back. There’s a familiarity between them. Something I can’t quite put my finger on.

  “Lennon, we should go,” Colton says, turning toward me with what can only be described as panic hiding behind his light eyes.

  “Lennon?” she questions. “This is her?” She looks from me, to Colton, and then back to me. “You’re the flavor of the week that landed Hudson in jail.” She sneers at me.

  “Don’t do this here, Steph,” Colton pleads. A sick feeling forms in the pit of my stomach, knotting tighter by the second. Something is not right.

  “I’m not doing anything. I have a right to be here. She doesn’t.”

  “Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on right now?” I demand, my patience waning.

  “I’m sorry, how rude of me.” She smiles, extending her hand. “Stephanie Demasi.”

  Like a bolt of lightning it hits me. I know where I’ve seen her before. Thrive. She was the brunette in Hudson’s lap that night. I don’t know how I know that. How I could possibly remember someone I only saw once for a brief moment over five years ago, but I swear it’s her. I can feel it to my bones.

  “Demasi?” I question, a sort of fog settling over me.

  “As in Mrs. Hudson Demasi,” she clips.

  Her words hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest.

  Chapter One

  There are moments in every person’s life that change everything. Moments that take what we thought we know and completely skew them into something we no longer recognize. For me, this was one of those defining moments.