Blindsided - Chapter 2
It wasn’t until Ally showed up in Los Angeles two years later to attend college that they’d tried a romantic relationship again. Hudson wanted to be in love with her. It didn’t happen. He knew one day he’d want to settle down and have a family. Just not with Ally.
He broke things off once again, but Ally hadn’t taken the breakup well. She’d started stalking him. One time, she had snuck into his apartment, stripped and claimed she couldn’t live without him. Some of her actions hadn't been rational, and back then Hudson had threatened to get a restraining order.
Now, here Hudson was again, trying to get her to understand that they couldn't be together.
Ally stood and sauntered toward him. “Why do you always have to make things so difficult?” she asked, a gentle smile illuminating her beautiful face. “We’re adults now. I’m not the little girl who used to make bad decisions. All I want is a chance to show you how much I’ve changed.”
Hudson shook his head and took a couple of steps back. There were some things he couldn’t forget. It would take too long for him to remind her of those instances. If it hadn’t been for his sister, who insisted that nothing was wrong with Ally, he would think she had some deeper issues. But except for the way she pursued him, she seemed normal.
Maybe I just bring out it out of her.
“So what do you say?” Ally asked, cutting into his thoughts. “Give me another chance. Let’s see if—”
“No,” Hudson said quickly.
“But—”
“I care about you, but as a friend. Nothing else.”
Ally ran her hands through her reddish-brown, shoulder-length hair, and glanced down at the floor before returning her attention to him. “I’m sorry for—"
“I will always care about you. My whole family will. But you and I—” he pointed a finger back and forth between them “—will never be a couple again.”
Hudson’s heart went out to her. After losing her parents, it was understandable if she was feeling lonely. But it would hurt her more if he led her to believe that there could ever be anything more between them.
“I need to get going.”
His hand was on the doorknob, but he turned back to her. His heart kicked against his chest when he saw the sadness in her eyes. She was hurting emotionally, but he didn’t know how to comfort her without her getting the wrong idea…again.
“I wish you the best, Ally. Safe travels when you head back to—”
“I’m sticking around Las Vegas for a while. I need to put my parents’ estate in order.”
Hudson nodded. “Okay.”
“Hudson…just so you know, I’ll never give up on us. There’s no one who will love you the way I do. No one. We’ll find our way back to each other. You’ll see.”
Hudson didn’t respond, but an uneasiness crawled through his body. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a threat somewhere in her words, but instead of questioning her, he walked out without looking back.