Page 47 of Twisted Heathens
“Brooklyn! We’ve been so worried,” Kade rushes out.
I can see his hands clenching, itching to reach out and touch her. I know that feeling all too well. Her head ducks down, ignoring our presence as she continues scrabbling with the door, hands still trembling violently.
Kade exchanges a look with me. “What’s going on?”
I shrug, lost for words. All that stress, two weeks of sleepless nights and guilt… and she doesn’t even want to see us. What happened down there? She’s changed. None of the spirit and fire is there, just this defeated shell trying to push us away.
“I don’t want to see you guys,” Brooklyn mutters.
“Give me the key card,” I demand, trying to snag it from her trembling fingers. “Give it to me now!”
She tries to fight me off. “No! Fuck off, Nix.”
“Give me the goddamn card, Brooke. This is ridiculous.”
Stubborn as hell, she denies me again. Kade and I are suddenly shoved aside, Hudson’s patience expiring. He swiftly plucks the card from Brooklyn’s grasp and unlocks the door, tucking it into his back pocket. Before she can finish getting the insult out, he scoops her small body up, crushing her to his chest.
“Put me down! Damn asshole,” she yells.
“Shut up and do as you are fucking told,” he bites back.
Storming into the room, we follow hot on his heels. Kade seems slightly aghast at the rough handling as he slams the door shut. Hudson deposits Brooklyn on the bed, where she lands with a gasp. She continues to struggle against him as he tightly tucks her in.
“What part of don’t ever touch me again do you not understand?”
Hudson shakes his head, clearly exasperated. “I never agreed to that bullshit and you know it. Stop acting like a child.”
“You’re right, I shouldn’t be surprised,” Brooklyn says, voice dripping with acid. “Consent never meant much to you anyway.”
Hudson flinches, deliberately avoiding looking at us. I can almost see the shame crawling over his face as he looks away from us all, hiding from judgement. The hell is she talking about? What exactly did he do?
“Touch me again and next time, I’ll aim for your heart,” she promises darkly. “Final fucking warning, Hud.”
“Give it a rest. Hate me tomorrow, just let us check you’re okay.”
“Please,” Kade adds emphatically.
Considering for a long, hate-filled second, Brooklyn eventually nods and sinks back into the pillows. “I’m fine. Just tired, okay?”
“No, not okay. We haven’t seen you for two whole weeks. Going to need more than that,” I grit out. The need to shake her increases, to make her understand what’s happening here. We can’t just be pushed away like this.
“Just drop it.” She’s looking at me now, begging with her eyes.
Nobody gets what they want with me. I take pleasure in rejection. But immediately, I want to relent just to make her happy. She looks like shit, but it’s what lies beneath the surface that concerns me, something we’ll have to carefully draw out of her.
“Maybe we should just let her rest,” I concede.
“No way,” Hudson retorts.
She shoots him a glower that silences any further comments, her cold stare making even me shiver. “You are the last person I want here. Learn when you’re not wanted.”
“I’m not walking away,” Hudson insists.
Brooklyn glares at him. “Didn’t stop you before.”
“I never meant to hurt you, blackbird.”
Fat tears run down her face as she seems to grow even angrier. “You didn’t, huh?” She shakes her head in disbelief, managing to sit up. “I don’t want your excuses or apologies, Hud. I never did.”