Read After We Fell for Free Online Page A

had to remain quiet. And afterward, all I wanted to hear was the voice of my girl, my angel.
    And there was her voice. But there was also his . I turn the corner, and indeed, there he is. There they are. Tessa and Zed.
    My first thoughts were: Why the fuck is he here? Why the fuck is Tessa outside talking to him? What part of “stay the fuck away from him” does she not fucking get?
    When that motherfucker raised his voice at her, I started walking toward them: nobody yells at her like that. But when he mentioned Seattle . . . I was stopped in my tracks. Tessa is planning to go to Seattle?
    And Zed knew, but I didn’t?
    This isn’t happening, this can’t actually be happening. She would never plan to leave without telling me . . .
    Zed’s wild eyes and shit-eating grin mock me as I try to collect my fucked-up thoughts. When Tessa turns to me, her movements are painstakingly slow. Her blue-gray eyes are wide, pupils blown out in surprise when they meet mine.
    â€œHardin . . .” I can see she’s saying the words, but her voice is small, lost in the wind.
    Unsure what to say, I stand still while my mouth drops open, closes, opens—back and forth in an endless pattern until thewords finally fall from my lips. “So this was your plan, then?” I manage.
    She pushes her hair back from her face, her mouth turns to a frown immediately, and she rubs her hands up and down her arms, which are crossed in front of her chest.
    â€œNo! It’s not like that, Hardin, I—”
    â€œYou two are quite the fucking schemers, aren’t you? You . . .” I point to the bastard. “You fucking scheme and plot behind my back and try to make a move on my girl, over and fucking over. No matter what I do, no matter how many times I pound your goddamned face in, you still keep crawling back like a fucking cockroach.”
    Amazingly, he dares to speak. “She’s—”
    â€œAnd you  . . .” I point to the blond girl who has my world under the sharp heel of her black shoe. “You—you keep playing mind games with me, acting like you give a fuck, when really you’ve been planning to leave me this entire time! You know I won’t go to Seattle, yet you’re planning to run off—without telling me!”
    Her eyes glassy, she pleads with me. “That’s why I hadn’t told you yet, Hardin, because—”
    â€œStop fucking talking,” I say, and her hand moves to her chest, like my words are causing her pain.
    Maybe they are. Maybe I want them to, so she can feel what I feel.
    How could she humiliate me this way—in front of Zed, of all people?
    â€œWhy is he here?” I ask her.
    There is no evidence of his smug grin when she turns to look at him before looking back at me. “I asked him to meet me here.”
    I stagger back in mock surprise. Or maybe it’s real surprise—I can’t tell what these feelings really are, rushing through me so quickly. “Well, there we go! The two of you obviously have something special here.”
    â€œI only wanted to talk to him about the charges. I’m trying to help you, Hardin. Please, just listen to me.” She steps toward me, moving her hair from her face again.
    I shake my head. “Bullshit! I heard your entire conversation. If you don’t want him, tell him right now, in front of me.”
    Her watery eyes plead silently for me to give in and not make her humiliate him in front of me, but it doesn’t sway me.
    â€œNow, or I’m done with you.” My own words burn like acid on my tongue.
    â€œI don’t want you, Zed,” she says, facing me. Her words are rushed, panicked, and I know it’s hurting her to say them.
    â€œAt all?” I ask, mimicking Zed’s grin from earlier.
    â€œAt all.” She frowns, and he runs his hands through his hair.
    â€œYou never want to see him