"Last time? See Theresa! This is exactly why you need to get away from him. He has done this before, I knew it! Prince Charming strikes again." My mother howls.
I look over at Hardin, my fingers slipping from the edge. Not again. I don't think I can take anymore. Not from him.
"It's not like that mum." Hardin finally says.
"It sure sounds like it Hardin. I honestly can't believe you, I love you son but I can't help you here. This is wrong, so wrong." Anne says and wipes under her eyes.
I never am able to find my voice in these situations. I want to speak, I need to but an endless list of terrible things that Anne could be referring to as "last time" are running rapid in my head, stealing my voice.
"I said it's not like that!' Hardin shouts at his mother.
"I think she should go with her mother." Anne says and a lump rises in my throat.
"What?" Hardin says to her. His voice thick with surprise.
"She should go. You are no good for her Hardin. I thought you were, that you had changed but its obvious that you haven't. I love you more than life itself but I cant allow you to do this again. Coming to America was supposed to help you but you did the same thing."
"Theresa. I think you have heard enough. It's time to go." My mother says and grabs ahold of my arm.
Hardin moves towards her and she steps back, still holding onto me.
"Let go of her, now." He says through his teeth.
Her plum nails dig into my skin as I try to process the events of the last two minutes. I had not expected my mother to show up here, barge into the bedroom and I certainly did not expect Anne to drop yet another one of Hardin's secrets. Has he done this before? To who? Did he love her? Did she love him? He said he had never been with a virgin before, he said he has never loved anyone before. Was he lying?
The angry mask he wears makes it hard for me to decipher.
"You don't get to have a say in anything that concerns her any longer." She strikes back.
I pull my arm from her grip and step behind Hardin. Anne and my mother wear the same horrified expression as I wrap my fingers around his forearm.
"Theresa don't be stupid. Get over here." My mother instructs.
I stay hidden behind Hardin, I don't really understand why but I am. I should be leaving with my mother, or forcing him to tell me what the hell Anne is talking about but I really just want my mother to go away. I need a few seconds, minutes, maybe even hours to comprehend what Hardin could have done. I just forgave him, I just decided to forget everything and move on with him. Why must there always be some secret locked away that comes to head at the worst possible time?
"Theresa." My mother takes another step towards me and Hardin brings his arm behind him to wrap around me, protecting me from her.
"Get away from her." Hardin warns.
"Hardin, that is her daughter. You have no right coming between them." Anne says.
"I have no right? She has no right coming in our apartment, in our fucking bedroom uninvited!" He shouts. My grip on his arm tightens.
"That is not her bedroom nor is this her apartment." My mother says.
"Yes, it is. See who she is standing behind? She is using me as a shield to block her from you." Hardin points out.
"She is foolish and doesn't understand what is best for her." My mother says.
"Stop speaking as if I am not here! I am right here and I am an adult, I am nineteen years old mother. If I want to stay I will." I announce.
I don't know if I want to stay but I know that I don't want to leave with her.
"Tessa, honey. I think you should listen to your mother." Anne betrays me.
The sting of her dismissal burns my chest but I don't know what she knows about her son.
"Thank you! At least someone in this family is reasonable." My mother sighs and Anne shoots her a warning glare.
"I don't agree with how you treat your daughter so don't think because I want her to go means that we are on the same team because we are not." Anne reminds her.
"Regardless, we both agree that you need to go Tessa. You need to leave this apartment with me and not come back, we can transfer you to another school if need be. You have played his games long enough."
"She can make up her own mind." Hardin defends me.
"He has poisoned your mind Theresa, look at the things he has done to you. Do you know him at all?" My mother asks.
:"I know him mother." I say through my teeth.
My mother turns her attention to Hardin. I don't know why she is not afraid of him, the way his chest is heaving up and down, the way his cheeks are flared with anger, the way his fists are clenched into a ball so tightly that his knuckles are white, should intimidate her but it doesn't.
"If you care for her, even a little bit you will tell her to go. You have done nothing but break her down. She isn't the same girl that I dropped off at college three months ago and that is your fault. You didn't have to see her cry for days over what you did to her., you were probably with another girl while she was crying herself to sleep. You have destroyed her, how can you even live with yourself? You know you will hurt her again sooner or later so if you have one decent bone in your body you will tell her, tell her to come." My mother says.
The silence in the room is chilling.
Anne stands silently staring at the wall deep in thought. I assume she is thinking of whatever Hardin did "last time' , my mother is glaring at Hardin waiting for his response, Hardin is breathing so hard he may combust, and me, I am trying to decide who will win the battle inside of me. My heart or my head?
"I'm not going with you." I finally say.
Anne snaps her head up to look at me and my mother rolls her eyes.
"You are.." She begins.
Hardin's POV.
"You aren't welcome here, don't ever come back here. Who do you think you are busting in here like this and you have the nerve to talk to him that way!" Tessa shouts, cutting her off, She pushes past me and moves towards her mum.
I don't know what she will do, but I do know that her mum better not slap her again.
"I want nothing to do with you! No one does! That's why you are alone after all of these years, you are cruel and conceited, you will never be happy!" Tessa screams at the woman.
Her face is red and her eyes are beginning to water. Why does her mum always have to ruin shit? I can't blame her or argue with her right now, regardless of how much I hate her. I did hurt Tessa, but I don't think I have ruined her? Have I?
"I am alone because I chose to be, I don't have the need to be with someone, I am not like you." Her mum spits.
Tessa balls her small fists at her sides and takes a huge breath. She is so angry, so upset, but she doesn't look the least bit threatening. I glance at my mum for help, I don't know what to do, but the look she gives me lets me know that she hates me. I didn't want her to know what I did to Tess. I knew it would kill her especially after what happened before. I am not the same person as I was then, this is totally different,. I love Tessa.
"Like me! I don't need to be with anyone! You basically forced me to be with Noah, I never felt like I had a choice in anything! You have always controlled me and I am done, I am fucking done!" Tessa begins to cry and moves closer to her mother.
I know one of two things will happen if I don't pull her away, her mum will slap her and I will have to intervene, or Tessa will say something she will regret and I don't want her to be upset with herself over this.
"It's obvious that you have some codependency issues if you are stupid enough to come back to him. Is this because of your father?" Her mum's voice isn't sincere, it's full of sarcasm and it's clear that she is mocking Tessa.
"I hate you. I really hate you. You are probably the reason that my father drank and slapped you around! He left because he couldn't stand you! I don't blame him, I wish he would have taken.." I grab Tessa and put my hand over her mouth, pulling her back and holding her frame against my chest.
She screams into my hand and tries to push me off of her but she isn't strong enough.
"I think you need to go now." I say to her mother.
Tessa is throwing a fit beneath my grip and keeps kicking her feet against my shins.
I let go and she turns to me with an angry grimace covering her soft face. It's always so unsettling to see her angry, especially this angry. I am selfishly pleased that her anger isn't directed at me this moment. It will be soon, I know it. I know her mother is right about me, I am terrible for her, I am not the man she thinks I am but I love her too much to let her leave me, again. I just got her back and I will not let her leave me again. I just hope that she will listen to me, listen to the entire story before she leaves me. Even then I don't think it will matter. I know it's coming, there is no way she will stay with me once she hears it. Fuck, why did my mum have to say anything?
"Why did you do that! You.."
"Because you are saying things you know you will regret. Come on." I say and lead her into the bedroom.
She turns around, giving her mother one last hateful glare before I close the door behind us. Leaving our mum's in the other room.
"Why did you do that! Why did you stop me! I have so much shit to say to that bitch it's not even ..I can't even!!" She yells at me and pushes her hands against my chest.
"Hey..hey..calm down." I say, trying not to smile at her anger.
I bring her face between my hands and gently move my thumbs across her cheekbones, making sure she keeps eye contact with me as her breathing slows.
"Just calm down, baby." I repeat. The redness disappears from her cheeks and she nods slowly.
"I'm going to make sure she leaves okay?" I say so low, it's almost a whisper.
She nods again and moves to sit on the bed.
"Hurry up." She demands before I leave the room.
When I walk into the living room Tessa's mother is the only person in the room.
"Where is she?" She asks.
"She is not coming out, you are leaving and you are not going to come back here. I mean it." I say through my teeth.
"Are you threatening me?" She raises her brow.
"You can take it however you want to but you need to stay away from her."
"This is all your fault, you have brain washed her, she doesn't think for herself anymore. I know what you are doing, I have been with men like you. I knew you were trouble since the day I laid eyes on you. I should have had Tessa change rooms then and prevented all of this. No man is going to want her after this.. after you. Look at you!" She waves her hand in the air and turns towards the door.
She steps out into the hall and I follow her.
"That's the point isn't it? That no man will want her, no man but me. She will never be with anyone but me. She will always choose me over you, over anyone."
"You are the devil and I am not going to just go away. She is my daughter and she is too good for you." She threatens and takes a step towards me.
"I will make sure to remember that when I am burying myself into your daughter tonight."
As the words leave my lips she gasps and reaches her hand up in an attempt to smack me. I grab her wrist and push it back down gently. I would never hurt her or any woman but I wasn't going to allow her to assault me.
I give her my best smile before I walk back into the apartment and slam the door in her face.