Before The Dawn: Prequel to Back to You - Synclair and Reece! See Where It All Began! (A Hudson Family Series- PREQUEL to BACK TO YOU! Book 0)

by Chontelle Brison

  Not able to stand my own company any longer, I grabbed my keys and decided to get some air. January was always cold in Vegas. Even with my black leggings and blue sweater, I still felt a slight chill.

  “Hey, beautiful,” a familiar voice called from behind me. I knew it was Rory; it had been his standard greeting for the past several weeks.

  I turned and smiled. Perhaps I was doing this all wrong. Perhaps being alone wasn’t good, it wasn’t like Reece wasn’t somewhere getting sweaty with Malibu Barbie. No, I wasn’t attracted to Rory, but he was attractive. Maybe that was all that was important.

  “Are you stalking me now?” I teased. It felt good to laugh.

  “Desperate times, call for desperate measures, doll face,” he joked.

  “So, what do you want, Rory? I’m lousy company; bad stuff follows me around. You’d be better off running in the opposite direction.” It was my final attempt to get rid of him. His humor and persistence over the last weeks had been like a lifeline. I was so hurt and lonely over Reece that if I didn’t talk to another human being soon, I was going to implode.

  He smiled and grabbed my elbow. I let him lead me to the parking lot. We walked up to the large truck. It was so tall. I think the tires were bigger than me. Men and their toys.

  “First, I want to buy you dinner, after that, we’ll make it up as we go.” He opened the door for me and then walked around to the driver side. I hesitated for a moment. I wasn’t sure this was a good idea. Then, the image of Reece and Amber snuggling together under the mistletoe made me throw caution to the wind. I was just about to scale the truck to climb into the seat when something tugged on my sweater, and I fell backward.

  I cried out; my arms windmilling as I fell back towards the asphalt. Someone grabbed me before I hit the ground, and I found myself swung up into a pair of strong arms. I knew those arms. I had committed them to memory.

  Reece

  I saw red; I mean the actual color red, hazed my vision. I had just pulled up with Amber and the guys, after driving eight hours from Carson City, watched as Rory Davidson, led Synclair to his ugly, raised, wanna be monster truck. It was bad enough that I had been forced to listen to Amber chatter on for hours; I swear this was the last time I let her drive home with me. I didn’t care if her parents and mine were friends, the woman was toxic. Now, just as I had arrived back at campus, I had to watch, my girl, being led away by a guy who made my womanizing look tame.

  No! Fuck No! Not Happening! I know I had avoided her for weeks. I had read everything in that envelope that Amber had given me. I read each 911-call transcript, some of them taking place when Synclair was 9, 10 and 12. I saw the arrest reports of her mother for, drugs, prostitution, and trespassing. I had read the notes stating the child; Synclair, was placed in a temporary foster home. Synclair had survived a shit childhood. She had good reason not to trust anyone; she had good reason to swing first and ask questions later, and she still had the biggest heart of anyone I’d ever known.

  She protected Bobby’s family; she read to those blind children; if anything, she was too good for me! I was the type of asshole that she was trying to guard herself against.

  I had tried to back out of the bet, but Ron wasn’t having it. He had thrown my money back at me and laughed. I guess if I had admitted to the guys that I was in love with her, maybe it would have been different. However, like a guy, I didn’t want to look weak or whipped in front of the boys. Yeah, I was such a dick.

  I should let her move on; I should turn my back, grab my bag and go to my room. She was smiling for the first time in weeks, and my chest ached because I hadn’t been the one to put it there.

  Somehow, feeling won out over reason, and before I even realized what I was doing, I was tugging Synclair into my arms and walking away. I vaguely heard Rory yelling at me. I heard Ron and Ryan run interference as I stomped off toward my dorm. I didn’t even turn to see what Amber was doing, I was done with that woman.

  Synclair didn’t say a word. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away as I carried her across campus. I ignored the gasps, the looks, and even the cheers as I concentrated on my single purpose… getting Synclair alone.

  Once I got to my room, I shifted her to one arm and opened my door. I smiled inwardly when she realized I was only holding her with one arm. Her small gasp said what her voice would, on some level, she still wanted me.

  I dropped her on the bed, grabbed my chair, flipped it around and straddled it, while making sure I was sitting directly in front of the door; her only exit.

  For a long moment, we only glared at each other.

  “I’m an ass,” I admitted. Her look didn’t change.

  “Agreed,” she answered hotly.

  “I’m a coward; I didn’t know how to handle it,” again, I was honest. It had taken me a long time to come to grips with what I had seen and what I knew about Synclair. I needed to know I was ready to commit to her. I didn’t want to hurt her, so if I wasn’t sure I didn’t want to risk her heart or mine. However, the time away only made me miss her more and just made more determined to win her over. I realized about halfway through Christmas break that I was in love with her. My parents, my three brothers and my new baby sister surrounded me, and all I could think about was Synclair. Was she okay? Did she spend Christmas alone? I made a promise to myself that I would bring her home with me next Christmas. Rachel, my baby sister, would love her.

  “I’m sorry; I didn’t know how to handle it, and I acted badly,” I told her again. Her eyes narrowed, and she regarded me for a moment before speaking.

  “So, what’s changed? Now you can handle it?” It sounded more like an accusation than a question.

  “You’ve changed me. You make me a better person," I told her speaking from my heart.

  She laughed; she actually laughed. Her eyes looked cold as she stared me down. “You actually believe that? You think you’ve changed? Well good for you!” She stood up and walked towards me. When she was standing over me, she poked me in the chest and added, “You think you can ignore me for weeks because you discovered the world isn’t ponies and unicorns?” She poked me again.

  “You don’t get to run at the first sign of something you don’t like and then come back and say; it's cool; I can handle it now!” I winced at the pain in her voice but still said nothing.

  “I don’t need you to 'handle' it now; I didn’t need you to 'handle' it then Reece. We are from two different worlds, and I was crazy to think you would be any different than anyone else!” she shouted throwing her hands up in frustration.

  I jumped up from my chair, making her stumble back a few steps. I wasn’t about to let her lump me in with all the other assholes in her life, even if I deserved it.

  I grabbed her shoulders and spun her so her back was against the door. I leaned in and inhaled her sweet vanilla scent. God, how I had missed the scent of this woman.

  “I know I screwed up! I realize that, but I’m not letting you push me out of your life Synclair. I don’t deserve you, but I have to have you.” Before I could say anything else, she stood up on her tiptoes and brushed her lips gently across mine. Startled, I groaned, closed my eyes and tried to pull her into my arms. Quickly, realizing she was no long in front of me, I opened my eyes. She had ducked my arms, and had moved right past me. I was about to reach for her again, determined to make her understand how sorry I was, when she opened the door and put one hand up to stop my approach.

  “It’s not enough to deserve me, Hudson, now you have to earn me,” She said, with a small smile.

  “Game on,” I whispered. I had one shot at this second chance, and I was going to pull out all the stops to do it. You have no idea who you just challenged sweetheart, prepare to be earned hellcat.

  Synclair

  Reece Hudson sucks. I mean he is the most persistent, annoying man I have ever. Men! Over the past two months, he has done nothing but pursue me. I’m sure many girls would be flattered. Nope, not me, not Synclair Patrick, I am a
bsolutely mortified.

  The day after the parking lot incident, Reece went back to sitting next to me in class. When I say next to me, I mean he pulled his desk right up against mine, effectively trapping me in my seat. Short of playing the desk scooting game to get away from him, I was stuck. I tried to ignore him; I didn’t even glance in his direction. Okay, that’s not entirely accurate, every time Amber or one of his groupie bimbos came up to him; I threw him my best, “I don’t give a fuck,” look. Yeah, he didn’t buy it either; he just grinned wider as he shot down Amber and her minions.

  My classes weren’t the only place Reece bugged me. Every day at lunch, he ignored everyone and sat across from me. We didn’t talk. Instead, we ate in this weird, battling silence as we waited to see who would break first. If lunch wasn’t bad enough, Reece showed up at the library. The kids had gotten to know him, and, of course, they all loved him! Seriously, even some of the mothers were a little too friendly, if you ask me. When it came time to sit down and read to the kids he, unfailingly, pulled my chair out for me. I would always have to be polite in front of the kids, so I made sure I thanked him. Then, as I would sit down, he would always pat my ass, knowing I couldn’t cut off his hand in front of witnesses, even blind ones.

  He waited outside the women’s shelter for me too. It was about ten blocks from the school, and although I didn’t acknowledge him, I know he followed me there and back.

  I couldn’t go anywhere without people pointing or whispering. I couldn’t blame them, one of the most good-looking and popular guys in school was chasing after me like a idiot. Worse, he didn’t seem to care who knew about it.

  Then there was Rory, I don’t know what happened between them, but he avoided me like the plague. I tried to talk to him, to explain that Reece and I were not together, but he just mumbled something about ass beatings and practically ran away.

  Then there were the roses, he alternated between pink, red, white, and yellow. I found one rose on my pillow every day when I came home from class. I had no idea how he got into my room. My best guess was because I shared a bathroom with the girl next door, he charmed her with some sappy love story. Of course, the poor girl was helpless against the onslaught of Reece’s wide smile and killer dimples, so it was hard to be angry at the gril.

  No matter what I did, where I went, or who I spoke to, Reece was there. He had infiltrated my whole life. The only reason he hadn’t seen my mother was that I hadn’t talked to her since the winter break. After being pushed aside for her druggie boyfriend while she nodded out before Christmas dinner, I had decided I needed distance. Sure, there were dozens of messages on my phone, I’m confident they all started with baby and ended with ungrateful, bitch. Yep, with mom you were either with her or against her, there was never any middle ground.

  I noticed Reece was also interfering with any guy trying to talk to me. As I was talking to Lance outside of class one day about notes I was missing, he looked up, his gaze landing on something behind me. He mumbled something about ass beatings and took off. It didn’t take a genius to know Reece was threatening every guy I came in contact with.

  Sighing, I pushed off my bed and grabbed my keys. I was tired of hiding in my dorm. However, every time I left, I walked through groups of students, all whispering and pointing at the girl who seemed so unworthy of such a prime, specimen like Reece. Amber and her minions glared and made sure I knew how much they hated me.

  I was tired of being in my room, I was hungry, and the weather was turning to spring. Vegas was beautiful in the spring. Most people don’t realize that Vegas is surrounded by mountains. Yeah, most tourists miss those pesky mountains because they are too entranced by the lights of the strip. In spring, the snow melts, and you can actually hike to a few area waterfalls. It was one of my favorite places in the springtime and with it being the beginning of March, I was itching to be outside.

  Outside meant attention from Reece, and even worse, attention from other students because of Reece. Worse than that, I was coming to expect his company. I looked forward to my daily roses; I had even started walking along side him on the way to and from the shelter. My biggest concession? I started grabbing him a dessert from the lunch line when I bought mine. He was breaking me down; he was winning, and if I didn’t do something soon I was going to climb him like a jungle gym. My girly parts were tense and edgy. Every time I was around him my breasts felt heavy, my core clenched and my nipples were permanently hard.

  As much as I liked his attention and hated it at the same time, it didn’t solve the problem we had. Reece came from a Hallmark card, and I came from The After School special. Someday he would see it, he would judge me or pity me, and neither would be acceptable. I just couldn’t take that risk; I didn’t know how to take a leap of faith for someone.

  As usual, even on Saturday Reece was in the cafeteria. I didn’t know how he knew I would be there, since I made sure to vary my dining times. Spies, it had to be.

  Rolling my eyes, I was about to walk into the cafeteria when I heard my name.

  I looked over, and there were a bunch of girls sitting at a table. They looked like cheerleaders and rich chicks. The kind with the diamond license plate frame that says, “Daddy’s Princess,” on it.

  “Her name is Synclair?” One asked.

  Smiling, another answered. “Yeah, but I hear they call her Syn for short.”

  “Syn? Oh, my god, I bet she’s a total skank. Where is she even from?” another girl with long, painted nails asked.

  The same girl who answered last time appeared to have all the answers. “I heard she is actually from Vegas, like the wrong side of Vegas! Like she has to be a total whore.”

  “Why would Reece Hudson even want that? Ewww,” painted nails asked in disgust.

  “I’m sure she knows all kinds of kinky stuff in bed, and she’s holding out. You know how guys are; they like girls who are into that stuff.”

  “Yeah, in bed, but they never take those girls home to meet the parents; they only take those girls to back alleys,” painted nails cackled.

  I turned and shoved my way through the cafeteria doors. My face was flushed with anger. A skank? That’s what they thought of me? They thought I was some kinky whore that Reece wanted to experiment with? How had they known my nickname was Syn? Did they know where I came from? They couldn’t, could they? And if they did, how?

  These are all good questions, questions I would beat answers out of people to solve. However, all that would have to come later. I needed to get Reece to back off and back off now. With all of this attention, it wouldn’t be long before people found out about my mom, about me and then my humiliation would be complete.

  I stomped up to the lunch table and shoved Reece as hard as I could. Not expecting my attack, he fell right off the long bench. Gasps and giggles swirled around me.

  I rounded on him before he could even get his stunned ass off the floor. His green eyes blazed with anger and confusion. He wiped his hands down his blue jeans and straightened his green tee-shirt. I willed my girly parts to stay quiet, now was not the time for ogling.

  He stood in front of me; we were nose to chest. I stepped back so I could look up at him. “This stops, this stops now Hudson,” I demanded. He went to speak, but I stopped him by putting up one hand.

  “No more roses, no more scaring off every guy I talk to, no more following me, sitting next to me, or touching me all the time, I am not going to have sex with you. Despite the current campus opinion, I am not a skanky whore!” I shouted, my voice sounded shrill even to my own ears.

  Reece looked like he’d been slapped. Okay, maybe now he could move on, and I could just blend back into the shadows. Back to where no one noticed me. Just the thought made me sad, but what choice did I have? If everyone knew about me, I would never be able to show my face at school again.

  I turned to leave, I mean, what was left to say?

  Reese grabbed my arm and turned me toward him. There it was, the look, the look I never wanted to see on
his face. Pity. I didn’t know what he knew, but he knew something, or he’d guessed something. How much I wasn’t sure, but there was no mistaking the pity in his eyes. That just pissed me off more.

  “Stop! Don’t look at me like that Hudson,” I shouted; I was starting to panic. I could feel it welling up, and if it got to a certain point, I would have a full-fledged panic attack. I had them, occasionally, when I was under a lot of stress. It always started with a racing heart, sometimes a massive headache, if it got worse, I would have trouble breathing and even pass out. I hadn’t had one in years, but I felt the familiar beginnings.

  He wrapped his arms around my waist. I tried to turn away, but he wasn’t having it. His arms were like steel bands and short of beating on them; I was trapped. He bent down, so we were eye level.

  “I can’t stop Synclair; I won’t. You can trust me; I want to know you; I want to love you, can’t you forgive me and let me in just a little?” he whispered, his eyes never leaving mine.

  “Can’t… won’t work… too different, you don’t know; you think you know, but you don’t,” I panted; my breathing was becoming more difficult. I needed to get out of here.

  “Then tell me, tell me Synclair. Nothing you say will change the way I feel about you,” he pleaded.

  God, I was tempted. If I told him everything, would he still want me? How could he? What would he tell his parents? I had nothing to offer. Maybe if I was older, had my degree, and were some respectable lawyer or something, then I’d have something to bring to the table for a relationship. Something to counterbalance my past, some way of saying, “yes, that was my life, but look where I am now,” but I didn’t have that. I had never had a home for more than a few weeks. The dorm was my first place, the first time I didn’t live in fear of a knock on the door from the cops. My mother was an addict; she was either going to overdose someday, or a boyfriend was going to kill her. Let’s not forget; mom was also a prostitute and that I could fit all of my worldly possessions into a black trash bag. I was raised that if it didn’t fit, you left it behind. I’m pretty sure that’s not a skill you put on a resume. Reece probably came from a version of the Brady Bunch; he had horses, siblings, and parents. People loved him; they cared about where he went and if he was safe. I had no idea what that was like, I wouldn’t know what to do with it, even if I did have it.