More Than Friends

Part 169 (Hardin)

Saturday morning I wake up feeling happy— happy to be in love with Tessa, happy she's in love with me, happy to be getting married soon, happy that someday I'll be creating a family with the most amazing woman I've ever met and happy I'll get to wake up to her beautiful face every day for the rest of my life.

I reach for Tessa as I turn over to face her, but she's not in bed. She must have gotten up early again. I swear, I'm going to have to teach that girl what weekends are all about— sleeping in and making good use of the bed.

I pull off the covers and pull on a pair of jeans before going to search the apartment for my breathtaking fiancée.

"Tess?" I call out after I open the bedroom door. I continue to walk around the apartment and check all the rooms, but I don't find Tessa. She didn't say anything last night about going anywhere this morning. Where the hell is she?

I go back to the bedroom and grab my phone. First I text her, but when she doesn't answer after five minutes, I decide to call her. I hear The Fray start playing in the room and glance over to the nightstand. Tessa left her phone at home. Now I have no idea where she is and I have no way to reach her.

I try my best not to panic, but when Tessa's missing, that's pretty fucking hard to do. I start pacing the room and keep absentmindedly running my fingers through my hair. Then it hits me. I'll check the roof. I know it's a long shot, but it's worth a try. If she's not there, I'll put out an APB, Amber Alert, missing person report and anything else I need to in order to find that stubborn girl.

I quickly rush to the rooftop and once I'm up there, I search the whole roof, but there's no Tessa. I'm back to square one and her photo's about to be on every news show, billboard, missing person website, and telephone pole.

I return to the scene of the crime and the last place I saw her— in bed with me. I start tossing the pillows on the floor and throwing the sheets and blankets off the bed in a fit of anger. Suddenly, a brightly coloured paper starts to float gently through the air before landing on the floor in front of my feet. It's a piece of Tessa's stationery with her handwriting. I bend down and greedily pick it up before reading it.

"Hardin, I didn't want to wake you this morning because you looked so peaceful. I've had a lot on my mind lately and I just felt that I really needed some time alone, so I could think and figure things out. I'm sorry if I worried you. I promise I'll be back before we have to meet Emma and Nate for dinner. I love you, Hardin, with all my heart."

What? This isn't just some casual 'Be back before dinner' note. It's saying a whole lot more than that. And frankly, that scares me. I know this whole mess with her mother has really been weighing on her, but I'm starting to get the feeling there's something else going on with her. I love hearing Tessa tell me she loves me, but the way she said it in this letter, it almost feels like a goodbye. Now that I think about it, she hasn't been acting like her usual bubbly self all week. I just thought she was sad about her mother, but I'm starting to think there's more to it and that it has to do with... us.

Fuck! How could I not have seen this sooner? I know things were fine with us at the bed and breakfast. Everything went to shit after she ran into her mother. But how does running into that horrible woman possibly have anything to do with our relationship? I don't understand why Tessa wouldn't just talk to me if something was bothering her.

This is getting me no where! I have more questions than answers. The only person that can explain all of this is Tessa, so I'm going to go find her. I grab my keys off the counter and rush to my car. As soon as I read that she needed to be alone, so she could think, I knew exactly where she went.

I drive as fast as I can without getting a ticket, until I finally pull up to that familiar clearing in the woods. I just know Tessa is here. She has to be.

After jogging as quickly as I can through the woods, I see Tessa sitting on the edge of the dock. I feel both relief and anger. I'm so thankful she's safe, but I'm also upset she decided to run away instead of just talking to me about what's really bothering her.

I slowly walk along the dock, my boots making heavy thuds against the planks, until I finally reach the girl who's become my lifeline.

Tessa slowly turns around when she's startled by the noise. "Hardin? What are you doing here? How did you find—"

"Theresa Lynn Young, what the fuck?!"

"Hardin, I left a note," she explains quietly.

"Yeah, well, I didn't find it until I realized you were gone with no phone and started freaking out, ripping apart the bed. What are you doing here?"

"I told you, I had some... things to figure out," she says sadly as she fidgets with her hands.

I take a seat beside her on the edge of the dock. "What things, Tessa? What's going on with you?"

"Um..."

"If you're still upset about your mother, I don't want you to run away. I want you to talk to me. Tess," I say as I take her shaking hands in mine, "please, talk to me, baby."

"Hardin... I don't even know how to say this," she says before taking a deep breath. "I've been doing a lot of thinking and I need you to know, I haven't made this decision lightly..."

"Tess, you're really fucking scaring me right now."

"Hardin, I love you. I always have and I always will, but..."

"But?!"

"I don't want to get married anymore."