Our Time Will Come - An After Story

89

Tessa

"Tessa, please. Just hear me out. You know I didn't do it!" My husband attempts to grovel. It's been five hours since he arrived home and I'm yet to talk to him. He hasn't slept, I haven't slept, the atmosphere is horrendous. I contemplate telling him to sit down, so we can talk, but I continue to ignore him like the stubborn bitch I am. I have my rights! We have had news reporter after news reporter turn up at our house, demanding an interview all morning and I have just about had enough.

"Thanks for letting me crash here, you guys" I'm dazzled when Hardin's father enters the kitchen. He brought Hardin home from the police station and it didn't feel right to let him drive back to his place on no sleep. "It's fine" I bluntly smile. I'm thankful for what Vance did for us last night, but that's not to say that all is forgiven for what he did to Hardin and the way he treated Kimberley. He takes a seat at the table and I hear Hardin fuss from across the room.

"Still giving him the cold shoulder, huh?" Vance chimes and I give him the glare of death. Who is he to judge? "I'm not judging" he raises his hand in defence. "I'm the last person to judge anybody, especially with the way I've behaved" he admits. "It's none of my business" I sigh.

"You have the right to know" he looks me in the eye and I take a deep breath before nodding in agreement. "Hardin. I know you're listening. You do too" he gestures for Hardin to join us. Hardin rolls his eyes before following his gesture to take a seat. "No offence, there are more important things to worry about right now than your fuck ups" Hardin scoffs. "Hardin" I warn him, putting emphasis on his name.

"I know that, but we haven't talked in months..
then I just show up out of nowhere.. Don't you think you deserve an explanation?" Vance raises an eyebrow. Hardin is silent, giving him the go ahead to talk. "The reason I've been quiet for so long is .. I've been in rehab" he reveals, taking in a deep breath. "Rehab?" I gawp. "Yes. I was struggling with alcoholism" he admits. Hardin's eyes emphasise with his Father's struggles, I find myself placing a hand over Hardin's.

"It had been a tough couple of months at the office. I lost a three million dollar contract" Vance reveals and Hardin sucks a breath in. "Tell me about it. I got myself so down about it, that I felt empty. I started to use alcohol to fill the void of what I'd lost. The pressure I was under was insane. I felt like the biggest failure. I got hard to be around. I would snap at Kim for no reason, I would take my bad mood out on Smith and Raya and everybody else. Things got bad" his voice grows softer.

"One night when I was shitfaced, the twins had just been born, I took it as an opportunity to call Trish. I wasn't thinking straight. Things were rough between Kimberly and I and Trish had recently told me that she still loved me. I thought that Trish would be something else that could fill the empty void" he admits and Hardin shifts uncomfortably in his seat. It can't be easy hearing him talk about his mom like that.

"I called her and she told me that her and Mike had gotten back together. It was like I'd lost something else, even though she was never mine to lose. I got shitfaced again and you were having the welcome home party for the twins. I wanted to take my anger out on someone and You were an easy target" he admits. Hardin stays silent. I would say something, but I admire his honesty.

"When I realised what I had done and that you had to go to the hospital as a result of my actions.. I had to do something. I had compromised the life of my own son and I couldn't forgive myself" he stares down at the ground. "Not only that, I had completely humiliated Kimberly, Smith and Raya. They were embarrassed to have me as their husband and father" he sniffles. That has to be a hard pill to swallow.

"So I booked myself into a rehab centre over in Washington and let me tell you, It was the best thing I ever did. Kim was allowed to visit me once a week and I got stronger and stronger. Not only did it cure my addiction, but it made me a better person overall. Since leaving that place three weeks ago, I have been doing everything in my power to make it up to the kids and Kimberley and I have never been happier. I apologised to Trish and Mike and I was ready to start a fresh" Vance chimes and Hardin claps sarcastically. I silently scold him.