Page 63 of Beyond the Darkness
“What?No, please.”
He wiped his eyes.Shook his head.“I can’t do this.”His chest was unbelievably tight.It felt like he was being crushed.“It’s just… I’m sorry, Luke.But it’s over.I can’t go on.”
Before Luke could stop him, before he could change his mind and take the words back, Hudson turned and hurried away.He didn’t look back.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Luke
Luke wanted to run after him.To beg, plead and convince Hudson that he’d gotten everything wrong.That Amber and Corman had only given him a fragment of the story.
But he stayed glued to the spot, heavy with the weight of what had just occurred.What had been said.
Hudson was right.Not about Luke or what had occurred nine years ago in that high-rise apartment in Leeds, but about the show.Hudson had to stay focused onDarkest Blueand make it his priority.To overcome this stress and be ready for the first preview tomorrow.The official opening night was just days away, when the nation’s theatre critics would be in attendance, looking for excuses to eviscerate the production.Luke hoped he would be there too, to give Hudson—and the entire cast and crew—the acclaim they deserved, but for now, the best thing he could do was allow him some space.
Himself too.
He also needed time to think.
Luke felt a chilling shiver run through him, despite the warmth of the summer evening.His emotions were threatening to engulf him.Everything had been going so well with Hudson, but suddenly a chasm had opened between them.How had it come to this?
Surely Hudson didn’t seriously believe he’d had anything to do with Julian’s death.Hudson was overwrought, consumed by strain and the moronic doubts Amber and Corman had put into this head.What a pair of fucking idiots.Were they so wrapped up in their podcast ratings that they were prepared to derail the play just to put out an episode that would get people talking?
Depressingly, the answer to that was yes.
Luke turned away from the river.He wouldn’t go after Hudson now.Maybe in the morning he would chance a phone call, but tonight they were both too angry to talk this through any more than they had.He’d learned through painful experience that nothing was resolved in anger.
He walked past the two women who had asked Hudson for a photograph.Noticed the way they were looking at him.He ignored them.Ignored everyone, forging a direct route to where he had left his car.Hudson was struggling under the pressure of so many people wanting a piece of him.He needed a break.Luke didn’t blame the selfie hunters.People like that were the ones who bought tickets and decided the ultimate fate of any show, whether it ran or folded early.
He groaned as he walked.The pain in his chest was real.It seemed to fill his ribcage.Made his breathing difficult.His heart hurt.
Luke had known that he was falling in love with Hudson all along.Neither of them had ever said as much.It was only now, after their first genuine argument, that he realised how profound his emotions had become.And turning away from him created a hurt he had not foreseen.
Luke adored Hudson.He’d been a fan of his long before the chance of sitting in onDarkest Bluehad ever arisen.He’d always found him handsome on screen, but when he’d first seen him in a live stage show several years earlier, he’s realised how incredibly sexy he was.The cameras did not do justice to his smouldering good looks.But it was more than physical appearance.Hudson had a charm, an intense charisma that was intoxicating and could only be appreciated in person.
Luke had been crushed when Hudson had rejected him that night in The Blue Pearl.He’d built up the meeting so much in his mind beforehand.He’d spied him across the bar having drinks with Julian King and had deliberated for a long time whether to approach them.Luke was no celebrity hound.When he recognised an actor outside of work, he valued their privacy and left them in peace.But he’d been so captivated by Hudson and overcome with excitement.It hadn’t seemed like anything bad to introduce himself before he left.
Hudson’s rebuff had been like a punch in the guts.
He’d had no clue that he hated journalists so much.Plenty of famous people did, but the vitriol of Hudson’s attack seemed so personal.
And then in the days afterwards, when Luke had managed to thaw the ice between them, and started to melt his heart, Julian had been killed.
And now Hudson suspected he might have been responsible.
“Fucking hell,” he muttered.The idea of that was insane.
Luke hadn’t lied to him.He didn’t know Julian in any personal way.They certainly hadn’t ever been lovers.The notion was ridiculous.Even if he had known Julian was bisexual, he still would not have been interested in him.
Luke crossed the road and made towards the alley where he had left the car.He passed by The Blue Pearl where he should have been having dinner with Hudson tonight.There would be other opportunities, he assured himself.His relationship with Hudson had gotten off to a difficult start and they’d overcome it.Luke was determined to win him over again.
The bar was busy.Lively music came through the open doors and windows.
This wasn’t the time to dwell on what he was missing out on.
He was forced to step aside as two couples came along the pavement towards him with no intention of giving way.The man and woman in front showed a faint smile of gratitude as they passed.They second couple didn’t even look at him.
But the man caught Luke’s attention.
