Chapter 46
DIANA
Iwatched as the guys played their game, laughing and enjoying their time together. I was glad Troy and Jessie had accepted Hudson.
“Diana!” One of the girls lobbed the ball at me. I nearly got hit in the face by the ball coming over the net.
I lunged through the water and managed to hit the ball a second before it hit the water. I had spent the last hour in the pool with some of my friends. The warm night made the pool way too inviting. The party was going as good as I could have hoped.
But I couldn’t help but notice things were getting rowdy. I didn’t want to be the hall monitor, but I was keeping an eye on things. The guys were all having a blast. The last time I had seen Hudson, he was talking with Troy. I couldn’t help but notice he was drinking. I just hoped he was taking it easy and not letting himself get too carried away.
“I’ll be back, guys,” I said to the women in the pool.
I could hear a ruckus and wanted to make sure Hudson was not involved. I climbed out of the pool and reached for a towel. I wrapped it around me and slipped my feet into my sandals. There was a lot of noise and laughter coming from the side of the house. Something told me I needed to check it out and make sure everyone was okay. My brother and Troy were notorious for getting up to no good when they had too much to drink. I was sober and needed to make sure no one did anything they would regret the next day.
As I approached the group, I could see Hudson stumbling slightly, with a slight slur in his voice. He was clearly drunk. I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of worry. I knew he was trying to fit in with the guys and have a good time, but I also knew that alcohol could take a toll on even the strongest of individuals.
“Hudson, are you alright?” I asked, gently placing my hand on his arm.
He looked up at me with a grin, clearly tipsy but still managing to make eye contact. “I’m fine,” he said. “The table isn’t.”
I looked at the ground with plastic cups and the remnants of the table. Jessie was lying on the ground beside it laughing his ass off.
I sighed, shaking my head at the mess. “Let’s clean this up,” I said, trying to salvage the rest of the night. “And maybe get you some water, Hudson.”
“Why ruin a good time with cleaning up?” Hudson slurred, waving me off.
“Are you okay?” I asked Jessie.
Hudson leaned down and tried to help him up. He fell on top of Jessie. The two of them burst into raucous laughter. Hudson rolled to his back, his arms outstretched and beer soaking his shirt.
My heart sank as I watched him, horrified by his behavior. This was not the man I fell for, the man who swept me off my feet with his charm and charisma. This was someone else entirely, someone I didn’t even recognize. He was acting like a twenty-one-year-old frat boy.
“Hudson, why don’t we get out of here?” I said.
I didn’t know how far this was going to escalate. I didn’t want him to trash the place or embarrass himself any further. But Troy and Jessie, who were just as plastered, were no help at all, their drunken laughter ringing in my ears as I struggled to keep Hudson on his feet.
“Come on, Hudson,” I urged, wrapping an arm around his waist and trying to steer him toward the exit. “We need to get you out of here before you do something you’ll regret.”
“Give me your hand,” Troy offered. “Hold my beer, Diana.”
Troy thrust his beer in my hand and proceeded to pull Hudson to his feet. Then the two of them tried to pull Jessie up. Troy slipped on one of the crushed cups and nearly fell on his face, but Hudson was there to catch him. The three of them were laughing so hard they were crying, their drunken antics making it clear that any attempt at sobering up was long gone. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down.
“I need a new beer,” Jessie said. “I lost mine.”
“Me too,” Troy said with confusion. “I just had it.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s right here.”
Hudson was already stumbling forward, pulling Jessie and Troy along with him. He was beyond reasoning with, his words slurred and his movements unsteady as the trio looked for the ice chests.
“Hudson, let’s go,” I said.
It was like trying to wrangle a wild animal. I could feel my frustration mounting with each passing moment as I watched them open the ice chest and get themselves fresh beers. “Idiots,” I muttered.
I walked over to where my clothes were and started to pull them on. I didn’t care that my bathing suit was wet. Rachel and Abigail came over. “What’s going on?” Rachel asked.
“They’re wasted,” I said. “They destroyed the beer-pong table. I need to get Hudson out of here before he does something really stupid.”
“I think you might be too late for that,” she said. “They’re all doing stupid stuff. You know how that goes.”
I sighed, knowing she was right. The noise from the group had only grown louder. No one was paying attention to the mess they were making. I glanced over at Hudson. All I saw was a goofy, drunk grin, not the man I spent the last month getting to know.
“I’m getting him out of here,” I said with a sigh.
Abigail grimaced. “It looks like he’s having a hard time even standing.”
“You guys are going to have to help me get him in the car,” I said.
“How are you going to get him out of the car?” Rachel asked.
“Anyone have a cattle prod?” I asked. I wasn’t even sure I was joking.
“We’ll help you get him in the car,” Abigail said. “Maybe you can just leave him there until he sleeps it off.”
“Hudson, we’re leaving,” I said irritably.
He looked at me, but I wasn’t sure he was actually seeing me. I could feel a headache brewing as I took a deep breath and tried to push down my mounting frustration. The noise level had reached a deafening roar with the other drunks getting loud. I couldn’t help but feel like a fish out of water. I looked around the party, taking in the chaos that surrounded me.
I put my arm around his waist and managed to wrangle the beer from his hand. I quickly handed it off to Abigail. “We’re leaving,” I said.
“But we’re having fun,” he mumbled.
“You’ve had lots of fun,” I told him.
Rachel got on the other side of him.
“Hi, Rachel,” he said with a goofy grin. “Are you coming home with us?”
“Not on your life, big boy,” she muttered.
“Hudson, please, just don’t talk,” I said. “Let’s just get you to the car.”
He was like a dead weight as I struggled to guide him toward the car, Rachel and Abigail doing their best to keep him somewhat upright. “Seriously, how much does this dude weigh?” Rachel grunted.
It was a sight to see, three friends trying to maneuver a drunken mess through a sea of partygoers, while he just laughed and slurred his words.
“Thanks for your help, guys,” I muttered as we finally reached the car.
“No problem,” Abigail replied. “Let’s just hope he sleeps it off tonight.”
“So, we’re going home, right?” Hudson slurred, still grinning like an idiot.
“Yeah,” I said, forcing a smile. “We’re going to my house. I don’t want to drive out to your rental. I have a feeling you’re going to pass out soon.”
“Did you bring my beer?” he asked.
“No, Hudson, I didn’t bring your beer.”
“Man, I just opened it,” he complained.
I ignored his complaints and focused on the road. “If you feel like you’re going to puke, tell me. I don’t want puke in my new car.”
He chuckled. “I’m not going to puke.”
I got home and looked over at Hudson. His head was resting against the window. If he was asleep, I knew it was unlikely I was going to get him out of the car. He was just too heavy for me, and drunk sleep was not normal sleep.
“Hudson, we’re here,” I said. “Are you awake?”
He muttered something I couldn’t quite understand.
“Come on, we need to get you inside.”
He looked around. “Where are we?”
“My house,” I said, holding back my frustration. “Come on.”
I got out of the car and went around to help him out. With a great deal of effort, I managed to get him in the house. I didn’t stop moving until we were in my bedroom. He fell on the bed, arms splayed and his feet hanging over the side.
I let out a deep breath, trying to shake off the exhaustion and anger. He was barely conscious, his words slurring together as he carried on and on about how beautiful I was. Part of me wanted to laugh at his drunken ramblings, but another part felt a pang of sadness at the sight of him in this state.
I managed to get his shoes off but there was no way I was going to get him out of his clothes. He was like a blob of really dense Jello.
He reached out to me, his touch gentle but unsteady, as he tried to pull me into bed with him. I couldn’t help but smile at his playful antics, even as I gently pushed him away. “I’m going to get you some water,” I said.
“Come to bed,” he said, his eyes closed with a goofy grin on his face. “I want you naked.”
“You wouldn’t know what to do if I was naked,” I retorted.
“Oh yeah I would.” He laughed. “Come here. Let’s find out.”
“You need to sleep, Hudson,” I said softly. “You’ve had too much to drink.”
I went to get him some water, knowing it would probably do very little to ward off the headache he was going to have in the morning. With some effort, I managed to get him to take a sip of water before he passed out, almost immediately snoring. I watched him for a moment and wondered what I was doing. The events of the evening replayed in my mind like a broken record. I couldn’t help but wonder how it all went so sideways so quickly. We had just talked about all of this, about the importance of him behaving himself at Troy’s party, and yet here we were, dealing with the aftermath of his drunken escapades.
Tomorrow, I was supposed to be introducing Hudson to my parents for the first time. I can’t help but worry about what that will bring. Will he be able to keep it together, or will he end up embarrassing himself and me in front of my family?
I just wasn’t sure how I could keep doing this with him. Eighty percent of the time with him was good, but this kind of thing bothered me. It worried me. I knew he was trying so hard to leave that part of his life behind, but it wasn’t working. I didn’t know if I could help him.