Page 116 of Georgia-Blue & Hudson

“Is he conscious?” I pull away from Beau to look up at him. I know he's choosing to not tell me everything. I can sense it. “Beau!”

“He’s having surgery on his leg, he smashed his knee, cracked his ribs and they’re still waiting on a test for any head injuries. When Gray found him, he was barely breathing with a collapsed lung.”

“Oh, God,” I whisper. My chest feels like an elephant sat on it. “If Gray hadn’t punched him, this wouldn’t be happening.”

“Don’t let your head run away with you,” he says. “He was always gonna have an issue with the two of you because he’s Gray and he’s overprotective. But he went to talk to Hudson. After he left, Dad was pretty mad about how he reacted, and Gray overstepped. He knew it, and went to talk to him.”

“He drove Hudson away, to smash his bike into a tree?” I can barely get my head around it.

“George.”

“What?” I snap, moving toward the front door, ready to jump in my truck to get to the hospital. “You and I both know it.”

“Hudson gave it back to him, don’t worry about that.”

“Meanwhile, Hudson’s lying in a hospital bed, and we don’t even know if he’s going to wake up.”

Beau jogs up beside me. “I’m driving.”

I don't have the strength to fight him. He takes my keys out of my hand, and I jump in the passenger seat. I’m so afraid. I’ve never been this scared before. The reality is, Hudson is hurt and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it. Panic hits me as I imagine him lying there, and for how long? How long did he lie there unconscious, hurt and bleeding? A whimper escapes me as Beau stands in the open doorway, pulling my seatbelt over before he shuts the door and jogs over to the driver's side.

“He’s a fighter,” Beau reminds me as he climbs in. “You know that.”

“I know, but what if it’s too late?” I can’t even picture what it would’ve been like for him when he came off the bike. Lying there while I had fun with my friends. I want to die. I should’ve gone with him, then we would’ve taken the truck. If I’d done that, then he wouldn’t be lying in the dirt, with nobody to help. I can’t help the feeling in the pit of my stomach, and the dread that washes over me knowing I can’t help him.

“It’ll take more than this to knock Hudson down, you’ll see. Try not to be mad at Gray. Huds was the one who went speeding off like a mad man. He should’ve known better.”

While that’s all completely true, it’s still no excuse. Gray should stay out of my personal life. He’s not my father, and just because he’s the eldest doesn’t mean he can push me around or tell me who I can and can’t date, or love for that matter.

“I love him,” I whisper. “I love him so much, Beau.”

I feel him turn to look at me in my periphery. “I know, sis. Just hang on.”

I grip his arm because I need something solid to hold onto. “We haven’t even had any time.”

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but it’s gonna be okay.”

I turn to look at him.“How can you know that?”

“You know how I know?”

I shake my head.

“Because you know in your heart, he’s gonna pull through,” he goes on. “You and your woo-woo, George. It’s not nothing. We all joke around and make fun of you because we’re dicks. But you predicted me and Aut, and Brook and Eden getting back together, not to mention Gabe and Skye, and even Gray when he met Hart in New York. It’s your time, baby girl.”

The tears fall freely now. “I never really told him how I felt. I mean, I did, but I didn’t want to come off too strong and scare him away.”

Beau chuckles as he squeezes my hand. “I doubt that anything would scare him away. He told us all how much he loved you, how much he respects you, how you never meant to fall in love, but you did. That took some guts. Dad’s fine with it, and so are we. Grayson is beside himself. Try not to be too hard on him.”

“It’s easy for you to say,” I sniffle. “It isn’t Autumn lying in a hospital bed after arguing with her brother.”

“I know that, but he didn’t make this happen, it was an accident. They both played a part.” Typical Beau, always the peacemaker.

I turn away, unable to hear any more. I want to smash Gray in the face right now. He has no right to interfere with my life. Poking his nose in is what caused Hudson to storm off angrily, so how am I supposed to just forget all of that?

Breathe, Georgia-Blue. Just breathe. You know your brother. He loves Hudson. He would never do anything intentionally.

When we arrive at the hospital, I race across the lot, Beau on my heels, as I dash into the emergency room.

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