Chapter 48 (1/2)
“It doesn’t matter why it happened.” I shake my head at him. I don’t know why he always jumps to these conclusions. Why is it so hard for him to accept that he is loved?
“You feel sorry for poor Hardin who has nightmares and can’t sleep in a fucking bed alone!” His voice is too loud, and we have company.
“Stop yelling! Your mom is in the other room!” I yell back.
“Is that what you two did all day . . . talk about me? I don’t need your fucking pity, Tess.”
“Oh my God! You are so frustrating! We did not talk about you, not in that way. And for the record, I do not feel sorry for you, I wanted you in that bed with me regardless of your dreams.” I cross my arms.
“Sure,” he barks.
“This isn’t about how I feel; it’s about how you feel about yourself. You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself, if anything,” I say equally harshly.
“I don’t.”
“Seems like it. You just started a fight with me for no reason. We should be moving forward not backward.”
“Moving forward?” His eyes meet mine.
“Yeah . . . I mean may-maybe,” I stutter.
“Maybe?” He smiles.
And he’s so happy all of a sudden—he’s grinning like a small child on Christmas. He was just fighting with me, his cheeks flushed in anger. And strangely, I feel most of my anger evaporating as well. The control that he holds over my emotions terrifies me. “You are insane, literally,” I tell him.
He gives me a killer smirk. “Your hair looks nice.”
“You need to be medicated,” I tease, and he laughs.
“I wouldn’t argue there,” he responds.
And I can’t help but laugh with him . . . Maybe I’m just as crazy as he is.
Chapter thirty-one
TESSA
Our moment together is interrupted when my phone vibrates and dances across the dresser. Hardin grabs it for me, looks at the screen, and says, “Landon.”
Taking the phone from him, I answer, “Hello?”
“Hey, Tessa,” Landon says. “So, my mum wanted me to call and see if you were coming over for Christmas?”
His mom is so nice. And I bet she makes a great Christmas spread. “Oh . . . yeah, I’d love to. What time should I be there?” I reply.