A Thousand Hearts Too Late

When I was 15, a thug outside our school swung a club at Trevor Jenson, and I took the hit for him. When I woke up, I had the mind of a five-year-old and could only call him Trevvy. He tore up his college acceptance letter on the spot and pulled me into his arms. "Don't be scared, Tessa. I'll marry you someday and take care of you for the rest of my life." Ten years later, Trevor goes out to eat and secretly arranges for me to eat in the private dining room next door. I'm on my third crab cake when I hear his mother sigh. "You can't spend your whole life taking care of a girl like her." Giselle Winslow says softly, "I don't mind. As long as I'm the one you love." Trevor doesn't answer. But when he gets home, he washes the travel mug Giselle gave him three times and sets it on his nightstand. That night, after being silent for so long, the system suddenly speaks in my ear. "Your last chance to leave this world is in seven days." "If I leave, can Trevvy get married?" I ask. "Yes." I'm so happy I don't sleep a wink. I practice writing my name 20 times because I want to leave him a goodbye note. But at a family dinner the next day, I mistake the scarf Giselle gave him for a rag and use it to wipe up some spilled soup. Trevor slams his bowl down in front of everyone. "Tessa, are you really that stupid, or are you just trying to embarrass me?" I clutch the wet scarf and stare at him blankly. "I won't embarrass you anymore after I leave." Chapter 1 "Apologize." Trevor Jenson's voice was ice-cold. The private dining room fell silent. Every eye turned to me. I was still clutching the cashmere scarf, now covered in lobster bisque. Soup trickled down the soft fringe and onto the carpet. "Trevor, let it go." Giselle Winslow came over to me. "Tessa doesn't always understand what she's doing. She didn't mean it. It's just a scarf." Trevor's mother, Belinda Gardner, scoffed. "Giselle, you're too kind. That idiot has been at Trevor's side for ten years and still hasn't learned any manners. But she's certainly learned how to throw a fit when she wants his attention." Trevor didn't even look at Giselle. He kept his eyes fixed on me. "Tessa, I told you to apologize." I blinked as the system counted down in my head. "Six days and two hours until you leave this world." I turned to Giselle and lowered my head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I'll wash it for you." Giselle's hand froze in midair. She hadn't expected me to apologize so readily. In the past, whenever Trevor yelled at me, I would cry and bury myself in his arms. Clutching the scarf, which now smelled strongly of seafood, I turned and headed into the private restroom attached to the dining room. I turned the faucet on full blast and tried to rinse the lobster bisque out of the cashmere. But no matter what I did, the stain wouldn't come out. The restroom door opened, and Trevor walked in. He leaned against the doorframe, watching me clumsily scrub the scarf with soap. "Enough. Stop washing it." He sounded impatient as he came over and shut off the faucet. Then he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and slowly wiped my hands dry. "Upset?" I shook my head. I wasn't upset. I was leaving soon. He thought I was sulking and gently ruffled my hair. "Giselle had someone bring that scarf back from overseas. I wore it for the first time today." I looked at him. "Trevvy, are you going to marry Giselle?" Trevor's hand paused. He didn't answer. Instead, he reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a beautifully wrapped mint. He unwrapped it and held it to my lips. "Don't touch Giselle's things again, and I won't yell at you." I stared at the clear, glassy mint in his hand. Whenever I had to take bitter medicine, he used to buy me butterscotch candies from Bellrose. Later, he said they were too sweet and would ruin my teeth, so he switched to these slightly bitter mints. But Giselle was the one who liked mints. I hated the taste of mint. I didn't open my mouth. I held out my hand instead, took the candy, and carefully tucked it into my pocket. The next day, a new pair of slippers sat on the shoe rack. They were for Giselle. They were fuzzy and pink, with little bunny ears, and sat right where anyone would see them first. The white leather shoes Trevor had given me had been pushed into a corner on the floor beneath the shoe rack. I was about to put my shoes back where they belonged when I heard the lock turn. Trevor walked in carrying two cups of hot coffee, with Giselle right behind him. Giselle stepped out of her heels and slipped into the pink slippers. Her heels came down squarely on top of my white leather shoes, leaving two dark scuff marks across the leather. I froze. I was about to step forward to move her heels when a sharp crash rang through the room. Giselle had knocked over the glass jar beside the coffee table. It shattered, sending countless paper hearts spilling across the floor. "Oh, I'm sorry, Tessa. I didn't mean to." Giselle blinked at me, looking completely innocent. I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything, Trevor's face hardened. "How many times have I told you not to pile these little things on the table? Clean this up." I looked down at the paper hearts beneath his shoes, and my chest suddenly ached. I had spent two weeks folding them, following a tutorial on TV. Trevor had once promised that when I folded 1,000 of them, he would marry me. But he'd forgotten. And I didn't want to ask anymore. Chapter 2 I crouched down and slowly began gathering the paper hearts. Trevor sighed, sounding resigned. "Tessa, you're 25, not five. Giselle's moving in today. Hurry up and clean up the living room." Giselle came over and slipped her arm through Trevor's. "It's okay, Trev. It was partly my fault too. I'll help her." She bent down to help me pick them up, but Trevor pulled her back. "Don't baby her. She can clean it up herself." Then he led Giselle into another room. It took me a long time to clean everything up on my own. A shard of glass cut my finger, and blood ran down my hand. I went to ask Trevor where the first-aid kit was. But when I pushed open the door, I found Giselle opening a small metal box. It was my treasure box. It held everything Trevor had given me over the past ten years, including a wooden puppet with a broken string, an old pen he used to use, and a plastic hair clip he'd bought me with his first paycheck. Giselle picked up the pen and examined it curiously. "Trev, the nib's already split. Why is she still keeping this?" Trevor glanced at the pen, and something uncomfortable flickered across his face. He'd bought it with his first scholarship. Later, after the nib was damaged in a fall, he tossed it in the trash. That night, I secretly took it back out, wiped it clean, and hid it in my box. Trevor said flatly, "It's all useless junk. It should've been thrown out a long time ago. Only an idiot like Tessa would keep this stuff." Giselle immediately moved to toss the pen into the trash. "No!" I screamed and lunged toward her. The nib was already damaged. One more fall and the pen would be ruined for good. Giselle seemed startled by me. She stumbled back two steps and fell to the floor. I froze. I hadn't even touched her. Trevor's voice dropped to an angry growl. "Tessa! You've gone too far!" I stared at him blankly, but he had already gone over to help Giselle up. Then he saw the blood on her clothes. Without hesitation, he slapped me across the face. My cheek burned. I stared at him, eyes wide. He had never hit me before. I didn't cry or make a fuss. I turned to Giselle and lowered my head. "I'm sorry. I was wrong." "It's okay. Really." Giselle shook her head quickly and turned to Trevor. "Don't blame Tessa. She didn't mean it." "I've spoiled her too much," Trevor said coldly. His eyes fell on the pen in Giselle's hand. He took it from her and tossed it into the trash without hesitation. "Clean up the room. Giselle and I are going out." The door slammed shut behind them. I looked down at my bleeding finger, and a dull ache spread through my chest. The blood on Giselle's clothes was mine, but Trevor hadn't even noticed my bleeding finger. The system's voice sounded in my head again. "Five days and ten hours until you leave this world." I didn't take the pen back out of the trash. Instead, I tossed the little metal box I'd always treated like a treasure box in after it. Three days before I was due to leave, Trevor took me to the hospital for my annual follow-up on the nerve compression in my brain. He was always busy, but on the day of my checkup, he cleared his schedule and came with me. I sat on a bench in the hospital hallway and watched Trevor come out of the doctor's office with my scans in hand. "Everything's stable. As long as she doesn't go through any severe stress or trauma, there's no risk of it getting worse," he murmured to himself. The tension finally left his shoulders. Giselle came toward us from the other end of the hall in a white coat. She was the associate chief of cardiac surgery at the hospital. "Trev, all done with the checkup?" She stopped beside him and handed him a cup of water. "Yeah. Nothing serious." Trevor took the cup and had a sip. Giselle glanced at me, then smiled and pulled a small lunch container from her coat pocket. "I made some sandwiches this morning. You two can have some." We'd rushed out that morning, so neither Trevor nor I had eaten breakfast. Trevor had already started on a sandwich. I picked one up too and took a bite. Inside was a thick layer of peanut butter. Chapter 3 I was severely allergic to peanuts. The sticky peanut butter coated my throat. Within seconds, my throat began to swell and itch, and I could barely breathe. "Trevvy…" I forced out Trevor's name, desperate for help. He glanced at me and immediately frowned. "Tessa, Giselle went to all the trouble of making these sandwiches. Finish yours. Don't be picky." I couldn't make another sound. All I could do was gesture with my hands, but Trevor thought I was throwing a tantrum because I was being picky. "You need to stop being so picky, Tessa. Eat. I'll sit right here and watch you. We're not going home until you finish it." I looked down at the sandwich in my hand, then at Trevor's cold expression. In the end, I lowered my head and forced myself to take one painful bite after another. Giselle laughed softly beside us. "See? Tessa's being so good. She finished it all." By the time I forced down the last bite, a red rash had spread across my neck, and my face was flushed and burning. I reached for the hem of Trevor's shirt, but Giselle handed me a bottle of water instead. She patted my back and said gently, "Slow down. You must've choked. Here, drink some water." Trevor still didn't notice anything was wrong. He just looked at the empty wrapper in my hand and gave a faint smile. "See? You finished it." I pulled my hand back. For once, he wasn't embarrassed by me. "Trev, I have a lecture later. Want to come?" Giselle asked. "Sure," Trevor said without hesitation. He looked at me, his tone still flat. "Tessa, take the bus home by yourself. Don't wander off." With that, he walked away with Giselle. I watched them disappear down the hall as my vision darkened in waves. The suffocating tightness in my throat became unbearable, and I finally collapsed. Just before I lost consciousness, I heard a nurse scream, "Someone help! She passed out!" When I woke up again, it was already dark outside. My phone was silent. Trevor hadn't called me once. I pulled the IV out of my hand and hurried out of the hospital. Trevor had told me to go home by myself, so I had to hurry back. I caught the last bus of the night. By the time I made it home, the lights were on. Trevor and Giselle were already back. The moment Trevor saw me, his expression darkened. "I told you not to wander off. You were supposed to come straight home. Where did you run off to this time? Tessa, can you stop making me worry?" The rash still hadn't completely faded. My skin burned and itched, and the back of my hand was bruised where the IV had been. I opened my mouth. My voice came out terribly hoarse. "I'm sorry. I won't wander off again." Trevor's expression eased a little, but all he said was, "Go pack up your clothes and things from the master bedroom. You'll move into the guest room from now on." I paused. "Is Giselle moving into the master bedroom?" Trevor nodded. "Once we're married, we can't exactly keep sleeping in separate rooms." The system's countdown sounded in my head again. "Two days and one hour until you leave this world." "Okay, I'll clear my things out right now," I said. On the final day of the countdown, a rare downpour swept through Vareston. An emergency meeting called Trevor into work, leaving Giselle and me alone at home. She had stopped by to return some documents Trevor had left in her car, but she didn't leave after dropping them off. Instead, she settled onto the couch and slowly sipped the water I had just poured for her. "Tessa, Trev and I are getting married. When are you planning to move out?" Chapter 4 Giselle set down her glass. The gentle expression she always wore around Trevor disappeared. I was wiping water from the coffee table when I looked up at her. "Tomorrow," I said. Giselle paused, caught off guard by how readily I answered. Her lips curled slightly, as though she thought I hadn't understood her at all. "Tessa, do you even understand what I mean? You can't keep living with us. This is going to be my home with Trev, not yours." I stopped what I was doing and looked at her. Giselle continued, "Trev's about to be promoted to president of the Varellian region. Someone like you, who doesn't even understand basic everyday things, will only be a stain on his reputation and a burden to him." A cruel smile spread across her face. "Tessa, you need to disappear from Trev's life for good." The sudden change in her expression startled me. Before I could react, Giselle walked over to the display cabinet where Trevor kept his prized antiques. She opened it and took out a rare 18th-century porcelain teacup. "I read your diary. You folded all those paper hearts because you've been waiting for him to marry you, haven't you?" I nodded blankly. I hadn't known she knew about the promise Trevor had made me. Giselle laughed. "You really are stupid. He's never going to marry you. He doesn't love you. He's only taken care of you all these years because you saved him back then." The smug smile on her face sent a sharp pain slicing through my chest. Giselle suddenly let go of the teacup, and it shattered against the floor with a crash. Before I could react, she crouched down and picked up one of the broken pieces. Without hesitation, she drew the sharp edge across her wrist. Blood welled instantly and dripped onto the spotless white floor, vivid against the pale surface. "Giselle!" Trevor shoved the door open. His expression shifted sharply when he saw the shattered porcelain across the floor and the blood on Giselle's hand. "Tessa! What's gotten into you? Ever since Giselle came here, you've been acting out. What are you so upset about? When are you going to start listening? Stop causing trouble!" I stood there stunned. "I didn't—" I tried to explain, but Giselle cut me off. "Trev, don't blame Tessa. She knows we're getting married. It's only natural that she's having a hard time accepting it." "She's 25! How long is she going to keep acting like this?" Trevor's voice turned frighteningly cold. He grabbed me by the collar and dragged me toward the stairs. "We're all going to be living together. We can't keep letting her get away with this." He hauled me upstairs. I stumbled after him, my knees banging against the hard steps. Every step sent a sharp pain through me. He shoved me into the storage room on the second floor. He stood in the doorway, his expression grim. "If you still refuse to admit you were wrong, stay in here and think about what you've done. Tessa, no one's going to baby you anymore." The door slammed shut, plunging the cramped storage room into darkness. My eyes widened in terror. I threw myself at the door and pounded on it. "No! Let me out! I'm sorry! I was wrong! Trevor, please!" I screamed and cried, but Trevor's footsteps only grew farther away. I was starting to lose hope when I finally heard his voice. "Stop yelling! I'll let you out when Giselle and I get back from the hospital. Stay in there and calm down." My hands dropped helplessly to my sides. Fear closed around me, and I could barely breathe. I screamed until my voice went hoarse. My whole body shook, and cold sweat soaked through my clothes. After I took that blow for Trevor when I was 15, the thugs dragged me into an abandoned basement. It was pitch-black, and rats scurried through the corners. I spent a full day and night locked inside. By the time Trevor found me, I had passed out from terror. After that, I was left with the mind of a five-year-old and severe claustrophobia. When I woke up in the hospital, Trevor held me in his arms and swore he would never leave me alone in the dark again. But now, because of Giselle, he had locked me in a pitch-black storage room with his own hands. I cried until there were no tears left. I leaned against the door as I listened to the countdown in my head. "Five hours until you leave this world." I waited for Trevor and Giselle to come back. I waited and waited, but there wasn't a sound outside. Soon, I could barely breathe. My hands and feet began to spasm, and I couldn't move. Then the system's voice sounded in my head. "Exit sequence initiated." I struggled to open my eyes. The window that had been sealed shut suddenly opened, and fresh air rushed in. I forced myself up and used the last of my strength to climb onto the windowsill. Without hesitation, I jumped. I wasn't going to wait for Trevor anymore, and I wasn't going to keep being a burden to him. Meanwhile, Trevor waited in the emergency room hallway while Giselle had her wound bandaged. His phone suddenly started buzzing nonstop. He answered. It was a neighbor. "Mr. Jenson, I think someone jumped from one of your windows! There's blood all over the grass below…" Trevor froze. The billing form slipped from his hand and fluttered to the floor.