It was six am when Adam snuck into the cabin, a ball of snow in hand and a smile on his face. The car was left running, so they wouldn't waste any time, and so that Bud wouldn't complain about being cold the whole drive.
Because, of course, he would.
His footsteps were light as the Samoyed crept up the stairs, tossing the snow from hand to hand. Adam reached the room he knew Bud and Kimbra were staying in, and opened the door as slowly and quietly as possible.
There. His smile grew. Adam almost felt bad for what he was about to do, seeing how comfortable the hound looked.
Almost.
The poor, unsuspecting hound was curled up under the comforter and a few blankets, face smooth as he slept. The gentle rise and fall of his chest made it clear that he was totally at peace. The hound rolled over, mumbling softly. Perfect. Adam snuck up to the bed and reached his hand into the comforter, shoving Bud's shirt up, and the ball of snow crumpled into the hound's back.
Bud was so warm as he slept. So comfortable. It was surprising, really, as he found he wasn't too good with sleeping in new houses like this. It was probably because he was with Kimbra. She made things like this so much better.
Well, he was warm and comfortable until he was ripped from his sleep by snow being smashed into his fur. His back arched, and Bud let out a yip as he shot up in bed. A hand flew to brush the snow out, and he cast a worried look to see if he'd woken up Kimbra. Who was snoring away with her head half-covered by a pillow.
"What was that?" He hissed up at Adam, throwing bits of melting snow back at the nuisance.
"Get up. We have to go, or we'll be late."
"Late for what? It's-" Bud looked at his phone. "Six am? Adam, what are you doing in here?"
"What, you don't remember our whole conversation we had last night? You texted me and were all like, "ooh Adam I can't wait to go on a trip with you, you're so hot and sexy I wanna kiss you so bad."
Bud threw a pillow at the Samoyed before sitting up with a groan. "I did not. As I recall it, you texted me at three am and told me we were going on some trip. And it's six am, you woke me up with snow to my back. Give me a minute to wake up and get dressed."
"Don't throw your back out putting a shirt on, Grandpa." Adam snickered. Bud shooed him out so he could get ready.
As he pulled on a pair of wool socks, Bud mulled over the idea of going on a trip with Adam. And the more he thought about it, the more he actually approved of going with the Samoyed. Even looked forward to it, a little bit. Maybe it'd help win over the rest of the Wulfe family. That they'd no longer see him as some helpless city boy.
Adam waited right outside the door for Bud. The hound startled as he opened the door before huffing. He turned back for a moment to make sure Kimbra was still sleeping peacefully, and smiled softly at his lovely girlfriend. Adam gagged and shook his head as he started for the stairs.
"What?"
"Watching your girlfriend sleep? Gross."
Bud rolled his eyes. "I just wanted to make sure she was comfortable."
"Weirdo."
"Says the one who snuck into our room while we were sleeping and shoved snow on my back," Bud retorted. Stopped at the coat rack to take down and put on his coat, as well as a scarf and beanie.
"That's different."
"Oh yeah, so different." Bud huffed as he followed Adam out the door.
Crisp, winter air hit him in the face, and he took a deep breath in to let the clean air fill his lungs. Snow crunched beneath his feet as he took careful steps across the porch, puffs of air coming up from behind his scarf. He reached the stairs and rested a hand on the banister, letting his fingers brush the snow from the cured wood.
Bud started down the iced over steps slowly. Looked up at the still dark sky and took in a breath, sighing deeply while staring up at the fading stars. It was all just so beautiful.
Adam followed him down the steps with ease. He noticed Bud staring up at the sky once they reached the bottom step. "It's just a sky Bud, it's the same as ever."
"Not for me, it's not. We don't have this back in St. Canard." His voice was hushed as the hound continued to stare up at the stars. "St. Canard is canopied in smoke. You want stars, you have to drive out to the country or out of state… I can see a good bit from where I live, but it's nothing like here."
"Ah yes, city pollution. Forgot about that." Adam ushered Bud to walk to the car. "C'mon you can stare at it any other night. It's just stars. You should be here during a meteor shower. Now that's worth looking at."
"I wouldn't want to shower in rocks, Adam." Bud shook his head with a grin.
The Samoyed let out a sigh as he walked with Bud to the car. He opened the door for him. "You're so lame, Flud."
Bud thanked him as he slid into the seat. Pulled out a rosary that was more of a joke than anything, but if Adam's driving was anything like Kimbra's, he would need it.
Adam gave him a look as he buckled up. Started the car, and pulled from the driveway.
They were well onto the main road when Adam glanced at Bud. "So, what did Kimbra say when you told her you were ditching the tour to go with me?"
Bud's face went pale as he quickly dug his phone out of his pocket. "Oh, she's gonna be so mad. I completely forgot to tell her."
She probably wouldn't like it. Not one bit.
"Kimbra is always mad." Adam pointed out with an annoyed grumble."You really didn't tell her?"
"No! I forgot!"
"How could you just forget?"
"I dunno, Adam. Maybe because someone shoved a handful of snow against my bare back. So, it slipped my mind."
Adam gave Bud a look of pity. "Aw, what a terrible way to wake up."
Bud squinted at the Samoyed. Turned his attention back to his phone, clicking open his message app. And then on Kimbra's name. Pondered what he should say. How he could delicately let her down.
He hummed to himself as he finally typed out a text.
'Sweetest of my world and love of my life, I'm in the car with Adam, and he's taking me somewhere I don't know. Sorry to cancel with you!'
That should be good enough, right? Surely, she'd be forgiving.
Right?
Wrong. Bud Bernard Flud had no idea how wrong he was until his phone dinged. A reply from Kimbra popped up.
'WHAT! :( :( :( :( :( :( ARE YOU SERIOUS, IT IS LIKE ALMOST SEVEN IN THE MORNING? THE HELL? YOU SAID 'YEAH SURE KIMBRA I'LL GO ON THE TOUR WITH YOU IN THE MORNING DON'T CANCEL IT BABY' AND NOW I HAVE TO GO ALONE BECAUSE IT'S TOO LATE TO CANCEL. BECAUSE YOU WANT TO GO WIT M? ADAM? REALLY? :( :( :( :( :( :(:( :( :( :( :( :( JUST LEFT WITHOUT A WORD.'
His eyes widened a little at her response. And then she kept typing. And another giant wall of text from the scientist popped up. Bud wasn't even sure if he wanted to read this one.
'Okay, first off…
1.) Literally, you asked me not to cancel the tour. I ASKED if you wanted to go and you said yes. You CANCELED out of nowhere? I spent SO LONG putting the tour together and making sure you would be able to do everything and that we'd both enjoy it. I tried! I really did! I even made sure you wanted to go! But you ditched me!
2.) For ADAM? REALLY? ADAM. My dumb ass brother Adam? You didn't even bother giving me a heads-up. You just left, and I still have no idea why. Or what the hell are you two even doing? I wouldn't care, but we had PLANS AND YOU CANCELED ON ME WITH A TEXT. :( :( :(
3.) You didn't even bother to wake me and TELL ME? I woke up to a TEXT, NOT EVEN A CALL? HELLO? WHAT IF I DID THAT TO YOU? Anyway, I'm going BY MYSELF to the stupid tOUR THAT SOMEONE WAS SUPPOSED TO GO WITH ME BUT APPARENTLY HE RATHER GO WITH MY BROTHER.'
Kimbra let out a loud huff as she sent the message and set her phone down on her lap. Before she said something, she didn't mean.
Bud winced as he read the message, the small smile that was on his face slipping while he thumbed down the gigantic wall of text.
'I'm sorry. I didn't know we'd be doing anything until like 3am and I got too excited this morning, but that doesn't excuse me not telling you. I don't know where we're going, but when I do find out more I'll let you know, okay? Be safe today and I'll see you later. I'm sorry again ):'
Kimbra didn't reply when she checked her phone again. Just glared at the message for a few moments. Her blue eyes squinted at the screen as she kept looking at the message from Bud.
She didn't know whether or not to reply. Didn't really want to. It just made her think more, and she didn't want to think. And when that happened, it made her want to drink. She typed out a long explanation for why she's so bothered and felt bad. Two long, massive paragraphs. But she thought for a moment, and deleted them.
She sighed and merely sent out a '?'. That's all she knew what to say. All that was nice, that is.
Immediately, Bud texted her back.
'Babe, listen I forgot to tell you I am so So SO incredibly, sorry. What can I do to fix this?'
Bud's ears were low on his shoulders as he shrunk down into himself. He hit the call button and held the phone to his ear. Anxiously waited as it began to ring. Surprised when she answered. Silence and tension ran thick in the few seconds of the phone call.
"Hi, darling." Tried not to sound as nervous as he felt.
"Where are you?" Kimbra's question came out as an impatient hiss. "The tour is in an hour! Are you seriously not going with me?"
It was a fair question. She was entitled to know, after all, he had promised to go with her on the tour. She deserved to know why he was skipping out on her.
"Well… about that…"
She went silent over the phone, waiting for an explanation. That somehow just made Bud even more nervous.
Bud swallowed around a dry throat. "This morning… Adam came into the room and woke me up for… a trip." His voice tapered off nervously, and the hound found himself rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
"A trip?" Her voice was flat. Unimpressed.
"A trip." Bud nodded.
And from the driver's seat, Adam yelled, "WE'RE GOING TO FAIRBANKS."
But she didn't need to know that. Why would Adam tell her?
"Fairbanks?" Bud winced at the mounting frustration in her voice. "Did I hear that correctly? Fairbanks?"
"Yyyyyyes?"
She was silent for a moment. The nervousness mounted in his chest.
"So you're ditching me? For my brother? To go to Fairbanks?"
"N-not ditching. Just… a sudden change of plans."
"Ditching. It's ditching, Bud." Kimbra snapped.
"No, no my love. I promise, I ain't ditchin' you."
"Ain't ditchin' me?" Kimbra huffed. "Yeah, you are."
"Kimbra, please, Darlin', I really didn't mean anything by it…" As Bud pleaded with Kimbra, his city boy voice began to slip into a country accent. Most of his words began to slur, and Adam stared at the panicking hound with a disgusted look.
"Mmmhm, sure, Bud." Her tone was dry. Pissed. So pissed.
Bud was starting to wonder if this whole thing had been a mistake. He should have declined. Could have suggested another time for the two of them to go.
Way to go, Bud. You're already screwing up a relationship not even a month into the thing .
His ears began to droop along his face. Was Harrison right? Was he really all that hard to love?
He had to fix this.
"Listen, Kimbra. I…" he grasped for words that slipped away, as if the hound was trying to catch petals in a river.
"What, Bud? Some of us have a tour to get ready for."
Bud took in a silent, but shuddering breath.
"I'm sorry," he muttered. Couldn't find it in him to be louder than that.
The line was silent.
"That was it. Really?"
"N-no, no, of course not. I'm just…" the words died in his throat, and Bud panicked internally.
"You know what? Just…" he could hear the Samoyed take a deep breath to reel in her raising voice. She probably wanted to yell, or something. "I'll talk to you later, I have to go." She bit angrily into the phone.
And just like that, Kimbra hung up. Bud pulled the phone away from his ear, frowning at the call ended screen.
Not exactly what he was going for.
With a deep sigh, he shoved the cellphone back into his pocket.
Adam finally spoke, eyes momentarily leaving the road to glance at Bud. "How mad is she?"
"Very." The hound murmured whilst awkwardly rubbing his arm. He wasn't sure how he felt about it.
"She'll get over it." Adam waved a hand around. "Someday."
"Well that makes me feel so much better." Bud quipped sarcastically, and Adam replied with an enthusiastic, "You're so welcome!"
The hound rolled his eyes and sat back in his seat. A thumb rolled over a bead, and he watched as a red truck passed them before pulling off the road onto a street.
Bud turned back to look at Adam, who was focused on the road.
"Where are we going?" He asked. Wanting to learn more about this impromptu trip.
"Fairbanks."
You already said that. I meant specifically.
"And how far is that?"
"A four-hour drive."
"A four-hour drive?"
"Yep." Adam said, popping the 'p' at the end. "No worries, I packed two bags and got a hotel."
"I barely even know you."
"We're literally best friends."
"No we aren't!"
"We could be."
Bud shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're trying to interrogate me or something because I'm dating your sister. That's what you're doing."
"Me? No, I'd never."
Bud grunted. "Sure."
"Don't be a wet blanket, Bernard."
"My name is Bud."
"And Bernard. It's your middle name, isn't it? Therefore, I am well within my rights to call you Bernard. Bernard." Adam smirked as he snuck a glance at the hound. Bud simply stared back before rolling his eyes and turned to the window.
It was time to mentally prepare himself for being trapped with Adam in a car for four hours.
The sky was a brilliant blue, dotted with puffy white clouds, as Kimbra stood in line for the check-in. Her ticket nearly crumpled from how hard she was clutching it in her fist. She hardly noticed the weather, though, too busy concentrating on not punching the air out of anger.
Or sending Bud another long angry paragraph, full of emojis.
Her phone buzzed, then buzzed again. It was probably Bud, groveling through text.
How could he have forgotten?
She wanted to do one thing with him. Show him more of her home, and he ditched her for her stinky brother.
Did he not want to spend time with her at all? You most likely ruined things by getting drunk over Ace's Huntington's results. Way to go, Kimbra.
"Miss? Miss, your ticket, please." An otter gave her a small wave, and Kimbra handed it over. Walked with the rest of the tour group and boarded the bus. She crossed her arms with a sigh while leaning back, choosing not to say anything to the husky beside her, even though he'd greeted her.
He could think she was rude. Whatever. Maybe this was the same stand-offish attitude that was pushing Bud away.
Her phone buzzed twice as a reminder she'd been texted, and the Samoyed finally pulled her phone from her back pocket. Looked at what Bud had sent. She almost dropped her phone straight into her lap when she saw how long the text was.
'Hey, honey. I just, um, wanted to text you, but I guess you're probably off by now, so I wanted to let you know we're staying the night in Fairbanks. Um, if you need anything, just call me, or call Adam, and we'll be there as fast as we can. I-I'm sorry that I didn't tell you first thing in the morning and that I screwed the tour up for us, and this isn't a good apology. I get it if you delete this and never read it, but I wanted to let you know how incredibly sorry I am for not telling you, and it won't happen again, I swear. I hope that um, that you have a great day today, enjoy the sunshine and have a good time. I love you.'
Kimbra huffed as she read the text. How oh-so-sorry Bud was that he'd left her to go with Adam, of all people, to Fairbanks, of all places.
She turned her phone off and turned back in her seat. Continued to stare out the window. The view was always beautiful, but her grumpy mood wasn't really letting her enjoy any of it.
Why would he rather hang out with Adam on a four-hour drive? And why skip their tour that she planned? Did he realize he actually didn't like her that much? Was it something she did? Something she said? Did Bud realize his feelings for her were just a temporary thing? He didn't actually like her… now, did he?
The Samoyed rested her head against the cold window and wondered if he cared at all.
Thanks a lot, Bud.
Snow fell lightly as Bud stretched his arms to the sky with a groan. After four, long hours of driving and one gas station stop, they had made it to the hotel.
"Sorry it's no Marriott, Bud. I know you're probably used to big swanky places being the capitalist you are." Adam stepped out of the car, moving to the back and opening the trunk.
Bud rolled his eyes. "It looks very nice. I've never been to a Bridgewater Hotel before. Oh, do you want help with the bags, by the way?" He asked, pointing to the trunk as he shut his door behind him.
"Nah, I got them." Adam shook his head as he shut the trunk back, bags now at his feet. "I'll check us in, just be careful getting to the entrance. There's a lot of ice, and Kimbra might kill me if something happens to you. She seems to like you a lot, or something."
Or something.
Bud nodded, walking slowly with Adam. Black ice was slick on the pavement, and he took his time getting to the hotel's entrance. "I'm fine. And she probably wants to kill me, at any rate, for today. So, I guess you're safe from any incurred wrath she may have."
"Incurred. That's a big word for such a small city boy."
"I'm not small. I'm very strong, actually. And of average male height." Bud stopped to shake the snow from his coat, and Adam simply stared at him with a face full of displeasure. Like he wouldn't be doing the same thing if he wasn't carrying their bags.
"I'm pretty sure that I'm stronger than you." Adam grinned meanly. "And height had nothing to do with this conversation. Neither did strength," he pointed out, "so that leads me to believe you brought that up because someone is insecure about their weak city boy arms."
"Listen." Bud started.
"Listening." Adam quipped. Walked up to the service desk to check them in, not paying attention to Bud. The hound wandered off to the complimentary coffee station with a grin as he spotted packets of hot chocolate snug in a small, storage container.
"I said, listening. Aaand I lost him," Adam muttered as he turned with the card. "BUD. BUD BERNARD FLUD. BUD BUD BUDDY FLUD."
Bud's head jerked up as he picked up two travel cups, face flushing a dark red as Adam yelled. "What? What's the matter?"
"Oh. There you are. Come on, passenger princess. We'll take the elevator." He waved the card at Bud and nodded towards the elevators with a grin.
"Adam Wulfe." Bud chastised as they walked over. Pressed the button with a knuckle, and stood back to wait for it.
"Bud Flud."
Bud gave him a look.
Adam snorted. "Loosen up, baby girl. We're here for a good time. You're the princess of many things. Passenger… pillow…"
Bud's face went red again and he almost dropped his cups. "Adam." He hissed. "You can't just say that."
"I can. And I did."
The elevator dinged, and Adam followed Bud through the doors. "Our room is on the third floor."
The hound pressed the button with a knuckle. Leaned back on the railing as the doors shut, and hummed. "You know Kimbra tried to trap me in an elevator when we first worked together?"
"Yeah. She told us." Adam shrugged, as if this wasn't anything new.
Surprise dawned on Bud's face. "Did she now?"
"Oh, yeah, she called Pa every night and asked if he would bail her out of jail if she committed murder."
"Sounds like my Kimbra." His voice was full of love. Adam yanked Bud back as he stopped in front of their room, and the hound let out a little grunt of surprise.
"You're so gross, man. I'm gonna barf from all that nasty lovey-dovey talk." He fake gagged, loudly, and snickered as Bud's face went green. "What's wrong?"
Bud shook his head with a grimace. "Nothing."
Adam shut the door behind them. Threw the suitcases on the ground before gagging again, and Bud sped walked to the bedroom with his hands over his ears.
"Fine then. Killjoy." He huffed with a shake of his head. Looked up as Bud called out.
"Hey, did you want to pick which bed you wanted?"
"What are we, twelve?"
"No. I was being courteous, Adam."
"I don't care. Just as long as you don't try to get me to sleep in the same bed as you."
Bud rolled his eyes. "No, Adam."
"I still can't believe you've tainted my baby sister by sleeping with her. Her poor pillowcases must be drowning in all that hair grease you use."
Bud ran an unconscious hand through his hair.
Sure, it was a lot, but… it was a habit. And old habits die hard.
"Okay, well, at least…" Bud turned down his covers for that night, ignoring Adam's snickering.
"You're never going to survive in this family if that's what all of your insults sound like, Bernard."
"I'm being nice, Adam. Oh, I made you hot chocolate, by the way." He jotted a thumb to the cups he'd sat down on the desk in the room, and Adam hummed.
"Greasy and a suck-up. I see you."
The hound frowned as he went to grab the suitcases from the doorway, where he knew either of them would trip easily.
He was just excited. When was the last time he'd done something fun with his own brother?
Something as simplistic as hot chocolate on a cold day?
Bud's eyes rimmed with uninvited tears, and his hands froze on the handles of the suitcases.
Their last Christmas together. He'd made Colin and himself huge mugs of hot chocolate. They'd watched the Polar Express that night. It was great fun.
Bud just wanted a brother again.
"Hey, you didn't do half bad on this, actually." Adam raised the cup in a cheers motion, not noticing his glazed eyes, nor the far off look painted across Bud's face.
"Hmm? Oh." Bud turned to face him slowly. "Thanks. I put creamer in there, too. Um, my brother and I did it all the time."
"You have a brother? That's not me?" Adam let out a noise of shock before chuckling as he leaned back. Pressed the cup to his chest, and scratched at the ribbed holder with a finger. Shuddered at the sensation, before doing it again. "I'm kidding. Colin Flud, right? That Scottish late night tv show host?"
Bud nodded, a small but pained smile picking up the corners of his mouth before dropping again.
"I… haven't talked to him in a while."
"Why, is he dead?" Adam asked before he could stop himself. He couldn't help it sometimes. Bud stared at him for a moment.
"Adam… if my brother… had passed on… I probably wouldn't be here with y'all right now."
"You'd be dead too?"
Bud waved him off as he stood from the edge of his bed, opened his suitcase to grab a travel case of toiletries, and walked to the bathroom.
"Don't take too long, or I'll start calling you a porcelain princess too, Buddy boy." The door locked shut, and Adam snickered. "But seriously, we need to leave around eleven for the museum."
"Got it." Bud called from the bathroom.
He took his time freshening up. A comb was pulled through his hair, loosening what was left of the hair gel from the night previous, before Bud froze.
The hound dug through the travel case once. Twice. Bit his knuckle as he faced the mirror, where his hair began to curl up at the edges.
"Damn poodle genes," he whispered to himself. He'd just wear a beanie the whole time he was in Fairbanks, then. No one would notice a thing.
Adam looked up from his phone as he heard the door shut, frowning as he watched a flash of brown disappear into a small alcove where a coffee pot was stored.
"What's the rush? We've got half an hour until we have to be there."
"Uhhh… nothing. No rush. Just needed to get… something…" There was a rustling of coat pockets and Adam pushed himself up to go investigate.
Bud jumped at Adam's reflection in the mirror, face full of curiosity as he came to see what the hound was doing.
"Is that… the logo of your company?" Adam snickered as he pointed to the blue beanie shoved firmly down on Bud's head.
"Uhh… yeah, why?"
"Why?"
"Why not?" Came Bud's inquisitive response.
"It's just weird you have merch for a water bottle company, is all I'm saying."
Bud shrugged as he peered into the mirror, adjusting a few pieces of out-of-place fur. "Eh. It sells pretty well since we use a reputable manufacturer, and excess is just given away to employees and their families."
"So little Buddy Boy isn't such a black-hearted capitalist after all, now is he?" Adam teased with a smile, and Bud rolled his eyes.
"Was I ever?"
"Ew. Don't get all philosophical with me. Is that how you stole my little sister's heart? 'If all the stars in the sky dimmed, you'd still be my guiding light' or something disgusting like that?"
Bud colored and looked away. So, what if he told her little phrases like that all the time? He was a poet. Couldn't help it sometimes.
"OH, GROSS, YOU HAVE." Adam yelled, causing the hound to flinch away from his voice.
"We're dating, Adam. Of course, I'm going to be sappy with my girlfriend. I love her, and I think poetry is one of the most raw forms of writing you can share."
"So you write her poems and stick letters under her pillow?" Adam snickered while walking to grab his keys from where he'd thrown them on the ground earlier.
"Will you make fun of me if I say yes?"
"Oh, absolutely. You should be flattered, Bernard." He patted Bud on the back as he made his way to the door.
Bud just rolled his eyes. "So flattered."
Adam tossed his keys into the air and caught them with a jingle. "Now come on, city boy. We've got a museum to tour."
Kimbra adjusted the phone on her shoulder while typing in a few dates. An excited smile was on the Samoyed's face as the tour pieced itself together.
"Yeah. I'm really excited. We're gonna go to Glacier Hills and then that gorgeous hiking tour, and maybe eat at one of the local diners afterwards. He would like the sunset. He's really into that sort of thing."
"You're really putting a lot into a tour for a man you wanted to kill not even a few months ago," Loren teased on the other side of the line.
Kimbra rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out, as if her father was in the same room. Which he might as well be.
"I saw that, Missy."
"Did not."
She sighed while folding the extra tour ticket, sticking it inside her purse.
All of that was for nothing now, wasn't it?
A white hare sat next to Kimbra, passing her the bottle of beer she'd ordered, and ran a hand through his dark hair. "You look frustrated. Something bugging you?"
Kimbra sighed again, dropping her hands into her lap morosely. "I planned this wonderful day out for me and my boyfriend, and he decided to ditch me and go to Fairbanks with my brother."
"Sheesh. Sounds rough. Need an opener?" He nodded to her bottle. Twisted the cap off his own as she nodded, before taking hers to pop the cap open with a thumbnail.
"Thanks," the Samoyed muttered as she took the bottle.
The two sat in silence, classical music floating in the air along with chattering of the other bar goers from the tour.
"I can't believe he ditched me for Fairbanks." She exploded. "Fairbanks! We literally have like… what, two weeks left here? He could have done that at any time, and it just had to be today. Cheers, Bernard!" Kimbra took a swig before raising her bottle sarcastically.
"Not to mention the fact it's Christmas Eve." The hare pointed out with a grimace.
"YEAH. NOT TO MENTION the fact, it's Christmas Eve. I bet this is a break-up trip, Jack."
"Ethan. And that would suck. You could always just ditch him here in Alaska. Is he a Samoyed too?"
"Hound. And Kimbra." She introduced herself in a miserable tone. "He'd probably die or something."
"Do you want that for him?"
"No. I want to be with him. Like, for a long time." Not that I'm already planning a wedding or anything, I'm not a hopeless romantic, she added the last part nonverbally. She really liked Bud, wanted this to work out, is all.
"Then I'm sure you'll forgive him eventually." Ethan shrugged. Patted her awkwardly on the shoulder.
Right now, Kimbra was too mad to be forgiving.
"Probably. I always do, apparently," she muttered, more to herself than anyone else.
She'd at least try to enjoy the rest of the day on her own. Without Bud.
The sky was a dull gray backdrop for snow-laden clouds. The Fairbanks Community Museum was decorated in wreaths and lights on the outside of the establishment, freshly fallen snow powdering the rooftops and foliage near the museum. It was magical, in Bud's eyes.
"Hey. Stop gawking at the locals, or one might eat you."
"Hmm?" Bud's eyes turned back to Adam. The Samoyed was already ten feet ahead of him, and Bud had to walk quickly to get back to his side.
"Geez, keep up slowpoke. Thought all you city boys knew how to walk fast." He shoved his hands in his pockets, swinging them lightly as they walked to the entrance.
"I was just admiring it all." Bud gestured with a hand. It was probably just another day for Adam, so of course the Samoyed wouldn't fully understand.
"Uh-huh…" Adam nodded. "Do you guys not have trees in St. Canard? Does the Grinch come and cut them down every year or something?"
Bud rolled his eyes with a small, amused smile. "Yeah, yeah. Very funny Adam. You know the Grinch doesn't exist."
There was a loud cough from behind him, and Bud looked back at a frazzled red panda whose daughter was close in his arms, beginning to wail at the new revelation.
"In… in Saint Canard! He doesn't exist where I live because he hates our town oh-so much! Right, Adam?"
"Yeah, yeah sure. Ohhh sure. Hates this guy the worst out of all of them. He's a capitalist."
Bud huffed and shook his head. "Adam."
"Remind me to warn his girlfriend to never have kids with him, am I right?" He and the father laughed, and hurt panged Bud deep as he turned and began to walk away quickly, ducking his head against a sharp, sudden winter wind that hit him in the face.
Adam wished the two a Merry Christmas before jogging to catch up with Bud.
"Awww you look pathetic. What's wrong?"
Bud let out a grunt. "Just trying to get to the front door, is all."
"Ohhhh I see what this is, you're upset. Did I hurt your feelings?" Adam pouted.
Bud opened his mouth before shutting it again. Swallowed.
There's no way he could have known.
"I… it's fine." Bud shook his head.
"Doesn't seem super fine if you're acting all prissy like this."
"I'm not being prissy. It's cold, and I'm trying to get to the front door without freezing to death."
"Oh, you're not going to die from a little wind chill, Bud." Adam rolled his eyes and scoffed.
"Maybe I will. You never know, Adam." Bud retorted as he balled his stiffening hands in the pockets of his coat. Willed his feet to move faster, and grabbed the handle with a sleeve covering his hand.
"You look like a kid doing that."
"I don't want to get germs on my hands."
"You look like a germ." His lips almost, almost, bent into a smirk.
Bud tried to shut the door before Adam could come in. The Samoyed pushed himself in with a grunt and gagged at Bud's white, stiff fingers that held on to the door firmly.
The hound threw his hands up at Adam while grabbing a hot hands from his pants pocket. Crushed it up before squeezing it between his hands.
"You brought snacks to a museum? Classy, Bernard."
"Yes, Adam. This is totally edible. A hot pad. I'm going to eat it as soon as I'm finished using it, yum yum."
"Okay, no need to be such a snark, geez." Adam stopped Bud as they walked up to a map on a sign, and hummed as he grabbed maps for both of them. "Okay, so we can go anywhere with our tickets, plus there's a pottery class riiiight here," he pointed to the top left, "that we're taking after lunch. There's a café in the lower level if you wanna eat there, or we can go to a restaurant around here. Fairbanks has a few."
"Just a few, huh?" Bud took his map and pocketed it, studying the board with Adam intently while thinking about how many restaurants and fast food places he'd seen on the way there. "And I'm really fine with whatever."
"I'm not taking you to a five-star restaurant with bottle service though, so don't get your hopes up city boy." Adam poked Bud in the side and nodded to a sign. "Want to go over there first?"
"Sure. We can."
"There's some stuff showing what the different Alaskan tribes used to wear. Ours is Siberian Yupik." Adam led the hound over to the displays. "We don't really wear these anymore, which sometimes makes tourists mad, and they go 'well you aren't REAL Alaskan natives, you don't even look like it.' " He rolled his eyes. "Morons."
"Tch. I'm sure they're surprised to see y'all using electricity instead of huge bonfires, too." Bud rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Morons indeed."
"We really don't like tourists most of the time due to that." He frowned at the display. "One time someone was like OH YOU USE CELL PHONES? HERE?"
Bud guffawed at that with an incredulous look. "For real? Did they really? What did they think Alaska was, a bunch of people on snowshoes and living out on a lake or something?"
"It's because of stereotypes and a long list of other stuff. People are just idiotic and insensitive."
Bud tucked his head and snorted as he shook it. "I just hate y'all gotta deal with that. It sucks."
"Yeah there's a lot of struggles with that. Like, Kimbra got a ton of backlash and struggled hard with her whole science career due to it. Because people don't think she's capable of anything due to her background." Adam snorted. "People are just dumb and arrogant. I just ignore it now."
"Yeah… sometimes I forget English isn't her first language, and when I'm reminded it makes me think."
"Think? Wow, that's a new one." Adam teased, grinning as Bud rolled his eyes. The smallest of smiles tugged on the corners of his mouth.
"Ha, ha. Very funny. What I mean , Adam, is that every new day I get to wake up with her and learn more about my Kimbra just helps the respect I already have for her to grow."
"So Bud Bernard Flud respects women, huh?"
"Yes. Yes, he does." Bud's eyes roamed the displays surrounding them, and his attention was drawn in by a large, spread-out parka tacked to the wall. He squinted at the description of the item, and Adam snickered while elbowing the hound.
"Your eyes that bad, old man? We can go over there if you want to look at it."
"I have perfect vision, thank you very much." Bud shook his head as he walked over to the case. "San… sa-night-ack?"
Adam let out a wheeze. "Sanightack? Tell me you're a tourist without telling me you're a tourist."
Bud blushed embarrassed. "I'm trying, okay? And besides, I'd think you'd want me to learn about the culture of a family I might be married into one day, am I wrong?"
Oh, he liked this one.
Adam grinned. "Yeah. It's nice that you want to learn, though. Kimbra will definitely appreciate the dedication."
"So, Mister Museum, how do you pronounce the word?"
"Sa-nikh-TAAQ," Adam spoke slowly to the hound, who repeated it back to him once, then twice. "Yeah, you got it! Maybe you're not so useless after all."
Bud let out a scoff, although a smile was spreading across his face and his tail wagged behind him. "Yeah, yeah." He looked back to the parka to skim over the informational bit pasted next to the article of clothing, eyes going wide in surprise.
"What?"
"It's made of sea mammal intestines?"
"Yyyyep. Also, I'm gonna tell Kimbra you're into that now." Adam snickered while pulling his phone out to bother his sister.
"I am not."
"You very much are."
"Adam Wulfe-"
"Bud Flud."
They locked eyes and stared at each other before the two couldn't help but burst out into loud, happy laughter.
"Okay, come on. Let's keep looking around, so we have enough time to eat before our class this afternoon."
"Good deal."
The two started on their way again, and as they perused through the museum, Bud started to think.
He really hadn't expected today to be so much fun. But surprisingly, everything was going well.
In truth, Bud could hardly believe how much he enjoyed Adam's company. The man was somewhat pleasant, when he wasn't openly trying to get on your nerves. He felt like a brother, which Bud wasn't all that sure if he liked that or not.
After the two ate in the downstairs café, they came back up with an hour to spare before their pottery class.
Bud tilted his takeout coffee cup back and forth as he looked around the large lobby, having been asked by Adam where they should go next.
"Let's sit down for a bit, actually."
"I would call you an old man, but I'm pretty stuffed from lunch. Might be nice to take a quick break." Adam tilted his head.
They went to sit on a bench, and Bud pulled out his phone. Checked his messages, and let out a soft sigh when he saw he'd been left on read. He would just call her, then.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm gonna check on Kimbra."
"Really? Little obsessive, don't you think?"
"No, I just care about her. I want to make sure she's okay and that the tour went well for her."
"Ah, I'm so touched. That was so beautiful, Bud." Adam mockingly wiped a non-existent tear from his eye.
Bud rolled his eyes, holding the phone up to his ear. It rang, not once, but several times. The hound almost wasn't sure if she would even answer. Was she still mad?
Kimbra fished her phone out of her pocket, trying to ignore the loud music that blared out from the nearby jukebox. She squinted at the blurry screen as she put together the letters B-U-D.
She shushed the hiking team around her. Her finger hit the answer button. Pressed the phone against her ear and did her best to not sound full out drunk.
"Hellooooooo?"
"Honey, you picked up! How's everything been going today?"
"Buddyyy OHMYGODDDDDD HIIIII." Kimbra leaned against the bar. "Fine. I'm just... hanging with my tour group. Just doing nothin'. Absolutely nothinggggg at all."
"Uhhhh yeah."
She shifted on the stool as one of the hikers laughed at something someone had said. It wasn't exactly a lie, as they had eaten at the bar.
"What are you doing?"
"Sitting with Adam at the museum he took me to. He had a crush on this husky he met in pottery class,, you should get him to ask the guy out. I'm, ah, glad you got to get some food today, honey. Have you been keeping hydrated, though? Had plenty of water?"
"Yeahhhhhhhhh and ew, that's gross." She giggled a bit. "He never listens to me. Never ever ever everrr."
"Sunshine… Can I ask you a question?"
"Mm yeah? What?"
"Have you… have you had anything alcoholic to drink today, my love?" He asked the question in a gentle, loving tone, although his heart already held the answer that he didn't want to hear for himself.
Kimbra scoffed loudly, placing a hand on her hip.
"What? Noooooo of course not!" Her tone wasn't all that convincing. "Why are ya askin' me that?"
"Because you sound drunk, Kim. Where are you at right now, if I may ask?"
"No you sound drunk. And I'm at Glacier Hills with my friends." Kimbra breathed into the phone, blinking slightly as she tried to refocus her vision. "You don't even like me anymore, why do you care?"
"I'm definitely not drunk. And of course, I still like you. I love you. You're my best friend, my girlfriend. Why would you think that, love?"
"You didn't even want to spend today with me. You ran off with my dumb brother who has a stupid face. He doesn't even smell nice."
Kimbra rested her cheek on the counter top of the bar. She felt tired.
"Is it because I'm getting older, I can be prettier if you want me to? Or am I too fat? Or do I snore too loud?" She went quiet for a moment before going on. "Is it because I'm gonna die someday because my brain is stupid, and you don't want to deal with taking care of me? It's something that's wrong with me, isn't it?"
Bud's mouth went dry as she finished speaking, and he looked down at his knees as tears welled in his eyes. "W-what? Kimbra… honey nooo no, no no. None of those things. I just got too excited this morning and forgot to tell you that we were going. I… you're gorgeous. And I actually sleep better with you snoring a-and nothing is wrong with your weight. You're healthy and intelligent and there's nothing that could keep me from loving you, Kim. I-I would never leave you…"
Kimbra sniffed, her eyes getting watery. "Noooooo you hate me. You didn't want to spend the day with me because you hate meeeee. I'm sorry I'm not good enough for you."
"Kimbra… if I thought any of those things, do you think we would still be dating? That I would have come all the way to Alaska for you? If I truly didn't want to spend the day with you, I wouldn't have even texted or called to tell you what was going on. Are you and the tour group heading home soon?"
"I dunnoooooo and nooooooo. Some of them are staying here at a hotel. I'm just gonna… stay here. Take a nap. I found a corner that looks comfy. Just a little nap. Little nappy. Nap nap." She kept her cheek pressed against the bar. "And if you didn't think any of those things, you would have come with me today. Now I'm sad, and I don't like being sad. It's making me think about my dumb brain and my mommy and I miss her a lot and it's unfair. A daughter shouldn't outlive her mom, but I'm gonna in a few years and that's pretty fucked up."
Bud's eyes went wide at the prospect of her being in a hotel with people she'd never met, alone and drunk in Glacier Hills. He grabbed his right ear and gave it a tug, wrapping his hand around it to squeeze it nervously as he kept the anxiety out of his voice.
"I don't think you should be staying in a hotel with people you don't know, love. And no, sweetheart, I swear to you that I don't think any of those things a-and I'm so, so sorry that made you think of your Mom… Kimbra I swear I'm so sorry. Do you want us to come and get you? We can do that, sweetheart, or have one of y-" He froze and sat back in his seat. "Say, what's the name of the hotel you're at right now, sweetest?"
Kimbra mumbled a bit before speaking more clearly. "They're my best friends. I love them, Buddy. They're nice to me and said I'm pretty and funny. I love them." She sniffed. "I nap now. Shhhhh don't tell Papa. He thinks I have a problemmm. And nooooo I don't like my bed. I don't like it there. It reminds me of my momma and it hurts. I'm tired of hurting and of feeling, I want to sleep."
She sat up slowly, blinking a few times. "I'm sorry, I know you hate me."
"I know that you're hurting, my love. And I could never, ever hate you, okay?"
He pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment to look at Adam.
"Look up tours that stop in Glacier Hills hotels, find the one she's at and text whoever is closest to go get her, please. She's drunk and alone, Adam." His face was pale, eyes wide as he whispered to the Samoyed before turning his attention back to the phone. "Sleeping is nice, though, isn't it? We'll get to take a really, really nice nap together soon enough~"
"But you dooooo you're so pretty and smart and successful. You have nice hair and can actually talk to people. I'm just a mean, ugly loser who's just gonna die from some brain disease. It's no wonder you didn't want to spend the day with me."
She eased off the stool, holding on to the bar. "I'm gonna... go lay down on the couch… night night."
Adam did as he was told, leaning over to Bud and whispering; "The only hotel the tour stops at is Crystal Skies."
"Kimbra… you don't even k-know if y-you have it. And I'm not leaving you, ever . You're stuck with me until the end of time, just like you once told me. Honey, I don't know if it's such a good idea to fall asleep right now, okay?" To Adam, he nodded and made a calling motion with his hand.
The ever part was a bit of a stretch, considering they hadn't been dating long. But she felt bad and needed comfort. So, he'd say anything at this point to make her feel better. Anything that would help.
"I probably doooooo, it hasn't skipped a generation ever in my family. None of my siblings have it, so guess who's left? Me ! And… Adam, but he smells, so he doesn't count." Kimbra dropped down dramatically onto the couch. "I'm sleepy, I wanna sleep. Don't be mean to me again."
Adam scrolled through his phone, looking for someone to call to pick Kimbra up.
Bud let his hand drift from his ear down to his chest, shoulders drifting inwards as he began to feel rather short of breath.
She probably did. She probably did. She probably did.
Hadn't ever skipped a generation in her family…
How was he supposed to live without her?
"I… of course not. Just… stay on the couch, okay? You can nap, and it'll all be alright once you wake up."
"You're really really really mean." She curled up on the couch, still holding the phone to her ear. "And no, it won't. I'm gonna wake up with a headache, and you're gonna yell at me."
"Now, Kimbra… I'm not going to yell at you." He protested softly while frowning.
"You're gonna yell at meeeee. You're going to yell that I went out drinking and that I almost took some weird little pill a weirdo at the bar tried to give me."
Kimbra didn't mention that it was actually a tic tac, as she was too drunk to understand what it was.
"Or because I went through George Clooney's social media and liked all of his photos and asked him if he was singleeeeeee." She threw her head back and sobbed. "I didn't mean ittttt. I'm sorryyyyy."
"You-you almost took a-" Bud slowly leaned over and unzipped his vest all the way, rolling out his shoulders and resting his chin on a hand. "No, honey, that's okay. I'm sure he's very flattered, but I wouldn't yell at you over something like that. B-but are you okay? You didn't take anything, right? Just drank and ate food?"
"No I just ate and drank wayyyyyyyyyyyyy too much."
She threw her arm over her head, resting it behind her. She looked at her phone, squinting at it as a notification popped up.
"NOOOO HE LIKED MY COMMENTTTTT I'M A WHORE." Kimbra began to wail.
"Baby, you're not a whore. You're just drunk." Bud tried to soothe her. His leg jiggled nervously.
"Shhhh you're the drunk one."
"Lovely, I'm not drunk."
"Shshshsh. Shh, shh. Shhhhhh."
"Kimbra-"
"Shhh."
"Kimbra."
"Shushushush. Shush." She repeated, with more finality, that time.
"How about you relax and take a little nap, okay?"
"Noooooooooooo don't leave me againnnn." She whined, laying on her side.
Adam whispered in Bud's ear. "Al is going to get her. He's nearby because he was replacing his skates."
Bud nodded as he shut his eyes. "I won't, my love. I swear I won't. Would it help if I sang to you? Would that be nice?" He wasn't one to sing in front of people like this, but… there wasn't a crowd, and if Adam gagged, so be it.
"No because you're mad at me."
"I'm not mad. I'm just… worried, darling. I want you to be okay." He took in a shaky, deep breath.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm just worried." He kept his voice soft as he rubbed at his aching chest with a hand.
"Well... maybe you should just leave me, so you don't have to put up with me."
"I'm not going to leave you," Bud restated firmly.
"You willllll. I'm a mess, and you're too good for that."
"If anything, you're too good for me," Bud muttered, his chest aching harder at his girlfriend's words.
"I'm gonna… order another drink." Kimbra didn't hear him, waving over at the bar to get the bartender's attention.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Kimbra. Would… a song help you? To relax? Take your mind off things? I can sing to you."
Please say yes.
A small huff from the phone echoed in Bud's ear. "No, because I started thinking again, and I don't want to think."
"Okay… how about we talk then? We can talk about whatever you want, sweetie." He turned to Adam with a look of distress. "How far out is Al?" He whispered nervously.
"I don't want to talkkkkkkkkk. I want to just forgettttt. I hang up now. Bye bye Clooney."
Adam glanced at his phone with a grimace. "He's like ten minutes away. He said he's almost there now."
"Tell him to drive faster." Bud scrubbed his face with a hand as Kimbra hung up on him, and whined nervously while running a hand through his hair.
"He said he's pulling into the parking lot," Adam shoved his phone into his pocket. "Did you want to get our stuff at the hotel and head back? Or wait until tomorrow?"
"U-um…" Bud sat his phone down on the bench and swallowed nervously while carding his hands through his hair. He needed to get out of the walls closing around him. His chest hurt and it was hard to breathe.
This really was his fault. If he hadn't been so stupid and asked, at least had woken her up, she wouldn't be drunk right now. She wouldn't be alone at some random hotel and four hours away from him. They'd probably be enjoying a great meal together and talking about the day… he'd screwed up oh so badly today. And now he was going to mess it up for him and Adam. Had to stop.
He had to stop and breathe and calm down and act like a business owner and a man without a million stupid problems that always raged through his mind and threatened to drag him under a wave of panic and pain.
Needed to fight against the waves. Break the surface and swim against it and get back to shore. He had to fix this. Couldn't go numb. No, he had to be numb. Numb to emotions and numb to feelings. His own issues could wait. He could wait.
He could wait.
Adam rested a hand on Bud's shoulder, leaning close to the hound. "Do you want me to get our stuff and we head home? We can make it back in time for dinner. It's fine if you wanna go, Bud."
Bud took in a deep breath and focused on Adam's voice, pulling himself down from his headspace and back to the ground. The hound shuffled his feet on the ground and room in a deeper breath before sitting up and turned to Adam with a small smile. He flipped the switch and he was fine .
"Oh, that's alright. We know that Kimbra's okay, now, so we can keep updated with Al as the day progresses. Did you want to check out the museum's top floor?"
"Are you sure?"
"Totally," he stood slowly and held a hand out to Adam with a small smile.
"Mhmm if you say so, Flud."
They were at the museum for another two hours, before perusing the gift shop for about forty minutes.
Bud found several things he was excited to buy for Kimbra, and Adam made fun of every single thing. But that was fine because Bud Bernard Flud could take a few insults and snark back. His quick thinking was one of the things that made him such a good businessman, and now, it gave him witty comebacks that had them both laughing within no time. Almost took his mind off the whole 'girlfriend being drunk four hours away thing' off his mind.
Almost.
But as they left the museum and a new snowstorm brewed in the form of freshly fallen snow and dark gray clouds, Bud could feel his anxiety return. Maybe it was just the seasonal depression pulling him back under rolling waves of anxiety at the sight of those gray skies, or maybe it was because of how long it had been since he'd seen the sun. Exactly eight hours. Exactly four hundred and eighty minutes, twenty-eight thousand and eight hundred seconds. He felt alive in her warmth, but now that she was gone, he was back to being… blah.
Bud sighed as he set the bags in the back seat. The gift shop bags crinkled in the back seat as they fell over each other, and the hound found himself becoming increasingly annoyed at the smallest things. The smell of gasoline in the lot. The way Adam kept making these random noises. Him almost slipping while getting into the car. The texture of the seat-belt.
The way his brain was echoing guilt at him for leaving his girlfriend and the tour she'd planned for them for Adam and Fairbanks.
So, he did the only thing he could think of.
After buckling up, Bud wrapped a hand around his ear, and tugged.
"Dude, are you trying to tear your ears off or something?" Adam teased after he'd watched Bud yank on his ears for a good five minutes now. His smile dropped as he realized the hound wasn't doing it for fun.
"Hey, quit that. Those aren't made of Velcro, you can't just rip 'em off." Adam reached over and batted away Bud's hand.
Bud huffed and reached a hand back up to wrap around his ear. "They're my ears. I can rip them off if I want to. Free will, Adam. Have you ever heard of it?"
"Geez, man. She's fine. She's drunk. She'll move into her sad Kimbra drunk stage in the next… thirty minutes, an hour? Probably call you again. You don't need to be so anxious over it."
Wow, why had he never thought of that? Just don't be anxious… what a crazy concept!
Bud counted backwards from ten, not wanting to say anything to the other man he would regret later on.
"I'm trying."
"To be anxious?"
So, THIS is what Kimbra had to live with for eighteen years of her life?
Bud decided he wouldn't answer as they pulled out of the lot. He simply wasn't going to fight with the Samoyed. Just tug on his ears, and worry about his darling girlfriend.
The drive back to the hotel had been relatively quiet, the air surrounding Bud tense as the hound's mind churned up scenario after scenario of his girlfriend in different but just as equally terrible situations. Adam hadn't remarked much on his demeanor. Or maybe he had. Bud couldn't really hear anything except the own blood whooshing in his ears.
Once they were back in the room, Bud flopped onto the bed, grabbed a pillow and hugged it to his aching stomach.
"What's wrong with you?" Adam raised an eyebrow at the pale hound as he laid back on his own bed, pulling up a game on his phone to play.
Bud sighed, hugging the pillow tighter to himself. "Just nervous for my girlfriend, is all. She fell asleep in a hotel of strangers, Adam. Drunk. Alone, no less in a hotel full of strangers."
"Who's fault is that? Didn't you leave her to go with me in the first place?" Adam pointed out.
Bud opened, and shut his mouth again. He rolled over onto his side, facing away from Adam. If he didn't have anywhere to be, he would probably go and get drunk, himself.
It was his fault.
He'd missed the tour, and now she was all alone at the cabin and drunk. Alone with her thoughts, all the hurt that she kept inside without someone to care for her. Well. There was Loren. And Al, if he stayed.
If he'd gone, she wouldn't have gone off and gotten drunk.
Adam scoffed lightly at the whine he heard emit from Bud.
"Dude. It's not that serious. She's drunk, sure, but she'll sober up. Once we get back, you can yell at her aaaaall you want. Dang it." Adam shook his phone as he lost. Again. He turned his full attention on the hound, ready to antagonize and terrorize him after a full day out with the man.
"I don't yell. Especially not at my girlfriend." Bud shook his head, the dark strands curling up at the nape of his neck as he moved.
"Oh you will. She's annoying. Smelly. Dumb. I yell at her all the time."
Bud squinted at Adam as he rolled over to face him, pillow still in arms. "She's not annoying. She's funny and smells like vanilla and the smartest person I know. She has a PhD and knows three languages, Adam." He shot back.
"Ohhh someone's got it bad, huh?" Adam smirked.
"I love her. So, I guess I do, as you say, 'got it bad.'" Bud air-quoted.
"Sheesh, defensive much?"
Bud rolled his eyes before scrubbing his face with his hands, then ran them through his hair. "No, no. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to come across as such. As I said before, I'm just worried about her. I don't like it when she hurts."
And it was all his fault.