AFTER YOU SAVED ME // ZESSA

Chapter 6: Change of Heart

"So... he's staying with Molly next semester?" I ask, wishing the news of Hardin's new roommate didn't affect me as much as it does right now.

"Yes. You aren't friends with her, are you? We can find different arrangements for Hardin if you are –"

"No! No. We are not friends. That is totally fine with me. It's great. Just great," I ramble, my face contorting into a sarcastic smile as Zed looks on warily.

"Well, I guess I'll let you go..." I say awkwardly, trying to end the uncomfortable conversation.

"Wait. Before you go. I want to let know you I am so sorry about what happened to you," she says caringly, her voice slightly lower than before.

I instinctively reach from abdomen, and the little blip growing inside it. How does she know about the baby?

"And with Ken being who he is and all, he found out that that horrible man is no longer in the campus area. It has been confirmed through Dan's family," she elaborates, her voice almost a whisper, as if she were telling me a secret.

I feel my breath catch in my throat as a wave of hot sweat sweeps over my body.

"You know our family loves you and wants the best for you – and Hardin. It is just unfortunate we can't see you due to his, once again, poor actions. Anyways, best of luck, Tessa," she finishes, before ending the call.

"Tessa, are you okay? You look like you have seen a ghost," Zed says, slowly removing the phone from my hand and placing it on the bed.

It is almost like my brain and my body can't function together. My head is whirring with thoughts of Hardin, Karen, Dan, Landon, Molly, and this baby. But my body is frozen in time.

"Tessa? Seriously, what's up?" Zed says, moving closer to me, his face hovering of mine, trying to catch my attention.

Finally, my eyes come into focus on his. "I... Um, Dan is...gone. His family even confirmed it..."

"What do you mean, 'gone?' Well, that is great isn't it?" Zed says, a cautious smile spreading across his face as his skeptical eyes watch me.

"I um – I think so. I don't know. I don't feel well," I say, as a wave of nausea builds in my stomach, looming dangerously close to the back of my throat as I begin to gag.

"Move," I say, clasping my hands over my mouth and jumping off the bed. I barely make it to the toilet in time to hurl the entirety of my soup into the porcelain bowl.

Thankfully, my hair was already in a bun so there is not any mess. Just as I flush the toilet, I feel Zed's warm hand on my back, rubbing it in soothing circles.

"Morning sickness?" Zed asks, genuinely curious.

Suddenly annoyed, I shrug his hand off and make my way towards the sink. "Yes. Yes, it is morning sickness. Even though it is clearly not morning. I guess I just get to feel like this all day!" I retort.

"Woah, what's wrong?" he asks. I can tell my tone caught him off guard.

"What's wrong? Oh, I don't know, EVERYTHING," I shout back, before wiping my mouth with an old towel and storming out of the bathroom.

"Tessa, talk to me," Zed pleads, following me to the living room.

"I don't want to talk about it, because I don't have the answers, Zed! And I don't want to feel so up and down all the time. This stupid thing in my womb is making me insane! And I don't even want it! I don't care whose it is, I want to feel normal again!" I yell, my face hot with anger as the words fly out of my mouth before I can stop them.