Tessa’s POVMy heart had officially stopped beating when my father told me that he and Penny were going to be here in the morning. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was just past 1 am. They were driving overnight, and they were going to be here in about 5 or so hours if I’m hearing him correctly.“What do you mean you’ll be here in the morning?” I asked, finally finding my voice after what felt like an eternity of awkward silence.“We're in the car and heading there right now,” he explained, and I heard
Tessa’s POV “Do they know you and Joseph are still together?” Ruby asked when we were finally alone in her car. I was surprised by her question because it came out of nowhere. I sighed, but then I shook my head. “I’m not really sure how to tell them something like that,” I admitted. Honestly, it was good timing for them to be here. Joseph went back to the mountains for the next couple of days so that he could yell at Carter in person for telling Ruby that he was a vampire. Despite Ruby not believing him initially, it scared Joseph when she drunkenly joked about it. He ended up mind-manipulating her into thinking it was all a joke. He left for the mountains the next evening and he’s not scheduled to return until Thursday morning. My heart hurt knowing he was so far away from me, and I missed him terribly. But I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t really had the time to sit here and miss him. Once we got to the school, we hurried into the auditorium where Kenzi and M
Tessa’s POVRuby came with me back to my apartment; by the time we returned, it was mid-afternoon, and my dad and Penny were curled up on the couch together speaking in hushed whispers. They stopped when the front door shut, and Ruby and I stood before them.“Are you guys hungry? We could go into the city for dinner,” I said, walking toward my bedroom so I could change. I felt disgusting and was desperate for a shower.“That sounds great,” Penny answered for them both. “Will you be joining us for dinner, Ruby?” I heard her asking as I disappeared into my room.I didn’t hear Ruby’s answer, but I would make her come with us anyway. I needed my friend with me. I wasn’t ready to be left alone with them just yet especially considering everything I knew about myself and my mother. The fact that my father kept this secret from me and even went as far as trying to get rid of my powers before even telling me about them, didn’t sit right with me.I wasn’t sure if I could truly trust him.I grab
Joseph’s POV“Sorry, Elder. I didn’t mean to do that,” Jack, one of the warriors, said as we both stared down at my crushed cell phone.I spent most of the day training the new warriors while Carter did some patrolling at the North borders after we had a recent invasion. Jack was my sparring partner and when my phone fell to the ground, he attacked it with a sword.“I got a little carried away,” Jack said, gritting his teeth nervously.I rolled my eyes and picked up the remains of my phone. Now I wouldn’t be able to talk to Tessa and I wasn’t due to leave the mountains until tomorrow night. I hadn’t spoken to Tessa all day yesterday and I was planning on calling her later.But now that was out of the question. She was probably already worried.“I’ll buy you a new one,” Jack continued when I didn’t say anything.“Don’t worry about it,” I said, my tone dry as I placed a hand on his shoulder. It took everything I had not to lose my shit on this kid. “Just be more wary next time. You did
Tessa’s POVJoseph was here. He was actually here. And we just made the best love. My entire body was still tingling from his touch, and I didn’t think anything could ruin this moment.Until I heard the bathroom door closing and I remembered that we weren’t alone in this apartment. I felt completely paralyzed and my entire body was heated from the embarrassment I felt. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to move, but then I saw Joseph looking as if he was ready to hunt whoever was in my apartment and I had to stop him.I wrapped my arms around his biceps to keep him calm before telling him that my father and Penny were in my apartment. He didn’t look relieved by that, but his body relaxed.“They are early,” he said, furrowing his brows. “Graduation isn’t until tomorrow. I thought they’d be getting in tonight or tomorrow morning.”“Yeah, you and me both,” I said, sitting up. “If you had answered your phone, you would have known that they got here yesterday morning.”He frowned and the
Tessa’s POVMy mouth fell open upon seeing Joseph.I had no idea he was going to be here today, and I wasn’t quite sure if he knew I was going to be here either. We hadn’t really spoken in the last couple of days and when he returned, we didn’t talk much.He certainly seemed surprised to see us; all of us.His eyes remained on my father’ and I could feel my father’s rising anger as he glared at Joseph.“Why the hell are you here?” My father asked again, his face red with fury.“Dad, he goes to this school,” I said quickly, not wanting him to know that Joseph was actually a professor at this school.Not just any professor though; my professor.He would be furious if he knew that information.“Rick, it’s how they met. Remember?” Penny said as she placed a hand on his shoulder, attempting to calm down.“I don’t want him anywhere near my daughter,” my father seethed.Joseph raised his hands in front of him like he was surrendering.“I don’t want any issues with you and your family,” Josep
Tessa’s POVJoseph seemed genuinely confused by my question. It was as if it was the craziest thing he had ever heard, and I couldn’t figure out why he was so confused. It seemed like a normal question to ask, but his lips pursed, and his eyes narrowed as he choked, his head to the side.“I already assumed that was the plan,” he finally said after a long pause.Suddenly, it felt like a weight had lifted off my shoulders. I was glad that he didn’t see our relationship ending or wanting to do any long-distance type thing. But at the same time, did I really want to live in the mountains? I mean that was the point of the trial run, to see if could live with him in the mountain village. But as time went forward, I wondered if that was truly what I wanted.“Is that not what you want?” He then asked, surprising me.“I want to be with you,” I told him honestly. “I don’t care where we are. As long as we are together.”The smile that spread across his face was radiant. He wrapped me in his arms
Tessa’s POVI jumped off the couch quickly as I stared at the email.Fable Magazine wanted to offer me a full-time position for their New York branch. I couldn’t believe this was happening. This was something I’d been wanting, knowing that they had a branch in the big city. Ruby was going to lose her shit when she found out that I had a job offer in the very city she was hoping to move to after graduation.Just then, Joseph stirred on the couch.My entire body froze, and I turned to look at Joseph who was now opening his eyes and peering up at me with a timid frown.“Where did you go?” He asked, holding his arms out for me to return to him.I opened my mouth to respond to him and tell him what had happened. But just as I did, I remembered that he wanted to return to the mountains after I graduated, so I shut my mouth and put my phone on the coffee table.“Maybe we should go to the bedroom,” I suggested.He groaned but he sat up; he looked so good freshly woken. His hair was messy, and