Malefic [BOOK 2]

A confession he was not ready for.

Tom scrunched his nose in annoyance when he could feel the harsh sunlight burn through his closed eyelids. It was rare for Tom to get a good sleep. With thoughts about his academics and life of immortality, he could barely sleep at night.

After all, Tom Riddle was just another teenager.

He stubbornly flipped to the other side in a desperate attempt to sleep a few more seconds. He pulled Leo closer to him and snuggled into her hair in order to hide his eyes from the bright light.

Then, after another few seconds, he realised what he had been doing consciously. His eyes snapped open so quickly that it hurt. His heavy eyelids threatened to close again but he forced them open. His eyes travelled down to the girl who was peacefully sleeping with her head buried in his chest.

His heart started beating so fast that he was scared Leo might hear it. His cheeks flushed red and for a moment, he was frozen. His hands stayed wrapped around Leo's small body. He willed his body to move but his sleepy head felt too comfortable in Leo's presence. He nearly went back to sleep again.

His first thought was to look around for any witnesses. The infirmary was absolutely deserted. Not even the healer was around which made him sigh in relief. He wondered how he always ended up in such convenient situations but shook away the thought as there were more pressing matters to be handled.

He looked down at the girl again. She looked so peaceful that Tom almost forgot what had happened not even a few hours ago. When did he even fall asleep? Why was it morning already? How much did he sleep?

Leo looked like she was having a good dream. Her lips were pulled into the softest smiles and she mumbled something under her breath. Tom wondered if his Leo was finally back.

His Leo.

Tom felt like throwing up. Why on earth did he think to call Leo his? She was not an object. She didn't belong to him. He didn't even want her to be his.

Leo mumbled something again which grabbed his attention. He brought his ears closer to her lips to hear the words.

"Snakes can be cute too..."

Tom chewed on his lips. She was definitely his Leo. Well, not his- just the real Leo and not some crazy imposter with glowing green eyes. He was relieved. Now, all he had to do was push her off of his bed as hard as he could and everyone could pretend like nothing ever happened.

He cracked his knuckles in an attempt to prepare himself. Just before his hands could touch her shoulder, he hesitated. His eyes went to the cold marbled floor. If she would land on that hard surface, her head might crack open. Not that he cared for her health, he just didn't want to go through the trouble of taking care of her dead body.

Right?

He finally decided to back away and wake her up, gently. He was done pushing her away.

Although Tom was known to keep his words when Leo suddenly opened her eyes, Tom's mind went into panic mode and he ended up pushing her out of the bed. Leo's body fell on the hard floor with a loud thud and a crack echoed through the empty infirmary.

Tom hesitantly peeked below from his bed. Leo lay on the floor in a heap of blankets and messy hair. Her eyes stared up at the white ceiling in a daze. She looked like she had chugged a whole bottle of firewhiskey and was completely out of it.

"Ow."

Her eyes snapped towards Tom who quickly sat up on the bed and pretended that Leo didn't even exist. His eyes stayed glued on the window even when Leo pushed herself off of the ground. He heard another sickening crack that reverberated through the room and yet he didn't turn around.