Chapter 8
EIGHT
Hazel
I have no idea what to do. All I do know is I can’t tell the doctors I’m sick because of a broken heart. I can’t waste their time.
That leaves me only one option.
As soon as Hudson rounds the corner, looking for the vending machine, I leap to my feet and approach the front desk with my forms.
“I’m feeling much better. I don’t need to be seen,” I tell the nurse.
She opens her mouth, I’m sure to convince me to stay, but I turn and rush toward the door before she can get a word out.
I make it out and breathe a sigh of relief as I speed walk back to my apartment.
I know I don’t have much time before Hudson returns and notices I’m gone.
Hopefully, he’ll think I went to the bathroom or got called to be seen by the doctor.
That will buy me a bit of time to get home and lock myself away in my apartment.
Then I hear heavy footsteps on the sidewalk behind me.
“No!” I shout when I see Hudson’s murderous face as he chases after me.
I run, zig-zagging off the sidewalk to cut through a park.
But it’s no use. His much longer legs allow him to catch up to me in seconds.
“You’re being seen by the doctor, you stubborn little angel,” he growls into my ear, banding his arms around me and lifting me off my feet.
“I’m fine!” I yell, embarrassed when I realize I’m crying.
I hang my head, trying to block his view of my face, but he must be able to hear it in my voice.
Hudson sets me down gently, never releasing his grip on me. He turns me in his arms, and I bury my face in his chest. I can’t let him see me cry.
“My stomach is fine. I’m fine,” I mumble against his shirt.
His hands rub soothing circles on my back, and he takes a deep breath. “I need to be sure, Hazel.”
“Why?” I snap, stepping back and swiping at my tears as I glare up at him.
Hudson meets my glare with one of his own. He closes the distance between us and bends down, his nose almost brushing against mine.
“Why?” he growls. “Because I’ve finally convinced you to be mine! I’m not letting anything bad happen to you. Do you know what it would do to me if you were hurt? Fuck, Hazel! You didn’t answer my texts for three hours, and I just about lost my mind. I can’t let you be sick or in pain or—”
“I’m not!”
“You said you were sick!”
“I lied!”
I suck in a deep breath, realizing that we’re standing in a peaceful park, shouting at each other.
“Hazel,” he groans, rubbing at his forehead. “Please, baby. Just let the doctor take a look at you.”
“I’m not sick. I just need to go home,” I tell him, trying to sound calm.
“Why?”
I look up into his dark eyes, wondering how much I should tell him. A storm swirls in those blue depths, and I bite my lip, deciding that I have nothing to lose.
“I love you,” I rasp.
He freezes.
I’m debating how far I can run before he catches me again when he grabs me and slams his mouth down onto mine.