Read Online Starstruck - Book Four by Gemma Brooks - Free Book Online Page B

delicate.”
     
    “Psh,” I laughed as I swatted her arm.
     
    It felt good to have my mom back again, and if it weren’t
for Hudson, it would’ve have been that way at all.
     
    I left the visit with my mom floating on a breeze with my
head in the clouds. I felt clearer, and better about everything that had
happened. I had to go home to Hudson, apologize a million times, and try to
make things right. It wasn’t fair for me to expect him to change or give him
ultimatums. He’d never done anything like that to me. I had to love and accept
him for who he was and pray that Ava would eventually wise up and go away.
Everything was going to fall into place, I just knew it.
     
    The moment I pulled into the garage, I saw it. The empty
parking stall. The black Range Rover was gone, which meant so was Hudson. I
checked my phone but there was no text message. In the pit of my stomach, I
hoped to God he wasn’t with Ava.
     
    I walked inside only to find Flor standing in the kitchen,
scrubbing the counters.
     
    “Hi, Flor,” I said, attempting to sound chipper. “Have you
seen Hudson?”
     
    She turned to look at me, shrugged, and then resumed
scrubbing.
     
    “Yes? No?” I asked.
     
    She shook her head no.
     
    “So you have no idea where he went?” I asked. I wasn’t
buying it. I didn’t want to believe she was covering for him, but no other
explanation was making any kind of sense in that moment.
     
    I was done playing games with Flor. I didn’t have time. I
grabbed my bag and headed back out to my car. I had to drive by Ava’s. I had to
see if Hudson was there. I hoped and prayed he wasn’t and that I was just
overreacting, but I had to put my mind at ease.
     
    I didn’t remember how to get to Malibu, but I did remember
her house was right off a very memorable stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway.
If my nav could get me there, I was sure I would remember which house was hers
if I saw it. It was just up the road from an adorable little gas station with a
blue steel roof that we’d stopped at once before.
     
    I typed “Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu” into my nav and
hoped for the best. My fingers gripped the steering wheel as I drove like a
crazy person to Malibu. Everything was a whirring haze around me as my ears
pulsed and my stomach churned.
     
    Under normal circumstances, it would’ve been such a perfect
Saturday. The sun was shining, as always, there was a light breeze, and the
birds were chirping. The traffic wasn’t ridiculous, and the ocean views spanned
on for miles. I played some of my favorite music as I attempted to enjoy the
drive there and distract my busy brain from assuming the worst, but nothing was
working. I wouldn’t calm down until I saw that Hudson wasn’t with Ava.
     
    As I approached Malibu, I realized there were hundreds and
hundreds of houses along the Pacific Coast Highway and a fair amount of gas
stations to boot. It wasn’t like I could just slow down and leisurely take my
time trying to remember which mansion was hers. It was going to take a stroke
of luck, and I’d never been a lucky person.
     
    I drove up and down the highway for at least a good hour, my
head turning every so often to catch a good glimpse of the houses while still
making sure I stayed in my lane and avoided mailboxes and oncoming traffic. It
was a struggle, but when I finally found that quaint little gas station I knew
I was in the right area. As soon as I saw her modern, square abode, I breathed
a sigh of relief. I’d soon had my answer.
     
    I pulled off onto the side of the road, gravel crunching
beneath my tires, as I attempted to peek into her driveway. It was surrounded
by trees and bushes and my vision was somewhat occluded. I didn’t want to get
any closer in case someone saw me, but I inched up little by little until I saw
it. The tail end of Hudson’s black Range Rover. He was there. He was with Ava.
     
    I felt like I’d been sucker punched. I couldn’t breathe. I
couldn’t focus.