Misfits (#2)

37.

Everest.

Violet's back tomorrow. Hopefully. I haven't heard a word from her since that call randomly ended. It's grating at me since she's thousands of miles away and I don't know what's going on. I just have to hope she's okay and by tomorrow, I'll get to see her again.

Ria found out that she got into her programme today, for college. She'll be travelling the world whilst studying medicine. I'd picked her up from the office in New York and then had to run home, to pick up Lila from her shift at the bar.

Ria wants a jar of olives before I go to her house, her weirdly favourite snack so I grab my keys from the countertop and head towards the door.

Only a day. One more day and then my girl's back-

I pull open the door but Hudson's staring right back at me. I blink back at him before smiling, surprised by his appearance. The dude rarely comes to my house.

I lean my side against the doorframe and raise an eyebrow, "Whatcha doing here, Hud? You look nervous. Are you moving on and confessing your love to me, this time? Second time's a charm."

Fun fact: Hudson Tempest fell in love with Ria Romano.

What a mindfuck, I know. I knew they'd been hooking up last summer and I knew Ria thought nothing more of it. But Hudson's softspot for her had only grown stronger.

I keep my face passive but my stomach sinks. Because I take him in. I've know him for years and I've never seen his hands shake so much. His skin so pale. Something's wrong, I know it in this moment and it feels like a cloud starts to settle over my head.

"Where are you going?" He asks.

I'm doing my best not to freak the fuck out but he's looking at me like he's seeing a ghost, "Ria's. She got into Lana's scheme."

His throat bobs. For fucks sake, what is it? My skin starts to itch in anticipation.

"Where is he? Cos she keeps moping like a sad Lu-deprived puppy." I grimace, "Tell him to get his ass over there to deal with her."

He's fucking scaring me, blue eyes staring back at me like he's fighting hard not to let himself crumble. My worry spikes, "Dude, seriously, you good? You're not on anything are you?"

He shakes his head once. I'm very highly disbelieving of that but I'm too busy focused on trying to figure him out. I notice the envelope he's holding, "...Okay. What is that?"

"For you." His voice is low, small. His posture stands tall in his black leather jacket, though his hair's dishevelled. If I'm not mistaking myself, his eyes seem red. What the fuck? If anything scares me, it's that. I think Hudson could be overdosing and he still wouldn't shed a tear.

"You're being weird. Give it to me."

He looks at my eyes, "I'm sorry. You'll get all the explanation you need. I'm just passing it on."

I can feel the tension overwhelm every bit of my body. I've felt an impending sort of change coming for a while now. Like a weird itch in the back of my head I can't get rid of. This feels like the hammer dropping.

"What is it? Who's it from?"

"Luca." He looks away from me.

Any hint of amusement on my face is gone, at the mention of Luca. Something's wrong and if it's to do with him, my nerves amp up high. I try to cover it up.

"Lu? An envelope? Why can't he just talk to me, idiot?" My throat locks up as I take the envelope, "And why don't you lighten up, sweetheart, sheesh."

He turns away from me and I rip open the envelope. Before I unfold it, I can make out the faint outline of Luca's handwriting on the other side. None of this feels fucking good and a part of me wants to throw this away. Go back into my house, to a few moments before, where it didn't feel like something was changing. Where my stomach wasn't twisting in on itself.