After We Collided

What's inside (8 sections)

1. A breakup that means it at first
2. Seattle, drinking, and the hotel door
3. Trevor at work and Tessa pulled both ways
4. Hardin tries to fix temper and family
5. The middle loop of fights and makeups
6. What wears thin and who should pass
7. Key takeaways
8. FAQ

I returned to this series because book one left me restless. After ended with Tessa learning that Hardin had chased her for a bet. I wanted to see if she would stay away. The edition I cite was published in 2014 by Gallery Books, 688 pages with ISBN 9781476792491, listed as book two of the After series. I expected a short bridge. What I got was a crowded sequel about two people who split and then invent reasons to collide again.

Tessa Young opens trying to be finished with Hardin Scott. Molly exposed the bet at a party. That reveal turned months of attention into a trick in Tessa's mind. She replays talks about books and wonders which parts were plan and which were real. She sleeps badly. She cries where her mother cannot hear. Then she falls back on habit. She cleans, she studies, she makes schedules.

Her mother Carol Young grows close again for a while. Carol had warned Tessa about Hardin, and being right does not soften her. Still they call more. They shop. They fold laundry. Noah Porter stays near as well, kind and patient from home. Tessa cares for him without feeling the same charge. That gap nags at her.

Landon Gibson remains her best friend. His position is awkward because he is Hardin's stepbrother through his mother Karen Scott and Hardin's father Ken Scott. Zed Evans carries guilt for staying silent about the bet. Steph Jones and Molly Samuels drift to the edge, tied to parties Tessa now avoids. For a few chapters quiet almost works.

Work gives Tessa structure. She starts an internship at Vance Publishing under Christian Vance, with Kimberly at reception. She files pages, she learns software, she runs packets between desks. Christian is brisk yet fair. Kimberly is warm and direct, quick with coffee and plain advice. These office hours show a capable Tessa who has nothing to prove to a boy.

Trevor Mathews works in accounting at Vance. He dresses neatly and speaks with care. He brings forms before Tessa asks. He walks her out when she stays late. No dare sits behind his interest. No crowd waits to laugh. After Hardin's shouting, Trevor feels steady. Tessa eats lunch with him and laughs for real. She starts to hope a calm boyfriend could be possible.

Hardin falls apart in parallel. He rages at Molly for spilling the bet and at Jace for backing her. He claims the bet turned real, which may be true and still misses the point. Tessa never agreed to be a dare. He vows to change. He drinks less for days. He sends long apologies. He waits where she studies. Landon tells him love does not excuse deceit. Hardin nods without taking it in.

Family weight sits behind his temper. Ken Scott keeps trying to make up for drunk absent years. Karen stays kind even when Hardin snaps. Hardin mocks his father in public, then sits in his car unable to leave. Slowly he lets Ken closer. Slowly he accepts Landon as brother rather than rival. His mother Trish Powell calls with love and worry. None of this excuses him, but it shows why calm feels strange to him.

A breakup that means it at first

Early chapters succeed because Tessa holds her boundary. She returns books. She avoids Hardin's flat. She tells Landon she needs space from all who knew about the bet, including Zed and Steph. Zed liked her yet said nothing. Steph says she thought Hardin had dropped the dare. Both ask Tessa to soothe their guilt. She refuses.

School and office fill her days. She studies with Landon. She stays late to finish work for Christian. Kimberly teases her about Trevor. Tessa denies interest, then admits she enjoys lunch with him. Trevor invites her plainly, without drinks or dares. They talk about rent and novels. It feels normal.

Carol visits. She fusses over Tessa's face. She asks about Hardin. Tessa says they are apart. Carol hides relief badly. They buy groceries. They fold clothes. Dull in a good way.

Hardin fails at distance. He calls. His texts swing from sorry to angry. He pumps Landon for news. He fights with Zed and Molly to feel less helpless. One night he scrubs his flat. Another night he wakes on a friend's couch ashamed. Todd does not spare him here, which I liked. His pain shows, but the focus stays on Tessa's sleep and grades.

Three months into the Vance job, Tessa visits Carol and speaks plainly. She says she paused things with Hardin because his anger frightens her. Carol lights up too fast. Tessa adds she wants no boyfriend for now, only work. Carol agrees. They part saying they love each other, with no fight attached.

The snag is love that ignores logic. Tessa still loves Hardin while weighing Trevor or no one. She admits it while filing. She admits it while washing cups. She lists reasons to quit him. The bet. The shouting. Phone checks. Jealousy toward Noah and Zed. Then a song recalls his laugh when relaxed, and the list fails. Anyone who tried to leave by reason alone will know this stuck place.

Seattle, drinking, and the hotel door

Seattle breaks the calm. Tessa travels with Trevor and Kimberly and Christian to mark a publishing milestone. Nice hotel, dinner, then a club. Tessa packs a dress she would not have worn a year before. She plans one drink. She has more.

The club is loud and bright. Rounds keep coming. Tessa dances with Kimberly to shake nerves. Past her limit, she kisses a stranger while picturing Hardin. Then shame hits. She steps out for air and drunk dials Hardin, crying and confessing. The call is painful and true to drunk honesty.

Hardin drives to Seattle uninvited. Fast, worried, angry at once. Meanwhile Trevor lands in Tessa's room for a harmless reason that looks awful. They swapped phones by mistake in the car from the club. He brings hers up and steps in to explain. He lingers from concern because she is drunk.

Then banging on the door. Hardin finds Tessa rumpled with Trevor inside. He shoves at Trevor and shouts. Tessa orders Trevor out so she can calm Hardin. Trevor reads the risk and leaves. The room shrinks.

What follows is hard by design. Hardin asks if she slept with Trevor. She says no. He asks if she wanted to. She hears the old jealous script and snaps. She turns toward him and pulls him close after he tries to refuse. They sleep together. He repeats that he loves her. She shushes him until sleep takes her.

Morning brings headache and regret. Hardin wants to define them. Tessa says there is no them and calls the night a mistake. She says he should have stayed away and said no. He throws back her own words from the night, which shames her. She orders him out. On his way he lies, saying he slept with Molly while Tessa kissed a stranger. Cruel parting shot, meant to wound back.

This stretch is ugly yet consistent. Tessa drinks to drop control and loses it. Hardin arrives as rescue and turns threat. Trevor, sober and decent, cannot fix their pattern. Seattle was meant as celebration for Vance. Tessa leaves with more secrets.

I set the book down here for a night.

The contrast matters. Trevor does not yell. He does not pound. He returns a phone and leaves when asked. That calm will test Tessa next, as she weighs peace without spark.

Trevor at work and Tessa pulled both ways

Back at Vance, Tessa fakes normal. She files. She answers calls. She dodges Trevor, then seeks him out from guilt. He asks if she is okay after Seattle. She apologizes. He says she owes no explanation, which makes her want to give one.

Work talks give the steadiest pages. Trevor asks about her English major and plans. He praises her eye with authors. He never mocks Hardin, even when easy. That restraint builds trust. Lunches resume. Kimberly watches with approval and warns Tessa not to use a good man to erase a bad stretch.

Then Trevor asks straight out if she loves Hardin. Tessa says yes, though they are apart over personal issues. Honest and costly. Trevor nods without a fight. He says timing can be wrong. He keeps helping with sheets and dates. That grace stings more than sulking would.

Hardin texts keep coming. He takes back the Molly lie, saying he invented it to hurt her back. He asks to meet. He writes about Ken and Landon and trying harder. Tessa reads twice. One morning while driving to work, a text from him distracts her and she clips another car. Minor crash, shaking hands, dented door. She sits on the curb breathing hard.

Hardin happens to be near, riding with a friend after a night out. He spots her car and runs over. For a minute his panic looks like care. He checks her hands and head. Then Tessa sees Carly, the girl he stayed with, by his car. Tessa decides he lied about changing. She tells him to leave the clinic area. He swears nothing happened with Carly. Given his prior lie, doubt makes sense.

Errors creep into Tessa's work. Christian notices and lightens her load. Kimberly covers a deadline. Trevor brings tea and a fixed sheet without comment. No speech. Just help while her hands shake. I liked that plain kindness.

Zed tries again to apologize. He says the guys were foolish and no one thought Tessa would matter so much. Steph offers a similar excuse. Tessa listens without softening. She tells Landon she misses who she thought they were. Forgiveness will need more than fond memory.

The split sharpens. With Trevor she feels safe, then bored, then guilty for boredom. With Hardin she feels alive, then sick, then guilty for want. Kimberly tells her late one evening that calm at nineteen can read as dull, though it reads different later. Tessa pockets the thought without reply.

Hardin tries to fix temper and family

Hardin's effort shows without holding steady. Some weeks he drinks less. He meets Ken for coffee. He thanks Karen for meals. He stops baiting Landon in front of pals. Landon tells Tessa Hardin asks after her but tries not to pry. Trying counts. It does not yet equal change.

Ken sits at the center of it. He apologizes for absent years without excuses. Hardin listens without bolting. He asks why Ken stayed away. Answers come slowly. Karen backs them with food and patience. Trish calls too, loving her son while warning Tessa to guard herself. A warning from inside his camp hits harder than Carol's.

One calm hour comes at a tattoo shop. Hardin gets new ink while Tessa waits on a cracked chair. Buzz fills the small room. The artist wipes and wraps. Hardin explains the design quietly, without show. They eat fries after and talk books. No shouting. No phone checks. I wished for more hours like this. They prove peace is possible without making it simple.

The drive home brings the shock. Near an intersection they pass a homeless man asking for coins. Tessa looks twice and freezes. The man is Richard, her father who left years ago. Older, ill, slow to know her. Tessa climbs out saying his name through tears. Hardin stays quiet here to his credit. He buys food. He drives home slow while she shakes.

Richard's return shifts Tessa's view of Carol. Strict rules and schedules had looked like control. Now they read as fear of chaos after a man left. Tessa visits Carol and listens anew. Carol cries. Tessa holds her hand. Hardin waits in the car without complaint.

Ken and Richard mirror as absent fathers with different excuses. Karen and Carol mirror as mothers who stayed and paid. Landon stands between houses keeping peace. Tessa and Hardin both swear to differ from their fathers while copying loud habits. Todd never spells this out, and restraint helps.

The middle loop of fights and makeups

Still the middle repeats book one's cycle. Tessa and Hardin reunite after Seattle, split over Carly, text all night, meet to talk, kiss, set calm rules, break them within days. Jealousy lights most fires. Hardin hates Trevor's lunches. Tessa hates Molly's texts and any photo with Carly. Both check phones. Both accuse. Both apologize with force that passes for closeness.

Drink drives many reunions. Party, bar after work, friend flat. Alcohol melts office Tessa and trying Hardin back into old selves. They dance too close. They row about glances. They leave together to prove the row meant nothing. Morning brings vows to do better. Headache, dry mouth, phone full of 2 a.m. notes that read needy at 9 a.m.

Pals tire first. Landon stops carrying notes and asks for a week out. Kimberly warns Tessa about tears in the office bathroom. Christian moves simpler tasks her way. Trevor steps back without cruelty. Even Molly seems bored by her own jabs. Only Jace still feeds on fresh chaos.

At 688 pages this loop needs a firmer edit. Many fights restate one charge with new props. Phone swap, then text crash, then photo scare. Tattoo calm, then club noise. Office peace, then lot shouting. I skimmed talks to find the new fact inside, often a line about Ken or Richard buried in shouting meant for heat. Todd built this on Wattpad in short drops, and print keeps that cliffhanger pulse. Good for binge. Heavy in one sit.

The possessive shape needs plain naming. Hardin limits who Tessa sees and reads her notes, then calls remorse devotion. Tessa hides plans and skips sleep and calls worry love. Steph says hot couples fight. Only Landon with Kimberly and Carol call it unhealthy, and Tessa mutes them when want spikes. Todd shows costs, yet soft makeups follow cruelty fast. That order trains waiting for the kiss after the shout. Young readers could take that lesson without intent.

Texture still carries pages. Dorm lines, thin walls, shared printers, Kimberly's candy jar, Trevor's neat sheets. Tessa narrates in first person, earnest and wry about laundry even while blind about Hardin. I liked her before she liked him, and I kept backing the version that marked books and filed pages right.

What wears thin and who should pass

The end stays open as book two should. After the Richard shock, Tessa turns to parents rather than picking a boyfriend on command. Hardin hovers, chastened yet jealous. Trevor waits without chase. No wedding, no clean vow. Dented car, fresh ink under wrap, family wound open. The story points straight into After We Fell.

Open suits me more than repeat did. Live threads feel earned. Will Richard take help or vanish. Will Ken and Hardin keep fragile peace. Will Tessa hold her Vance post if drama keeps spilling into shifts. Will Trevor stay kind or sour. Those pulls carry forward.

Limits matter here. This is new adult, not sweet teen romance. Drink is heavy, language coarse, sex present though kept on feeling rather than explicit detail. The bet base holds coercive pressure, plus shouting and wall hits and control that can scare. The Seattle night holds drunk consent Todd frames too loosely. If control marked your own past, take breaks. Note how often Tessa says sorry for no fault.

Who should pass. Readers bored by book one's split cycle will likely bore here too, since shape repeats with new rooms. Anyone seeking a healthy model should choose another shelf. Anyone raw about cheating scares or drink used for heat should skip. Younger teens should wait. The fit is older new adult readers who want full immersion in messy bond and will argue with it while reading.

I closed wanting more of two rooms. More Vance hours with Kimberly and Christian, since skill steadies Tessa as romance does not. More sober talks with Carol and Ken, since parents hold the clearest mirror for what Tessa and Hardin risk becoming. Todd proves she can write those calms in shop quiet and kitchen talks after Richard. If the next book trusts small peace over club shouting, collision could turn toward growth.

FAQ

When was After We Collided published?

It was first published November 25, 2014 by Gallery Books. The paperback runs 688 pages with ISBN 9781476792491. It follows After as book two of the After series.

Do Tessa and Hardin stay together in this book?

They reunite more than once but stay unstable through jealousy, work strain, and family shocks. The book closes with Tessa's father reappearing, leaving the couple unresolved into After We Fell.

Is After We Collided appropriate for younger teens?

It is new adult, with heavy drinking, coarse language, and sexual content for older readers. Its possessive fights and controlling behavior also make it a poor fit for anyone wanting a healthy romance model.