After

Chapter 65.

"What happened? What was he doing?" Landon asks after I finally stop sobbing.

"He was all over Molly, then he kissed her in front of me, literally five feet away from me." I tell him.

"Did I hear him say that he loves you?" He asks quietly.

"Yea.. I don't know what that was about. He was just trying to cause a scene or something." I still haven't been able to come up with a logical explanation.

"Do you think.. don't get mad at me.. but do you think that maybe he does? You know, love you?"

"What? Of course not. I am not even sure if he even likes me, I mean when we are alone he is so different, and I think maybe he does care about me but then once we get around people he is totally different. But I know he doesn't love me. He isn't capable of loving anyone other than himself." I explain.

"I'm on your side Tessa, I am. But I saw the look on his face as we drove away, he looked heartbroken and you can't be heartbroken if you aren't in love." Landon says. That can't be true, I felt my heart shatter when he kissed Molly but I don't love him.

"Do you love him?" He simply asks.

"No, I don't love him.. he is.. well... he's a jerk. I have known him less than two months, and half of that .. actually all of that time we have spent fighting. You can't love someone after two months of meeting them." My voice comes out strained and my words too quick. "Besides, he is a jerk."

"You already said that." Landon says and I notice the hint of a smile on his lips as he tries to keep his expression neutral.

I don't like the pressure that I feel in my chest as we are talking about me loving Hardin. It makes me feel nauseous and the space in the car feels much smaller. I roll down the window a little and lean my head against the window.

"Do you want to come back to my house or your dorm?' He asks. I want to go to my dorm and curl into a ball on my bed but I am afraid that Steph or Hardin will show up. The chance of Hardin coming to his father's house is so slim, that seems to me the better option.

"Your house, but can we go by my room so I can grab some clothes? I am sorry for asking you to drive me all over." I tell him and mean it.

"Tessa, you haven't asked very much of me. The drive is short and you are my friend, stop thanking me and apologizing to me for driving you." he says sternly but his sweet smile makes me laugh.

He is the best person I have met here and I am so lucky to have him.

"Well let me thank you one last time for being such a great friend to me." I say and he frowns playfully.

"Your welcome, now lets move on." he says and I nod.

I rush around my room to gather a change of clothes and my books. I feel like I never stay in my room anymore. This will be the first night in five days that I will be staying without Hardin. I was beginning to get used to it, how foolish of me. I grab my phone out of my drawer and walk back to Landon's car.

When we get to his house it is after eleven o'clock. I am exhausted and thankful that Ken and Karen are asleep when we arrive. Landon puts a pizza in the oven for us and I eat another one of my cupcakes from earlier. Baking with Karen seems like weeks ago, not hours. I have had such a long day and it started so well with my morning with Hardin, the internship, and then he ruined it, just like he always does. After we eat the pizza, Landon and I walk back upstairs and he shows me back to the guest room that I stayed in last time. Well I didn't quite stay in there because I was woken up by a screaming Hardin. Time hasn't made sense since I met him, everything has happened so quickly and it makes me dizzy to think about the better times we have had. I thank Landon again and he rolls his eyes at me before leaving me and going into his room. I turn on my phone to find many texts from Hardin, Steph, and my mom. I delete all of them, except the message from my mother, without reading them. I already know what they will say and I have had enough of it today. I turn my ringtone and text notifications on silent and sit my phone on the nightstand.