Marshall's P.O.V:
"What...What does that mean?" Tessa says, making me quickly open my eyes. Tessa lifts her head up and looks up at me as I look down at her. "What does that mean?" She repeats. When I don't say anything she lets out a sigh and places her head back on my chest. "Right. You're not going to tell me." She mumbles and lets out a long sigh.
It goes quiet between us as we just stand in the kitchens dooway, wrapped up in eachothers arms. I would push her away....I have to push her away but I miss having her so close to me.
"You smell so fimilar. Yet, I don't remember you." Tessa whispers as she keeps the side of her face pressed against my chest and her arms wrapped around me. "Just tell me." She adds.
"Tell you what?" I ask as I keep my arms wrapped around her.
"Who you are." She says, making me go quiet. "God, i'm never going to find out from you am I?" She sighs.
"No. Not from me, Tessa." I shake my head.
"Why?" She asks, making me go quiet again.
Because you can get killed.
If you remember me then you can get killed, Karla can get killed, Nick can get killed and so can I and just to teach us a lesson, they can hurt the people closest to us.
I loosen my arms around her before I let my arms drop back to my side. Tessa moves her head slightly before she realises that I let go off her. Her brows knit together in confusion as she moves her head back and looks up at me.
"What's wrong?" She asks. Tessa loosens her arms around me before she takes a step back. "Marshall. What's wrong?" She asks again. "Why did you let go off me?" She asks.
"I'm sorry." I say quietly.
"You're sorry?" She repeats.
All I want is Tessa and I can't have her. She's here. She's right fucking here infront of me but I can't do anything. I can't touch her. I can't hold her. I can't love her. I can't do anything and it's not fair.
"I'm hurting." She states. "I...God I feel lost and-and..." She stops talking and places her hand on her hip as she sighs and covers her face with her hand. "And you're the only one that makes me relaxed and...You're telling me you can't hold me for one second. You're telling me you can't stand here with me and talk to me so I can forget about all of this? That's unfair. As a 'friend' you should...Should...Be there for me." She says.
I don't say anything and watch her sigh as she throws her hand up in the air. She covers her face and lets out a long sigh before she runs her fingers through her hair as she shakes her head.
"What the hell is wrong with me?" She whispers. I watch as her eyes fill up with tears before they're sliding down her cheeks, making my heart drop a little at the sight. "Just go." She whispers as she walks away from me and walks towards the kitchen counter. She places her head down on the counter before her small sobs fill up my ears. I hold up my hand and reach out for her but when I realise what i'm about to do, I drop my hand and let out a sigh before I walk away from her.
~ Flashback ~
"Hey." I look up at Tessa who pokes her head through the door. I look away from her and take my headphones off. "Are you okay?" She asks.
"Yeah." I shrug.
"Nathan....He, ehr...Told me about what just happened with your mom and Kim." She explains, making me turn around to face her.
"Nathan should learn to keep his mouth shut." I state and look away from her again.
"Oh come on, Marshall." She tuts. "You can't just push downs your feelings." She says.
"I don't wanna talk about this." I mumble.
"I don't care." She says. "You're going to talk about it." She adds.
"Tess-" I start but stop talking when she makes her way towards me and sits down on my lap.
"I hate seeing you like this." Tessa says as I lean back into my chair and look away from her. "You never come out of the studio. You stop eating and sleeping. You stop talking to me and everyone around you." I stay quiet and listen to her talk. "Marshall. Talk to me." She tuts when I don't say anything.
"I have a deadline to meet." I state as I start to get up but she pushes me back down.
"I'm not letting go of you." She tells me as she wraps her arms around me.
"Tess, i'm working." I sigh.
"No. You're blocking us all out and locking yourself in your studio." She mumbles as she places her head on my shoulder. "I'm not letting go of you until you talk." She says as she plays with the chain around my neck.
"Then you're going to be here a very long time." I mumble and feel her shrug against me which makes me let out a long sigh. "She wants to see Iris." I finally speak after a couple of seconds, making Tessa lift her head up slightly. "My mom. She wants to meet Iris." I state.
"That's a good thing...Right?" Tessa says slowly.
"I don't want her within ten feet of Iris." I state. "And Kim...She doesn't like the fact that we adopted Iris." I tell her.
"Well...Just ignore her." Tessa shrugs.
Yeah, if only it was that easy.
"She threatened me with the kids." I add, making Tessa sigh.
"I hate that woman." Tessa mumbles.
"Well you're not the only one." I mumble and place my hand on her lower back as I kiss her shoulder, making her smile lightly. "There I talked. I need to work." I tell her.
"No can do." She shakes her head.
"Tess. You need to leave me alone." I sigh.
"No." She says and sits up. "Just...Take a break." She adds.
"I need to work." I state as I sit up.
"I don't care." She mumbles and pushes me back down. "Just relax a little....Take a break and forget about Kim and your mom." She adds.
"I don't have the time-" I start but get cut off.
"Relax, Marshall." She tuts. I don't say anything and let her unzip my jacket before she helps me takes it off and dumps it on the floor. I lean back into my chair with Tessa against me before she places her hands on my shoulder and starts to massage me, making me let out a small sigh. "Just relax." She adds as she places a kiss on my cheek before she places her face between my shoulder and neck and carries on massaging me.
"Thank you." I whispers in her ear.
"No need to thank me." She mumbles back.
~ End Of Flashback ~
I take a step back from Tessa, making her shake her head. Tessa quickly grabs a hold of my wrist, making me sigh before I grab her hand and pull her towards me.
"Please don't go." She says softly. "Don't leave me." She adds.
"Tess, this is the last time...The last time we talk or get close." I tell her as I cup her beautiful face between my hands.
"That's not fair." She says quickly.
I ignore her and place my lips on her forhead, making Tessa places her hands against mine. I kiss her slowly before I drop my hands, making her shake her head.
"Marshall, you can't just..." She slowly trails off when I turn my back towards her.
"I'm sorry." I let out a small sigh as I walk away.
Christopher's P.O.V:
I curse under my breath and let out a sigh as I turn to lay on my back and open my eyes when the knocking on the hotels room gets louder and louder.
I look at Milo and kiss him on his forhead before I climb out of the king sized bed. Karla and I decided to stay at a hotel which was closer to the hospital that we worked at since our house is surrounded by the fucking papparazi.
"I'm coming!" I say as I look for my top. I look back at Milo when I hear him moan in his sleep as the banging gets louder and louder.
I quickly make my way towards the door as I curse under my breath. I start to unlock it before I pull the door open.
"The fuck-" I start but stop talking when I see Tessa standing on the other end. "Tess." I say as I poke my head out into the hallway that's full of people taking pics.
Great, now we have to move again!
"I didn't know I was being followed." She tells me, making me look down at her. She sounds weak and tired, it's like she's been crying this whole time before she came here. "I'm sorry." She adds, making me shake my head.
"Don't worry about it. Come in." I say as I step aside and watch her quickly rush in before I close the door and lock it. "What's up?" I ask as I turn to face her.
"Is Karla home?" Tessa asks.
"No. She had a night shift at the hospital." I tell her. "It's just me and Milo." I add as I walk towards the couch and sit down. "Is...Everything alright?" I ask slowly, making her nod.
"Yeah. Everything's fine." She forces a smile onto her lips as she nods and sits down on the couch. You can tell she hasn't slept for the last couple of days. I've noticed she's lost a lot of weight too.
"Ay." I say as I walk towards her and sit down next to here. "You're talking to me...I'm like a brother to you. You know you can tell me anything." I add, clearly she's not fine and clearly she's holding something back.
I watch Tessa look away from me before she covers her face and starts to silently sob in her hands. I let out a sigh as I place my arm around her and pull her towards me.
"Shh..." I whisper as she wraps her arms around me and starts to sob harder. "I've got you Tess. You're okay." I tell her.
"I don't know what to do!" She sobs on my shoulder.
"About what?" I ask.
"Everything." She says. "I don't..." She trails off slowly and starts to sob against, making me wrap my arms around her tiny figure tightly and hug her back. "I don't know what to do." She says through sobs.
"Breath Tess." I tell her, making her shake her head.
"I...I don't know who I am anymore!" She says as she pulls back. "I don't know what to do!" She adds.
"Calm down and tell me what's happened." I say calmly and watch her as she stands up and starts to pace up and down infront of me.
"I want to remember everything...But I can't! I don't know who's my friend and who isn't. I don't know who I love or hate and these flashbacks are driving me fucking crazy!" She screams. I stay quiet and listen to all her problems as she paces around in my hotel room. "I don't know who I can fucking trust!" She yells. "I don't know who I can talk to anymore. Everyone around me is walking on egg shells. They're hiding all these secrets from me....And....I don't know what to do!" She says. I watch her as she drops to the ground, making my heart clench. "Karla....She's about to die and my father...He just shot himself through the head!" She tells me, making me freeze in my spot.
Mr Black? He's....Dead..?
"Fuck." I curse under my breath and walk towards her.
"I don't know what to do!" She screams. I try holding Tessa but she starts to trash in my arms, forcing me to harden grip on her. "Let me go...Chris, let me go." She cries as she stops trashing in my arms. "Let me go." She cries.
I don't say anything as I push my own emotions down and hold my bestfriend against my chest. Tessa repeats the same three words again and again as she cries and screams.
***
Tessa looks off into the distance as I reach for the blanket and cover her with it. I lean down and kiss her on the forehead before I stand back up and reach for the hotel phone.
I walk away from Tessa and towards the bathroom where I can get some privacy. I lock the door and sit down on the edge of the bath tub before I dial the number quickly, after a few rings, he picks up.
"Hello?" Jacob says quickly.
"Jake. It's me, Chris." I tell him.
"Why are you up so early, brother?" He asks.
"Is....It true?" I ask before it goes quiet between us.
"Is what true?" He asks.
"Your father. Did he shoot himself and...Is he dead?" I say and hear him let out a sigh.
"Yeah. It's true." He says, making me let out a sigh.
"Jake...Brother...I...I'm sorry-" I start and get cut off.
"He was murdered, Christopher." He says quickly, making me freeze in my spot. "He was killed." He adds.
"But Tessa just-" I start and get cut off once again.
"Our asshole of a father was looking into the contract." He says, making me shake my head.
"You've got this wrong." I state.
"He was caught. They killed him and made it look like a suic-" He starts and cut him off.
"Let's talk about this in person." I say quickly. We both know it's dangerous to talk about this over the phone. Ours phones could be tapped.
"They killed him!" Jacob yells into the phone. I wouldn't be suprised if he's drunk. "They fucking kill-" He adds but I quickly hang up the phone and throw it into the bath tub. Like I said, our phones could be tapped.
I walk towards the door, unlock it before I walk out. I walk towards the hotels bedroom before I pull out my suitcase. I take out my gun and load it up before I place it in my jeans. I take out the brown envelope before I walk towards my son, kiss him on his forehead and walk away.
I look down at the envelope and take out the single A3 picture that I took earlier on. I look down at Rose Davis' face before I place it in the inside of my jacket as I walk towards my bedroom door, pull it open and walk out.
"Chris?" Tessa sits up, making me stop.
"I'll be back as soon as I can." I tell her.
"Where are you going?" She asks as I walk towards the hotels door.
"Hospital called. They need me." I lie as I pull open the door and slam it shut behind me.