him an are-you-kidding look, but end up putting Noah on speaker anyway so Hardin can eavesdrop.
“Your mom got a call from the dorm supervisor about your final bill being paid for the room, so she knows you moved out. I told her I have no idea where you live now, which is the truth, but she refused to believe me. And so she’s coming there.”
“Coming here? To campus?”
“Yeah, I guess. I don’t know, but she said she’s going to find you, and she’s being irrational and is really pissed-off. I just wanted to warn you, you know, that she’s coming.”
“I can’t believe her!” I shout into the phone, but then thank Noah before hanging up.
I lie back on the bed. “Great . . . What an excellent way to spend tonight.”
Hardin leans on one elbow next to me. “She won’t be able to find you. No one knows where we live,” he assures me and smooths my bangs off my forehead.
“She may not find me, but she sure will pester Steph and ask every single person she sees in the dorm and make a huge scene.” I cover my face with my hands. “I should just go over there.”
“Or you could call her and give her our address and let her come here. On your territory, so you have the upper hand,” he suggests.
“You’re okay with that?” My hands move from my face.
“Of course. She’s your mother, Tessa.”
I look at him quizzically, given the rift between him and his dad. But when I see he’s serious, I’m reminded that he’s willing to work on things with his parents, so I should be that brave, too. “I’ll call her,” I say.
I look at the phone for a while before taking a deep breath and hitting her number. She’s terse on the phone, speaking very quickly. I can tell she’s saving all her hateful energy for when she sees me in person. I don’t give her any details about the apartment or tell her that I live here; I only tell her the address where I am and get off the phone as fast as I can.
Instinctively, I jump out of bed and begin to straighten up our place.
“The apartment is already clean. We have barely touched anything,” Hardin says.
“I know,” I say. “But it makes me feel better.”
After I fold and put away the few items of clothing that were on the floor, I light a candle in the living room and wait at the table with Hardin for my mother to show. I shouldn’t be as nervous as I am—I’m an adult and I make my own choices—but I know her and how badly she’s going to lose it. I am already overly emotional from the brief glimpse into Hardin’s past I was granted an hour ago, and I don’t know if I have it in me to go to battle with her tonight. I look over at the clock and see it’s already eight. Hopefully she won’t stay long, and Hardin and I can get to bed early and just hold each other while we each try to deal with our family legacies.
“Do you want me to stay out here with you or give you two some time to discuss everything?” Hardin asks after a bit.
“I think we should have a little time one-on-one,” I say. As much as I want him by my side, I know that his presence will antagonize her.
“Wait . . . I just remembered something Noah said. He said the final bill for my dorm was paid.” I look at him questioningly.
“Yeah . . . so?”
“You paid it, didn’t you!” I half-shout. Despite my energy, it’s not really out of anger, just surprise and annoyance.
“So . . .” He shrugs.
“Hardin! You have got to stop spending money on me; it makes me uncomfortable.”
“I don’t see what the big deal is. It wasn’t that much,” he argues.
“What are you like secretly rich or something? Are you selling drugs?”
“No, I just saved up a lot of money and don’t really spend it. I lived entirely for free last year while I worked, so my paychecks just kept piling up. I never really had anything to spend money on . . . but now I do.” He smiles wide. “And I like spending it on you, so don’t fight me over it.”
“You’re lucky my mother is on her way and I only have it in me to go to war with one of you,” I tease and