Happy Accidents

Chapter 43

//Carl's POV

As I walked through the woods, I let my feet carry me wherever they wanted to, and soon enough, I found myself at a familiar place.

Whenever we couldn't go to the park, Tess and I would always come here. On sunny days, the sun would light up the ground, making the area look almost heavenly, and there was a stream nearby.

I looked around for a bit before realizing that I wasn't alone.

Her back facing me, she sat on a log, looking at the stream as her blond hair spilled down her back. She was wearing the exact same thing as the night I met her. An Aerosmith t-shirt, a tight leather jacket, dark leggings, and tall, laced black combat boots. But she didn't have her holster, though a gun sat next to her, or her gloves, making her look a little softer.

How the hell did she get here?

I had no idea what I was going to say to her. So many things were spinning around in my mind and I couldn't slow them down long enough to pick one.

Suddenly, I stepped on a twig, cracking it, and Tess turned to face me in surprise.

We simply stayed where we were, looking at each other in confusion and slight awkwardness before nervousness appeared on her face as she slowly stood up, completely facing me.

Finally, I broke the silence. "Tess, I'm so sorry. I should've listened to you. I should've known you would never-"

She cut me off by walking up to me and wrapping me in a gentle hug.

Slightly in shock, I returned it.

When she let go, she gripped my arms reassuringly.

"I understand," she consoled. "You were protecting your family. I probably would've done the same thing for mine."

Thank God she wasn't mad. Smiling a little, I leaned down to kiss her.

"Carl," she said quickly, backing away a little and lowering her head. Her mood had changed quickly.

I took an instinctive step backward, wondering if I had done something wrong.

She took a few deep breaths before looking up at me.

"We can't keep doing this to each other," she sighed.

I furrowed my eyebrows together. "What are you talking about?" I asked.

She pressed her lips together. "My family hates you," se explained. "And your family wants me dead." She forced a sad smile. "I mean, come on, did we really think we could get away with this?"

Becoming more heart broken as I digested what she said, I waked past her and sat down on the log, leaning my forearms on my legs.

//Tess's POV

This was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Seeing the look on Carl's face made it 100 times worse.

I slowly went and sat next to him on the log, laying my head on his shoulder.

We simply sat there for a moment, lost in our own thoughts.

"I love you," Carl mumbled softly, not looking at me.

I slowly lifted my head up to look at him in surprise.

When what he said registered, I closed my eyes and exhaled, feeling my throat constrict.

I knew this was going to be hard, but I expected him to be mad, to yell at me. I wasn't expecting him to tell me he loved me.

"Yeah, I love you, too," I breathed and we fell into silence again.

"But," I spoke up, hoping that I wasn't about to say the wrong thing. "I think we both know I'm not the only person you love."

He turned to look at me, curiosity and suspicion plastered on his face.

No going back now, right? "I see the way you look at Enid," I sighed, adding a slight laugh.

He quickly turned to look straight out in front of him.

"Enid's my best friend," he claimed, his voice a little defensive.

"I think we both know that-" I tried again.

He cut me off my standing up and starting to yell.

"So what do you want me to do?" he asked loudly. "Take her like she's some...what? Like second best?!"

"No!" I denied, my voice raising as well. Now it was my turn to be defensive. "I just don't want you to give up after..." I trailed off, not wanting to say it.

He looked at me for a second, a challenging look on his face.

"So, what?" he asked, still angry. "Is it-is it just over?"

I sat there with my mouth open before my anger melted away and I felt a tear slide down my face.

"I don't know what else to do," I confirmed sadly.

After a moment, he sighed shakily and turned around, walking away a little.

I cautiously stood up and took careful steps towards him.

"Carl," I started. "This isn't something I wanna do. You've made me so happy. You saved my life."

He turned to me a little, confusion on his face.

I sighed. "I was gonna kill myself," I admitted.

He quickly faced me the rest of the way, shock and alarm on his face.

"But I didn't," I continued hastily before he could say anything. "Because of you. You saved my life and now it's my turn to save yours."

Confusion returned to his face.

"If my family finds out we're dating, they will kill you," I explained. "And it would be like ripping my guts out every single day knowing that I could've done something to keep you safe, but I didn't."

He lowered his head. "So it is over," he stated sadly.

I pressed my lips together as I tried to keep the tears down.

"I'm sorry," I choked out.

Finally, he allowed me to pull him into a hug. I swallowed even more tears as I felt him wrap his arms around me tightly.

Eventually we let go and I pushed my hair back, keeping my eyes on the ground.

"I should probably go," I mumbled.

Carl nodded and I turned around, quickly walked away.

For some reason, lyrics from Omnia Sol kept playing through my head.

And when we part and sorrow can't be sway'd
Remember when and let your heart be staid.

And, I don't know why, it made me smile a little through my tears.

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Author's Note: Writing this chapter made me really sad 😥