Page 4
Story: After We Fell (After 3)
“What happened . . . with the two of you?” I place chicken breasts in a pan, the oil crackling and popping as I wait for an answer. I don’t want to turn and face him after asking such a direct and abrupt question, but I just couldn’t stop myself from inquiring.
“We just weren’t compatible; she always wanted more than I could give her, and you know how she can be.”
That I do know, but the way he’s casually talking about her in such a dismissive tone doesn’t sit well with me.
Shifting the blame from my mother back to him, I turn quickly and ask, “Why didn’t you call?”
“I did—I always called. I sent you gifts every birthday. She didn’t tell you that, did she?”
“No.”
“Well, it’s true—I did. I missed you so much all this time. I can’t believe you’re here, in front of me now.” His eyes are luminous and his voice shaky as he stands and walks toward me. I don’t know how to react; I don’t even know the man anymore, if I ever did.
Hardin steps into the kitchen to create a barrier between us, and once again I’m glad for his intrusion. I don’t know what to think of all of this; I need to keep physical space between this man and me.
“I know you can’t forgive me.” He nearly sobs, and my stomach drops.
“It’s not that. I just need time before I jump into having you in my life again. I don’t even know you,” I tell him, and he nods.
“I know, I know.” He sits back down at the table, leaving me to finish preparing dinner.
Chapter two
HARDIN
Tessa’s piece-of-shit sperm donor scarfs down two plates of food before even stopping to take a breath. I’m sure he was starving, living on the streets and all. It’s not that I don’t feel bad for people who are down on their luck and have hit hard times—it’s that this specific man is a drunk and he abandoned his kid, so I don’t feel bad for him for a goddamn second.
After gulping down some water, he beams at my girl. “You’re quite the cook, Tessie.”
I think I’ll scream if he calls her that one more time.
“Thank you.” She smiles, like the nice person she is. I can tell his bullshit is seeping in, filling the emotional cracks he created by leaving her when she was a child.
“I mean it; maybe you could teach me this recipe sometime.”
For you to use where? In your nonexistent kitchen?
“Sure,” she says and stands to clear her plate, grabbing mine on the way.
“I can go now. I appreciate dinner,” Richard—Dick—says and stands.
“No, you can . . . you can stay tonight, if you want, and we can take you back . . . home in the morning,” she says slowly, unsure what words to use to describe his situation.
What I’m sure of is that I don’t like this shit at all.
“That would be great,” Dick says, rubbing his arms.
He’s probably itching for a drink right now, the fucking prick.
Tessa smiles. “Great. I’ll go get a pillow and some sheets from the bedroom.” Looking at her dad and me for a moment, she must notice how I’m feeling, because she asks, “You two’ll be okay for a minute, right?”
Her dad laughs. “Yeah, I want to get to know him anyway.”
Oh no, you don’t.
She frowns at my expression and saunters out of the room, leaving us alone in the kitchen.
“So, Hardin, where did you meet my Tessa?” he asks. I hear her close the door and wait a couple of beats to make sure she’s not in earshot. “Hardin?” he repeats.
“Let’s get something straight,” I snarl and lean across the table, startling him. “She isn’t your Tessa—she’s mine. And I know what the fuck you’re up to, so don’t think for a goddamn second you’re fooling me.”
He raises his hands meekly. “I’m not up to anything, I—”
“What do you want, money?”
“What? No, of course I don’t want money. I want a relationship with my daughter.”
“You’ve had nine years to build one, and yet you’re only here because you ran into her in a damn parking lot. It’s not like you came looking for her,” I bark, having visions of my hands around his neck.
“I know.” He shakes his head, looking down. “I know that I made a lot of mistakes, and I’m going to make up for them.”
“You’re drunk—right now, sitting in my kitchen, you’re fucking drunk. I know a drunk when I see one. I have no sympathy for a man who leaves his family and doesn’t even have his shit together nine years later.”
“I know your intentions are good, and it makes me happy to see you try to defend my daughter, but I’m not going to mess this up. I only want to get to know her . . . and you.”
I stay silent, trying to calm my irate thoughts.
“You’re much nicer when she’s around,” he observes quietly.
“You’re worse of an actor when she’s not around,” I retaliate.
“You have every right not to trust me, but for her sake, give me a chance.”
“If you hurt her in any way, you are dead.” Maybe I should feel a little remorse about threatening Tessa’s father like this, but I only feel anger and distrust toward the pathetic drunk. My instincts tell me to protect her, not to sympathize with a drunk stranger.
“I won’t hurt her,” he promises.
I roll my eyes and take a drink from my glass of water.
Thinking his statement somehow settles it, he tries to joke, “This talk—our roles should be reversed, you know?”
“We just weren’t compatible; she always wanted more than I could give her, and you know how she can be.”
That I do know, but the way he’s casually talking about her in such a dismissive tone doesn’t sit well with me.
Shifting the blame from my mother back to him, I turn quickly and ask, “Why didn’t you call?”
“I did—I always called. I sent you gifts every birthday. She didn’t tell you that, did she?”
“No.”
“Well, it’s true—I did. I missed you so much all this time. I can’t believe you’re here, in front of me now.” His eyes are luminous and his voice shaky as he stands and walks toward me. I don’t know how to react; I don’t even know the man anymore, if I ever did.
Hardin steps into the kitchen to create a barrier between us, and once again I’m glad for his intrusion. I don’t know what to think of all of this; I need to keep physical space between this man and me.
“I know you can’t forgive me.” He nearly sobs, and my stomach drops.
“It’s not that. I just need time before I jump into having you in my life again. I don’t even know you,” I tell him, and he nods.
“I know, I know.” He sits back down at the table, leaving me to finish preparing dinner.
Chapter two
HARDIN
Tessa’s piece-of-shit sperm donor scarfs down two plates of food before even stopping to take a breath. I’m sure he was starving, living on the streets and all. It’s not that I don’t feel bad for people who are down on their luck and have hit hard times—it’s that this specific man is a drunk and he abandoned his kid, so I don’t feel bad for him for a goddamn second.
After gulping down some water, he beams at my girl. “You’re quite the cook, Tessie.”
I think I’ll scream if he calls her that one more time.
“Thank you.” She smiles, like the nice person she is. I can tell his bullshit is seeping in, filling the emotional cracks he created by leaving her when she was a child.
“I mean it; maybe you could teach me this recipe sometime.”
For you to use where? In your nonexistent kitchen?
“Sure,” she says and stands to clear her plate, grabbing mine on the way.
“I can go now. I appreciate dinner,” Richard—Dick—says and stands.
“No, you can . . . you can stay tonight, if you want, and we can take you back . . . home in the morning,” she says slowly, unsure what words to use to describe his situation.
What I’m sure of is that I don’t like this shit at all.
“That would be great,” Dick says, rubbing his arms.
He’s probably itching for a drink right now, the fucking prick.
Tessa smiles. “Great. I’ll go get a pillow and some sheets from the bedroom.” Looking at her dad and me for a moment, she must notice how I’m feeling, because she asks, “You two’ll be okay for a minute, right?”
Her dad laughs. “Yeah, I want to get to know him anyway.”
Oh no, you don’t.
She frowns at my expression and saunters out of the room, leaving us alone in the kitchen.
“So, Hardin, where did you meet my Tessa?” he asks. I hear her close the door and wait a couple of beats to make sure she’s not in earshot. “Hardin?” he repeats.
“Let’s get something straight,” I snarl and lean across the table, startling him. “She isn’t your Tessa—she’s mine. And I know what the fuck you’re up to, so don’t think for a goddamn second you’re fooling me.”
He raises his hands meekly. “I’m not up to anything, I—”
“What do you want, money?”
“What? No, of course I don’t want money. I want a relationship with my daughter.”
“You’ve had nine years to build one, and yet you’re only here because you ran into her in a damn parking lot. It’s not like you came looking for her,” I bark, having visions of my hands around his neck.
“I know.” He shakes his head, looking down. “I know that I made a lot of mistakes, and I’m going to make up for them.”
“You’re drunk—right now, sitting in my kitchen, you’re fucking drunk. I know a drunk when I see one. I have no sympathy for a man who leaves his family and doesn’t even have his shit together nine years later.”
“I know your intentions are good, and it makes me happy to see you try to defend my daughter, but I’m not going to mess this up. I only want to get to know her . . . and you.”
I stay silent, trying to calm my irate thoughts.
“You’re much nicer when she’s around,” he observes quietly.
“You’re worse of an actor when she’s not around,” I retaliate.
“You have every right not to trust me, but for her sake, give me a chance.”
“If you hurt her in any way, you are dead.” Maybe I should feel a little remorse about threatening Tessa’s father like this, but I only feel anger and distrust toward the pathetic drunk. My instincts tell me to protect her, not to sympathize with a drunk stranger.
“I won’t hurt her,” he promises.
I roll my eyes and take a drink from my glass of water.
Thinking his statement somehow settles it, he tries to joke, “This talk—our roles should be reversed, you know?”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185
- Page 186
- Page 187
- Page 188
- Page 189
- Page 190
- Page 191
- Page 192
- Page 193
- Page 194
- Page 195
- Page 196
- Page 197
- Page 198
- Page 199
- Page 200
- Page 201
- Page 202
- Page 203
- Page 204
- Page 205
- Page 206
- Page 207
- Page 208
- Page 209
- Page 210
- Page 211
- Page 212
- Page 213
- Page 214
- Page 215
- Page 216
- Page 217
- Page 218
- Page 219
- Page 220
- Page 221
- Page 222
- Page 223
- Page 224
- Page 225
- Page 226
- Page 227
- Page 228
- Page 229
- Page 230
- Page 231
- Page 232
- Page 233
- Page 234
- Page 235
- Page 236
- Page 237
- Page 238
- Page 239