31. Hudson
Chapter 31
Hudson
I scramble back in shock. He looks alive. Fully formed and human. The only giveaway that he’s not is the eerie gray light glowing around his body.
“I’m flattered you came all this way to see me again,” he says. “I knew you’d eventually realize we belong together.”
“The fuck are you talking about? I didn’t come here for some kind of reconciliation. Have you forgotten that you’re dead?”
“No. That’s the beauty of this place. You can be dead too, just as I intended, and we’ll spend eternity together.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so.” I get to my feet, puffing my chest. “I hate you.”
“The line between hate and love is a thin one.”
He steps toward me and that’s when I notice the bloody hole in his temple and the massive, gaping wound on the back of his head. Fucking hell.
“It’s not thin for me. It’s as wide as the Pacific Ocean. In fact, I’d swim from here to California before I’d even consider letting you touch me again.”
Chester narrows his eyes, blinking awkwardly, as if it takes effort to do it. His irises are jet black and too large, another clue that this is not the man I dated.
“I did come here for a reason, but not the one you think. I want to know a few things. Namely, why are you so obsessed with me? What is it about me that you can’t let go of, even in death?”
Chester bares his teeth in what I think is supposed to be a smile, but it’s crooked and off, like he doesn’t remember how to do it anymore.
“Because you’re perfect,” he says. “You’re smart and talented and incredibly attractive.”
I pull my head back. “Those are hardly unique qualities.”
“You didn’t let me finish.”
He’s on me in a flash, gripping my chin and filling my nose with foul breath that smells like a rotting animal corpse. I extend my arms to put space between us, but it doesn’t help much.
“You’re naive,” he continues. “And weak. You’re so easy to manipulate. How could I let go of such a prize?”
I narrow my eyes. “You’re wrong. I’m not weak or naive. Maybe you were able to trick me for a few months, but if you recall, I dumped you. I saw what a piece of shit you were, and that you weren’t even close to being good enough for me. Just like everyone you date. They all eventually see what a monster you are.”
His expression hardens, and when he exhales, his breath is visible and as black as midnight. I’m terrified, but I refuse to let him see that. I came here to finally face my fears and that’s what I’m going to do.
“I’m everything you need, Hudson, you just couldn’t see it. But I can show you. We can be together. Here. You never have to go back.”
“You truly are insane, aren’t you? Even now. I suppose the brain doesn’t heal after death. I guess you don’t understand that you really are dead, Chester. You took your own life selfishly trying to steal mine.” Reaching out, I grab his chin right back. “But you miscalculated. I didn’t die then and I’m not going to now. I’m going to live and I’m going to love and you’re going to be a miserable pile of wasted life, rotting away in a hell of your own making.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. You shouldn’t have come here, Hudson. You underestimate my strength.” His hand shifts to my throat, and as he squeezes, he lifts my feet off the floor. “It would take nothing for me to snap your neck.”
“Except that my body is back at the house. You can’t hurt me here.”
Chester chuckles, but it’s a weird gurgling sound. “Stupid human. You have no idea what you’re doing. Guess you should’ve gotten more information from that troublesome man in your home. I was planning to kill him first so we could continue our romance, but you’ll do fine. In fact, you made it easier for me. You’ll never see your house or that man again.”
He opens his mouth like he’s going to yawn, but his jaw unhinges, revealing a black hole with fire swirling where his throat should be. Shit.
His grip loosens and I manage to break free and scramble into the darkness before realizing there’s nowhere to really go. It’s like running through deep water, heavy and difficult to move, and everywhere I look, Chester is there.
Panic spreads through me, but before it takes hold, I steady myself. I’m not running from this anymore. I came here so I could finally stop running.
With my shoulders set, I turn around and face the monster. I have no idea how to fight him off, so I do the only thing that makes sense and follow my instinct. I pull my arm back and level him with a punch to the jaw, landing it as hard as I can.
It works!
Chester stumbles backward, eyes wide with shock. That’s my opportunity to lunge. I put all my weight behind it, and throw myself at him, taking us both to the ground.
“This time, you won’t catch me off guard.” I pummel his face with blind rage, letting almost two years of fear and frustration and anger flow through me.
He tries to fight back, clawing at my fists, but those self-defense classes I took come in clutch. I lock my legs around his waist and flip us over so that I’m on my back and he’s on top of me, his back to my chest.
Then I wrap my arm around his neck and squeeze with all my might. He claws at my arm, coughing and struggling, which only boosts my confidence. When he weakens in my arms, I release him and push him off, only to resume beating his face in. He doesn’t bleed or even show a bruise, but I feel the damage happening. I sense his weakening spirit.
I wrap my hands around his neck and squeeze, strangling him the way he strangled me. He gazes up at me with panicked jet-black eyes.
“Aster is going to drag you back where you belong,” I whisper, my words driven by some unknown force. “And then he’s going to come back to me, and I’m going to love him. I’m going to keep him, Chester. He gets to have my love and attention, not you. He gets to make love to me.” I lift his head and pound it on the floor, just like he did to me. “And you? You get to exist in a prison of your own design. You did this to yourself, and you’re not going to hurt me anymore. Not ever again, Chester, or whatever the fuck you are now.”
Chester opens his mouth and lets out an ungodly shriek I can feel in my bones. While unnerving, the rage and grief in the sound brings a smile to my face. I’m hurting him. I’m taking back my power.
“This is the last time I’m ever going to see you. Do you hear me? I won’t let you interrupt my life anymore.”
I climb off him, kicking his limp legs as he writhes on the ground before me. I don’t know how I know, but something tells me this is the time Aster needs to act.
That’s when it hits me that I have no idea how to get back to him. Fuck. I know I don’t have much time. Chester will regain his strength, and then what?
Closing my eyes, I focus on Aster and Otto. I blow out a breath, holding his face in my thoughts and whispering his name.
“Aster. If you can hear me, I need you.”
I gasp when I feel a sharp tug on my ankle. Chester has crawled across the floor and has me in his grasp, but he looks less human and more like the blob I saw in the attic.
“Aster.” I squeeze my eyes. “I want to come home. I want to come back to Aster.”
I fall back suddenly, bracing myself for pain, but instead, I’m in the soft embrace of my love.
My love.
“I’ve got you, gorgeous.”
Peeling my eyes open, I blink a few times and focus on Aster. “I’m back?”
He smiles. “You’re back.” Brushing my hair from my forehead, he says, “You scared the shit out of me. You shouldn’t have done that without me.”
“Had to.” I pat his cheek. “We can talk later, but you should go get him. He’s weak.”
“He’s weak?”
“I beat the shit out of him.” A laugh bubbles out of me even as pain pricks at my hands. “I did it, Aster. I confronted my fear.”
Aster bends his head and kisses me hard. “I’m proud of you.”
“Go get him. While you can. I’ll be here waiting for you.”
He nods, searching my eyes. His lips part, and even without a single word uttered, I know what he’s feeling. I see the love and affection in his gaze. My heart flutters in my chest.
“I know. I’ll still be here when you get back. I’m not going anywhere.”
His breath hitches as he smiles. “I’ll return before you know it.”
“Be careful. I’m counting on a future with you in it.”
His face lights up. “I’ll be careful.”
He releases me, leaning against the wall and glancing at me before closing his eyes. I watch his body go limp and know he’s gone. He’s facing off with Chester. I really hope this is the last time.
When I look down, my knuckles are bloody and there are scratch marks on my forearms. Whoa. That’s wild.
Crash comes into the room with Otto bouncing at his feet. Otto rushes onto my lap and covers my face in doggy kisses, even as he whimpers and glances at his owner. I laugh, holding him as I get to my feet.
Crash has a crease in his forehead as he looks me up and down. “You’re okay?”
I nod. “I’m okay. How did Aster know to come get me?”
“I woke him up when I realized what you did. He drank some of the potion and went looking for you. That was really dangerous.”
“I know. I wasn’t thinking clearly, but I knew for me to move on, truly move on without years of therapy in front of me, I had to deal with it. I had to face him. I had to reclaim what he tried to take from me. Aster deserves someone who can love him wholly. I did it for both of us.”
Crash’s expression softens. “I knew it. So did the house spirits.”
“Knew what?”
“We felt your connection long before you did. I think Aster was chosen to help you because your souls need each other. Your hearts were halves until your worlds collided.”
Jocelyn’s reading comes back to me. “Is that stuff really true? Soulmates and stuff?”
Crash nods. “Of course. It’s one of the best parts of a mortal existence. In Aster’s case, it’s even better. It never has to end.”
I blow out a shaky breath and nod. “As long as he comes back.”
“He will. He’s motivated by so much more than his own safety. He has you to return to.”
“Thanks, Crash. For all your help. I might have been in trouble if you hadn’t woken him up.”
“I like being useful.”
He blips out of sight, and I walk over to the sink to wash the blood from my hands. Definitely shouldn’t fuck around in astral planes without more knowledge. Hopefully, I’ll never have another reason to.
I open the back door and whistle for Otto to take him out to go potty. Just a normal morning waiting for the love of my life to return from the darkness so we can start living our lives together.
When he comes back, I’m telling him how I feel.
I’m in love with him.
And for the first time in ages, I’m not scared of letting him in.
Aster came to save my life in more ways than one, and I plan to spend the rest of our lives loving him as hard as I can.