Page 125 of The New Guy
“Ugh. Connecticut ishuge.”
I guess geography isn’t taught in the second grade. But maybe they’ll get around to it in third.
“Can we stop for a soda and chips?” she whines.
“Seltzer water,” I bargain. “And pretzels.”
“Okay,” she mumbles. “Fine.”
I let the lack of gratitude go, and point the rental toward a roadside rest stop. There are lots of families gassing up and ferrying children to the bathroom.
Jordyn is too old to go into the men’s room with me, so I stand right outside the ladies’ room and wait for her. My phone rings, and it’s Hudson, probably wondering when I’m going to get home.
“Hi!” I say, answering the call. “We’re somewhere in Connecticut. Want to have dinner later?” There’s only silence on the phone, though. “Hudson? Did I lose you?”
He answers me in a broken voice. “Yeah. You did.”
“What?” Icy chills roll down my back. “What are you saying?”
“I’m headed to the airport in an hour.”
“Why? To go where?”
“Back to Colorado. I got traded.”
Wait, what? “That’s not possible. Tell me this is a joke.”
In the ensuing silence, my heart slides down my throat. “It’s real,” he finally says.
“But…” My head spins. “Now what?”
More silence. And then, “Now nothing. It’s over, Gavin. I get on another plane and I leave everything behind. The end. I’m sorry.”
Then he hangs up.
FORTY-THREE
Hudson
I’mnumb as I pack my suitcase.
Really numb. Dead inside.
I pack on autopilot. Workout gear. Shoes. Suits. Toiletries. IDs and financial documents. That’s all a guy needs to start his life over again.
I should know. I’ve done this before. I could go pro.
My phone is buried deep inside my carry-on. My father’s calls unanswered. I can’t talk to him right now. That ass was right about the trade rumors, and I didn’t believe him.
Now a car is coming for me in the next ten minutes.
Someone is suddenly banging on my door. “Hudson? You in there?” And my heart bottoms out.
Gavin.
Swear to Christ, I almost don’t answer it. Saying goodbye to him might kill me. I wasthisclose to having the life I wanted.
Or maybe I was just fooling myself the whole time.
