The Summer Before

Chapter Forty-Five

Levi

I didn't sleep a wink that night, worrying about Tessa. I hoped nothing bad happened to her, but my mind kept running through worst-case scenarios, driving me crazy. It took everything I had not to call Micah and Colin every hour to see if they'd heard anything from Tessa.

It would have been easier for me to call her myself and see if she'd answer, but when I asked Colin for her number, he threw several choice words my way and refused to give up the information. I guess I deserved that.

By nine AM, I couldn't take it any longer. I called Micah again, desperate to find out if they'd heard from Tessa. My heart dropped when he said they hadn't.

My worst nightmare started playing out in my head- Tessa alone, hurt on the side of the road with a dead cell phone, and with no one nearby to hear her screams for help. She was so upset when she left. Upset because of me.

Why didn't I try harder to stop her? Why didn't I jump in front of her car and refuse to move?

Had I done that, she probably would have run me over. Not that I blame her. It's better than I deserve after treating her the way I did last summer.

As hurt as I was, I should have talked to her and clarified what I thought I saw. I realize that now, but what if it's too little too late?

What if she's really gone this time? What if it's too late to fix this?

Fuck, I hope she's okay.

*

*

*

Colin

"I'm going to kill him!"

"Babe," Micah pled calmly.

"I'm going to string him up, chop off all his favorite parts, and fucking kill him if anything happened to her!" My blood pressure was through the roof.

I still hadn't heard back from Tessa. After finding out she packed up and left last night because of something Levi said, I was livid. She drove all the way to Surf City alone and upset. What the fuck!

Micah tried calming me down as I continued my tangent, pacing around our living room while sending another text to Tessa's phone.

"He seemed pretty upset about it too. It's pretty obvious he cares if something happens to her."

I whipped my head around, glaring at him. "If he cared so much, he wouldn't have let her go! He wouldn't have done whatever the hell he did to make her so upset in the first place!"

Micah sighed, running his hands down his face as I returned to my pacing. I called Leah earlier and filled her in on the situation. She tried calling Tessa, too- to no avail.

None of us wanted to call Jason and Charlotte and worry them unless we had to. They were on a plane by now anyway and didn't need to stress over anything while they were on their honeymoon.

Micah suggested we give Tessa a little more time to respond before we called out the cavalry. I agreed to wait another hour, but all bets were off after that.

If I had to drive to Surf City myself to verify that she was okay, I would do it. I had half a mind to do so after Levi's call last night, but my better half convinced me not to do anything rash. Plus, I was in no condition to drive anywhere, and neither was Micah, thanks to the open bar at the reception.

So, we've been anxiously awaiting a call from Tessa to let us know she's not dead on the side of the road somewhere. And it's literally killing me!

I open up another text to her when I feel a warm hand on my arm. "I'm sure she's fine, babe. Her phone probably died on her way, and I'm sure she's letting it charge before she replies."

Micah's hands rub up and down my arms soothingly, making me relax a fraction. "I just hate not knowing."

"I know," he replies, "just give her a little more time before you start planning a rescue mission. She may not need one."

I let out a long sigh, letting my head fall back onto Micah's shoulder. "What the hell did he do that would make her so upset she had to drive all the way back to Surf City? She could have just come here."

"I don't know, but I'm sure she'll tell you when she calls you back." I feel Micah place a kiss on the side of my head as I reel, trying to figure out what the fuck happened between Tessa and Levi last night.

From what I saw, they were fine. They were flirty and cozy all night, verging on the side of hot and bothered by the time they left. I assumed they'd screw each other's brains out and agree to call a truce on the weird feud they've been involved in since last summer.

We all know something happened between them last summer, but neither of them told anyone what exactly transpired. Micah, Leah, and I all assume it involves sex. Our theory is that they fucked and couldn't agree on where to take their relationship from there, so it imploded.

Leah told me that Tessa's last night at the lake was awful. She saw Levi at the bar that night, all over some girl we'd never seen before. Leah said Tessa was pretty upset over it and left shortly after.

I was still miserable from the night before, so I skipped the bar that night, forfeiting my chance to see everything play out first-hand. Though I do remember Tessa coming home before everyone else, packing up her things, and saying she had to get back home early.

She said it was because of work, but I didn't buy it at the time. Tessa looked very upset, on the verge of tears, when she came running through the front door. I never had a chance to probe her for information before she'd called a cab and disappeared into the night.

Fucking hangover from hell!

It was strange, though; shortly after she left, Levi burst through the doors, asking where she was. When I told him she was gone, he looked distraught. At the time, I was in too much distress to think much of it, but perhaps there's more to it than I originally thought.

I didn't see him again until the following morning, and he looked miserable. Broken. I figured Tessa would fill me in on everything later, but she never said a word.

If she ever calls me back, I'll have to get that information out of her too. It's time she tells us what happened last summer. No more shutting us out.

As soon as the thought left my head, my phone rang. I looked down at the screen to see who it was.

I quickly answered, "What the fuck!"

A/N: 

Seeing a little of Colin's perspective this time. What did you all think?