Previously: Nothing in the whole world could break Tessa and Hardin up, swearsies.
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Marines: Hardin and Tessa are both very tense about Jace’s presence. Jace gives them a bit of a hard time about being here, and not going to the docks, but says it doesn’t matter anyway because the cops broke up their dock party. They moved the party here. Tessa is not excited about Jace’s skeevy friends being around. She wishes they would’ve stayed in her dorm room. (S: Us too.)
Jace says they should come downstairs and have a drink. Hardin quickly says that Tessa doesn’t drink. Jace tells Hardin he should come down alone, then. Tessa gives him a look, but Hardin tells Jace he’ll be right down after he gets Tessa settled in. Hardin grabs Tessa and quickly pulls her into his room.
Tessa says she doesn’t want to go downstairs. That’s cool, ’cause Hardin wasn’t going to take her. He’s going to go down for just a minute. Tessa asks if Jace has something over him, or something. Hardin answers in an unconvincing way that Jace is just a dick. Hardin is just gonna go downstairs for a drink so that Jace will leave them both alone. Hardin tells Tessa to stay in time out, up in the room, or whatever. She’s fine with that because she doesn’t want to go downstairs and possibly see Molly. Oh, honey, if in this entire situation your biggest worry is seeing Molly…
Samantha: What a weird freaking thing to decide to be worried about right now.
Mari: Hardin says they’ll go sign the paperwork for their new apartment tomorrow so they’ll never have to worry about something like this again. Again, focusing on entirely the wrong things, Tessa just thinks about how cool it will be to have her own kitchen and stop feeling like such a child. Living on campus is making her feel like a child. And then Hardin is like “okay, stay put, lock the door, don’t open it, do you know the number for 9-1-1?” Something like that. All very adult.
Samantha: Wait wait wait, they’re moving in together TOMORROW??????? I legit thought this was a next semester kind of thing????? Room and board at school is already paid for! Why are you like this???
Mari: Tessa jokes about the possibility of getting murdered. Hardin doesn’t laugh. I’m not saying it’s because he’s a murderer-in-training or anything but it’s probably because he’s a murderer-in-training.
Samantha: God Tessa, Hardin was planning on murdering you for a surprise later! Don’t ruin it!
Mari: Tessa locks the door and turns on the TV. She doesn’t actually watch TV, though, instead thinking about all the things that have happened over the course of the last like 10 pages, as if we weren’t there with her. And then all of her worries turn to Molly again, truth or dare kisses, and her sitting on Hardin’s lap. It’s thoughts of Molly that make Tessa want to go investigate what’s going on downstairs. I’m literally nervous for her and not in a good, “tension of the story” kind of way. It’s in a “she’s surrounded by abusers, honestly, can anyone call 9-1-1” kind of way.
Samantha: It’s like a horror movie. I’m chanting “don’t go downstairs don’t go downstairs why why why” at my book.
Mari: Of course, the first person that sees Tessa as she leaves the room is Jace. Apparently, Hardin lied and said she wasn’t feeling well. Tessa keeps up with the lie and says she’s feeling a little better. Jace laughs at her, and then asks if she wants to come meet his friends. Tessa is scared and says she should find Hardin. Jace says Hardin is with his friends, anyway. Tessa briefly considers just heading back to the room, but thinks Jace will either follow her or tell on her. Probably both. (S: TELL on her??????????????) (M: She is sneaking out of her room.)
Jace leads Tessa outside and she’s legit scared for her life, right up until she spots Hardin. His his eye are full of anger, though, so she’s probably still legit scared for her life. Hardin invites Tessa to sit with him, but gives her a look that she interprets as “if all these people weren’t here, I’d be screaming at you.” #romance
Hardin quietly asks why Tessa didn’t stay in time out, and she mumbles something about Molly. Hardin can’t believe her. (S: I hate them both. There is no trust here.)One of the Bad Boy Friends hands Tessa a bottle, but Hardin says she doesn’t drink. Jace suggests playing a game, and Tessa plays it cool like she totally is over truth or dare at college parties. Jace was thinking more like strip poker or suck and blow. Tessa says no to both, but Jace is insisting and goes off to find more girls to play.
Hardin begs Tessa to go upstairs. She says she will if he comes, too. Before either of them go, one of the Bad Boy Friends guilts Hardin into staying. Hardin sits Tessa back down and tells her to stay put. He’s going to go get them drinks. Two of the Bad Boy Friends (I’m really assuming they are interchangeable) ask Tessa how long she’s known Hardin. She returns the question, and asks where they met and if they are friends, and they laugh at her for being nosy.
Jace returns with some girls and Hardin, and they are laughing chumily. The tone whiplash in this scene is intense. They were just about to be murdered by the Bad Boy Cult for sure, but now everyone is laughing and Hardin has decided that Tessa may have a drink and has given her one. He will not allow her to play suck and blow, though. Tessa decides to obey.
Jace is like BUT FIRST, and takes out a joint. Hardin and Tessa both decline. Since Hardin isn’t playing suck and blow either, they are down a girl. Someone suggests getting Molly, and because Tessa hates Molly so much, she decides to volunteer for Suck and Blow(?). I’m only here to report the facts not to trying and logic any of this. It’s ever better because Tessa has no idea what SUCK and BLOW entails.
Samantha: Tessa’s hatred of Molly is quickly becoming one of my least favorite parts of the book? Because it’s so stupid and makes Tessa MORE STUPID and now I feel stupid.
Mari: Tessa sits down in the circle and Hardin reluctantly agrees to play too, but the Bad Boy Friends make them sit away from each other. Tessa is like huh, I wonder why, where I am, what I am even doing. And then someone explains SUCK and BLOW and Tessa is like
Tessa 100% does not want to play, but she just sits there and plays.
Hardin doesn’t drop the paper and doesn’t kiss anyone.
Tessa drops the paper and one of the Bad Boy Friends kisses her for like 0.1 seconds before Hardin grabs him and starts choking him.
He chokes him into next chapter.
Samantha: I don’t know why I’m laughing but I’m like cackling about the choking. What is this book.
Next time on After: Choke in Chapter 84.
I'm a 30-something south Floridan who loves the beach but cannot swim. Such is my life, full of small contradictions and little trivialities. My main life goals are never to take life too seriously, but to do everything I attempt seriously well. After that, my life goals devolve into things like not wearing pants and eating all of the Zebra Cakes in the world. THE WORLD.
I'm a 28 year old graduated English major and almost librarian. I can often be found singing too loudly (poorly) in the car or spending some time (hours) on Tumblr. I am a lover of Harry Potter, the Spice Girls, and too many other things.