The Hudson Boys

C H A P T E R 2 5

C H A P T E R 2 5

Dinner is a tense affair and Tate doesn't join us so Marcia takes a plate of macaroni and cheese upstairs to him. I contemplated going up to see him, wondering if maybe this goes deeper than just ditching me at Donna's but part of me reminds me that it is probably not my place and with the way things are between us at the moment, I am probably the last person he wants to see.

Before I go to bed he still hasn't left his room so I decided that I have to at least try and as much as I hate to admit it, I am worried about him. Deciding to check for myself that he is alright I pad across the hallway, my bare toes digging into the soft carpet as I stand outside his bedroom door.

"Tate," I knock quietly. "Are you in there?" I wait a moment, possibly he's in the bathroom but as the moment passes there is still no reply so I knock again.

"Tate?" I question lightly. "Are you okay?" He still doesn't reply so I suspect that he is either asleep or does not want to talk to me.

I leave his door and traipse back across the hall into my room, directing my steps straight towards the bed. I quickly change into my pajamas before flopping down onto the soft mattress and trying to fall asleep despite the questions turning in my continually overactive mind.

---

Some time later figure enters the room. Cautiously, as if unsure of one's self, and then quietly so as to not wake the sleeping girl in the bed. They had meant to speak with her but decide that it is probably best not to wake her. She has had a long day and will be enjoying the rest.

However, unable to help themself, the intruder moves closer. Close enough to see how her hair falls over her face and how her eyelashes brush her cheeks, fluttering in dreamland. The figure reaches over and carefully pulls the covers above the sleeping girl's shoulders, sheltering her from the night air and smoothing her hair away from her face.

She stirs and the figure panics but this fades momentarily as she settles back into the sheets with a heavy yet content sign. The figure smiles lightly to themselves before retreating from the room, shutting the wooden door behind them with a click.

---

"So you mean to tell me that he just walked out and left you there," MK demands. "And you didn't even ask him why?"

"Well, yeah," I reply. "I did try to ask him but he didn't want to talk about it. Besides, it just didn't feel like it was my place to ask."

"Of course, it's your place to ask. He left you there for an hour!" I look down at the laminate table top, suddenly very interested in my fingers.

"I think it was something bigger than that. I'm not sure what but I don't want to be sticking my nose where it doesn't belong." I mumble earnestly.  This is the first time I have voiced these thoughts to anyone and I don't want MK to take them the wrong way.

"Okay, fine. But you're going to have to find out eventually."

"What do you mean?" I look up at her.

"Nothing stays a secret for long." She grins wickedly. "Especially not in this town."

The bell rings shrilly and we head towards our final class of the day, gym.

"I still don't understand why they think it's appropriate for us to wear skin-tight gym clothes but they gave that girl Ginny a detention for choosing to wear a crop top to school," MK grumbles as she pulls her t-shirt over her head and swaps it for the mandatory blue and red gym shirts.

"The law is hard. But it is the law." I laugh sarcastically.

"Did you just quote Alec Lightwood at me?" MK's eyes widen at the reference. "You are such a nerd."