'After' one shots

Interview

Interviewer: So! The man of the moment, Hardin Scott. Welcome!

Hardin: Thanks, it's good to be here.

Interviewer: Congratulations on your first book making the top ten.

Hardin: Thank you, I was really happy to see it there.

Interviewer: It's a complicated story, so many twists and turns. Tell me, is it really all true?

Hardin: It really is. I know that it's a difficult read in places and most of that was because of me and the fu- sorry, stupid things I did. I'm in a different place now I'm glad to say.

Interviewer: I think it would be fair to say that 'After' has really captured people's attention. The internet has had a lot to say about it. Do you read the blog posts?

Hardin: I try not to, to be honest. I'm aware that many people will think I'm a jerk, they don't need to tell me.

Interviewer: So why write it? I mean this is some really personal stuff, not to mention the intimate details about your relationship with Tessa.

Hardin: In the beginning I wasn't going to do anything with it. It was just an outlet for me to deal with the mess inside my head. But then the more I wrote the more I wanted to keep going. I had so many things going round and round in my mind and no way of effectively expressing myself. I wasn't good at talking to people, even Tessa. Eventually a friend read a little bit and encouraged me to do something with it.  In hindsight I can see just how screwed up I was. I was hurting others on purpose and pushing people away. There were many, many times when I said or did completely the wrong thing. If I can help one person get into therapy and sort themselves out then it will be worth telling the story.

Interviewer: Have you been to therapy yourself?

Hardin: I have and I still am. A couple of years ago I would have been so resistant. My mum tried to get me to go when I was younger but I had no interest in talking about it. I think in some ways I was too young to be able to put how I felt into words. A traumatic childhood is a hard thing to deal with, it marks you. Instead I self-medicated with alcohol and smoked and tried to ignore the pain. I never would have been able to be this honest either before now.

Interviewer: Speaking of your mum, how is she?

Hardin: She's really good actually. She met someone and they're happy together. She was always much better at letting go of anger than I was. She's such a strong woman.

Interviewer: Is she proud of how you've turned your life around?

Hardin: She is. I think that she probably wishes that I had handled it differently but she's really happy that I have started to get better. It's a work in progress still but I have changed a lot.

Interviewer: I have to ask – do you know if Tessa has read the book?

Hardin: She has . . . I showed her before it was published.

Interviewer: And will she be going public? Everyone is dying to know who she is.

Hardin: I don't think so. I hurt her terribly and I don't think she wants to deal with that in the public eye.

Interviewer: Do you two still speak?

Hardin: We haven't spoken in couple of months unfortunately. It's hard with all the publicity and travelling.

Interviewer: Do you still miss her?

Hardin: Every day. . .

Interviewer: What would you say to her if you knew she was listening to this?

Hardin: I would tell her that I will always wait for her. She is the only woman for me. She dragged me out of hell and I can never thank her enough. Whatever our souls are made of, hers and mine are the same.

Interviewer: What can I say? Thank you for being so honest with us. Good luck with the second book, which is out next week folks, make sure you take a look.

They shake hands and the show goes to a commercial break.

LANDON

I am standing in the doorway watching my best friend with tears running down her face. She sniffs and I move forward into the room.

"How long have you been there?" Tessa asks me in a strangled voice.

"Long enough," I tell her and sit down on the couch, putting my arm around her. She takes some deep breaths, trying to steady herself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were home. I flicked on the TV and there was Hardin and I couldn't turn away. Sorry," she says again, wiping her eyes.

"Stop apologising, it's ok. For the record you really have to talk to him," I tell her.

"I called him, after seeing him in Chicago. I left a message with that Patris woman, you know, his publicist? He didn't call back." She starts to cry again and I put my head on top of hers.

"There could have been so many reasons. Maybe she didn't give him the message?"

"If he really wanted to call me I'm sure he could."

I sigh, knowing my step-brother is a complicated man. "I think he's respecting your request for space. He loves you, I know he does."

Tessa shakes her head. "I'm fine, really. It was just a shock to see him that's all."

"Fine is not the same as happy. Didn't you once say that you wanted to live, not just survive?"

"Who's side are you on?" She gives me a watery smile.

"In World War Hessa I am Switzerland." I hold my hands up in a placating gesture. "But I hate seeing you unhappy and I think you two should talk. Properly."

She nods and falls silent and I really hope that she will think about it. They have both grown up so much in the last year. Tessa will not admit it to me but I know she still loves him. After all the things that have happened I totally understand why she doesn't want to let him back in. But she loves him, I know she does.

She wipes her face and turns to me. "So what about you and Nora? How's it going?" she asks me.

I can feel myself smiling when I think about Nora. "It's good I think. It's only been a couple of weeks but we're getting on really well. She seems a lot happier now that she's decided to divorce Amir. She still feels guilty though."

"It's such a hard situation," Tessa says quietly. "She's so young, too young to be alone."

I look at her meaningfully, the same would apply equally to her.