The songs for this chapter are:

I love you- Eli Young Band

Seattle- Jason Walker

Let me go- Ron Pope

Hardin's POV.

The moment I spot Zed's truck in the driveway of the small brick house, I nearly vomit. They couldn't have arrived long ago, I went fifteen miles over the speed limit the entire way here. My temper flares and my vision goes red as he steps onto the porch. He walks slowly to his truck as I park on the street, not wanting to block him when he gets the fuck out of here. 

What will I say to him? What will I say to her? Will she even be able to hear me?

"I knew you would show up here." He says quietly when I appear in front of him.

"Why wouldn't I?" I growl, biting back my rising anger.

"Maybe because this is all your fault." He quips.

"Are you fucking serious? It's my fault that Steph is a god damned psycho?" Yes, yes it is.

"No, it's your fault that you didn't come with her to that party in the first place. You should have seen her face when I busted that door in." He shakes his head as to rid himself of the memory. My chest tightens.

"I.. I didn't know she was going there so fuck off. Where is she?"

"Inside." He states the obvious with a murderous glare.

"Don't fucking look at me like that, you shouldn't even be here in the first place " I remind him.

"If it wasn't for me she would have been raped and god knows what else." My hands find the collar of his leather jacket and I push him against the hood of his truck.

"No matter how many times you try, no matter how many times you 'save' her, she will never want you. Don't forget that." I give him one last push and step away from him. I want to hit him, bust his fucking nose for being such a smug asshole, but Tessa is merely twenty feet away from me and seeing her is much more important right now.

As I walk past his truck windows I see Tessa's purse and.. dress.. on the seat. She doesn't have clothes on?

"Why is her dress off?" I dare to ask. I yank on the door handle and gather her things into my arms while waiting for his response.

"They took it off of her." He simply remarks, his expression grim.

"Fuck." I hiss and walk up the concrete porch.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Tessa's mum blocks the door. She's already screaming at me. Fucking lovely.

"I need to see her," I grab the screen door handle and she shakes her head but moves out of my way. I get the feeling that she knows I'll push right past her.

"You aren't coming in here!" She shouts.

I ignore her and step around her. "Did you not hear me! Don't walk past me like you didn't hear me!" The screen door slams and I move across the small living room to find Tessa.

I stop momentarily when I see her. She's laying on the couch with her knees bent slightly, her hair is a blonde halo around her head, and her eyes are closed. Carol continues to harass me, threatening to call the cops, but I don't give a shit. I bend down to the floor so that I'm eye level to her face. Without thought, I brush over her cheekbone with my thumb before cupping her flushed cheek in my palm.

"Christ," I curse and watch closely as her chest moves up and down slowly.

"Fuck Tess, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." I whisper to her, hoping that she can hear me. 

"You've got that right! This is your fault, now get out of my house before I have you escorted by the police!"

"Would you give it a rest! I'm not going anywhere. Go ahead and call the police and have them show up here this late, you'll be the talk of the town and we all know you don't want that." I know she is glaring at me, throwing daggers in her mind, but I can't look away from the girl in front of me.

"Fine." Carol finally snorts. "You have five minutes." Her shoes drag against the carpet in the most hideous way. Why is she so dressed up this late anyway?

"I hope you can hear me, I'm so sorry. God, I'm so sorry for all of this. I shouldn't have let you walk away in the first place. What was I thinking?" My words are rushed but my touch is gentle as I caress the soft skin of her cheek.

"You would be proud of me, a little, I think. I didn't kill Dan when I found him, I only kicked him in the face.. oh and I choked him a little but he's still breathing, and I almost drank tonight but I didn't. I couldn't make things even worse between us. I know you think I don't care but I do, I just don't know how to show you," I stop to examine the way her eyelids flutter at my voice. "Can you hear me?" I ask.

"Zed?" She barely whispers and for a moment I swear the devil is messing with my mind.

"No, it's Hardin. I'm Hardin, not Zed." I can't help my irritation toward his name coming from her barely conscious lips.

"No Hardin." Her eyebrows pull together in confusion but her eyes stay closed. " Zed?" She repeats and I drop my hand from her cheek.

When I stand to my feet her mum is no where in sight. I'm surprised she wasn't hovering over my shoulder while I tried to make amends with her daughter.

"Are you finished?" She's back.

"No, I'm not." I want to be, she's calling out for Zed after all.

"Can you put her in her room before you go? She can't just lay on the couch." Her mum requests.

"So I'm not allowed here but.." I stop myself, knowing it won't do any good to get into it with this woman for the tenth time since I met her. "Sure, where is the room?"

"Last door on the left." She curtly replies and disappears again. I don't know where the hell Tessa's kindness came from, it sure as hell wasn't from this woman.

Sighing, I push one arm under Tessa's knees and one under hear neck, lifting her gently from the couch. A soft groan falls from her lips as she's lifted and held close to my chest. I keep my head down slightly as I carry her down the hall. This house is small, much smaller than I had imagined. The last door on the left is closed and when I push it open I'm surprised at the nostalgic feelings that resonate deep inside me from a room that I've never been inside of until now. A small bed rests against the far wall, dividing the tiny bedroom. The desk in the corner is almost the same size as the bed. A teenaged Tessa flows through my imagination, the way she must have spent hours and hours sitting at the large desk working on countless homework assignments. Her eyebrows pushed together, her mouth set in a straight over-concentrated line, her hair falling over her eyes and she pushes it back swiftly before pushing the pencil back behind her ear.

Knowing her now, I wouldn't have guessed these pink sheets and purple duvet would belong to her. They must have been purchased years ago when Tessa went through her barbie doll phase that she once described as "the best and worst time in her life", the problem with this stage in was that she over-analyzed everything, the way she still does, and she found herself asking her mum where Barbie worked, what university she attended, if she will have children one day.

I look down at the adult Tessa in my arms and stifle a laugh toward her constant curiosity, one of my most and least favorite things about her now. I yank at the blanket and gently lay her across the bed, making sure that there is only one pillow underneath her head, just the way she sleeps at home. Home.. is not her home anymore. Just like this small house, our apartment was a short stop for her on the way to her dream. Seattle.

The small wooden dresser creaks as I tug on the top drawer handle, searching for clothes to place on her half naked body. The thought of Dan undressing her makes my fists clench around the thin fabric of an old t-shirt that I pray still fits her, otherwise it will be a long drive home for me without a shirt on. This is one of those times when my old habit of storing piles of t-shirts in my trunk comes in handy.

I lift Tessa up as slowly as I can and drag the shirt over her head. Her hair is messy now, thanks to my shaky hands, and when I attempt to smooth it, it only gets worse.  She groans again and her fingers twitch. She's trying to move and she can't. I hate this. I swallow the vile in my throat and blink away the thoughts of his hands on her.

I have to look away from her while my hands pull her arms through the small holes and finally she's dressed. Carol is standing in the doorway, a thoughtful yet pissed off expression covers her face and I wonder how long she has been standing there.

"I love you and I'm so sorry," I whisper against the skin just below her ear and lay her head back down against the soft pillow.

Leaving her room, her childhood bedroom, is hard enough without the strangled whine that falls from her lips when I reach the hallway. "I want to take her home," I tell the woman standing in front of me with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Not happening. "

"I know that," I seethe and wonder just how pissed off Tessa would be if I cussed her mother out.

"Where were you tonight while this was happening?" She questions, following me down the narrow hallway.

"At home."

"Why weren't you there to stop this?"

"What makes you so sure I wasn't a part of it? You are usually quick to blame me for everything wrong in the world."

"Because I know that regardless of your poor choices and your even poorer attitude, you wouldn't let anything like this happen to her if you could help it."

Is that a compliment from her? A backhanded one, but hell I'll take it, especially considering the circumstances. 

"Well.." I begin.

She holds her hand up to silence me, "I wasn't finished. I don't blame you for everything that's wrong in the world, just her world." She gestures to the sleeping, or half conscious, girl laying on the small bed.

"I won't argue with that," I sigh in defeat. I know she's right, there is no denying that I have ruined nearly everything in Tessa's life.

"He's been my hero, my tormenter at times, but mostly my hero." Her writing said. A hero? I'm far from a fucking hero. I would give anything to be one for her, I just don't know how to.

"Well at least we can agree on something." Her full lips turn up in a half smile but she blinks it away and looks down at her feet.  "Well, if that was all you needed, you can go."

"Okay.." I take one last look at Tessa and then back to her mum.

"What are your plans with my daughter? I have to know what your long term intentions are because every time I turn around something else is happening with her and not in a good way. What will you do with her in Seattle?"

"I'm not going to Seattle with her," the words are thick and heavy on my tongue.

"What?" She begins to walk down the hallway and I follow her.

"I'm not going. She's going without me."

"As happy as that makes me, may I ask why?" A perfectly arched brow raises and I look away.

"I'm just not, that's why. It's better for her that I don't go anyway."

"You sound just like my ex-husband." She swallows. "Sometimes I blame myself for Tessa attaching herself to you, I worry it's because of the way her father was, before he left us." Her manicured hand lifts up to smooth her hair and she tries to appear unaffected by her mention of Richard.

"He has nothing to do with her relationship with me, she barely knows him. The few days they have spent together lately shows just that, she doesn't remember enough about him to effect her choice in men."

"Lately?" Carol's eyes widen in surprise and I watch in horror as the color drains from her face.

Shit.

Fuck.

Fucking shit.

"She uhm, we ran into him a little over a week ago,"

"Richard? He found her?"

"No, she ran into him."

"Where?"

"I don't think I should be telling you any of this."

"Excuse me?" She gapes.

"If Tessa wanted you to know that she has seen her dad, she would have told you herself."

"This is more important than your dislike for me Hardin. Has she been seeing him often?" Her gray eyes are now glossed over, threatening to spill tears any moment but knowing this woman, she would never in a million years shed a tear in front of anyone, especially me.

I sigh, not wanting to betray Tessa, but not wanting to cause anymore shit with her mum, "He stayed with us for a few days."

"She wasn't going to tell me, was she?" Her voice is thin and hoarse while picks at her red fingernails.

"Probably not. You aren't the easiest person to talk to." I remind her. I wonder if this is a good time to bring up my suspicion of him breaking into the apartment.

"And you are? At least I care about her well-being, that's more than I can say for you!" She raises her voice and I step closer.

"I care about her more than anyone, even you!" I fire back. I knew the civil conversation between us wouldn't last long.

"I am her mother, no one loves her more than me. The fact that you think you possibly could just shows how demented you really are!"

"You know what I think? I think that you hate me because I remind you of him. You hate the constant reminder of what you ruined so you hate me so you don't have to hate yourself but do you want to know something?" I wait for her sarcastic nod and continue, "you and I are a lot alike too. More alike than Richard and I really, we both refuse to take any responsibility for our mistakes, instead we blame everyone else. We isolate the ones we love and force them," I'm interrupted before I can tell her that she will spend the rest of her days alone.

"No! You're wrong!" She crying now.

"No, I'm not wrong but what I am is leaving. Tessa's car is still in Pullman somewhere so I will bring it back tomorrow unless you want to make the drive yourself."

"Fine, bring the car. That doesn't change anything. I'll never like you." She spits.

"And I'll never care if you do." I walk toward the front door, momentarily debating whether I should go back down the hallway and take Tessa with me.

"What time will you bring the car tomorrow?" Carol asks.

"Noon, I have to find a way to get back there so it may be a little later. Don't worry about it, I'll have it here tomorrow."

"I do appreciate you coming to check on her Hardin, despite the way I feel toward you I do know that you love my daughter. I just want to remind you again that if you love her, truly love her, you will stop interfering in her life. She's not the same girl that I dropped off at that devil school half a year ago,"

"I know," as much as I hate this woman, I feel pity for her because like me, she will probably be alone for the rest of her miserable life. "Can you do me a favor?" I ask and she eyes me suspiciously.

'What would that be?"

"Don't tell her that I was here. If she doesn't remember, don't tell her." I request of her. Tessa is so out of it she probably won't remember a thing, I don't think she even knows that I'm here now.

"I can do that," she nods and I walk out of the front door.

(Hey guys! I'm not sure why the last chapter wasn't showing on the app but next time just use your browser and go to the website instead, hopefully it won't happen again but just in case it does you can do that or use the link in my bio on instagram (Imaginator1d) . Also, I have more readers than ever before but less comments and votes so if you're reading please make an account and comment or vote, it means a lot to me to interact with you all in the comments so don't forget to comment! And vote, even though I can't be ranked. Anyway, are you any of you entering the wattys? If you are I wish you the best of luck! If After wasn't rated r I would enter! I love you all xoxo)

Another note, I said chapter 232 on ig, I meant 231! lol