Page 105 of Truth or Dare

I plucked a few tissues from a box sitting on a small table next to me, handing them to her.

“It’s not a joke, Presley,” she said sternly as she wipes her nose.

“It wasn’t meant to be,” I said seriously.

I remembered everything, every detail but what I don’t know is who saved me. Who stopped the assault?

“Where is he?” I asked.

“In fucking jail,” Neil said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

My mother usually chastised us for cursing but she let it go, nodding.

“The detectives want to talk to you, get your side of the story,” my father said, coming to my bedside.

I shifted and winced. “When?”

“Tomorrow.”

The nurse came into the room, a young woman wearing green scrubs. She politely asked my family to step out while she checked my vitals. I couldn’t keep my eyes open by the time she finished and the last thing I remember was someone pressing their lips to my forehead.

The following day was a merry go round of sleeping, questioning by the police and visits from friends and family. Notably absent was Reagan, which I found peculiar. She was the one who talked me into going out and you think she would be the first in line to see me.

I would spend one more day in the hospital since my vision was fuzzy and they wanted to be sure it was clearing. All my tests were normal except for a mild concussion and the bite marks Evan sliced into my skin. The one on my shoulder was so deep that I was sure I would have a permanent scar.

There was still the mystery of who saved me. No one was saying anything and I didn’t ask through all the visits, gifts and jokes but I was still curious. Evan never would’ve stopped his assault if someone hadn’t saved me. I could see the lust in his eyes. He wanted to succeed in his plan to rape me and maybe injure me beyond recognition. There was a sickness inside him.

At the end of visiting hours, I was dozing. A familiar but infrequent scent filled my nose as my hair was brushed from my face. Calloused fingers gently traced the bruise on my cheek and my eyes fluttered open to see Hudson standing by my bed. He smiled.

“H…hi,” I whispered.

I never expected to see him since we hadn’t been in contact for months. He pulled one of the gray plastic chairs to my bedside and sat down.

“I’m glad to see you’re okay,” he said.

“I might not have been if someone didn’t save me.”

Hudson raised his eyebrows. “No one told you?”

I frowned and it made my head ache. “Tell me what?”

“I…I save you. I beat the shit out of him.”

I sucked in a breath. “But how?”

He ran his fingers down my arm, careful to avoid the bruises. Goosebumps peppered my skin.

“I didn’t trust him. He couldn’t stop looking at you and when you walked off toward the woods, he followed.”

I swallowed hard as a pit settled in my stomach. “I didn’t notice him.”

Hudson’s face clouded. “I did. When he got to the edge of the woods, I followed. Reagan tried to stop me, hanging all over me. She’s not your friend and I think she had something to do with it.”

I shuddered. Reagan had always been jealous of me. She wanted what I had rather than forge her own path but I never thought she would go that far.

“She hasn’t visited me,” I said quietly.

“I wish I got there quicker. He already hurt you by the time I found him. I couldn’t stop myself, I didn’t want to.”

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