After We Collided (2020)

Pairing: Trevor Matthews x reader, Hardin Scott x Tessa (current), Hardin Scott x reader (Ex)

Summary: Hardin shows up ready to make amends but is it too late? 

A/N: The final part. I’ve loved writing this, and I hope you enjoy this last part! 

Tagging: @justyouraveragedorkygirl​

READ PART 1    READ PART 2 READ PART 3 READ EPILOGUE   

“Hardin?” He looks like shit. He hasn’t sleep at all and his hands are trembling. For a second you wonder if he’s drunk, but his eyes seem focused and clear. Not the usual glazed look when he’s been downing shots. 

“Nice office,” he states looking around. 

“What are you doing here?” you ask feeling like you just entered the lion’s den. He could strike at any point and you’re defenseless. Everything in you is screaming but you stay calm on the outside. 

“I wanted to, no. I needed to see you. And then I found out you were working for Vance now.” 

“So, you just showed up without telling me first?” you ask trying to buy yourself some time to figure out why he’s here. Did he get tired of Tessa already? Perhaps he realised he made a mistake. But if that’s the case, were you prepared to take him back?

“I’m sorry. I guess I’ve messed up a lot of stuff lately.” 

“You think?” You’ve spent so long crying over the boy standing in front of you that you haven’t been able to feel all the anger too. But now you feel it. You feel the humiliation of being cheated on, the anger of his betrayal, the utter defeat of losing him. In some ways, it’s liberating to feel angry instead of heartbroken - though some may argue that it’s the same thing. 

“I know I have. I messed things up with you and I’ll never not be sorry about that, Y/N. You have to believe me.” He’s stepping closer to you with clear desperation in his eyes. He means it but you’re not sure you’re ready to hear it. 

“I moved on, Hardin. I picked myself up after you broke me and I moved on. You can’t just come here and say things like that unless-”

“Unless?” The hope in his voice is evident. 

“Unless you mean it.” You’re angry and hurt, but Hardin was the one person you thought you were going to spend the rest of your live with. And now he’s standing in front of you saying everything you’ve wanted to hear for the last couple of months. Your pride wants you to yell at him and tell him to go, but your heart is not ready for that yet. 

“Of course I mean it. I wouldn’t be here, if I didn’t mean it. I messed up. I got complacent and I forgot how good you and I work.” He’s mere inches away from you and you’ve forgotten how to breathe. He’s all you see and he’s all you feel as he wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you close. 

“Kiss me.” His eyes have gotten ten times darker. So you kiss him and it’s like breaking through the water surface. Like the world had lost all its colour, but now you see them again.

“I missed your lips,” he gasps as if trying to inhale all of you in one breath. You kiss him again having completely forgotten everything else. 

“So this is it, right? You pick me. You’re done with Tessa?” You have to hear it. You have to hear him say that this is the part where he chooses you. 

“I’ll tell her as soon as I get back,” he replies not even realising the reaction his words create in your mind. He hasn’t broken things off with her before coming. He kept her as a backup plan in case you said no. If he truly wanted you, it wouldn’t have mattered if you said yes or no. He should’ve ended things with Tessa before coming here. Suddenly, the colour fades and you’re back to normal. In horror you remember Trevor, who’ll be here any minute now. How could you do this to him?

“I want you to go, Hardin.” It feels good to say. Like a sort of closure you never got. 

“What? Baby, I’ll take care of everything when we get back home. We can go back to how things were before.” The change in your mood hasn’t registered with him yet. 

“I want you to walk out that door and never come back.” You say it slowly, tasting every word as they pass your lips. There’s a liberating feeling in finally being done with Hardin. You needed this last thing before you could truly let him go. You’ve held onto him for far too long and he’s done nothing but pull away. The two of you are not the people you were, when you first got together. 

“Don’t say that. Baby-”

“I’m not your baby anymore, Hardin. I’m not yours anymore. You couldn’t even finish things with Tessa before coming here. You didn’t believe enough in our love to risk being alone rather than being with the wrong person. I need someone who’s sure of me and who’ll never hurt me the way you do repeatedly.” With his perfect timing this is the moment Trevor walks through the door. 

“Ready for lunch?” He looks up to notice Hardin visibly distraught and you tense and uncomfortable. “Is everything okay?” 

“Who is this?” Hardin asks as if Trevor didn’t say anything. 

“This is Trevor. We had plans to go for lunch, so I really need you to leave now.” You don’t want him to cause a scene, but you know Hardin so your hope is pointless. 

“Fucking Trevor! Is he the reason you don’t want me anymore?!” He’s yelling and you’re horrified by what your colleagues out in the hall thinks. 

“Buddy, I think she asked you to leave,” Trevor says calmly putting his hand on Hardin’s arm. It’s the wrong thing to do when dealing with Hardin. 

“Please don’t,” you say noticing his clenched fist. He knows what you’re asking but it’s not in his nature to respond in any other way than violence. 

“Don’t make me call security,” Trevor says sensing what’s about to happen too. The threat of security seems to wake Hardin up. He rips free his arm from Trevor’s grip and turns to me. 

“If I leave now, I’m not coming back, you hear me. If I walk, I’m done with your ass.” 

“Fine.” Four letters, one word, a thousand hidden goodbyes. He walks out the door leaving you and Trevor alone. 

“Friend of yours?” he asks breaking the silence. 

“Ex actually. I’m sorry you got involved in that kind of drama,” you reply hiding your face in your hands. 

“Hey, look at me,” he pleads slowly removing your hands, “let’s talk about it over lunch.” And you do. You tell him all about Hardin and the years you’ve spent with him. In the spirit of complete honesty, you tell him about the kiss in the office and your brief moment of misjudgment. You tell him that there was a time when you thought Hardin was the one you’d spent the rest of your life with but now you don’t feel that way anymore. Everything gets laid out on the table because you’re tired of drama and secrets and if things are ever going to work between you and Trevor, you need to play with open cards from the beginning. 

“That’s a lot to take in,” Trevor says when you’re finally done speaking. 

“I understand if you never want to talk to me again. But I just want you to know that I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you.” 

“Well, there’s much more to tell so you’re not done yet.” He smiles warming your heart. 

“Just promise you won’t be kissing anymore ex boyfriends, yeah?” 

“I promise not to kiss anyone who isn’t you.”