tessa || h.s

Wait

H.

Four days. Four god damn days and she hasn't come by. My mind was practically fried, due to all the fucking thinking I've been doing. Did he leave her? Or did he forgive her? Are they together right now while I'm feeling pathetic and alone? I decided that it was time for me to do something about this shitty situation. Bottom line is, I'm in love with Tessa. I love her so damn much, and I know that's crazy because she just came back into my life-but I've been through a lot and because of my career I've been forced to grow up faster than a normal teenager, so I'd like to think that I know how love feels when it overcomes your entire being. She came back into my life for a reason and I'll be damned if I just let her get away without a fight.

∞

I stood at her front door after knocking six or seven times, wondering what to do. Without thinking, I twisted the door knob and worry overcame me when I realized it was unlocked. I pushed through and my eyes had to adjust to the darkness. The lights were all off and even though it was dusk and the sun was practically nonexistent, it was darker than it should have been. "Tess?" I waited for an answer, and when I got nothing and found no trace of her in the living room, I headed to the bedroom. "Tessa?" The place was clean but it looked identical to when I left the other day. Her bedroom door was closed and I opened it slowly-terrified that I'd find her dead or something. I sighed, relief washing over me when I saw her chestnut waves strewn across her back as it moved up and down with each near-silent snore. I walked over to the bed and knelt down beside her. "Tessa? Baby, wake up..." She groaned and turned over, but her eyes began opening slowly. When she realized it was me, a pained expression played across her beautiful features.

"Get out of my apartment."

"Tess-"

"Harry I don't want you here, I don't want to see you-just please leave."

"What happened?" I ignored her statement and asked my own question, which caused her to sigh heavily.

"What happened? What the fuck do you think happened? Dylan dumped me. He left me because of my fucking feelings for you and now I'm alone."

"That doesn't make any sense..."

"How?! You're the one who brought it all up!"

"No, no...I know that, but you're not alone, Tessa."

"Oh that's right, I have you! How could I be so stupid?" Her words were angry but I could hear the sadness in her tone and that killed me.

"Have you even left this bed since I left?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business..."

"You are so perfect, Tess, in every way but you smell and I'm guessing that's because you've locked yourself away in here for the past four days and I'm worried about you-have you eaten?" Her silence meant yes and I groaned. "Okay...so here's whats going to happen-" She went to fight me, but I shut her up before she could get a word in, "-and don't try to fight me on this because you won't win." She sat up and rolled her eyes, allowing me to finish. "I'm going to go make you something to eat, and you're going to shower and brush your teeth, and after that...if you still want me to leave, then I'll leave. Deal?" After a few seconds of thinking this through, she nodded and climbed out of bed. Just as she reached the door, she turned around like she wanted to say something, but quickly continued on. As soon as the door shut behind her, I got busy straightening up her sheets and picking up around the room, then I headed back out to the kitchen to make her something to eat.

T.

I rubbed body wash all over myself again and again, just trying to get the four day old grime away, and once I was out, I scrubbed my teeth until my gums bled. As I sauntered into my bedroom, I could smell food coming from underneath the thin space between the floor and the door. After pulling on a pair of thick knit leggings and a sweatshirt, I walked out the door and towards the kitchen. Harry was standing by the stove as something sizzled in the pan in front of him. I cleared my throat and he turned around, a sweet, yet timid smile appearing on his face.

"Feeling a little better?" He asked once he was turned back around.

"Yeah." I answered him quietly and went to the refrigerator. I frowned when I saw only a pitcher of water and one apple sitting on the shelf. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"Oh...um, I'll just have water." He pulled two plates out of the cupboard and put a chicken breast on each one. "All um...all of your vegetables were bad, so I hope just chicken is okay. I cooked it with a bit of butter and lemon."

"Yeah, that's okay. It smells good."

"Hopefully it tastes good." He chuckled and I smiled as I grabbed two glasses and filled them with water and ice.

"I hope so too." I smiled over at him and he put the plates at the table while I handed him the glass. Silence fell over both of us as we ate, but as I neared the end of my dinner, I cleared my throat. "Thank you for this." His green eyes looked up as he tried to quickly swallow the food in his mouth.

"Of course, love."

"But-what you did the other day...I know you probably don't think so, but it hurt me. You threw me under the bus without even thinking about how it would affect me. It wasn't fair and I'm angry at you for that." He nodded, solemnly before speaking.

"I know, and I really am sorry, Tess. I never meant for it to happen that way...I just-I don't know what came over me. I really don't."

"Okay..." I didn't really know what else to say to that.

"Are you guys, um-still like...working through things or...?"

"He said he needed time that day, but he called me two days ago and said he just couldn't get past it and that he thought it was best to end things for good."

"Oh." He took another bite of chicken, the last bite. "I know you don't want to hear this, but I really do love you, Tessa." I shook my head and looked down at my lap.

"We're on different paths, Harry...and I'm still hurting. I believe that you love me, I do, but I need to focus on me and my career. Maybe if you just give me time...things might be different."

He nodded again and smiled a beautiful yet sad smile. "I can wait for you."

"But that's the thing...I don't want you to have to wait for me. God knows how long I'll need-"

"I really could care less how long it takes you. I'll be here when you need me to be here." His stubbornness has been very annoying since we've been back in each other's lives, but for once, I found myself smiling slightly.

"Okay, Harry."

"Okay, Tessa." His crooked, toothy grin made me smile, and after four very shitty days, I finally felt slightly decent.