“Rosie!” I hear Hudson’s voice call out my name from the other room. I slowly open my eyes for the first time today; the sun is creeping inside my room through the window. I sit up on my bed and grab my phone off of the nightstand near me; 10:30AM. Why the fuck is Hudson waking me up so early?
I slowly walk down the stairs and see Hudson sitting at the kitchen table reading a newspaper. He looks at me as I look at him until I immediately noticed the iced coffee on the table. I smiled to myself.
“The woman clearly judged me at the coffee shop when I ordered it,” Hudson mentioned, then went to reading the newspaper. I sat down across from him at the kitchen table, sipping on the iced coffee.
“There are people that drink iced coffee in the winter,” I stated. “You’re just overthinking it.” Hudson chuckles to himself and continues to read the newspaper. I get up from the table to grab some waffles from the freezer. I can hear the newspaper being rustled.
“Do you have everything you need to take back to New York?” Hudson asked. I rolled my eyes as I put two of the frozen waffles in the toaster. I turned around and sighed.
“I guess,” I answered. I look at Hudson and, in true-Hudson-fashion, begin to analyze the shit out of me. I guess it’s just embedded in his nature, to interrogate every situation in his life.
“We’re driving back to New York in a couple of hours,” Hudson began to say. “Anything you leave behind will stay here until you come back in June.”
“I know, I know,” I answered back, feeling a bit annoyed. Hudson was always meant to be a dad to someone, and I guess I gave him a second chance at fatherhood when he took me in 2 years ago after losing his own daughter almost 10 years ago. Because of that, I try to be gentle with Hudson, even though I know he doesn’t really need it. “It sucks that the semester is starting in a couple of days.”
“It’ll be over before you know it,” Hudson said as he turned the page of the newspaper. “Are you going to work at the bookstore when it’s over?”
“I’m not sure yet,” I answered, taking another sip of my coffee. I was lying; I knew that I was going to stay in New York for the summer. I just needed the money if I wanted to do the things I wanted to do. Hudson looks back up at me, again as if he was interrogating me.
“I need you to focus on your classes this semester,” Hudson sternly said. “You barely passed your classes because of that asshole of a guy you hang out with.” I scrunched my eyebrows together, mad that Hudson would say something like that about Micah, even though he can be— oh, he means Prescott.
“That boy is history,” I reassured Hudson. “He can rot in hell for all I care.” Again, I was lying. I know that once I get back to New York, I would find myself walking around in my underwear in his penthouse in the Upper East Side, looking out toward Central Park.
“Good,” Hudson simply said. “Because if I find out he’s still in your life and you’re allowing him to be a part of it, you’re coming back to Philly and going to the community college in town.”
“What? Ew, no,” I visibly reacted. “The last thing I want is to go to college here. Now that’s fucking depressing.”
“Good,” Hudson simply said once more, this time putting the newspaper down and looking at me. “Then that means you’ll actually listen to me this time.” I rolled my eyes. My phone vibrates in the kitchen table; I lifted it up and read the message on the screen. I began to get up from the table. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going out to hang out with Ren,” I said as I begin to walk toward the stairs.
“Camren?” Hudson asked. “The girl you met when you were on the streets?”
“She got her shit together,” I explained. “Trust me; I wouldn’t want to see anyone that I knew from that time of my life.” Again, I was lying.
…
I walk to the park in downtown Philly where a bunch of skaters and junkies hang out during the day. I look around, taking a cigarette out of my pocket and lighting it. I can still remember smoking my first cigarette in this park when I was 14, thinking I was so cool for doing so and hanging out with 17, 18 year old teens. I look at a couple of girls who look like they’re 14 themselves, hanging out with teens that were 14-years-old, like, 5 years ago.
Moments later, I feel someone hit my shoulder, which immediately makes me out my fist up, ready to fight.
“Chill, Rosie!” Ren laughed as she said. “Still the same psycho bitch?”
“Still a cigarette-begging bitch?” I asked back, giving her a cigarette. I light it for her as she puffs out.
“Once a bitch, always a bitch; you should know,” Ren answered. I laugh at her response. “What brings you back to Philly? I thought you went to New York to be an actual civilian in life.”
“Winter break,” I answered. “Semester starts in a couple of days so I’m here before I go back.”
“You’re still living with that pig?” Ren asked before she puffed her cigarette again. I rolled my eyes.
“You mean the only person that gives a shit about my well-being?” I sarcastically asked. “Yes, I’m staying with him before he drives me back to New York.” Ren shakes her head and throws the ashes of her cigarette to the ground.
“You know I love you for life, but if any of them see you hanging around here, you’ll gonna get a rude awakening.” Ren now looks up at me. “You know Mitch is in jail?”
“As he should,” I answered, annoyed at the subject. Mitch was my ex-boyfriend when I was a teenager. He was also the guy that all my money went to when I went out on dates. He was more of a pimp than my boyfriend; the only thing that made me different was that he was having sex with just me; he didn’t dare to touch the other girls who were pimping for him. “Son of a bitch deserves to be locked up for life.”
“Yeah, your knight and shining armor locked him up,” Ren mentioned, air-quoting her little nickname for Hudson. “He knows that you had something to do with his arrest.”
“I mean, anyone would know that considering 4 of the 5 people living in that crackhouse are either locked up, on probation, or doing some sort of community service to stay out of jail.” The night I met Hudson wasn’t suppose to be how it ultimately happened. He had just made a press conference looking for information on his daughter that was kidnapped. He put out a number to call for tips; it was my only chance to get out of that shit hole… who knows if I would still be alive if I didn’t call that number.
“Still,” Ren began to say, putting out her cigarette on the ground before she continued. “You have balls for coming back to Philly after all that shit went down.” I look down at my phone, reading the message on the screen. It was Hudson, reminding me to be back at the phone by 5 tonight. Ren watches me message him back. “Nice fancy phone; did your make-believe dad get you that?”
“Fuck off, Ren,” I finally said. Sometimes I wonder why I still talk to Ren; she does nothing but put her business where it shouldn’t be and then have an opinion about everything. “It was good seeing you, but I gotta go.” I turned away from Ren and walked away from the park. Nothing ever good happens at this goddamn park.
I look around before putting my phone back in my bag and taking out a second phone. I hit the only contact that is on that phone. I instantly smiled when I heard the person pick up the phone.
“Hey babe,” I greeted. “I should be back in New York by 7 tonight,” I look around downtown Philly before getting on the bus heading toward my stop. “Wanna do something when I get back?”
Letters From Liz. 