Page 239 of Beautiful Collide

Fuck.

The pain is unbearable.

“Hudson!” Dad’s voice is panicked, but I can barely hear him over the pounding in my ears.

I pull back, cradling my wrist as I stumble out of the auger.

Blood drips onto the dirt, the bright red stark against the pale dust.

“Shit,” I mutter, my knees buckling.

Dad’s there in an instant, his hands on my shoulders as he helps me sit down. “Let me see.”

I hold out my arm, and his face pales when he sees my wrist.

There’s blood everywhere.

Shit.

This is bad.

“Dammit, Hudson,” he says, his voice shaking. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“I was thinking I didn’t want you doing it,” I say through gritted teeth.

He grabs his phone. “We need to get you to the house.”

The walk back to the house is a blur. By the time we reach the porch, I’m sure I’ll pass out.

“Mary!” Dad calls, his voice urgent.

The living room is quiet.

This is hell.

The tension is thick enough to cut with a knife.

I sit on the couch holding a towel to my arm.

This is bad.

The blood is soaking through.

This is really bad.

I try to keep my face neutral, but it’s damn near impossible.

“Why didn’t you call me sooner?” Mom’s voice rises as she paces the room, her hands fluttering uselessly.

“Mom, I’m fine.” My tight voice betrays me. I’m not fine. I’m in a fuck load of pain.

“Fine?” She spins toward me. “You’re bleeding all over my floor, Hudson.”

“What happened?” Molly asks. Shit, when did she come into the room?

She’s the last person I want to see me like this.

All eyes snap to her. No one speaks.

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