nevertheless~

part 80

HARDIN’S POV

I sit down at the breakfast table and contemplate my next course of action. While being here with Tessa is important, I can’t throw away my life. I did that and now I am seeing the backlash of it. Landon has called me thirteen times in the last 2 days.

“Hardin, thank god you called. Did you even know what all has happened here?”, he says as soon as he receives  my call.

“What?”.

“Well, the BOD really liked you, they are heavily considering you for the opening.”, he says, giving me the good news.

“Tessa’s opening or the opening that we were competing for?”, I ask, being concerned about what the opening is because the narrative is very different in that sense.

“Tessa’s openings. They are considering giving her opening to the person who doesn’t get the promotion, as a settlement.”, he tells me.

“Why do they think I am good enough for it?”.

“Because you actually have the skill set and the technical competency. Hardin, don’t sell yourself short. Just because Ichor has Jonathan’s back, doesn’t mean that, that can sway the panel’s decision.”

“Alright, you asshole. But I don’t forgive you for what you did. You watched me break down and there wasn't a sliver of you that thought to tell me”, I say, chaffed in my heart.

“Save the attitude for after the promotion. I have already apologized to you, multiple times about that. I didn’t think I could tell you that, because your girlfriend made me promise not to. This was all her, not me.”, he says.

“Fine. But don’t think I will not hold this against you. You don’t know me half if you think I will not.”

“And we should change that, don’t you think?”, I hear as Tessa enters the kitchen with a watering can.

“Right. Landon, do you think I can call you back later?”, I ask, as she saunters over to the door that leads to her fathers backyard. Keeping the phone down, I think to myself that this could end one of the two ways, we could either talk about all of this as maturely as we do and work it out, she’ll tell me the truth and we’ll find a way to resurrect our lives back, Or she could break my already bruised heart and we get done forever.
I wish in the deepest parts of my heart, I was overexaggerating this, but I am not, if she breaks up with me today, everything I had built up the courage to give myself the joy of having, I will lose. I really will, I haven't dated a single person since I saw her the first day in the office, 2 years back, I haven't slept with anyone ever since, so clearly this was all for her.

“Good morning”, she says to me, as I shut the door after us and meet her in the backyard.

“Morning”, I quietly say. Jet lags are a real thing, so it doesn’t help that we are awake at this god awful hour.

“You said you wanted to talk. I assume we owe each other some answers.”, I approach her, as she waters the blooming flowers, the greenery in them getting livelier as my heart grows blue.

“Why did you follow me here?”, she asks, as she looks up to me, the water in the can over now, her attention solely to me.

“Because you left. I had to come after you. What did you expect me to do when you left like that?”, I say.

“I had expected you to be there.”, she scoffs as she walks away to the small faucet in the corner, disappearing into the thicket.

“Why would you leave like that?”, I stand outside the thicket she has disappeared in.