After 3

Chapter 236.

Hardin's POV.

"Steph's a psycho, no one knew she was going to do that." Logan assures me while downing a frosted mug full of beer.

"Dan knew. And if I find out that anyone else did.." I warn him and he nods.

"No one else knew, well not that I know of but you know no one tells me shit anyway." A tall brunette appears at Logan side and he slides his arm around her. "Nate and Chelsea will be here soon," he says to the girl.

"A couples night," I groan. "Time for me to go." I move to stand but Logan stops me

"It's not a couples night. Tristan is single now and Nate isn't dating Chelsea, they are just fucking."

I don't know why I came here anyway but Landon would barely speak to me and Karen looks so sad at dinner, I just couldn't sit there any longer.

"Let me guess, Zed will be here too?"

"I don't think so, I think he was even more pissed than you about the shit that went down because he hasn't spoken to any of us since then."

"No one is more pissed than me," I say through my teeth. Hanging out with my old friends isn't helping me 'better myself', it's only pissing me off. How dare anyone say that Zed cares more about Tessa than I do.

"I didn't mean it like that, my bad. Have a beer and chill out." Logan says and waves his hand in the air. Nate, the girl named Chelsea, and Tristan are walking across the small bar toward us.

"I don't want a fucking beer," I say quietly, trying to control my attitude. Logan is only trying to help but he's annoying me. Everyone is annoying me. Everything is annoying me.

"Long time no see," Tristan tries to joke but it's only awkward and neither of us even crack a smile. "I'm sorry about the shit that Steph did, I had no idea what she was going to do." He finally says, making it even more awkward.

"I don't want to talk about it." I forcefully remark, closing the conversation.

While the small group of my friends drink and talk about shit that I give absolutely no fucks about, I find myself thinking about Tessa. What is she doing right now? Does she like Seattle? I wonder if she feels as uncomfortable at Vance's house as I think she does. Are they being nice to her?

Of course they are, Kimberly and Christian are always nice. Does Tessa miss me the way I miss her?

"Are you going to have one?" Nate interrupts my thoughts and waves a full shot glass in front of my face.

"No, I'm good." I gesture to my soda on the table and he shrugs before tipping his head back to take the shot.

This is the last thing I want to be doing right now. This adolescent, drinking until they throw up or black out, shit may be good enough for them, but not for me. They haven't had the luxury of having someone's voice nagging in the back of their mind, telling them to be better, to do more with their lives. They haven't had anyone love them enough to make them want to be better.

"I want to be good for you, Tess." I once told her. What a great job I've done so far.

"I'm going." I announce but no one even notices as I stand from my seat and leave the bar.

I've made up my mind that I will no longer waste my time hanging out at bars with people who really don't give a shit about me. I have nothing against most of them, but in all actuality none of them really know me or care enough to. They only liked the drunk, fun, fucking random girls, me. I was only another prop at one of their massive parties. They don't know shit about me, they didn't even know that was father is the fucking chancellor at our campus.