After Chapter 38 – Broken dishes.

Previously: Tessa refused to listen to Hardin’s words and also Hardin sucks.
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Samantha: Steph hugs Tessa, who finds her “frail” arms oddly comforting. That’s a weird way to describe a seemingly healthy teenager but okay.

Marines: This is how you know the author hates women: she can’t compliment Steph in ANYTHING without wrapping it in an insult. Steph just got Hardin out and is coming over to comfort her and Terrible Tess has to note how FRAIL she is before calling it comforting. 

Samantha: Steph apologizes for giving him a key, which YEAH GIRL. Tessa thinks about how she appreciates Steph’s comfort and friendship. (M: Even if she is tatted and “flame haired…”) She tells her everything, making sure to include the really very important fact that Hardin said her name in his sleep. Wouldn’t want to forget that.

Steph tells her that Hardin is a good guy deep down but doesn’t know how to treat most girls. So….there are some girls who deserve how Hardin treats them? I’m pretty sure no one deserves how Hardin treats girls? (M: Would they happen to be the Not Like Other Girls girls, Anna Todd?) Steph also says that Tessa should try to make things work with Noah and oh my god are we going to have to watch the exact same thing unfold again? NOAH SAVE US FROM BORING PLOT REPETITION.

On Monday, Landon is waiting for Tessa per usual but he’s sporting some face bruises because Hardin face punched him. Apparently, he was so angry after he left Tessa that he had to break things and Landon got in the way. Don’t worry though, Landon got some good punches in too and he’s pretty happy cause boyswillbeboys. Landon’s mom cried because Hardin broke all her dishes because he is so god damn selfish.

Mari: I’m really not okay with how casually they are discussing how violent Hardin gets when he’s upset. Just wanted everyone to know.

Samantha: Yeah the detail of his step mom crying over her ruined dishes really stuck to me as to how fucked up this all is.

Landon is also pumped because his girlfriend Dakota is coming to campus for the bonfire. Tessa is clueless because if the flyers for the bonfire didn’t have Hardin’s smoldering eyes on them, she did not notice. Landon suggests that she bring Noah and they make a double date of it. Tessa considers it and there’s this very clunky Freudian slip in her thoughts:

“I know Hardin and Landon- I mean Noah and Landon would get along great.”

Slick.

Mari: I can actually imagine Todd’s glee when she typed that out and considered herself SO SMART.

Samantha: She looks around Lit for Hardin, but apparently he switched his classes around. She spends some time wondering what terrible thing he could do to her next. For real. Then there’s another clunky slip up in her thoughts over whether she hopes he’s okay. I seriously take offense at how badly this is written in a published form.

The rest of the week is summarized in a paragraph because of the lack of Hardin. Tessa ditches eyeliner again.

Mari: I take offense to the story’s insistence on measuring Tessa’s happiness in eyeliner.

Samantha: On Friday, Steph begs Tessa to come out with them before they go to Hardin’s. Tessa declines because she wants to call Noah and because she wants to daydream about Hardin being nice. That is literally the next paragraph, just her fantasizing about Hardin being, just, decent. She then suddenly changes her mind, I guess ’cause Tristan teased her about her pajama pants? F off Tristan, pj pants are the best always. She also agrees to Steph giving her a subtle make over. The chapter ends with Steph clapping.

Mari: How many makeovers is Tess gonna get? Damn.

 

Next time on After: Will Tessa wear mascara??? in Chapter 39.