New Beginnings: A Hessa Story (2)

Chapter 17: Tessa

As you can imagine, I cannot sleep at all. I am lying here in my bed, alone, staring at the ceiling. The only sound I hear is from outside; the bugs are alive tonight, which is weird since it's such a cold night. I haven't checked my phone to see if I got any text messages from Hardin, but curiosity is getting the best of me. I reach over to my nightstand and turn my phone back on. To my surprise, there are zero text messages or calls from Hardin. I know he thought my behavior was strange today, so I am a little shocked that he made no effort to contact me, even to wish me goodnight. My phone buzzes, and suddenly my phone is flooded with texts. They're from Nora and Kim.

N: Had a fun night tonight! Kim and I spoke with Hardin and told him what Lucy said... you two should talk. Don't ignore him.

K: Tesssaaa

K: I know you're there.

K: Tessa!!!

K: Okay, I hope you're asleep instead of ignoring me, so goodnight :)

K: I second what Nora said!

K:Okay, I'm done now... goodnight!

K. b

K: Shit didn't mean to send that, my finger must've slipped.

N: Kim...

K: OKAY! GOING TO BED! SEE YOU ALL TOMORROW!

I laugh at the ridiculousness of Kim's text messages, but then I look back at what Nora said. They told Hardin was Lucy told me, yet he has made no effort to contact me at all. Shit. If that isn't a clear sign that it's true, I don't know what the fuck is. I need to get some sleep. The more I lie awake here, the more my heart hurts.

I quietly get up and pad to the kitchen. I hope I don't wake up Trish and Mike, who are sleeping on our pullout couch. When I get to the kitchen, the light is already on, and Trish is sitting at the counter drinking tea.

"Oh, Tessa... hi. I hope you don't mind I took some of your tea." She whispers.

"It's fine. I'm gonna have some too." I take out a pack of chamomile tea and pop a melatonin gummy in my mouth. This should knock me out. I immediately spit it out when I remember that I'm pregnant, and shouldn't be taking supplements like melatonin.

"It's all right honey.... for occasional use." Trish says, and I smile politely.

"Thank you." I plop another one into my mouth. "Why are you still awake?"

"Just thinking that's all, I like to drink tea before bed."

"Same... I couldn't sleep." I sit down next to her and take a sip of the warm tea in my hands.

"Is everything okay, Tessa? I didn't want to say anything at the hospital, but... you were acting a little strange with Hardin."

I almost choke on my tea. I didn't think the others noticed I was upset, but at the same time, I was definitely acting weird.

"Yeah, sorry about that. It was just a stressful night."

"Mike told me you wanted Ken and Christian to go in first, why is that?"

"Oh my god, I am so sorry..." I didn't even realize that when I wanted Ken and Christian to go in first, that I would be sending them to see Trish as well. That must have been so incredibly awkward. "I didn't even think about how awkward that would be for you." I put my head in my hands.

"No sweetie, it's fine. That's not why I'm asking. Are things... okay... between you and Hardin? I mean, you two were supposed to be getting married tomorrow."