She stands at the doorway, arms wrapped around herself, the porch light painting her in gold.
I choke on her name.“Tessa,”
She looks at me like she doesn’t know me anymore.Like she’s grieving something that's already gone.
Reeves pulls me back.
Adam keeps himself between us until I’m at the truck.
Tessa turns her back on me and retreats inside.
The door closes behind her.Something about it feels so final.
I look back until the house disappears, vowing to come back tomorrow and get Tessa back.
Chapter 36 - Tessa
I didn’t sleep.I don’t even remember closing my eyes.Adam wanted to stay, but I knew I needed to be alone.I told him I would call him if I needed him, and after a long hug and an assurance that I would be okay, he left.I wrapped myself up in blankets and sat on the porch watching the snow fall, trying to piece together how everything ended up this way.
When Nate showed up looking absolutely wrecked, it took everything in me not to go to him, not to pull him into my arms and promise everything would be ok.
But I forced myself to stay rooted on the porch, and it didn't take him long to turn mean.
Turn into another version of Nate I had never seen before.
I stayed outside until it got too cold and my tears started freezing on my cheeks.
I wandered around my house feeling like a ghost.We'd only been together six months, and still, I see him everywhere.I added more wood to the fire and then curled up on the couch.I wasn't ready to face my bed, not when it still smelled like him.
I just lay there on my side, staring at the fire until dawn blurred the edges of the room, replaying every moment from last night until my chest felt bruised from the inside.My head hurts.My throat burned from crying.My stomach twisted every time I thought about the look on Nate’s face when he tore into me.
I knew he would be hurt; I expected it.That wasn't a surprise; what was a surprise was the speed at which he flipped everything on me.
How fast he believed the worst of me.
How fast he used the deepest, oldest wounds I trusted him with.
The venom in his voice… I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.
Not because it hurt, though it did, but because it made something inside me go cold.
Somewhere between his accusations and the garbage can hitting the porch, something in me snapped back into place.Something I should’ve held onto.My boundaries.My self-respect.
The part of me that whispers that love is not supposed to feel like a bruise.
By the time the sun finally rose, pale and thin across the floor, my tears had dried.
I got up sometime after seven, legs stiff, eyes swollen, heart heavy and too awake.I made coffee I didn’t drink.I showered.And without thinking, I started packing.
My eyes drifted to the bag I had brought back from Nate's, the things that were truly mine, and I realized how small my life was inside his world.
How easy it had been for them to fold me into a marketing plan.
How easy it had been for him to let them.
I had to turn my phone off last night.
Notifications were going off constantly.
