Songs for this chapter are:

Say something- A great big world ft. Christina (check out the Hessa video for this song, I put it as the trailer for this book, it's literally the best video ever. I have watched it at least twenty times!

Red- Taylor Swift

All I want- Kodaline

 Tessa's POV.

England? Why would Hardin be going to England? Is he moving there after he graduates? I re-read her text message,

*Did you know Loverboy is going to London next weekend?*

Next weekend!

I rest my forehead against the steering wheel of my car and close my eyes. I thought Hardin and I were finally learning to communicate with one another, why wouldn't he tell me that he's planning to go to England so soon?

My first instinct is to call him and ask him why he is hiding the trip from me. I stop myself from doing that because this is the perfect opportunity for me to try not to jump to conclusions without asking him first. There is a chance, a small one, that Kimberly is mistaken and Hardin isn't going to England next weekend. My chest tightens at the thought of him still wanting to move back there.

I'm still trying to convince myself that I'll be enough to keep him here.

Hardin's POV.

It feels like ages since I've pulled into this parking lot. I've been driving around for the last hour, going over the possible outcomes of coming here. After making a mental list of pros and cons, something I never, ever do, I shut my car off and step into the cold afternoon air.

I glance around the building and find his truck is parked directly outside. I'm assuming he's home, if not I just wasted my entire afternoon and I'll be even more irritated than I already am. The brown building is set just off of the street and a rusty staircase leads up to the second floor where his apartment rests. With each step of my boot against the metal staircase I go over why I am here in the first place.

Just as I reach the apartment labeled "C", my phone vibrates in my back pocket. It's either Tessa or my mum, neither of which I want to talk to right now. If I talk to Tessa right now, I will be thrown off of my plan and my mum will just piss me off with her insisting that I come to England for her wedding.

Ignoring the vibration of my phone, I knock on the door. Within seconds he answers, wearing only drawstring pants. His feet are bare and an intricate tattoo on his stomach shows, one I haven't seen before. He must have gotten it after he tried to get with my fucking girl.

Zed doesn't greet me.  Instead, he stands in the doorway with an obvious look of shock and suspicion on his face.

"We need to talk." I finally say and push past him to enter his apartment.

"Should I call the cops?" He asks, his tone dry.

"That depends on whether you cooperate with me or not." I take a seat on Zed's worn leather couch and stare up at him.

Dark hair covers his jawline and frames his mouth. It feels like months have passed since I saw him outside out Tessa's mum's house instead of only a week and a half.

"Well, get to it then." He sighs and leans his back against the wall on the opposite side of his small living room.

"You know this is about Tessa,"

"I figured as much," he frowns and crosses his tattooed arms.

"You aren't going to Seattle."

He raises a thick brow before he smiles, "I am though. I've already made the plans."

He's making this much harder than it needs to be and I'm beginning to kick myself in the ass for thinking this would end in anyway except him leaving on a stretcher.

"The thing is that.." I breathe in a deep breath to keep myself calm and stick to the plan, "you aren't going to Seattle."

"I'm visiting my friends there." He challenges.

"Bullshit. I know exactly what you are doing." I bite back.

"I am staying with some friends in Seattle but in case you were wondering, she did invite me to visit her." The moment the words leave his mouth, I'm on my feet.

"Don't push me, I'm trying to do this the right way." I threaten. "You have no reason to visit her, she's mine."

"Do you realize how that sounds? Saying she's yours like she's your property?"

"I don't give a fuck how it sounds, it's true." I take another step toward him. The air between us has shifted from tense to downright primal. Both of us are trying to stake a claim here and I'm not backing down.

"Then why aren't you in Seattle then?" He presses.

"I'm graduating after this semester, that's why." Why am I even answering his questions? I came here to talk, not to listen and engage in conversation. I'll be damned if he tries to turn this shit on me.

"Me not being there is irrelevant. You won't be seeing her while you're there."

"That is for her to decide, don't you think?"

"If I thought that, I wouldn't be here, would I?' My fists tighten at my sides and I look away from him to stare at the stack of science textbooks on his coffee table. "Why won't you just leave her alone, is this because of what I did to-"

"No," he interrupts me, "it has nothing to do with that. I care about Tessa, just like you. But unlike you, I treat her the way she deserves to be treated."

"You know nothing of how I treat her," I hiss.

"Yeah man, I actually do. How many times has she ran to me crying because of something you did or said? Too many. All you do is hurt her and you know it."

"You don't even know her first of all, and secondly, don't you think it's a little pathetic of you to keep pining after someone you'll never have? How many times are we going to have this conversation?"

He eyes me carefully, taking in my apparent anger, "No," his tongue darts out to wet his lips, "it's not pathetic. It's genius actually. I'll be waiting in the background for the day when you fuck up again, which is inevitable, and when you do, I will be there."

"You are a fucking-" I pace across the room to put as much space between his body and mine before his head ends up going through his wall. "What will it take then? Do you want her to tell you herself that she doesn't want you around? I thought she already did that, yet here you are.."

"You're the one in my apartment."

"God damn it Zed!" I shout, "Why can't you just fucking stop? You know what she means to me and you always try to get in the way. Find someone else to toy with, there are plenty of whores around campus."

"Whores?" He mocks me.

"You know I didn't mean Tessa." I growl, struggling to keep my fists at my sides.

"If she meant so much to you, you wouldn't have done half the shit you did. Does she know that you fucked Molly while you were chasing her around?"

"Yes, she knows that. I told her."

"And she didn't mind?" His voice is the complete opposite of mine. He's so collected and calm and I'm trying to keep the lid on my boiling anger.

"She knows that it meant nothing to me and that was before everything. I didn't come here to discuss my relationship."

"Why exactly did you come then?" He's such a smug bastard.

"To let you know that you aren't going to see her in Seattle. I thought we could discuss it in a more..." I search for the right words, "civilized manner."

"Civilized? Sorry but I find it hard to believe that you came here with good intentions," he scoffs, pointing t his nose that has a small bump on the bridge.  I close my eyes momentarily and vision his nose busted and bleeding, snapping under the metal casing when I slammed his head against it. The memory of the sound heightens my already buzzing adrenaline.

"This is civilized for me!" I raise my voice, "I came here to talk, not to fight. However, if you won't stay away from her, I don't have any other options."

"Then what?" Zed asks.

"What?"

"Then what? We've been down this road before, there are only so many times that you can assault me before you're arrested and this time I will follow through with the charges."

He makes a valid point.  It pisses me off even more. I hate the fact that I literally can't do a fucking thing about it, except literally murder him which isn't an option.. at this point at least.

"I came here thinking we could come to some sort of agreement," I offer my last option. One that I didn't want to have to use but he's not giving me much room here.

"What type of agreement? Another bet?" He tilts his head to the side in the cockiest way possible.

"You're really pushing me." I say through my teeth, "tell me what it will take for you to leave her alone. What can I give you to make you go away? Name it and it's yours."

Zed stares at me, blinking rapidly as if I've grown another head.

"Well come on now. Every man has a price." I dryly murmur. It infuriates me that I have to negotiate with him but he's right, there is nothing I can do to make him go away.

"Let her see me again," he offers. "I'll be in Seattle on Thursday."

"No. Absolutely not."

Is he fucking stupid?

"I'm not asking your permission here, I'm trying to make you feel more comfortable with it."

"It's not happening. You two have no reason to spend time together, she isn't available to you, or any other man and she never will be."

"There you go getting all possessive," he rolls his eyes and I wonder what Tessa would say if she could see this side of him, the only side I've ever known.

I bite  my tongue while he stares at the ceiling as if he's deliberating his next offer. This is such fucking bullshit, pure and utter fucking bullshit. My head is spinning and I'm honestly beginning to wonder just how much longer I can keep my cool.

"Your car." He finally says.

My mouth falls open at his audacity and I can't help but laugh.

"No fucking way!" I take two steps toward him. "I'm not giving you my fucking car in trade for you to leave her alone. Are you out of your fucking mind?" My hands fly into the air.

"Sorry then, looks like we can't come to an agreement after all."  His eyes glitters through his thick lashes and he rubs his fingers over the thick hair covering his face.

Images from my nightmare float through my head, him thrusting into her, making her come..

I shake my head to get rid of the images. I dig my keys out of my pocket and toss them onto the coffee table between us.

"You're serious?" He gapes, bending down to retrieve the keychain. He studies them, turning them over in his palm a few times before looking back up at me, "I was fucking with you!" He tosses me the keys but I don't catch them in time, they land only inches from the toe of my boot.

"I'll back off, fuck. I didn't expect you to actually give me your keys." He laughs, mocking me.

"You weren't giving me many options."

"We were friends once, remember?" Zed remarks.

I stay silent as we both remember how everything used to be, before all of this shit, before I actually gave a fuck about anything, before her.

It's hard to remember those supposed days, "I was too shit faced to remember."

"You know that isn't true, you stopped drinking after-"

"I didn't come here to take a walk down memory lane with you. Are you going to back off or not?" I interrupt him.

"Sure, yeah."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

"This means absolutely no contact with her. None." I remind him again.

"She's going to wonder why. I text her earlier today." He informs me. I choose to ignore that.

"Tell her you don't want to be friends with her anymore."

"I don't want to hurt her feelings," he says.

"I don't give a fuck about hurting her feelings, you need to make it clear that you aren't going to be pining after her anymore." The momentary calm I felt has ceased, my temper is rising again. The possibility that Tessa's feelings would be hurt by Zed not wanting to be friends with her drives me fucking crazy.

I walk toward the door, knowing myself well enough that I won't make it another five minutes in this musty apartment. I'm pretty damn proud of myself for lasting this long in a room with Zed after all the shit he has done to interfere with my relationship.

My hand rests on the rusted doorknob and he says, "I'll do what I have to do for now but it still isn't going to change the outcome of all this."

"You're right. It won't." I agree with him, knowing that he means the exact opposite of what I have in mind.

Before he can say another word I walk out of his apartment and down the staircase as quickly as possible.

...

By the time I pull into my father's driveway, the sun is setting and I still haven't been able to reach Tessa. Her phone is going straight to voicemail. I've even called Christian twice, he has yet to answer or return my calls. Tessa is going to be pissed that I went to Zed's apartment, she feels something for him that I'll never understand nor tolerate.

After today I pray that I won't have to worry about him any longer.

Unless she clings to him..

No. I stop myself from doubting her. I know Steph was feeding me bullshit and it seeped into every insecure crack in my stone façade. If Zed had actually fucked Tessa, he would have used this afternoon as the perfect opportunity to throw it in my face.

I walk into my father's house without knocking and search the downstairs for Karen or Landon. Karen is in the kitchen, standing over the stove with a wire whisk in her hand. She turns and greets me with a warm smile but troubled tired looking eyes. The unfamiliar feeling of guilt spreads through me as I remember her broken pot.

"Are you looking for Landon?" She asks. She places the whisk onto a plate and wipes her hands across the bottom of her strawberry printed apron.

"I.. I don't know really." I admit. What am I doing here?

How pathetic is my life right now that I find comfort in coming to this house of all places? I know it's because of the memories created with Tessa here.

"He's upstairs, on the phone with Dakota." Something about Karen's tone throws me off.

"Is.." I'm not very good at interacting with people except Tessa and I'm particularly bad at dealing with other people's emotions, "Is he having a bad day or something?" I ask, sounding like a dumbass.

"I think so. He's having a hard time I think, he hasn't spoken to me about anything but he seems upset lately."

"Yeah," I haven't noticed anything different about my step-brother's behavior. Then again, I've been too busy forcing him to babysit Richard to notice.

"When does he leave for New York again?"

"Three weeks." She tries to hide the pain in her voice that comes along with the words but fails miserably.

"Oh." I'm growing more and more uncomfortable by the minute. "Well, I'm going to go.."

"Don't you want to stay for dinner?" She asks eagerly.

"Uh no. I'm okay."

Between the talk with my father this morning, the time spent with Zed, and now this awkward shit with Karen, I'm on overload. I can't take the chance that something is actually wrong with Landon. I won't be able to deal with him being all emotional and shit, not today. I already have to go home to a recovering drug addict and empty fucking bed.

Tessa's POV.

Kimberly is waiting in the kitchen for me when I arrive home from work. Two wine glasses, one full, one empty, sit in front of her, letting me know that she took my silence as confirmation that I in fact, didn't know about Hardin's expected trip to England.

"Hey girl," she offers me a sympathetic smile when I sit on the stool next to her at the breakfast bar.

"Hey,"

"You didn't know?" Her blonde hair is expertly curled today, resting perfectly on her shoulders. Her black bow shaped earrings glitter under the bright lighting above.

"No, he didn't tell me." I sigh, reaching for the full glass of wine. Kimberly laughs and grabs the bottle to fill the empty glass that was originally intended for me.

"Christian said Hardin hasn't given Anne a definite answer yet, I shouldn't have said anything until I knew but I had a feeling he wouldn't have mentioned the wedding to you,"

I quickly swallow the white wine in my mouth before I spit it out, "wedding?" I hurry to take another drink before I have to speak again.

"His mom's getting married. She called Christian this morning to invite us."

 "Hmph," I quickly look down at the dark granite. "that's news to me."

Hardin's mother is getting married in two weeks and he hasn't mentioned it at all. He was acting odd about his phone ringing repeatedly, acting as if he was simply brushing her off without reason.

"That's why she was calling so much!" It dawns on me. "What should I do? Just pretend that I don't know? We have been communicating so much better lately.." I trail off.

I know that it has only been a week but it's been one amazing week for me. I feel as if we have made more progress in the last week than we have in the last seven  months. Hardin and I both have been talking through small issues that previously would have turned into massive fights, yet here I am being transported back to the time where he kept things from me. I always find out, doesn't he know this by now?

"Do you want to go?" She asks.

"I couldn't possibly go even if I were invited." I rest my cheek against my hand. Kimberly turns her stool to the side and grips the edges of mine to turn it to face her.

"I asked if you want to go," she corrects me.

"It would be lovely, but I-"

"Then you should go. I will bring you as a guest if I have to. I'm sure Hardin's mom would love for you to come. Christian says she absolutely adores you." Her words thrill me, I absolutely adore Anne too.

"I can't go, I don't have a passport," And I could never afford a plane ticket on this short of notice.

"You can get it expedited."

"I don't know.." The butterflies in my belly at the mention of England make me want to rush down the hall and research how to get an expedited passport within two weeks, but the deep truth of Hardin purposely keeping the wedding from me forces me to stay in my seat.

I'm sure he has his reasons for not telling me. If he is going he probably doesn't want me to tag along all the way to England. I know his past haunts him and his demons could easily be stalking the streets of London.

"Don't doubt it. Anne would love to have you come along and Lord knows Hardin could use a push toward commitment." She sips on her wine, leaving a deep red print of her full lips on the rim of the glass.

"Hardin doesn't work that way. The more I push, the harder he pulls."

"Well then.." she brings her red toed high heel to my black ones and gently taps her foot against mine, "you need to dig your heels in the damn dirt and not let him pull you anymore."

I capture her words and save them to analyze later, when I'm not under her watchful gaze. "Hardin doesn't like weddings."

"Everyone likes weddings,"

"Not Hardin. He literally hates them and the entire concept of marriage." I tell her and watch humorously as her eyes widen and she carefully places her wine glass back onto the counter.

"So.. then what.. I mean.." she blinks, "I don't even have anything to say and that's really saying something!" Kimberly bursts into laughter.

"Yeah, tell me about it." I can't help but laugh along. Her laugh is contagious, regardless of my mood and I love that about her.

Kimberly is excessively nosey at times and I don't always feel comfortable with the way she speaks about Hardin, but her open honesty happens to be the thing I love the most about her. She tells it like it is and she's very easy to read.

"So you'll what? Just date forever?"

"I said the same thing," I can't help but giggle. Maybe it's the glass of wine I finished or the fact that Hardin's refusal of any type of permanent commitment had slipped my mind in the last week, I don't know but it feels good to laugh with Kim.

"What about your children? You don't mind having them out of wedlock?"

"Children!" I laugh again, "He doesn't want children."

"This just keeps getting better and better," she rolls her eyes and tips her glass back to finish it off.

"He says that now but I'm hoping.." I don't finish the wish. It's too desperate sounding when said out loud.

"Ahh, gotcha." She knowingly remarks and I'm thankful when she changes the subject to a red haired woman in the office who has a crush on Trevor.  

By the time I get to my room it's past nine o'clock. I purposely powered off my cell phone so that I could have a few uninterrupted hours with Kimberly. I told her about Hardin's plan to come Wednesday instead of Friday and she laughed, telling me she knew he wouldn't stay gone long.

My hair is still damp from a shower and I've been taking my time to pick out my outfit for work tomorrow. I'm stalling and I know it. I know that when I turn on my phone, I will have to face Hardin and confront him, or not, about the wedding. In a perfect world, I would casually bring it up and Hardin would invite me, explaining that he was trying to think of the right way to bring it up to me. But this isn't a perfect world and I'm growing more anxious by the second. It hurts me to know that whatever Steph said to him bothered him so much that he's back to keeping things from me. I hate her. I love Hardin so much and I just want him to see that nothing she, or anyone says will ever change that.

Hesitantly, I take my phone out of my bag and turn the power back on. I have to call my mother back and text Zed, but I want to call Hardin first. The notifcations on the top of my small screen appear and the envelope flashes, text message after text message appears, all from Hardin. Before I read any of them, I dial his number.

"Tessa, what the hell!" He answers on the first ring.

"Have you tried to call?" I timidly ask him, trying to keep the mood as calm as possible.

"Have I tried to call you? You're joking right? I've been calling you non stop for the last three hours. I called Christian too." he huffs.

"Sorry, I was hanging out with Kim," I begin to fold my dirty clothes and place them in the hamper to take to wash before bed.

"Where?"

"Here, at the house."

"Well next time you really need," he lets out a frustration groan and his voice softens, "maybe next time you could just send me a text or something if you're going to have your phone off." he huffs, then adds, "You know how I get."

I appreciate the change in his tone and the fact that he stopped himself from saying whatever it was he had originally planned to say, I'd rather not find out.

The small buzz I held from the wine has mostly disappeared and the news of Hardin's plans to go to England rests heavily on my chest.

"How was your day today?" I ask him, hoping that if I give him an opportunity to bring it up, he will. 

"It was.. well, long." He sighs.

"Mine too." I don't know what to say to him without coming out and asking him. "Zed text me today,"

"Did he?" Hardin's voice is calm but holds a certain forcefulness that would usually intimidate me.

"Yeah, this afternoon. He says he is coming to Seattle Thursday."

"And what did you say back to him?"

"Nothing yet."

"Why did you tell me?" Hardin asks.

"Because, I want us to be open with one another. No more secrets, no more hiding things." I emphasize the last part of my sentence, hoping to draw the truth from him.

"Well.. thanks for telling me."

Seriously?

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" I ask, still clinging to the dwindling chance that he will mention Anne's wedding.

"I talked to my dad today,"

"Really? About what?" Thank goodness, I knew he would come around.

"Transferring to Seattle."

"Really!" The word comes out more of a squeal than I intended and Hardin's deep laugh sounds through the line.

"Yeah but he says it will postpone graduation so it wouldn't make sense to move this late into the semester."

"Oh," I pout. I hesitate a moment before asking, "but after graduation?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Yeah sure? That's it? That easy?" I smile, the wedding forgotten.

I wish he were here, I would grab him by his collar and kiss him, hard.

"Why put off the inevitable,"

My smile fades, "you're speaking as though it's a jail sentence,"

He stays quiet.

"Hardin?"

"I don't think of it like that. I'm just annoyed by the whole thing. All this time has been wasted and it pisses me off."

"I know." My head is still spinning from Hardin agreeing to finally move to Seattle with me. We have been battling this issue for months and he suddenly gave in without so much as a final fight. "So Seattle it is then? Are you sure?" I have to ask again.

"Yeah," he responds. "I'm ready to start fresh somewhere, may as well be Seattle." I hug my arms  around my body in excitement.

"No England then?" I give him one last chance to bring up the wedding.

"Nope. No England."

I've already won the Great Battle of Seattle so I don't push him any further tonight.

....

When my alarm sounds the next morning, I'm exhausted. I barely slept at all. I spent hours tossing and turning, always on the brink of sleep but never achieving it.

I don't know if it was the excitement of Hardin agreeing to move to Seattle, or if it was the looming discussion we will have about England, either way I got no sleep and now I look like hell. Dark shadows aren't as easy to hide with concealer as marketed, and my unruly hair looks as if I stuck my finger into a light socket.

I take Kimberly up on her offer to ride to work together this morning which buys me a few extra minutes to apply another coat of mascara while she recklessly whips in and out of the freeway lanes. She reminds me of Hardin, cursing at nearly every car and honking too often to pass as reasonable.

Hardin hasn't mentioned whether or not he's coming to Seattle today. When I asked him just before we got off the phone last night, he told me he would let me know in the morning. It's close to nine now and I haven't heard from him. I can't shake the feeling that something is happening, something within Hardin that if not handled properly, will cause us more turmoil. I know Steph got to him, I can tell by the way he's doubting everything I say to him. He's keeping things from me again and I'm terrified of the path this could lead to.

"Maybe you should go back to Pullman this weekend instead of him coming to you." Kimberly interrupts my thoughts.

"It's that obvious?" I ask, lifting my cheek from the cold window.

"Yes, very obvious."

"Sorry, I'm being such a downer." I sigh.

Going back to Pullman this weekend isn't a bad idea. I miss Landon terribly and it would be nice to see my father again.

"You are," she grins at me, "but that's nothing a little coffee and some red lipstick won't fix."

"I'll take the coffee, hold the lipstick." I agree and she nods, makes a U-turn and finds the nearest coffee shop.

..

By lunch my morning blues have disappeared but I still haven't heard from Hardin. I text him twice but stopped myself from calling him. Trevor is waiting for me at an empty table in the break room, two plates of pasta in front of him.

"They sent double my order, so I figured I'd save you from microwaved meals for a day." He smiles, sliding a packet of plastic silverware across the table.

The pasta tastes as savory as it smells. The delicious alfredo sauce reminds me that I skipped breakfast this morning, and I flush when a small moan falls from my mouth as I take my first bite.

"Good, huh?" Trevor beams, wiping his thumb across the corner of his mouth to capture the creamy  sauce. He brings his thumb to his mouth and I can't help but think how odd the causal gesture looks while he's wearing a suit.

"Mhmm," I can barely answer because I'm too busy chewing the noodles.

"I'm glad.." Trevor's deep blue eyes dart away from mine and he shifts in his seat.

"Is everything alright?" I ask him.

"Yeah.. I, well..  I wanted to talk to you about something." I begin to question if the double meal was purposely ordered.

"Okay.." I respond, hoping he's not going to make this awkward.

"It may be a little awkward,"

Great.

"Go on," I encourage him with a smile.

"Okay.. here goes." He pauses and runs his fingertip over his silver cufflink, "Carine has asked me to attend Krystal's wedding with her."

I take the opportunity to shovel a fork-full of pasta into my mouth so I don't have to speak just yet. I nod, pushing him to continue. Carine must be the redhead Kimberly mentioned.

"And I was wondering if there was any reason that I should say no to her."

I'm positive that the choking sound I made frightened him but I quickly recover and swallow my food before responding, "I don't see any reason not to go with her."

"What I mean is," I know exactly what he means and I pray that he doesn't explain, "I know you're on and off with Hardin and I also know this is one of those "off" times and I just wanted to be sure before I accept her that I can give her my full affection, without distractions."

"Am I a distraction?" I quietly ask him. I feel so uncomfortable but Trevor is so sweet and his cheeks are such a deep shade of red that I feel an overwhelming urge to comfort him.

"Yes, you have been since you came to Vance." He rushes the words, "I don't mean that in a bad way, it's just I have been waiting in the background and I wanted my intentions to be clear before I explored the possibility of a relationship with someone else,"

My own Mr. Collins sits in front of me, a much more handsome version of course, and I feel just as awkward and embarrassed for him as Elizabeth Bennett did.

"Trevor, I'm sorry I-"

"It's okay, really." The sincerity in his eyes is almost overwhelming. "I get it. I just wanted to confirm it one last time. I guess the last few times haven't done it for me," he laughs quietly, a nervous laugh, and I join in.

"She's lucky to have you as a date to the wedding," I tell him, hoping to numb the embarrassment I know he feels.

I shouldn't have compared him to Collins, he's not nearly as forward or obnoxious.

"Thank you," he says and I take a drink of my water, "maybe now Hardin will stop calling me fucking Trevor." He smiles. I lift my hand to catch the water spewing from my mouth.

"I didn't know you knew about that!" My horrified laugh fills the small room.

"Yeah, I've noticed." Trevor's eyes shine with humor and I'm so relieved that we can share a laugh, as friends with no confusion.

My momentary bliss is cut short when Trevor's smile disappears and I turn around to follow his gaze to the doorway.

"It smells so good in here!" One of the women says. I feel petty for the level of dislike I feel for the two gossiping women but I can't help it.

"We should go," Trevor whispers, eyeing the shorter woman.

I stare back at him, puzzled, but stand to my feet and toss the empty Styrofoam box into the trashcan.

"You look stunning today Tessa," the brunette compliments me. I can't read her expression but I'm positive that she's mocking me. I know I look like hell today.

"Uhm thank you."

"It's such a small world you know? Is Hardin still working for Bolthouse?" My purse slips off of my shoulder and I quickly tug the leather strap before it falls to the floor.

She knows Hardin?

"Yes, he does." I straighten my back in an attempt to appear completely confident at the mention of his name.

"Tell him I said hey, would you?" She smirks and with that, she turns on her heel and disappears along with her evil sidekick.

"What the hell was that?" I ask Trevor after checking the hall to be sure they aren't lurking. "Did you know they were going to say something to me?"

"I wasn't sure but I suspected it. I overheard them talking about you."

"What about me? They don't even know me?"

"It wasn't about you exactly.." he's uncomfortable again. Trevor is easier to read than anyone I've ever met.

"They were talking about Hardin, weren't they?" I ask and he nods, confirming my suspicion. "What exactly did they say?"

"I.. I don't really want to repeat it. You should ask him." He tucks the corners of his bright red tie into his suit and I shiver at the thought that Hardin may have slept with one of them, or both.

They aren't much older than I am, twenty five at the oldest, and I have to admit, they are both beautiful. In an over the top, too much spray tan way, but attractive all the same.

The walk back to my office is long and the gnawing jealousy is eating away at me. if I don't ask Hardin about the woman, I will go insane. I decide to call him the moment I get to my office. I need to know if he's coming here tonight and I need him to get rid of the green eyes monster on my back.

Zed's name flashes across my phone screen before I can dial Hardin.

I may as well do this now.

"Hey," I sound off, too excited, too fake.

"Hey Tessa, how's it going?" He asks. It feels like it's been so long since I've heard his smooth voice even though that isn't the case.

"It's.. going," I lay my forehead against the cool surface of my desk.

"Sounds rough,"

"It's okay, just a lot going on."

"Well that's why I called you actually. I know I said I was going to be in town Thursday but I've had a change of plans."

"Oh," relief washes over me, "It's okay."

"I'm actually in Seattle right now. I got in last night, I had a hell of a drive. I'm only a few blocks away from your work actually. I won't stop by or anything but maybe we could grab some dinner or something when you're off?"

"Uhm," I glance at the clock. It's fifteen minutes past two and Hardin still hasn't responded. "I don't know if that's good for me actually. I think Hardin is coming in tonight." I admit.

First Trevor, now Zed.

"Are you sure? I saw him out yesterday.. it was pretty late." Hardin and I got off the phone around eleven last night. Did he go out again after we got off the phone? Has he been spending time with that circle again?

"I don't know," I dramatically hit my head against my desk, too gently to do any damage but hard enough that I know Zed can hear through the line.

"It's only dinner, then I'll let you get to whatever plans you have." He coaxes. "It will be nice to see a familiar face, yeah?" I can picture his smile now, the one that I adore so much.

"I rode with someone, could you pick me up at five?" I ask and he happily agrees.

(Please vote, it only takes a sec:) Thank you so much for over 50 million reads on After 3!! I will be updating tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to start on the chapter now because I'm really anxious for what's coming but it may not be as long as the last few chapters. I can't get over all the theories, I love reading them and I can't wait to see everyone's reactions for the rest of the book! Also, there is now a "Hessa's bookshelf" list on my profile page and it has all the classics I mention in After and you can read them here on Wattpad which is awesomely convenient! xo)