SWNOVELS Off-Ice Collision: Chapter 26
“Hey, girl,” Emery’s voice comes through the phone after I pick up her call. “I hate to be a total buzzkill, but I have to cancel tonight.”
Emery and I had plans to hang out. I was supposed to go to her place and we were going to get wine drunk and watch stupid rom-com movies while we forgot all our problems.
“What’s going on?” I ask her with a hint of worry in my tone. It isn’t like Emery to cancel plans unless something is up. “Is everything okay?”
Emery sighs. “Yeah, everything’s fine. My mother decided to invite my aunt and uncle and cousins to come stay. They just got in this afternoon and she already has dinner reservations made for all of us. So, she’s essentially guilt-tripping me into spending time with the whole family.”
I let out a breath of relief. With Emery, it’s hard to tell what’s going on when it could be something serious. Thankfully, it’s not. Just a conflict of plans. “It’s all good,” I tell her, forcing a smile on my lips even though she can’t see it. “Let’s just plan for another night instead?”
“Ugh, yeah,” she mumbles. “It’s not like she’s really leaving me much of a choice.”
“It’s fine, seriously,” I assure her. “Have fun with them and try not to be too miserable about it.”
Emery laughs. “Yeah, right. Like that will happen. I’m going to make sure they know just how much I don’t want to be at their stupid dinner. It’s not like my mom even likes her sister. They’re all stuck-up assholes. I know she just invited her because she’s her sister and feels like she has to prove something to my grandparents.”
Emery’s family has their own problems, but it all boils down to money. Her mom and her aunt were always in competition with each other’s lives and her grandparents were always comparing the two of them. My mind wanders to Maverick… I wonder if he ever feels like that between the two of us.
We’ve never been in competition with each other and our parents treat us both the same way. When it comes to one of us fucking up their life, Maverick definitely falls under that umbrella while I’m able to escape all that judgement. I don’t know how much our parents really think that about him, but they know he hasn’t been doing his best when it comes to living a successful life.
“Love you. Have fun at Mavy’s party,” she says playfully before ending the call.
I drop the phone onto the couch and tilt my head back as an exasperated sigh slips from my lips. I completely forgot my brother was planning on having a party. Our parents are both back in the city until next weekend, so Mav is taking it upon himself to throw a rager tonight.
Looking at the clock on the wall, my shoulders sag in defeat. People are bound to start showing up at any moment. Rising to my feet, I pick up my phone and quickly make my way up to my bedroom. I can just hide in here for the night with my book and not be bothered. That seems like the better option of the two and is much more appealing than being around his shit-faced friends.
“London Bridge is falling down!” Hudson sings outside my door, slurring his words already. The party has been going on for at least three hours and I’ve successfully managed to avoid everyone until this moment.
Hudson knocks on my door, louder this time. “Come out and play, London.”
Climbing off my bed, I walk over to my door and pull it open. Hudson leans against the doorframe with a beer in his hand. The corners of his lips lift into a smirk as he stares down at me. “Play what?”
Hudson laughs and shrugs. “I don’t know. Just an expression. Quit being a party pooper and come have some fun with us.”
“I don’t really feel like drinking tonight,” I tell him with nothing but honesty. I watch as he pushes out his bottom lip and gives me a pouty face.
“Come on, don’t be like that,” he says as he pushes off the doorframe and slings his arm around the tops of my shoulders. “Just come hang out at least. We all used to hang out all the time, but now we never do.”
A sigh slips from my lips. “Fine, but only for a little while. I don’t feel like being around a bunch of drunken assholes.”
Hudson gasps. “You think I’m an asshole? I’m seriously hurt, London Hayes.”
Laughter bubbles from my throat and I swat at his chest. “Shut up. You know what I mean.”
“Tell me that you don’t think that I’m an asshole. My ego can’t take the thought of it.”
I roll my eyes at him as he guides me down the hallway. “I don’t think your ego can take any more inflation.”
Hudson laughs and removes his arm from my shoulders as we reach the stairs. “I missed you and your fiery attitude, London.”
“Me too,” I whisper, but he doesn’t hear me as he begins to walk down the steps. I follow after him, wishing I was following someone else. I have no choice but to push those thoughts from my mind. I’m the one who decided Vaughn and I had to stop what we were doing.
There’s no sense in backtracking with my thoughts now.
I end up on the back deck, sitting on the outdoor sectional beside Hudson. There’s a group of people sitting around, drinking and talking, but I don’t see my brother anywhere. Hudson has his arm around the tops of my shoulders, but it’s nothing more than platonic. He’s one of my brother’s best friends. Neither of us have ever had any feelings for one another even though we’ve been close.
“Where’s Mav?” I ask Hudson in his ear as I lean closer to him. The music is playing so loud and the people around us are just as boisterous. I’m surprised someone hasn’t called in a complaint yet.
Hudson shrugs. “I don’t know. Last I saw him he was talking to some girl inside. Maybe he took her up to his room?”
“So, he throws a party and then disappears?” I say to him, the irritation creeping into my bones. Talk about irresponsible. Now if the cops show up or something happens, it’s going to end up on my shoulders. I didn’t sign up to babysit this party while my brother is upstairs getting his dick sucked by some girl.
I go to stand up, but Hudson wraps his arm tighter around my shoulders and pulls me back down to him. A flash of lightning strikes out in the distance and I hear the rumble of thunder. My side is flush against his and I can feel his warmth through our clothing. Lifting my chin, I look up at Hudson who smiles down at me.
“Just relax, London. I’m sure he’s fine and he’ll be back down after he’s done getting a nut.” Hudson laughs and I cringe at the thought. “When have you ever known your brother to abandon a party?”
A breeze blows, sending a shiver down my spine. There’s a storm coming, which is another thing my brother obviously didn’t plan for. “It’s going to storm. I need to get some of the stuff inside.”
“Stop trying to clean up your brother’s messes all the time,” Hudson tells me, his face and tone growing serious. “He needs to actually fall so he can get back up on his own.”
I stare back at Hudson as thunder rumbles in the distance again. “I don’t know how to let him fall. I’m afraid of what will happen if he does.”
“He’ll get back up eventually. We both know that he’s not in a good place right now, but at some point everyone has to stop bailing him out. How is he ever going to learn from his mistakes if they’re constantly being excused?”
He’s right. My brother needs to learn and the only way he’s going to is with a healthy dose of tough love. It’s a hard thing for me to do. He’s my twin, the one person who I’ve shared most of my life with. I know he’s not in a good place, so I’m not sure how to let him fall without wanting to catch him before he hits the ground.
Hudson dips his face down to mine, but he moves it to the side as he speaks into my ear. “The girl who got his professor fired… he ran into her at the lake the other day. He gave me minor details, but I know it has been fucking with his head.”
My eyes widen, but Hudson can’t see my expression since we’re speaking into each other’s ears in secret. “You mean the friend that he trusted and went to for advice? What the hell is she doing here?”
“Turns out her family has a place on the other side of the lake. Maverick was fucking livid when he saw her. I don’t know what he’s up to, but I have a feeling he’s going to be out for blood if he sees her again.” Hudson pauses again. “I’m the only other person that Mav told. He told me what happened after he told you, so don’t think that I knew before you.”
“Well, isn’t this rich?” The voice that I had been longing to hear breaks through our conversation.
Abruptly pulling away from Hudson, I turn forward to find Vaughn standing there, staring down at the two of us. His expression is dark but there’s something sinister in his eyes. He has a bottle of beer in his hand, but it looks untouched.
“Vaughn…” His name comes out as a whisper. “What are you doing here?”
“Your brother invited me to his little party.” A dark chuckle escapes him. “Funny, he told me you wouldn’t be here. I can’t find him anywhere and then here you are… with him,” he bites out, the venom on his tongue as he motions to Hudson with his beer.
“We’re just friends, Vaughn,” I remind him, my own voice sounding harsh. With the way we were sitting and talking to one another, I know it doesn’t look good. It looks about as bad as him getting out of another girl’s car.
Hudson rises to his feet. “London is allowed to have a fucking conversation with whoever she wants. Last I heard, she dropped your ass like a bad habit.”
Vaughn closes the distance between them, towering over Hudson as he gets in his face. “I’d be careful with what you fucking say if I were you…”
“Or what? You going to hit me for talking to a girl that isn’t yours?” Hudson lets out a harsh laugh. “London made the right choice by getting rid of you. She’s fucking top tier. You don’t deserve someone like her.”
Vaughn’s eyes darken and I watch as he clenches his jaw. My stomach rolls, and I see it coming before it actually happens.
I don’t know why he’s here, but things are about to get ugly fast.