Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Corvus
“What the fuck?” Hudson snarled as soon as he picked up the phone.
I winced. How he knew it was me calling from Kip’s phone, I had no idea, but Hudson had a sixth sense for weird shit like that.
“Do you know how fucking worried I was when I went to see if you wanted to do a late-night snack run with me and you were missing? You didn’t even take your fucking phone, Corvus! ” he shouted at the end.
Hudson was usually chill, only hitting people with snarky comments that were meant to cut deep. Hearing him yell at me was a sure sign I’d fucked up.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered. Sighing, I leaned forward and braced my elbows on my knees, scrubbing my free hand over my face. “I wasn’t in a good headspace last night.”
“Fucking clearly,” Hudson snapped.
I huffed.
“What the fuck is going on, Corvus? Kreed keeps telling me to give you space, but space isn’t what you need, obviously. You’ve been fucking weird for months, and I’m done biting my damn tongue and waiting for you to open up.”
“It’s nothing,” I lied. “Really. Last night was just a weird night—”
“Oh, don’t bullshit me, right now,” Hudson warned me, his voice dropping an octave.
“We’ve been friends for decades, Corvus.
You can’t lie to me—not even through a fucking phone call.
We’re not beating around this any longer.
We’re talking about it, and then, we’re coming to a solution as a family. ”
I couldn’t tell him about my flashbacks.
He’d feel like shit for his shit touching me.
Hudson didn’t like talking about his deep feelings, but I knew how he was.
He wouldn’t stop pushing me. Because he was right; we’d been friends for two decades now, and we knew each other well.
Hudson hated that his shit with his mom touched me and Kreed.
And then my parents… Hudson could truly be unhinged.
If he found out what I allowed them to do to me, I worried he’d hate me and confront them about it.
Hudson was overprotective of me, but I also couldn’t stomach the thought of him turning his back on me for allowing myself to be violated.
What would he think of me then? Especially knowing I went back time and time again?
Hudson was strong. He’d forced distance between him and his sexual abuser when it’d happened to him. I was weak because I just kept going back for the promise of a few months of peace.
I laughed a little, hoping it didn’t sound as forced as it truly was. “Hudson, bro, I think you’re overreacting a bit.”
And that was the wrong thing to say.
“I’m over-fucking-reacting, bro?” he spat. His laugh sent a shiver of trepidation down my spine. “Cool. Let me show you what it’s really like when I overreact.”
The line went dead, and I sighed, dropping my head forward and letting it hang as Kip’s phone dangled from my fingers. A warm, large, calloused hand wrapped around the back of my neck, and the couch dipped beside me.
“I take it that didn’t go well,” Kip mused as he gently pulled me into his side and wrapped his arms around me.
I turned, draping my legs across his lap, so I could snuggle into him.
“No, Daddy,” I mumbled. “Don’t be surprised if he shows up here. I told him he was overreacting, and he promptly lost his shit.”
Kip hummed and stroked his fingers through my hair. I leaned heavier into him, loving how he comforted me.
“If he shows up, then we’ll all sit down and talk things out sensibly,” he said.
I snorted a laugh. “Sensible is not even in Hudson’s vocabulary.
Do you want to know how he and Kreed ended up together?
He manipulated Kreed. Kreed was his stepfather, Daddy.
” Kip never stopped his ministrations, seeming unaffected by that news.
“If Hudson sets his mind to something, there is no stopping him. He’s the least sensible person I know.
” I tucked my face against his broad chest. “Where’s Mommy? ”
Calling Kip and Michelle by those titles was as easy as breathing. It was right. And it settled me to know I had not just one but two people who were all mine and wanted me this much. Wanted to take care of me. It meant the fucking world to me.
“She’s in the shower.” He scraped his nails along my scalp, and I swear, I nearly purred. “Do you remember where you left your car, chibi? We’ll need to go pick it up.”
“At the park off 7th Street. It’s fine for a little while longer. Trust me, if my gut is right and Hudson is on his way here, we don’t want to be missing when he arrives. He’ll just grow more irate, and he’s already pretty pissed with me as it is.”
“Does he know?” Kip asked.
“Know what?” I asked, playing stupid.
“Don’t play dumb with me, chibi,” Kip warned. He gripped my hair and gently pulled my head back so I was forced to look up at him. “Does he know about what you’ve been going through?”
I blew out a soft breath.
“No,” I mumbled.
“It’s ultimately your decision if he knows or not, but I feel he deserves to know. You’ve turned yourself into a wreck, chibi. And he was clearly worried about you. He’s your family. Not the people who violated you and brought you into this world. Him and Kreed.”
I shook my head, my throat feeling tight.
“What if he thinks of me differently?” I rasped.
“If he truly loves and cares about you, chibi, he won’t think any differently of you.
He’ll be worried and angry, yes, but that anger won’t be aimed at you.
It’ll be aimed at who hurt you. I only met your best friend once, but he’s protective of you, and he wants to take care of you, just as Michelle and I do. ”
“Not in the same way,” I rushed to say.
Kip laughed. “No, not in the same way. Hudson is just very much an alpha male, and I think a part of him recognizes the submissive side of you. I could sense it when I met him. He rolls right over you, which I’m not particularly a fan of because you still have your own voice and opinions, but his heart is in the right place. ”
“That’s Hudson for—” A loud banging started up on the front door, and I sighed. “Bet that’s Hudson,” I grumbled just as Mercy began barking and growling, the fur on her back standing up. She jumped onto the couch and stood over my legs just as Kip got up.
“What the fuck?” Michelle yelled, rushing out of the bedroom, brush in hand, wet hair hanging around her shoulders.
She was wearing a pair of leggings that hugged her curves and a crop top that left her midriff exposed, as well as the tattoos that covered her torso.
It took me a long time to rip my gaze from her.
She was so damn beautiful. My fingers twitched with the urge to touch her.
“Hudson is here,” Kip informed us, which felt more like a warning as he opened the door, revealing an angry Hudson and an exasperated, annoyed Kreed.
“I apologize for his behavior,” Kreed told Kip.
“I fucking don’t,” Hudson snarled, his eyes locked on me. Mercy snarled, baring her teeth at him. Hudson didn’t give two fucks that a dog looked ready to rip him to shreds. “You and I need to fucking talk.”