Page 38 of The Sweetest Cruelty: Hudson (A Sawyer Brothers Story #1)

So, Harper Radcliffe proceeded to message me for most of that evening, and I finally caved and agreed that I would go with her.

When I told my father about the party, I played it down by describing it as a few juniors from school having a house barbecue.

I could tell from the sceptical tilt of his head that he already knew about it.

And why wouldn’t he? He was the principal of the same school those ‘juniors’ attended, and he had eyes and ears everywhere.

My peers had been talking about Straker’s bash for days, so it wasn’t surprising that the staff were also in the know.

“I was your age once,” Dad explained when I’d first mentioned it.

Feigning a nonchalance, I wasn’t feeling I’d shrugged. “I don’t even know if I want to go yet.”

That was a lie, although I hadn’t been bothered when Laura and Lilly mentioned it, or when Storm brought it up.

I filed away the details so I could unpick them and make an informed decision later.

When Harper explained that Hudson would be there, it had sealed the deal, and I’d messaged her earlier to tell her I would go. If my father would let me.

Don’t tell him . Harper had messaged back.

“Why wouldn’t you want to go?” Dad popped out, interrupting my thoughts with a troubled frown.

Shrugging, I pointed out. “I won’t know anyone.” It was reverse psychology at its best, and it worked. Old people could be so gullible.

“Well, if I did agree to it, who would you go with? I wouldn’t want you to go alone,” Dad said.

I kept it breezy. “A friend from school asked me. Do you know Harper Radcliffe?”

Her name caused my father to purse his lips before he muttered. “I do.”

“Anyway. Maybe I’ll just catch up on school work instead.”

My feigned indifference hit the spot as his face relaxed, and he added. “I think you should drop by for a few hours anyway. It will be good for you to mix with other kids, have some fun. You spend way too much time in your room. However,” Dad emphasised the however. “I do have some rules. ”

My father then gave me a shopping list of everything I could and couldn’t do.

No alcohol, no going off with strange boys.

He wanted the address of where the party was being held, and I was to activate Find My Phone on my mobile.

The curfew he gave me was that I was to be home by midnight, and that I wasn’t to accept a lift from strangers.

I managed to dodge the bullet of his offer to drive us there and back, saying that Harper and I would get an Uber.

Dad then gave me a full-blown five-minute lecture about stranger danger. I also wasn’t to leave my drink anywhere unattended, and I was to always stay with Harper. He then asked a question which caught me off guard.

“Do you know if the Sawyer brothers are going?”

Shit. I had struggled with my reply, and so glossed over my association. “Probably. Why?”

“One of Harper’s foster brothers, Hudson, is trouble,” he announced in a firm voice. It shouldn’t have bothered me as much as it did, but I couldn’t stop myself from correcting him.

“Do you mean Hudson Gage?” My attempt to sound puzzled backfired and I wanted to suck the words back in. I had let it slip that I knew Hudson’s surname, which suggested I took an interest. And I did, but I didn’t want my father to know that.

His face darkened. “Yes. I don’t know all the details, but I respect Bethany Sawyer.

She has done a lot of good things for this community and is responsible for changing the lives of loads of kids.

However, not everyone can be fixed. The jury is still out on Harper.

She seems like a sweet girl, and I am giving her the benefit of the doubt.

But Hudson is broken beyond repair.” The way he said that sounded like he had tried to fix Hudson and had failed. The regret in his voice was clear.

“They don’t have that much to do with each other from what she’s said,” I muttered, playing down their association.

“They still live in the same house, Molly,” Dad replied with a dry look.

I pointed out. “But they don’t move in the same social circles.”

“Indeed.”

My father’s comments made me want to know more. It was time I knew exactly what I was dealing with. Hudson’s father was in prison, and I was now determined to find out why.

“What makes you think Hudson is broken beyond repair?” I’d echoed back .

My father’s expression switched when I asked that question. It must have sent alarm bells off in his head as he realised that he’d given me too much information. Student, teacher confidentiality had almost gone to shit.

And now I knew that the rift between Hudson and my father went both ways.

Dad backpedalled. “That’s confidential, but what I can say is that he is a product of his childhood.

I’m not going to tell you to stay away from him as I know you’re a good judge of character and you can make your own choices about who you associate with, but I would warn you to give him a wide berth. One day, that boy will crash and burn.”

“Crash and burn?”

“Yes, and I just hope he doesn’t take anyone else with him.” He muttered that last sentence partly to himself.

In the end, I agreed to my father’s over-the-top decree. Well, apart from the Hudson part. His comments had only put more fuel on the fire. But his other rules were not so different to my own.

It wasn’t like it would be my first party either.

I attended a few in England before my mother died.

After peer pressure from friends, I had tried an alcopop drink that they raved about and thought it tasted revolting.

So, I wasn’t the type of teenager to get shitfaced and hang around the local park.

That type of behaviour had loser stamped all over it.

Later that night, I sat at my desk on my laptop and looked for news stories connected to the name Gage, but there was nothing.

It was a popular surname in Rhode Island, and several articles appeared, but nothing relating to crimes which would put a man in prison.

The pool of information was just too wide for my net.

I finally fell asleep, my mind full of unanswered questions, but the main recurring theme was all about Hudson Gage.

*****

On the morning of the day of the much-talked-about party, I dragged myself out of bed feeling exhausted. As I left my room and padded downstairs in my PJs, I could hear voices coming from the kitchen.

Harper was there talking to my father. They were laughing, getting on great.

As I appeared, she reminded me that we were going shopping together .

OK, Harper hadn’t said anything about that last night when I’d messaged her about Nash’s party to say I was in.

The next twenty minutes could have been considered torture, but I didn’t have time to catch my breath. I was pushed into the bathroom, instructed to take a shower, and whatever else I needed as Harper raided my wardrobe.

As I reappeared, feeling slightly fresher, wrapped in a towel, Harper had taken out matching underwear, skinny black jeans, and a pale blue shirt.

“Come on, clothes on and let’s motor,” she called, making me feel thoroughly harassed. My eyes narrowed as she strolled over to my ensuite bathroom.

“Why are you going in there?”

Harper turned at the door and grinned, “What? You want an actual number?”

So gross. Her smile turned meatier as she saw my semi-repulsed face. “Will you relax? I need to pee. Get dressed already. The mall has been open for hours, and there’s a sale on. All the good stuff will be gone if you don’t get a move on.”

Of course, the mall. My favourite place. NOT!

And that is how I spent the next two hours, being dragged around what felt like every shop by Harper. We tried clothes on, chatted about girly stuff, and although reluctant at first, I had a blast. It was nice to be a normal sixteen-year-old girl again.

We’d also had lunch together. Considering she was so slight, Harper had a big appetite. She introduced me to what had to be the best milkshake I had ever tasted. It was called an Awful Awful. It cost ten dollars, but it was worth it.

When we got back to my place, we both emptied our shopping bags. I had purchased a couple of dresses, some jeans, and a gold bikini.

We both went through our stuff, and for the first time in months, I felt like a real teenager. We hung out by the pool for a while before starting to get ready.

I had decided that for Straker’s hyped-up party, I would make the effort. I had spent my time in the USA so far like a square peg pushing herself into a round hole. I knew I didn’t need people to like me to graduate. But if they didn’t, the next two years would feel like forever.

It was time for this girl to fit the hell in.

At bang on six, Harper got a message on her phone to say that Nick and his brother were parked around the corner, and we made our way downstairs. Dad caught us at the bottom, eyeing my appearance with a crooked smile. I wasn’t sure what that meant.

“Won’t you be cold?” He queried with an uncomfortable look at my short black dress .

“Sir, it’s boiling out. Look at the sunshine,” Harper replied. I found it funny that she called my father, Sir, at his house.

He held his hands up in surrender. “OK, OK, fine. Just have fun, but please be safe and look out for each other.”

“You bet, Mr Miller.”

We left the house and walked down the drive and around the corner. Xander’s white Audi was idling at the side of the curb. The windows were down, and Nick was sitting shotgun. He whistled as we approached, and Harper beamed at me.

“You look stunning, ladies,” he said, jumping out of the car and opening the back door for us. It was all very chivalrous. It was the first time any man had opened a door for me, although I knew it was really for Harper’s benefit.

As the soft leather hit the backs of my legs, I smiled at Xander. He had his hands resting on the wheel and caught my eye through the rearview mirror.

“I must admit, I’m regretting my decision not to go,” he grunted.