Tessa's POV

Sitting on the couch, I bowed my head. I fought back tears until I knew Mariah wasn't going to come through that door. Knowing I was probably safe, I broke down. Tears streamed down my cheeks realizing that I would never be able to hold Mariah in my arms again or love her like I did in my dreams. I'm glad to be alive but this is Hell. I had a taste of what it would be like to be blissfully happy just to have it ripped away and replaced by this. I finally decided to change my plans but it's too late. I found someone I could be happy with but now I'll never have the chance. I'll have to watch Mariah love someone else.

I'm not sure how long I sat there crying. All I knew was my shoulder was throbbing. Entering the kitchen, I poured myself some fresh lemonade and took my next round of medication. Damn it. I can't even drink lemonade now without thinking about Mariah and the dreams. Hearing the door open, I prayed it was Mariah but knew I wasn't that lucky.

"Tessa, Mariah, I'm home." Sharon called from the living room.

"Hey, Sharon." Exiting the kitchen, I forced a smile. "Mariah's not here. She and Devon went on a last-minute vacation. I'm not sure when she's getting back."

"Oh." Checking her phone, the older woman shrugged. "Ah, there's her text. They're returning Wednesday." Turning her attention to me, Sharon's eyes narrowed. "Are you okay?" Her head tilted. "You've been crying."

Think fast! "Yeah. It's just…I have a lot of pent up energy and…stuff because I can't play guitar." Please, believe me. Please, believe me.

"Okay… Mariah always uses the word "stuff" when she doesn't want to admit she has emotions. I assume you're the same way." Her voice trailed off. "Are you hungry? I was about to cook spaghetti for me and Faith."

Of course, she doesn't believe me. Crap! Maybe if I act kind of normal it'll draw suspicion off me. "Sure. Can I help?" She compares me and Mariah because we're so alike. One more reason why we should be together. This is torture!

"No. Mariah would have my head if she found out. You can keep me company while I cook though."

"That sounds like something she'd do." I laughed imagining the redhead's freak out. "How was your day?"

"Good. Scott is having dinner with Lauren and Michael tonight. He's got a big article due soon so he's staying there. Faith should be home from her friend's soon. How was yours?"

"That's good." I leaned against the counter. "It was pretty uneventful. I wrote a little more, watched movies with Mariah, that's about it."

"You showered. I thought the doctor said you couldn't do that alone yet."

Shit! "Mariah helped. I felt gross since I hadn't showered since Friday. One thing that sucks about the nurse only working weekdays." I tried shrugging the observation off. Please change the subject.

Studying me, Sharon nodded slowly. "The two of you seem to be getting closer."

"She's my best friend. The first real friend I've ever had." I wanted the subject to change off of Mariah! Not this! Stay cool. You got this.

"Have you talked to Noah lately? I've not seen him around much. Is everything okay between you two?"

This is Hell! Screaming internally, I tried to think of an excuse but drew a blank. "We're good."

"Good, because he's coming for dinner." Hearing me squeak, Sharon stopping what she was doing and turned towards me with her arms folded. "Tessa," she started in the most mother-like voice I have ever heard. "What's really going on?"

Word vomit. It's happening. I can't stop it. "I broke up with Noah. I'm sorry for not telling you. It just…everything happened so fast. If you want me to leave, I will. I'm sorry." Sharon's expression softened. "Wait, you knew?"

"I'm his mother, of course I knew." Checking the noodles, Sharon walked over and placed a hand on my good arm. "Are you attracted to someone else?" I could feel the blood drain from my face. "I'll take that as a yes. Who is he?"

Looking away, I bit my lip. "It's not a "he"."

"You're attracted to a woman?" All I did was nod. I fought the urge to run. "Same question, different pronoun. Who is she?"

"I'd rather not say…" I mumbled. I'm about to be kicked out. I should just go pack my bags and leave tonight. But where could I stay? I can't stay in my car like this.

"Tessa, I know that look. You're not going anywhere. I don't want you to leave and I also don't want to deal with Mariah if she found out you left. Even if it was willingly." Sharon went back to stirring the noodles. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Mariah could track you down anyway."

"She is pretty stubborn that way." I laughed nervously. "You may rethink that statement after you find out who I'm attracted to."

"Mariah?" She asked flatly. When I didn't respond, she glanced over her shoulder. "You really thought I wouldn't notice?"

"I…I…" Shrugging, I gave up. "When did you figure it out?"

"Honestly, I wasn't sure until just now. You and Mariah seemed to click right off and it just escalated from there. When you were in the hospital, if Mariah wasn't at work, she was with you. If she could, she'd fit Devon in. Then this past week, the two of you spent a lot of time together and Noah rarely showed came around." Draining the noodles, Sharon continued. "There's also the way you look at Mariah. It's changed since you woke from the coma." Unable to argue with anything Sharon said, I kept my eyes fixed on the floor. I'm not ashamed of how I feel but I do feel guilty. "Tessa, I'm not angry with you."

Meeting the woman's gaze, my brow creased. "You're not?"

"No. I understand, as much as one person can, matters of the heart. You can't tell it who to be attracted to. It was a shock when I first noticed because I thought the two of you were together for a short time."

"You did?" The irony kills me.

"Yeah. Then Scott reminded me that you were dating Noah and Mariah was dating Devon." Heating the sauce, Sharon debated which of the thousand questions she should start with.

Taking her out of her misery, I just went down the list. "It wasn't love at first sight or anything. I always noticed Mariah was gorgeous. Then we started hanging out more and it just hit me one day how much I enjoyed her company. When I would see her kiss Devon, my heart would clench and I'd feel nauseous. When I was in the coma, I dreamt about Mariah for those two weeks. We were in a relationship and had been for a long time. Once I woke up, I couldn't ignore my feelings any longer."

"Does she know?" Sharon's voice was quiet.

She knows I'm not the type to open up because Mariah's the same way. Damn her Psychology classes. "Yes. I told her today."

"Is that why you were crying?" She paused. "Or had been. Hypothetically."

"Kind of. Right after I told Mariah everything, Devon showed up sweeping her off to San Francisco."

"I'm sorry, Tessa."

"We're here!" Noah called from the front door. "Go wash up for dinner, Faith."

"Okay! Hi, Mom! Hi, Tessa!"

"Hey!" We spoke in unison.

Leaning against the doorframe, Noah clicked his tongue. "So, got a text from Mariah that she's in San Fran with Devon. I thought you were going to tell her how you felt?"

"I did. But then he swept her off to California right after I finished."

Frowning, Noah's head tilted. "And she went?"

"Yeah, so obviously Mariah's not as into me as we thought." I'm not about to tell either of them we made out.

"You two…talked about this?" Sharon looked between us.

"Kind of…" Noah offered.

Xxx

Mariah's POV

"Hey, you alright? Mariah?"

Snapping out of my thoughts, I turned my attention to Devon. "What? Yeah, I'm fine. Just…I have a lot on my mind."

"Anything I can help with?" Stepping behind me, he started massaging my shoulders. "You're tense."

Yeah, I'm tense because I'm supposed to be here with Tessa. "It's…I don't know. Hilary is barking orders at me, I'm worried about Tessa's recovery, and about how you may react since she can't practice…"

"Mariah," hugging me from behind, Devon kissed my shoulder. "You've got nothing to worry about when it comes to the label and Tessa's career. As for Hilary, should I talk to her?" Masculine hands made their way over my hips and to my thighs.

"No because she'll just get worse." I feel disgusted with him touching me. I'd rather Tessa touch me like this. I wonder if we had sex in her coma dreams. Especially on our anniversary. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to know what it'd feel like to have her touch me. My body started buzzing at the thought. How can I get out of this? "Devon," turning in his arms, I wrapped mine around his neck. "As much as I'd like to…I'm on my cycle. We left before I could tell you."

"Oh." His hands dropped. "There's a drug store a few blocks away. I can have someone pick up supplies."

"I can pick it up. I know how uncomfortable that aisle makes you." And I need time to figure out what the Hell I'm going to do for the next few days. I am not dealing with the boner you wake up with.

"Are you sure? At least let me call you a car."

"Okay." Cupping Devon's cheek, I kissed him quickly. Even that makes me feel guilty. Damn it, Tessa! Why couldn't you have told me earlier?

Entering the local CVS, I pulled out my phone and dialed Noah. Waiting for him to answer, I looked around. Finally, he answered. "Noah, I need some brotherly advice."

"About a certain dark-haired musician with one bum shoulder?"

Grumbling internally, I sighed. "You know." Damn it.

"I know she's gone."

"WHAT?!" A customer down the aisle looked at me. Turning, I tried to compose myself. "Why? How? Damn it, Noah! Why'd you let her leave?!" Hearing the man child laugh, relief washed over me. "She's still there, isn't she?"

"Yup! I just had to know how you'd react. I was right; you acted as I expected. So, why are you in San Fran with a man you don't love instead of here with the woman you do love?"

"I…" Running a hand through my hair, I whined. "I don't know. Everything happened so fast."

"Yeah, it was a shock to me too."

"You're not mad that I fell for your girlfriend?" Tossing a box of Kotex in my basket, I moved to a different aisle. "Or…think that I have. Fallen, I mean." Do I love Tessa? She makes me feel things I've never felt before. That's how love feels, right?

"I was upset at first. But it made sense the more I thought about it."

"How is she?" Guilt tugged at my heart.

"She was pretty upset after you left. Mom came home and found her post cry. She knew how you guys felt by the way. She was just waiting for you guys to fess up. Tessa was terrified that she'd be kicked out."

"I can see that. How did Mom take the news?"

"Well, Tessa's still here…" Noah trailed off.

"You know that Mom wouldn't kick her out knowing she can't live on her own." Tossing three different types of chocolate into the basket, I moved to the wine section.

"True. But Mom took it well. She's not mad at either of you. She just wants her kids to be happy. I'm just glad Tessa and I didn't have sex yet."

"SHUT UP, NOAH!" Both of us laughed at Tessa's outburst.

"Ow! Stop throwing stuff at me. Geez! Your girlfriend's pretty violent when she can't play guitar. Good grief!"

"She's not…" Warmth filled my chest thinking about Tessa's expression. She's mortified but still trying to act all cool and collected. "Let me talk to her. I have to go soon."

"Here she is." I waited as he passed the phone.

"Hey, you." Tessa's voice was velvety and warm. It surrounded me in a blanket of comfort.

"Hey, how's your shoulder?"

"It hurts. But…are we okay?" Tessa's voice cracked.

She's probably biting her lip with that crinkle between her eyebrows. "Yeah, we're okay." Tell her! "I'm going to figure something out but I don't want you to leave. I want to come home to you." I paused, frantic. "B-being there."

"Uh-huh." There was a knowing in the musician's voice. Probably a coy grin on her face. "I'll be here. Waiting for you to come home."

"It's not like you can go anywhere." I deadpanned.

"Yeah…well…" She laughed. "I'm not going anywhere unless it's with you." Tessa paused. "You're my dream girl after all."

"Oh, gawd!" Noah groaned in the background. "It's too much!"

"I like the sound of that." I felt my cheeks heat up and my stomach fill with butterflies. What am I? 12? "I need to go. Devon is probably wondering where I am. A period supply run can't take too long."

"The joys of pulling that card." Tessa laughed. "Well, goodnight and here's Noah."

"Bye, Tessa." I waited for Noah to get the phone back. "I'll talk to you later, Noah."

"Later. Try to let Devon down gently. It's a pretty big shock to find out your girlfriend is attracted to another woman."

"I've got a few days to figure that out. I just wish Hilary would come up or something. Then I could point out that he still loves her. That way, it might not destroy Tessa's music deal."

"If it does, you know we take care of our own. We'll find her a job if need be."

"Thank you, Noah." Saying our goodbyes, I ended the call.

The entire way back to the hotel, I tried coming up with a plan. This won't end well. Devon will probably cut Tessa loose and use her shoulder as a reason when really, it's because of me. I just hope that if that happens, Tessa will forgive me. Taking a deep breath, I went to knock but stopped hearing Devon speaking. That's his Hilary voice.

"Yeah, I…I understand. I'll tell her soon. I love you." I'm not sure if I should be relieved or hurt. Knocking, I waited. Opening the door, Devon faked a smile. "Hey."

"We need to talk."

Stepping to the side, he allowed me entrance. Closing the door, Devon spoke cautiously. "What about?"

"Are you still in love with Hilary? Don't lie to me, Devon. I heard you on the phone just now." Defeat washed over the businessman. "So, you do still love her?"

"I do, yeah." Devon paused, choosing his words. "I'm sorry, Mariah."

"Honestly," I began. "It's okay. I understand how you feel. Being in love with someone else."

Devon frowned. "You do?"

"Yes. You are an amazing man. Anyone would be blessed to have you as a boyfriend or husband. Love is…complicated. We can't explain why we're attracted to people or what makes us fall for them. That spark you feel when you just click with someone. It's not logical by any means."

Studying me, Devon swayed foot to foot. "Please tell me it's not another man."

"What?"

"Who you're in love with. Please, tell me it's a woman. Preferably Tessa, so I'm not as much of a blind idiot as I thought." He laughed. "You spent so much time in the hospital with her. Brought her into your home afterwards. No one does that for just a best friend."

Bowing my head, I smiled. Relief washing over me. "Yeah, it's Tessa."

A/N: Because of FFN, the link I tried to put at the bottom of the last chapter didn't get put in. The petition is located on change dot org.