"Mum, let's give her a little space. She is shy." Hardin lies to his mother as she hugs me for the fourth time.

"You're right, I am sorry. I am just so happy to finally meet you. Hardin has told me so much about you." She gushes and nods in agreement. I feel my cheeks flame as she steps back. I am surprised she even knows that I exist, I had figured he would have kept me a secret like usual.

"It's okay." I manage to say through my horror.

"Can..I uhm.. talk to you in the bedroom for a moment?" Hardin stammers.

I nod and give Hardin's mother a small smile before following him into the bedroom that we once shared.

"What the hell?" I say quietly as I close the door.

"I know.. I am sorry. I couldn't tell her what happened. I couldn't tell her what I did." He says and sits on the bed.

"Are you here .. you know to stay?" His voice holds more hope than I can bear.

"No.."

"Oh."

I sigh and run my fingers through my hair, a habit I picked up from Hardin I suspect.

"Well what am I supposed to do?" I ask him.

"I don't know.. I don't expect you to go along it or anything.. I just need a little time to tell her." He says with a long sigh.

"I didn't know you would be here." He tells me with pain in his eyes.

"I didn't know you would be here either, I thought you were going to London."

"I changed my mind, I didn't want to go without.." He trials off.

"Is there a reason why you didn't tell her that we aren't together?" I ask him. I don't know if I want to hear his answer.

"She was just so happy that I found someone, I don't want to ruin that for her."

I recall when Ken had told me that he never thought Hardin would be capable of being in a relationship, he was right. However, I do not want to ruin Hardin's mother's time here with her son. I'm not doing this for Hardin necessarily, but for his mother.

"Okay. You can tell her whenever you are ready. Don't tell her about the bet." I tell him. Knowing the details of how her son ruined his first and only relationship would surely hurt her.

"Really? You're okay with her thinking we are together?" He sounds more surprised than he should be. I nod.

"Thank you. I thought for sure you would call me out right in front of her." He lets out a deep breath.

"I wouldn't do that." I say and mean it. No matter how angry I have ever been at Hardin I never told any of his secrets.

"I just need to finish my laundry then I will go. I thought you weren't going to be here so I figured I would stay here instead of that hotel." I shrug uncomfortably. We have been in here a little too long.

"You don't have anywhere to go do you?" He asks.

"I could go to my mother's if I want. I just really don't want to." I admit. "But the hotel isn't bad, just a little expensive." This is the most civil conversation Hardin and I have had in the past week.

"I know you won't agree to stay here but I could give you some money?" I can tell he is afraid of my reaction to his offer.

"I don't need your money."

"I know, I just thought I would offer." He stares at floor.

"We better go back out there." I sigh and open the door.

"I will be out in a second." Hardin says in a soft voice.

I don't like the idea of going out there to face his mother alone but I can't stay in the small space of this bedroom with Hardin. I take a deep breath and leave the room.

"He isn't upset with me is he? I didn't mean to crowd you." Her voice is so sweet. A total contrast to her son's.

"Oh no, of course not. He was just.. going over a few things about this week." I lie. I have always been a terrible liar and I always avoiding lying at all costs.

"Okay good, I know how moody he can be." She smiles and I can't help but smile back. She has such a warm and welcoming smile.

I try to ease my nerves by walking over to the kitchen area and pouring myself a glass of water. She begins to speak as I take a drink.

"I still can't wrap my head around how beautiful you are. He told me you were the most beautiful girl he's ever seen but I thought he was exhagerating." She compliments and I spit my water back into my glass.

Hardin said that? I want to ask but instead I just take another drink of water. 

"Honestly, I thought you would be covered in tattoos and have green hair or something." She laughs and I join her.

"No, no tattoos for me. Or green hair." I laugh and feel my shoulders begin to relax.

"You're an English major like Hardin right?" She asks me.

"Yes maam."

"Maam? Call me Anne."

"I actually have an internship at Vance Publishing so I don't go to classes right now. I just bring my work in once a week."

"Vance? Christian Vance?" She asks.

I nod.

"Oh I haven't seen Christian in at least ten years, him and Hardin's father were very close. Hardin and I actually lived with him for a year after Ken.. never mind, Hardin will not want me spouting off at the mouth." She laughs, obviously afraid that she has disclosed too much to me.

I didn't know that Hardin and his mother stayed with Mr. Vance but I knew that he was very close with him, closer than he would be if Christian was only his father's friend. 

"I know about Ken." I tell to in an attempt to ease her discomfort.

"You do?"

"Yea, Hardin has told me.." I stop my sentence when Hardin appears in the kitchen.

"Hardin has told you what?" He raises his brow at me.

"Nothing son, just some girl talk." His mother smiles and wraps her arm around his waist. He pulls away slightly, as if out of instinct. She frowns but I get the feeling it's a normal thing for him to not want affection.

"So anyway, what is there to do around here?" She asks the both of us.

"Not much actually, not when there is a blizzard outside." Hardin answers her.

The tension between us is thick in the air and I wonder if she can feel it too.

The dryer beeps and I take that as my cue to exit the room and finish up my laundry so I can get out of here, fast.

I pull my warm clothes from the dryer and sit on the floor in the small laundry room to fold them. Hardin's mother is so sweet and I find myself wishing that I would have met her under different circumstances.

"Tess?" Hardin's voice makes me jump.

"Yea?" I look up at him.

"I.. I was just seeing if you were okay." He says and turns around, exiting the room.

I don't feel anger towards Hardin, I have been angry long enough. I feel sadness, and a longing for what we could have been. After I have my clothes folded I go into the bedroom to repack my bags. I wish I wouldn't have hung any clothes in the closet or put food in the kitchen.

"Do you need some help dear?" Anne asks me.

"Uhm, I was just getting my things ready to go to my mother's for the week." I might as well just go there because the hotel is expensive and Hardin is here.

"You're leaving today? Right now?" She frowns.

"Yea.. I told her I would come for Christmas." For once I want Hardin to come into the room to help me talk my way out of this.

"Oh, I was hoping you would stay at least a night. Who knows when I will be able to see you again and I would love to get to know the young woman who my son has fallen in love with."

I don't want to overthink why I am agreeing to this so instead I just nod and smile.

"Really? You'll stay? Only one night, then you can go to your mum's house. You don't want to be driving through that snow anyway." She says and hugs me again.

I guess she is right, I really don't want to go to my mother's or drive two hours in the snow to get there. At least she will be here to be the buffer between Hardin and I. We can't fight if she is here, well I won't fight with him at least. I know this is probably..certainly the worst idea but Anne is hard to say no to, just like her son.

"Well I am going to take a quick shower, I had a long flight. I will see you when I get out." She smiles and leaves the room.

I sink down onto the bed and close my eyes. This is going to be the most awkward, painful twenty four hours of my life. No matter what I do I always seem to end up back where I started, with him.

After a few minutes I open my eyes to find Hardin standing in front of the closet with his back to me. What is he doing?

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." He says when he turns back around.

"I wasn't asleep." I tell him and sit up.

He is being so strange, apologizing every other word.

"I see that you cleaned the apartment." He says softly.

"Yea.. I couldn't help it." I smile and so does he.

"I may have told your mom that I would stay tonight. Only tonight, but if that's not okay I will go. I just felt bad because she is so nice and I couldn't say no but if that makes you uncomfor.."

"Tessa, it's fine. I want you to stay." Hardin's voice shakes.

I don't know what to say and I don't understand this strange turn of events. I am here at the apartment that was our's, with Hardin's mother who believes Hardin and I are together, and Hardin and I are sort of getting along. This is making my head hurt already.

"Did you have a nice birthday yesterday?" He asks.

"Oh, yea. Landon came to the hotel." I tell him.

"Oh."

I want to thank him for the nook but there is just too much going on inside of my head.

"I don't know how I am supposed to act." He tells me when the bathroom door creaks open.

"Me either." I sigh and we join his mother in the living room.