At lunch, Tess watched from afar as Fallon and Esme were about to make out on the last day of school before winter break.
She walked up to their table to put a stop to the last thing she wanted to see before the break. "Mae" Tess says. Fallon turns her head from Esme and looks at Tess. She rolled her eyes and eased her arm around Mae's shoulder. "Mae, can we talk?" Tess asked, ignoring Fallon's movements that made her stomach turn.
"Anything you have to say you can say in front of her" Esme replies, gesturing towards Fallon.
"I'm not-" Tess hesitated for a moment, her eyes flickering briefly towards Fallon before returning to Mae; "Essie, please".
"I just want to talk to you. Alone" She said. "No trouble" The brunette added. "But that's your whole thing, right? Trouble?" Esme says. Tess eyebrows lowered and gulped. "After everything you had going on with Nia? God, I honestly don't know what I saw in you" Esme admitted.
"We literally never stood a chance" She said. Tess had bit the inside of her cheek as her lip quivered. Did Esme really mean that? Did she seriously think they didn't stand a chance to be lovers? That comment hurt Tess to her core. Yet she wasn't going to let anyone know that.
Even if it would be on repeat in her mind for so long to the point that she wouldn't be able to focus on anything else.
Mae wouldn't have said it if she didn't, right?
Tess had always been so sure of her feelings for Esme, believing that their connection was unbreakable. But now? She couldn't help but feel lost and alone. Even if it had only been two weeks since they last talked, and Booker helped cheer her up the best way he could, Tess missed her favorite girl. Most of all their long conversations during sleepovers and they would talk 'til the sun came up.
Mae would rest her head on Tess's lap while Tess played with her curls and listened to all of her opinions.
So to think that they couldn't be friends anymore after this was something she wouldn't accept. Tess realized her move to mend things with Nia and date Mae only made things worse than actually fixing her problems. Tess didn't prove herself worthy of being with Mae. How could anyone be worthy of someone as amazing as Esme?
