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“Well, then you shouldn’t have pretended you wanted me when all you wanted was to distract me. It was a shitty thing to do.”
“Yes, it was.”
“And it ruined everything,” she says, furiously tossing everything back into her bag.
“Yes, it did. And I’m asking you for another chance. One I know I don’t deserve.”
“One you’re not getting,” she tells me, her voice shaking. “It’s over. This is over. I have to get out of here. You should go back inside and let the rest of the team serenade you. They’ve worked really hard on it and they’ll be super disappointed if you take off on them.”
I glance at the building, not wanting to let her leave and not wanting to go back inside, but knowing I really don’t have much of a choice about either thing. “Allie, I would do anything to fix this. Anything.”
“You can’t. I know you’re not used to people saying no to you, but believe me, this is a very real, very hard no with absolutely zero chance of me changing my mind,” she says. “Please do me a favor and don’t come back to the institute. Just … say goodbye to everyone tonight. Tell them you got called back to Hollywood for some … movie emergency or something. And don’t be there tomorrow when I get there. That’s really the only thing left that you can do for me.”
I stare down at her, wanting with everything in me to wrap my arms around her and kiss her until she remembers how perfect we are for each other. But obviously, that’s not an option. “Okay, that’s what I’ll do then.”
“Good.”
“If you ever change your mind?—”
“I won’t.” She yanks open the car door and tosses her bag on the passenger seat, the contents spilling everywhere. “Shit,” she mutters, before turning back to me. “Goodbye, Hudson. Good luck with your movie. You’re ready.”
“If I am, it’s because of you.”
She wrinkles up her nose as if I just let out a huge belch. “You seriously can’t stop yourself, can you?”
“Not really. I think it’s some sort of disorder,” I tell her.
“Fuck,” she mutters, getting into the car. “Ridiculous.”
Shutting the door, she starts up the engine, then pulls out, leaving me standing alone in the cold night air, wishing there was something, anything I could do to convince her to give me a second chance. But there isn’t, and I know it. That was goodbye forever. And I know, without a doubt, I will never finish getting over her.
34
The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth
Hudson - Malibu - Two Days Later
Instagram Reel: Hollywood Dish with Ferris Biltmore
The video starts with Ferris at his desk with a red light therapy mask on. He lifts the mask and rests it on top of his head. “Hey, bitches! I’m getting my glow on because someone very special is back! Yes, you guessed it. Hudson Sex God Finch the First has finally returned from that cold, awful, yucky Mountain View place, all smartypantsed up and ready to wow the world with his new-found knowledge of all things space. I heard from my housekeeper’s uncle’s best friend, who owns a landscaping company in Malibu, that the man himself pulled into town yesterday afternoon, alone. Which brings me to my first segment: Thank You, Jesus!”
“Thank you, Jesus, for bringing him back safe and sound. Thank you for making sure he came back here ALONE, without that dull-as-dishwater scientist who was seriously in danger of bringing his hot level down from raging inferno to Carolina reaper-hot. Thank you.”
He nods and lets out a happy sigh. “Oh, and I’ve got some exclusive footage sent to me by one of my little birds who happens to have been at the same awful karaoke bar that Hudson was at a few nights ago, in which you can see the end of their happily never after. And you know what that means kids?! It’s time for another segment of I Got the Scoop, Bitches!”
A glittery graphic appears on the screen, then a video starts, showing Allie and Hudson standing next to her car in the parking lot while she digs around in her purse. “Oh God, just look at that perfect man. Then look at her. Yick. Now, there’s no sound so I’ve been putting my team to work doing some lip reading, so I’ll play the parts of both Hudson and that boring science woman.” Putting on a high-pitched voice, Ferris says, “I’m furious with you for no good reason other than that I’m a miserable, awful person who can’t stand to be around perfect men like you. Now leave me alone so I can go home to my parents and my twenty cats.” He lowers his voice and smooths it out. “You’re amazing and even though I know I’m too good for you, I somehow find you attractive.”
Imitating Allie, he says, “Shut up. I need to concentrate while I look through my handbag from Target for my cold sore medication. Here, I’m going to put all these dirty tissues on my car, along with things I’ve had in this bag for twenty years. You stand there and watch me. Now I’m going to throw things at my car because I’m so mad about nothing.”
“Don’t be mad, baby. Let me help you find your medication.” Hudson turns on his flashlight and holds it up for Allie.
“Oh my God, can you stop please?! I hate thoughtful men who do nice things for me.”
The video stops and Ferris fills the screen again. “Anyway, it’s just more of that for another couple of minutes until she gets in her car and tries to run over his foot. So, at least that’s over. She can go live in a cave until she dies. The point is, Hudson is back. He’s rid of her, and he’s moving on to bigger and better things in life.”
Ferris lets out a happy sigh, then slides the mask down onto his face again. “And … back to making myself look perfect just in case the world’s most perfect man comes calling…”
“So she just kept on walking?” Gershwyn asks. “Right out of the bar while the song played out?”
