Page 68 of Wicked Temptations
I’m so sorry you got hurt.
Do you need anything?
Jude, please let me know if you’re okay.
I’m sorry, Jude. Can we talk?
They made me feel like someone had reached inside my chest and squeezed; ripped my heart out and then filled the cavity with lead. I’d read them maybe fifty times, repeated them out loud until I knew them word for word and could hear them in Ash’s voice.
But I couldn’t bring myself to respond.
What was there to say? That I wasn’t all right? That I was sorry too? That I’d fucked everything up, my body included, because I was too scared to admit what I actually wanted? That watching him walk away after our fight had felt like losing something I never really had in the first place?
None of it mattered now, anyway. The season was over for me. Done and dusted. Life at Ridgeway just kept rolling forward likeI’d never existed, and if Ash came back next year, then we’d be little more than strangers with a patchy history.
Boredom and self-pity were a toxic mix, and I reached for the phone, opening Instagram even though I knew I shouldn’t. My feed was a minefield of well-meaning concern and casual cruelty packaged in pixels and hashtags. Hundreds of people had tagged me in posts, some even tagging me in the video of my fall. That was sick, so I ignored those and tried to focus on the good.
Get well soon, Jude! Healing vibes! Hope you’re back next year!
Next.Fucking.Year.
Of course, buried among the kindness were the other comments. The ones that cut deeper because, for good or bad, they were honest about what I actually meant to them. Some cared, but most just wanted their voices to be heard over the chaos.
@needmoremocchiWhere is Jude? If I’d known he wasn’t performing, I wouldn’t have bothered buying tickets.
@Stacy33Is he coming back or what? The replacement isn’t nearly as good.
@HomewithJessRIP to the hottest Hunter. Scream Scene just isn’t the same without him.
Past tense. Like I was already dead.
I scrolled past them, jaw tight, looking for the thing I absolutely should not be looking for. It didn’t take long to find.
Video footage from last night’s show. Someone had captured the fight sequence in the main zone, all dramatic lighting, and theatrical violence, and of course it featured Ash. Front and center. Still performing as if nothing had changed.
He even had a new partner. Simon.
Fucking Simon.
That was cruel of me to think, and I felt bad the moment I did, but I was in pain and dosed up on meds, so I gave myself a free pass.
I knew Simon—liked him, even. He’d been with the Hunters program since last season, and he was a solid performer with good instincts and the kind of physical presence that made him perfect for the more aggressive characters. It didn’t matter that he was one of the kindest, most genuine people; he just looked the part. He was bigger than Ash, with way more bulk. Simon was the kind of guy who looked like he could actually break someone in half if he wanted to.
Which, apparently, was exactly what the fans wanted.
The comments section was a cesspool of thirsty observations that made my teeth grind.
@fun_alone96Simon could fold Ash like a lawn chair and I’d pay to watch.
@KPDHForget Jude, THIS is the pairing we needed all along.
@45845154The chemistry between these two is INSANE. More Simon/Ash content please!
@ShipYaArt#Simash #SmutArt.
Great. They even had a ship name.
I watched the clip three more times. Watched Simon grab Ash around the waist and haul him backward. Watched as Ash struggled and twisted in his grip, all controlled aggression and theatrical fury. I watched them grapple on the platform before the lights cut to red and they disappeared into the smoke, vowing to find each other again before midnight.
