"It's, to quote my father, 'a lowly position for men who desire power but are too poor to rise to much else.' Plus the idea of having any of his children working toward equality when Humans were so very much beneath us was simply too appalling for words."
Dex let out a scoff. "Charming."
"Quite. The arguments were never-ending, growing worse every time. They usually resulted in Alfie and I storming out and going on the piss."
"What's that again?" Dex asked, pursing his lips in thought. "That's different from taking the piss, right?"
"It means binge drinking."
"Ah. Right."
Hudson let out a shuddering breath and closed his eyes. He let his head hang as the familiar anguish washed over him.
"It was after we'd finished our residency. Evelyn was pregnant, and our family was throwing her a big bridal shower at a very grand seaside hotel in Cornwall. It was outdoors. Alfie and I decided we were going to tell our parents we'd applied to the THIRDS. It went as well as you can imagine. My father slapped me. Alfie and I got completely drunk off our arses. It was shambolic. Evelyn's husband and my brothers confronted us, and when George pushed me, Alfie punched him. We took off, and they followed. They caught up to us round the back of the hotel near the overhang...." Hudson swallowed past the lump in his throat. A chill swept through him, and he shivered.
"George grabbed my arm, and I swung at him. I was so drunk I could barely see straight. Unbalanced. Alfie caught me before I fell and pushed me back, but he was nearly as drunk as I was. He lost his balance and stumbled back. I scrambled to my feet in time to watch him fall off the side of the cliff."
Dex gasped, his hand tightening over Hudson's arm, but Hudson barely felt it. He was numb, chilled to the bone. In front of him, he could see nothing but an expanse of dark ocean under a gray sky. The icy wind whipped at his tearstained face as he screamed, the sound drowned out by waves crashing against the cliff's side.
"I was there the next evening when my family went to identify... him." Hudson murmured, staring out into nothingness. "Quite frankly, everyone was astonished by the pristine state Alfie was in and how quickly he'd been found. Within minutes of calling emergency services. It was astounding, really.
"I won't ever forget his face, so handsome, looking as if he was asleep. The medical examiner had been startled by the death. Alfie had somehow missed the rocks at the base of the cliff. He hit his head, but that wasn't what killed him. The icy water, and the current... the shock... he never stood a chance. We'd been shown mercy, and Alfie had been washed up near the cliff's edge, so he didn't sink down to the bottom of the ocean. God knows when he would have resurfaced and in what condition. I wanted to touch him, assure myself it was really him on that table, that he was really... gone, but I couldn't bring myself to move. I was frozen to the spot, afraid if I did, I would shatter.
"My family blamed me. If I hadn't been so spoiled, if I'd listened, done as they asked.... The reasons were endless. When I was accepted to the THIRDS, a position suddenly opened up at HQ in Manhattan. I didn't hesitate. I needed to leave. My father cut me off. I sold what was mine, bought a plane ticket to New York City, and never looked back.
"They tried contacting me. It seemed as if the phone calls would never cease. At first I thought perhaps they wanted me back, but all they did was tell me how foolish I was. How I would never amount to anything on my own in America. My brother hired an investigator to keep an eye on me, which is how he discovered my relationship with Seb. George told my father all about the Hobbs family. My father demanded I leave Seb, and I told him to go to hell. He disowned me that very day, and I haven't spoken to him since."
Dex cursed under his breath. He handed Hudson a napkin, and Hudson smiled as he took it. He blew his nose and frowned. "Seb is cross with me."
"Why?"
Hudson explained, waiting for Dex to reassure him. Instead, Dex shook his head, his disapproval evident on his handsome face.
"You know I love you, man, but that was a dick move."
Hudson frowned. That wasn't what he'd been expecting. "Oh?"
"You were trying to make him jealous."
Hudson opened his mouth to refute the accusation, but Dex held up a hand to stop him.
"We both know Seb. He's not the kind of guy to play games. From what you said, it sounds like you wanted his attention, he didn't give it to you, and you got pissy. Trent was in the right place at the right time. You can't get mad because Seb called you out on your behavior. You either want to be with him or you don't, Hudson. You can't push him away, and then when he does what you want him to, get mad." Dex got up and held a hand out to him. "Come on. Let's get you home."
Hudson nodded. "Perhaps a shower and cup of tea is in order." He found it difficult to look Dex in the eye. "Forgive me. This is a happy occasion, and I'm being an arsehole."
Dex threw an arm around Hudson as he led him out into Dekatria. "All is forgiven, and if you need anything, you call me, okay?"
Hudson nodded, allowing Dex to help him into his jacket before escorting him downstairs and outside. Dex called him a cab, made certain he was settled in the backseat, and instructed the driver where to take him. Hudson thanked Dex and let his head rest against the window so he could look out into the streets. He pulled his keys from his pocket so he'd have them ready when he got there. His head was fuzzy, and he dozed off before the cab driver roused him awake with a gentle shake to the shoulder.
"Oh, terribly sorry." He thanked the man and made a mental note to treat Dex to lunch for paying his cab fare and tip. Outside his home, he was digging through his pockets for his keys when he felt odd. Like he was being watched. Peering down one end of the softly lit residentia
l street, he found it empty. Same with the other end. It was most likely his alcohol-riddled brain. Where the hell were his keys? He groaned when he remembered he'd taken them out of his pocket. They'd most likely fallen somewhere in the cab. He turned, and a silver gleam caught his eyes.
"Thank bloody goodness." They were right there on the pavement. He picked them up, frowning down at them. They must have fallen on his person somewhere, then onto the ground without him realizing. With a sigh, he headed for his front steps. The back of his eyes stung, and he turned to sit on his stoop. He gazed up at the sky, feeling miserable.
"I miss you," he murmured.
His brother would have known what to do. He always did. Maybe then he wouldn't feel so alone. "How did I manage to lose two families, Alfie? That has to be some kind of record." He shook his head before running a hand through his hair. "I suppose I should be grateful you're not here to see how pathetic I've become. But then if you were here, I wouldn't be so alone." His mobile rang, and he tapped the screen before putting it to his ear. He hadn't bothered looking at who it was.