After Everything (Hessa Fanfic)

4

Tessa POV

As I woke up to the sound of the alarm, I could already feel I hadn't had enough sleep. My head felt fuzzy and my body felt heavy.

Hardin lay traipsed over me, crushing me slightly. I missed waking up like this.

'Good morning.' I whispered, rubbing his arm to wake him. I just wanted him to turn that alarm off.

'Morning.' He responded, learning over to reach the phone off the bedside table and silence the noise. He turned over, getting comfy again and nuzzling his head back into the pillow. The soft snores beginning again.

I rolled my eyes and smiled to myself as I shuffled out the other side of the bed, desperate for the toilet. Hardin was always so hard to wake up. Some things never change.

I picked my overnight bag up off the chair, taking it with me down the hall to the bathroom. I stopped at the window in the hallway, watching the way the sun was rising over Ken's beautiful garden. Karen worked so hard keeping the garden tidy over the years and her work really paid off, it looked beautiful.

I took my bag into the bathroom, taking out my toothbrush, shower gel, hairbrush and make-up bag. We hadn't even brushed our teeth when we got in, we were way too distracted by each others bodies and exhausted from the day. My hair was a frizzy mess and my mascara smudged under my eyes, like a panda.

I was glad Hardin didn't question me about where I was meant to stay last night as despite his character development through the last few years, I didn't think he would be best pleased that Robert and I were set to share a room at Landon's venue. We explicitly had booked a twin room but Hardin being Hardin wouldn't appreciate the difference.

Robert's friendship had been incredibly valuable to me during my time in New York. He always looked out for me at the restaurant and asked how college was going. Landon's wife, Nora was convinced we would end up together and would always tease me about hanging out with Robert but I knew that would never be the case.

Deep down, Robert knew my heart was miles away, belonging to the moody boy with brown hair and green eyes. He didn't push his luck or ever try to convince me to give him a chance, instead just stayed a close companion sharing stories of our days and texting me funny memes he had seen online.

As I washed the bubbles over myself in the shower, I wasn't quite sure how I was going to explain the night with Hardin to anyone. A lot of people, including Landon, knew the wedding was going to be a reunion for us but I was in denial about how it would go.

I dried myself off and wrapped the towel around me. Grabbing my hairbrush, I started attempting to tame the birds nest of my head, pulling it through. I wished I'd brought my hair straighteners with me but I'd packed light trying to get away with not purchasing a check-in bag for the flight. Nora had a hairdresser booked for us bridesmaids, anyway.

Once happy with my frizzy hair and minimal make-up, I pulled on the semi-formal outfit I had brought for today, a green and white spotted day dress.

Hardin was up when I re-entered the room, facing the window with his phone pressed to his ear. He turned at the sound of the door, smiling at me before facing away again. He had just a pair of black boxers on. My eyes toured his body, noticing how his back muscles looked even more defined and toned than ever. I knew he was spending more time at the gym recently and it was definitely paying off.

'Yeah.' I heard him mutter, wondering who he was talking to.

I began collecting yesterdays clothes from where they were thrown around the room, packing them up in my bag ready to go.

'No, I'm with Tess.' He said, sparking my curiosity even more as to who he was speaking to. 'Alright, we're leaving soon. See you then.' He said, closing the phone down.