After We Collided (After 2)

The kid, surprised by her sudden show of affection, quickly recovers and wraps his arms around her waist. Her mouth opens, and she moves one hand to his hair, tugging on it. I can’t comprehend what’s actually happening right now.

“Hardin! Stop!” she screams.

Stop what? When I blink again, I’m on top of the blond, and his lip is busted. I hit him already?

“Please, Hardin!” she screams again.

I climb off of him in a hurry before everyone crowds around us. “What the fuck?” the kid groans.

I want to kick him in his fucking head, but I’ve been trying to restrain myself. She had to go and fucking do this, mess up everything I’ve been working toward. I head for the door without bothering to see if she’s following me.

“Why did you hit him?” her voice calls from behind me as I reach my car.

“Why do you think, Tessa? Maybe because I just watched you fucking make out with him!” I scream. I almost forgot what it feels like, this adrenaline rush and the familiar sting on my knuckles. I only got one hit in . . . I think, at least . . . so it’s not so bad. But I want more.

She begins to cry. “Why do you care? You kissed that girl! Probably more than kissed! How could you?”

“No! You don’t get to fucking cry, Tessa. You just kissed someone right in front of me!” My hand connects with the hood of my car.

“You did worse! I heard you tell that girl to stay quiet about you two in Logan’s room!”

“You don’t even know what you’re talking about—I didn’t fucking kiss anyone!”

“Yes, you did! She said she doesn’t kiss and tell!” she screams, waving her arms around like an idiot. Fuck, she is infuriating.

“It’s a fucking figure of speech, Tessa. She meant she wasn’t going to tell anyone anything that we talked about—or that we were smoking pot!” I shout.

She gasps. “You were smoking pot?”

“No, I wasn’t, actually, but who gives a shit! You just fucking cheated on me!” I tug at my own hair.

“Why did you leave me to hang out with her, then tell her not to say anything? It doesn’t make any—”

“She’s Dan’s sister! I was telling her not to say anything because I was trying to apologize privately for what I did to her. I was going to tell you tomorrow when you weren’t fucking belligerent! We were all in the room, me, her, Logan, and Nate. They were smoking a joint, and when they left I asked her to stay behind because I wanted to try to make shit right with her, for you.” All my anger comes out through my eyes, I’m certain, when I say, “I wouldn’t fucking cheat on you—you should know that!”

And like that, Tessa deflates. She’s speechless. Damn right she is. She’s fucking wrong, and I am fucking mad.

“Well . . .” she begins.

“Well what? You’re wrong, not me. You didn’t give me a chance to explain myself. Instead you acted like a child. An impulsive little child!” I scream, punching the hood again. She jumps from the noise, but I don’t give a shit.

I should just go back inside, find the blond guy, and finish what I started. Punching my car doesn’t give me the same satisfaction.

“I’m not a child! I thought you did something with her!” she shouts back at me through her tears.

“Well, I didn’t! After everything I went through to get you to stay with me, do you think I’d cheat on you with a random chick at a party . . . or hell, with anyone?”

“I didn’t know what to think.” She throws her hands into the air again. I run my fingers through my hair, trying to calm myself.

“Well, that’s on you, then. I don’t know what the hell else to do to make you see that I love you.” She kissed someone—she kissed another guy right in front of me. This feels worse than when she left me; at least I could blame myself then.

Her warm breath is creating puffs of smoke in the cold air. “Well, maybe if I wasn’t so used to you keeping secrets, I wouldn’t have been so ready to misunderstand!” she yells.

I look at her. “You’re unbelievable. I honestly cannot even look at you right now.” The image of her kissing him won’t stop playing over and over.

“I’m sorry for kissing him.” She sighs. “It isn’t that big of a deal.”

“You’re joking, right? Please tell me that you are, because if that had been me kissing someone else, you probably wouldn’t have spoken to me again! But I forgot that since it’s Princess Tessa, it’s okay! No harm done!” I mock.

She crosses her arms with an indignation she doesn’t deserve. “Princess Tessa? Really, Hardin?”

“Yeah, really! You cheated on me, right in front of me! I brought you here so you would know how much I care about you. I wanted you to know that I don’t care what anyone thinks about us. I wanted you to have the best night you could have, and then you go and do this shit!”

“Hardin . . . I . . .”

“No! I’m not done.” I pull out my keys. “You’re acting as if this is no big deal! This is a huge deal to me. To see another man’s lips on yours . . . is . . . I can’t even explain how sick that makes me.”

“I said—”

I lose it. I know I look wild and scary, but I can’t help it. “Stop interrupting me for once in your goddamn life!” I shout. “You know what . . . it’s fine. You can go back in there and ask your new boyfriend to give you a ride home.” I turn and unlock the car door. “He looks a lot like Noah, and you probably miss him.”