Page 64 of The Sweetest Cruelty: Hudson (A Sawyer Brothers Story #1)

As we made our way through the corridors, following the other students, I asked where Reed, Phoenix, and Harper were.

Hudson said Reed brought Storm into school and that Nix was staying home with Harper.

She had been receiving messages from Nicholas Creed about the drugs.

He explained that the others had agreed that the drugs should be disposed of, without the Creeds knowing who took them.

There was then no evidence that the Sawyers were involved.

Again, I was torn as to who had injured Micah.

As Hudson and I climbed the steps of the stand that had been set out in the gym for a whole school gathering, we found Storm and Reed. They were sitting together at the back, and we joined them.

Kids were staring at us, or should I say at Hudson, and a few said how sorry they were to hear about Micah.

Reed and Hudson bumped fists, and I gave Storm a nod. She mouthed ‘Are you OK?’ and I gave her a reassuring smile. I still wasn’t. I had a churning feeling in my stomach.

Something wasn’t right. I felt strange in the car when my father drove us to school. I knew I should blame what happened on Friday for that, but it wasn’t that. There was something else going on. It was almost like I was on display, being watched.

It was probably from all the attention we were getting, but it still didn’t sit well with me.

Everyone went quiet as my father and some other teachers entered the gym. He walked up to the podium and addressed the school.

He was so strong and confident. The level of stress he was under must have been immense, and I knew he hadn’t slept for most of the weekend. One of his students had been hurt, and he, too, seemed to carry a level of blame.

I leaned my head against Hudson as my father started speaking.

“Settle down, quieten down please,” our principal began, waving his hands to calm everyone down. The atmosphere was thick with suspense.

“I want to start by congratulating our team on winning the game against St Andrew’s on Friday night.

You boys played well and showed real courage.

Courage, pride, and determination,” he said over the mic, and the gym exploded with kids whooping and fist-pumping the air.

“Don’t cheer that—silence—I said silence.

Let me finish.” Because of social media and news of Micah’s attack going viral, most kids knew about it, but not everyone did.

We all went quiet as my father carried on .

“As most of you will be aware. Team courage, team pride, and team determination can lead to gang rivalry.

The police call what happened to one of ours on Friday night a terrifying display of aggression.

I know you will all join me in wishing Micah a speedy recovery in the hospital.

Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.

We have extra counsellors on campus today.

If anyone feels they need special support after what has happened, please make an appointment.

I would also ask that if anyone is aware of any information that could assist the police in finding the perpetrator or details of what happened leading up to the incident, please speak to a member of staff. I will be meeting with the police later today.”

He took a brief pause, and then his tone became firm, his expression intense.

“Now, I wasn’t born yesterday. I’ve seen social media and the anger brewing over this incident. I also know that school rivalry can run deep.

You are all to allow the police to handle this situation and not take matters into your own hands.

There is to be no retaliation. There is no evidence at this time to say who was responsible. Do not make assumptions. I am calling upon you all…. To show real courage and WALK away.

Our motto at The Heights is Knowledge is Power and at this moment, we do not have that knowledge. Not until the police have concluded their investigations and brought those responsible to justice.

I say again. Let the law handle this. I will not defend retaliatory behaviour. Is that clear?”

The sea of nodding heads and a chorus of yes, sir could be heard.

As my father left and the staff followed behind him, Coach Rutherford stepped up to the microphone.

“OK, people, you heard him. Everyone, go to your first period. If you need to see a counsellor, please arrange an appointment through the member of staff you have for period one. Dismissed.”

I turned to Hudson, realising he wasn’t in his school uniform, and neither was Reed.

“We’re going to the hospital to see Micah. Then we have some business to attend to. I’ll pick you up after school,” he explained. Did he mean the business of disposing of the drugs, or visiting St Andrew’s? I suddenly felt regret that I hadn’t shared my thoughts about who could have stabbed Micah.

The stand became noisy as students started to leave the gym. Storm and Reed pushed to their feet .

I grabbed Hudson’s hand. “Please, Hudson. Take care and be safe. I can’t be dealing with any more shit right now.”

He stood, taking me with him.

“Don’t worry, Molly. I’m going to take care of it. Make this shit right.”

“You aren’t going to do anything to anyone from St Andrew’s, are you?”

“Like what?” he questioned as he took my hand.

Reed chipped in from behind us. “Don’t worry. We’ve all had words.”

“I’ve said I won’t do shit. But if the pigs don’t find the cunt that stuck Micah, I may have to make a few inquiries.”

His words did not make me feel any better, and my shoulders slumped.

When we got to the bottom of the stairs, Hudson turned me in his arms and kissed me softly on the lips.

When he lifted his head, he nodded at Storm. “Look after her, Storm. Don’t let me down.”

Storm nodded and placed her arm around my shoulders, no longer the mean girl. “Come on, Mols, let’s leave the boys to do their shit. I’ll walk you to class.”

“Keep your phone on,” I said to Hudson over my shoulder. “We need to stay in contact with each other. We don’t know what’s going on. Please, promise me.”

Hudson nodded. “I’ve got my cell. You need me, you call me.”

As Reed and Hudson made their way off campus, my gut continued to burn with that feeling that it wasn’t over yet.

I sat through that morning’s lessons with a massive headache. I had arranged to meet with a counsellor after lunch. That feeling that something was still off continued to plague me.

And then my intuition that it wasn’t over yet came in the shape of a text message. The number was from an unknown caller, but I knew who it was as they identified themselves.

Molly. This is Xander. My father knows it was Hudson. He’s in danger. Please meet me by the school entrance that backs onto the park now.

And then I knew the attack on Micah was due to the drugs, and that Hudson was possibly next.

That message gave me palpitations, and I automatically went to call Hudson, but then stopped myself.

If I called him and told him he was in danger, would he even listen?

No, he’d take matters into his own hands and could make things worse.

I toyed with going to my dad, but again, that didn’t feel right.

I knew at that point that I had to do something. Find out what Xander was talking about. How had his father connected Hudson to the drugs? Maybe he was bluffing. There were so many questions swimming around my head .

I recalled how Xander had tried to warn Hudson before, and his reaction to that.

No, this time, we needed to do things my way. I would get the facts before I went to Hudson. Not everything could be fixed with violence. Sometimes it was better to talk, maybe negotiate.

And then I realised that Hudson was on his way to collect the drugs to dispose of them. He said the journey to the area where he intended to dump them would take around an hour. That meant I didn’t have much time to stop him, if I needed to.

If Xander’s father had hurt Micah, he was more dangerous than I had thought. If I promised Xander I could get the drugs back, maybe we could make a deal.

When the bell went to signal the end of my lesson, I gave Xander Creed my answer.

I’ll be there.