Chapter 221

Joseph’s POV

Tessa stared at me wide-eyed when she realized I was standing behind her. I had her purse clutched in my fist and my eyes never left her as she slowly turned to face me.

She got an incredible job offer this morning and she didn’t bother to tell me. It was clear to me that she was afraid to tell me out of fear that I wouldn’t want to move to New York. In reality, New York was only an hour's drive from the mountains my tribe resided in, so, I would be able to commute if necessary.

“I’m going to the auditorium,” Ruby whispered to Tessa, unaware that I could hear her clearly as if she was standing right beside me. “I’ll see you in there.”

She put a reassuring hand on Tessa’s shoulder before shutting her locker door and heading toward the auditorium.

Tessa stood frozen.

“How much of that did you hear?” Tessa finally asked, nervousness clear in her tone.

“All of it,” was all I could think to say.

She sighed and lowered her gaze.

“I didn’t want you to find out like that…”

“About what? About you getting an incredible job offer?” I asked, confused. “Why would you keep something like that from me? You knew about it this morning before we left my house?”

She visibly swallowed and lifted her gaze to meet mine.

“Since 2 am this morning…” she whispered, shocking me.

“What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

She sighed, leaning her shoulder against her locker.

“I didn’t want to make things more complicated,” she admitted. “I know you had your heart set on returning to the mountains and—”

“You thought I’d want you to give up your dreams?” I asked, raising my brows. “Does that sound like me?”

“No, of course not. But I don’t want to go New York without you…” she whispered, tears filling her eyes. “I can’t be without you, Joseph…”

I wanted to wrap my arms around her and hug her, but there were too many students wandering around the halls, so I refrained from doing so. I knew she was thinking the same thing too because her eyes shifted to others who were walking past us.

“I don’t want to lose you,” she said in such a low whisper that mortal ears wouldn’t have been able to hear her. Thankfully, I didn’t have mortal ears.

“Who said anything about losing me?” I asked, furrowing my brows together. “New York is only an hour's drive to the mountains. That gives us wiggle room to figure things out.”

“Really?” She asked. “You still want to make things work. Even if it might be long distance?”

I stifled a laugh; she seemed to have thought I would end things with her or that I would ever want her to move to New York without me.

Little did she know that I also didn’t want a future without her. Tessa was it for me and wherever she went in life, I was going to be with her.

But that wasn’t a conversation for right now.

“When are you going to learn that I’m in love with you, Tessa Campbell and that I would do anything for you,” I managed to say.

Her cheeks flushed at my words; she was adorable when she blushed like that. I loved having that effect on her.

I suddenly remembered why I was there in the first place. I lifted her purse in the air and her eyes finally found it.

“You left this in my car,” I said, handing her the purse.

Her smile widened.

“Thanks,” she said softly.

“We will talk more about this later. But don’t ever keep something like this from me again. I want to hear everything that goes on in your mind, even if you think I might get upset. Okay?” I told her, keeping my eyes locked on hers.

Her cheeks only grew pinker, but she nodded.

“Okay,” she said softly.

I smiled and turned; I wanted to hug and kiss her, but I couldn’t. Not here at least.

Without another word, I walked down the hallway and threw the front doors.

….

Tessa’s POV

The next couple of hours was a complete shit show. Everybody was running around like they got their heads chopped off. Dean Miller was adamant that nothing went wrong during the graduation ceremony.

Most everybody was eagerly talking about the after-party; some were nervous because Brian wasn’t the one throwing it. But others were excited.

The ceremony was starting in only a couple of minutes and Joseph wasn’t back yet. I was starting to get nervous but then I got a moment of distraction when I heard my name being called.

I turned to see my father and Penny walking toward me with large smiles on their faces. That nasty feeling formed in my stomach again and I felt physical pain from it. The conversation I overheard this morning surfaced in my head and it took everything I had not to call my father out on his lies.

But that wasn’t a conversation for here.

Today was way too important for that type of distraction. So, I plastered a smile on my lips and waited for them to reach me.

“You look amazing, Tess,” Penny breathed as she wrapped me in a hug.

I nearly choked on the scent of her perfume, but I awkwardly patted her back until she released me.

“Are you excited to finally graduate from college?” She asked, grasping my hands and giving them a gentle squeeze. “I know you’ve been working so hard for this moment.”

I nodded.

“Yeah. It’s a huge relief,” I said in return.

“Any plans for after graduation?” My father asked. “Careers wise I mean. I know your blog has taken off. Penny never lets me forget it. I’m really proud of you and I know I’ll be proud regardless of what you choose to do.”

“Are they letting you keep your blog?” Penny asked.

I nodded.

“Yes. They are letting me keep it,” I answered. “I also might be moving to New York. I got a job offer with Fable Magazine’s New York branch.”

Just like Ruby, Penny squealed.

“That’s incredible, Tessa! Congrats!”

“Yeah, that’s amazing, Kiddo,” my father said, giving me a nod of approval.

I forced another smile before I saw Ruby approaching us. She still looked so sad and my heart tugged for her.

“Hey, guys,” Ruby said, giving Penny a side hug. “It’s good to see you.”

“Oh, hello, Ruby,” Penny said, returning her hug. “You look gorgeous.”

“Thanks,” Ruby said, smiling fondly. “I’m just coming over to get Tessa. The ceremony is going to start soon.”

“Oh, we should find our seats,” Penny told my father who nodded in agreement.

I went with Ruby down to the front of the auditorium where they were handing out our hats and graduation gowns.

“Hey, Tessa,” Margot said with a bright smile. “Can’t wait for tonight!”

“This after-party better be good,” Kenzi said, folding her arms across her chest. “Or you will never live it down.”

My cheeks felt hot from her words, but I wasn’t going to let them scare me. I only nodded; I trusted Joseph and I trusted that this party was going to be the talk of the century.

“Spread the word to bring bathing suits,” I said just as Margot handed me the hat and gown. “There’s a pool and hot tub.”

Kenzi’s mouth fell open.

“On it,” she said as she grabbed her phone and started to type quickly.

I turned with Ruby and we went to find our seats while putting the gown over my dress and putting the hat on without messing up my hair. I was pleased to see that we were seated together and when we sat, Ruby draped an arm through mine and rested her head on my shoulder.

“Did you and Joseph talk?” She finally asked the question I knew she’d been dying to know.

I nodded.

“He said he doesn’t want me to give up my dreams,” I told her. “He said that we can make it work and that we will talk more about it later. I’m kind of nervous about the talk. But I trust that we will make the right decision for the both of us.”

“That’s so adult,” she said, lifting her head to look at me. “I’m jealous of your relationship. I wish I could have one with Carter, but he won’t talk to me for whatever reason.”

Sadness consumed her once again.

“I’m sorry, Rubes,” I breathed. “Maybe he will come around eventually.”

“Maybe,” she muttered. “Who knows.”

Dean Miller stood at the podium on the stage and his presence was so demanding that most were silenced before he said a word.

It was already starting?

Joseph wasn’t even here yet.

I reached into my purse to grab my phone and sent Joseph a quick text.

Me: Where are you?

Dean Miller spoke, silencing the rest of the auditorium.

“I’m glad to introduce our graduating class. Today marks the first day of the rest of your lives. This is where you put all your education and training to the test and expand in your individual careers. You will face many challenges on your road but with enough willpower, you will overcome these challenges and become even better versions of yourselves. I’m honored to have been working with you and watching your growth over these last 4 years. I’m proud of every single one of you and I know your families are just as proud of you.”

There was a loud round of applause before everyone silenced and allowed him to continue.

“I’d also like to give the student committee a shout-out for their wonderful job at graduation preparation. This auditorium has never looked better.”

There was another applause.

“At this moment, I’d like to invite one of our top students, Hannah Lavangi, to the stage to give the speech she prepared.”

Everyone clapped, as Hannah, a girl I’d only encountered a couple of times, stood from her seat and walked toward the stage. I admired how confident she looked despite how many people were in the auditorium staring at her.

She walked with a professionalism that made her seem intimidating and unapproachable. Everybody silenced immediately as she stood at the podium staring around at all our faces.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to speak, the back doors of the auditorium swung open, and everybody’s attention turned to see who had the balls to walk into the middle of the graduation ceremony.

Relief flooded me when I saw that it was Joseph.