After 3

Chapter 234.

The songs for this chapter are:

Walk Away- The Script

Forever and Always (Piano version)- Taylor Swift

She is - The Fray

Hardin's POV.

"Do you remember it? Any of last night?" I ask her for the second time.

"Why did you come here?" She quietly responds, dodging my question.

"Why is he here?" I nod my head toward the kitchen where I know Noah is perched against the wall, listening to our conversation. I really can't fucking stand him.

"He's here to check on me."

"He doesn't need to check on you," that's why I'm here.

"Hardin," she frowns, "not today. Please."

"Sorry," I inch back, feeling like an even bigger asshole than I did seconds ago.

"Why are you here?" Tessa asks again.

"To bring your car. You don't want me here, do you?" I haven't once, until now, even considered the idea that Tessa may not want me to be here at all. The days of her finding solice in me are no longer.

"It's not that... I'm just confused."

"About what?"

"You, last night, Steph, everything. Did you know that she set Becca up with Zed even though she knew she was already dating Noah? It was all a game to her and she really did hate me all this time," her eyes shine under the dim lights of her mum's living room.

"No, of course I didn't know," I tell her.

"You had no idea that she had any bad feelings toward me?"

Damn it.

"Maybe a little, Molly had mentioned it once or twice but she didn't give me details and I didn't think it was like this."

"Molly? Since when does Molly care about me?"

"She doesn't, she hates you still." I tell her. "But she called me after that Applebee's shit and I was pissed. I didn't want her or Steph to ruin things between me and you. I thought Steph was trying to meddle just to be a nosey bitch, I didn't think she was a fucking psycho." Tessa is wiping tears from her eyes when I look over at her.

I move across the couch to close the space between us and she recoils, "hey, it's okay." I grab her arm and pull her to my chest. "Shh," my hand rests over her hair and after a few seconds of trying to pull away, she gives in.

"I just want to start over, I want to forget about everything that has happened in the last six months," she sobs . My chest tightens as I nod along, agreeing with her even though I don't want to.

I don't want her to want to forget me.

"I hate college, I always looked forward to it but it's been one mistake after another for me." She pulls at my shirt, bringing herself closer to me. I stay silent, not wanting to make her feel any worse.

I didn't have a fucking clue of what I was walking into when I knocked on the door but I sure as hell didn't expect to have a crying Tessa in my arms.

"I'm being so dramatic," she pulls away too soon and momentarily I consider pulling her back to me.

"No, no you're not. You are being really calm considering what happened. Tell me what you remember, don't make me ask again." I say, "Please."

"It's all a blur really, it was so.. strange. I was aware of everything but nothing made any sense. I don't know how to explain it. I couldn't move but I could feel things," she shudders.