AFTER THERE'S YOU // ZESSA

Chapter 40: Relief

I let the phone drop from my shaky hand, landing on the comforter with a soft thud. What just happened? Was that really Hardin's voice I heard on the other line? I swear it was, but it also sounded a bit too deep.

"You alright?" Zed asks, walking through the bedroom doorway and sitting down next to me. He sets the popcorn bowl between us, looking at me through squinted eyes.

"I... I don't know," I say back, barely loud enough for him to hear.

"What's wrong?" he asks, eyes wide as he takes my face between his warm hands, turning my head to meet his concerned gaze. "Please, tell me," he urges, his thumb grazing my bottom lip as I swallow hard.

"I just got another call. And I answered. I don't know why I did, but I did. And I think it was...Hardin," I choke out, as the crushing weight of fear floods over me.

Zed lets go of my face, and instead runs both hands through his long, wavy hair. "My god," he grunts, anger lacing his deep voice. Turning quickly back to me, he asks through gritted teeth, "what did he say?"

I can almost feel the heat coming off Zed as he stares at me, waiting for an answer with a concerned glower on his face.

"He just said hello, then hung up," I answer, still confused at the mere randomness of the call.

"And you're sure it was Hardin?" he asks, eyebrows raised and the veins in his neck protruding as his skin turns a slight red.

"I'm pretty sure, yeah" I reply timidly, looking down as I mindlessly begin to tear at the skin on my thumb. "But I don't want to call the police. They didn't believe me the first time when I cut my wrist, they got annoyed it wasn't him the second time when I listed him as a possible suspect for the car fire, and I don't want to give them a third reason not to believe me," I say helplessly.

A hear loud smack and flinch in response as my eyes find the source of the loud noise.

I hear it again as Zed slaps the wall next to him once more, his hand and forearm making hard contact with the grey surface.

"I can't FUCKING believe that guy has the nerve to call you. I'm going to kill him. I am Tess, I'm going to find him and kill him," he fumes, his face beet red as the veins in forehead seem ready to burst. His hands ball into fists at his sides, eyes snapped shut as his breathing speeds up.

I stare for a moment, unsure what to do. I have not seen Zed this angry in a long time. Moving my hand slowly toward him, I lightly place it on his heaving shoulder.

"I won't let him hurt you or touch you. You know that" he says, snapping his head up, staring intensely at me.

"I know" I whisper back, unsure how to calm Zed, as I rub small circles into his back.

Grabbing my hand and rotating it, he stares down at the scar running between my elbow and wrist. With a delicate touch, he runs his finger up and down it, while his face contorts with pain.

"I'll never let him do this again. I swear it, Tessa," he says through trembling words, eyes welling up as he tries to control the sadness in his voice.

I don't say anything back, there are no words to comfort either of us. With Hardin still out there, we can never truly find peace. Instead, I lean forward and place a soft kiss on Zed's lips.

He kisses me back with more force than I was expecting, his lips crushing to mine and his hand weaving roughly through my hair.

I mimic his movements and find my hands tangled in his soft, dark brown locks. With the need to be closer to him, I find myself climbing on top of his strong, but welcoming body.