Page 95 of Game On
I’ll be fine
Ella:
I mean, yes. it’s nothing
And then my phone rings, slicing through the quiet as Hudson’s name flashes on the screen. My pulse stumbles, then steadies. I hesitate for a heartbeat before answering.
“Hey,” I murmur.
There’s a pause, then his voice fills the room, deep and reassuring. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah.” I press my hand to my chest, the warmth of his attention creating a knot of something sweet and heavy in my stomach. “Just a bit shook-up is all.”
“What happened?”
I bite down on my lip, wrestling with the decision to tell him. It’s a bit out of our wheelhouse, though things have shifted between us lately. “I … it’s no big deal.”
“I know you well enough to know when you’re lying to me,” Hudson says, his voice like gravel.
“Fine. Strong-arm me into it.” I give a humorless laugh. “Jamie stopped by the day Gabi left. He was … pretty insistent on sticking around Whitland once he learned I’d be here.Now I’m just … I don’t know. It’s not that he’s a scary guy. He’s never been violent around me, but there’s something desperate about him.”
“He knows you’re there alone?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“You should leave,” he says, his voice sharp. “Come to Texas. I didn’t like the idea of you being alone all break, anyway. And right now, I really fucking hate it.”
“Hudson, I can’t.”
“You can,” he argues. “Get a one-way. We’ll drive down to NOLA for the Sugar Bowl and then head back after the new year.”
The Sugar Bowl—that was the big news from the day after the party, the result of Selection Saturday. Whitland’s been chosen to play against the Chargers—one of the Big 12—on New Year’s Day. It’s a big deal, not just for the players but for all of us on the cheer squad, too. An honor and a challenge.
And now, maybe, a timely escape.
“Hudson,” I say quietly.
“Darlin’, same rules go for you. Quit saying my name unless you’re tryin’ to tell me you’re in love with me.”
“Fuck you, Fox,” I tell him, but the words are soft, lacking any real heat.
“You already have,” he says coolly. “Look, I’m gonna call Harlen and tell him to head over to your place. He’s still on campus, and you shouldn’t be alone with your creep of an ex out there. Harlen can sit outside your apartment tonight. He’ll stay in his car if you don’t want to let him in.”
“That’s far from necessary,” I protest, though a part of me is relieved by the offer.
“Come on. Just do me this one thing.”
“What if I take the first flight out in the morning?” I suggest with a soft sigh. “Harlen can give me a lift to the airport. But that’s it.”
He’s quiet for a while, and then, “Okay, it’s a deal.”
