Page 106 of Truth or Dare

“He wanted to rape me,” I whispered, turning my head to look at the wall.

“Braddock had your pants open. I slammed into him to get him off you. He was choking you.”

I reached up to touch my neck. It still hurt and I avoided the mirror when I went to the bathroom. My heart swelled. Even after all this time, I was still in love with Hudson. But just because he saved me didn’t mean he felt the same way. He glanced at his watch.

“I should leave,” he said. “Visiting hours are over.”

He leaned down and pressed his lips to my temple, lingering for a few seconds before he pulled away. He left me in a cloud of his woodsy cologne and the subtle scent of cigarettes.

“Thank you,” I called to him.

Hudson smiled before he stepped out the door.

My name echoed,muffled and distant, as though carried through water. It barely reached me, dulled by the ache in every fiber of my body. Before I could open my eyes, memories surgedback—violent, unrelenting, like a flood breaching a dam. Evan. The woods. His hands gripping me, clawing at my skin.

I winced, the light piercing through my closed lids sharp and unrelenting. It felt like an unwelcome intruder, dragging me away from the edge of unconsciousness where I longed to stay. Forcing my eyes open, I saw her—my mother, seated at my bedside, wringing her hands.

“Mom…” My voice cracked, barely more than a croak.

Her head snapped up, her tear-filled eyes locking onto mine. “Presley,” she whispered, reaching for my hand. Her skin was cold against my own chilled fingers, but I curled them around her’s anyway, clinging to the comfort. A glance down revealed dirt caked under my nails, a grim reminder of what had happened.

I tried to lighten the suffocating weight between us. “The one time I go out…”

Her tears came harder, spilling in an unstoppable flood as she pressed a trembling hand to her face.

“Mom, please,” I begged, fumbling for tissues from the box beside me and thrusting them toward her.

She dabbed at her cheeks, her voice stern despite the quiver in it. “It’s not a joke, Presley.”

“It wasn’t meant to be,” I replied softly, my tone carrying the heaviness of truth.

The memories were vivid now, etched into my mind. Yet one question burned brighter than the others. “Who stopped him?” I asked, my voice shaking.

My mother’s gaze faltered, but Neil stirred on the couch in the corner. “He’s in fucking jail,” he muttered, sitting up and rubbing his bloodshot eyes.

Dad, who had been dozing beside Neil, leaned forward with a solemn expression. “The detectives will want your statement. They need your side of the story.”

I shifted in the bed, wincing at the sharp ache in my ribs. “When?”

“Tomorrow,” my father said, his voice heavy with a mixture of relief and tension.

A nurse in green scrubs entered, her polite smile not quite masking the weariness in her eyes. “I’ll need to check her vitals,” she said, ushering my family out. As soon as she finished, my exhaustion overwhelmed me, dragging me back into the dark. The last thing I felt was the faint press of lips on my forehead.

The followingday blurred into a carousel of activity—police questioning, visits from friends and family, and stretches of restless sleep. Yet one absence nagged at me: Reagan. She’d pushed me to go out that night. Shouldn’t she be here?

By evening, I was alone, the hospital quieting as visiting hours wound down. My eyelids grew heavy when a familiar scent washed over me—woodsy and warm, tinged with cigarettes. Gentle fingers brushed my hair from my face, tracing the bruise on my cheek. I stirred, blinking, and there he was.

“H...Hudson?” I whispered, my voice breaking on his name.

He smiled faintly, dragging a plastic chair to my bedside. “Hey, Presley.”

I stared at him, stunned. We hadn’t spoken in months. “Why are you here?” I asked, my voice barely audible.

He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “I had to see you. Make sure you were okay.”

A shiver rippled through me. “I might not have been—if someone hadn’t saved me.”

Hudson’s brows furrowed, a flicker of guilt crossing his face. “No one told you?”

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