Almost Broken

Part 29

I stare down at my phone, my heart pounding noisily in my chest. I can't move, I can't think, I can't do anything but hold back the tears that form in my eyes.

I feel Tom's eyes on me and his strong arm wrapping around my waist, but I can't even bring myself to look at him.

Why? Why now? When everything is finally going my way, when things are finally starting to go right for once.

"Darling?" I feel Tom's soft whisper against my ear which sends a sense of warmth and comfort that brings me out of my trance. When I see his worried face, I let it all go.

Tears flow like rivers down my pale cheeks from shock and disbelief. As Tom brings me close to him, little pools form on his shoulders before I move to burry my face in his chest as he wears the shirt I got him a week ago from that little shop.

"What happened?" He asks in his soothing voice, but I can't bring myself to speak as I can barely breath through my sobs.

I hand my phone over to him so he can read the text from Philip, pulling away to sit cross cross applesauce in front of him. I can see the red in his face, starting at his ears before finally reaching his nose in rage.

"I told him not to talk to you again." He mumbles under his breath and I think back to the day Tom got discharged from the hospital. I remember the force in Tom's grip on Philip's shirt as he threatened him after Philip had stood me up.

"I don't know what to do." I am able to murmur out through my slowing sobs.

"You don't have to do anything." He says simply as he begins to type with focused eyes.

"Thomas, what are you doing?" I wipe the tears away from my eyes with a small sigh.

"Taking care of the woman I promised to keep protected." He hands me back my phone after seeming to press the send button.

I look down to see a text from Tom: "This is y/n's boyfriend. I'd appreciate it if you never contacted her again or I will find you and the end result will not be pretty. I'm sure you already know who I am, so trust me, you do not want to get on my bad side. Know that you are now blocked and if you try and find her again, you'll be sorry." As I look up from my phone after seeing the message that the user was now blocked, I couldn't help but feel relieved.

James would have told me to suck it up or that "it's your problem, not mine. Deal with it yourself." But Tom dealt with it all himself just to protect me.

"Thank you." Again I begin to sob, but for a completely different reason. I can't believe that one man can care so much about another person.

Tom brings his thumbs up towards my cheeks, wiping away the remaining tears before cupping my cheeks in his hands.

"There's no need to thank me, y/n. I love you and I'd do anything to keep you happy." He leans down slowly, gently leaving a kiss on my forehead, a tickle going down my spine from the soft touch.

I toss my phone to the other side of the couch as again I curl into him with a new sense of peace, shoving the thoughts of who held my attentions before out of my mind.

I give the rest of my croissant to Tom after he continued to stare at the remaining quarter in it's container.

A small smile forms on my lips as I remember the text I had gotten from my mom earlier that day.

"How would you feel about meeting my parents for dinner sometime this week?" I ask as I bring my head up from its place on his chest to look at him.

"That would be lovely. But I won't lie, I'm gonna be really nervous." He admits with a small chuckle that makes my stomach do flips.

"You'll be fine. Honestly, I'll be nervous. I hope they don't scare you off. They can be a bit much sometimes." A small laugh escapes my lips as I just imagine what could go down at that dinner.

"Nothing could scare me away from you. I'm sure they're amazing." Tom's smile widens as he brings me closer to him. This is it. This is what I've always wanted.

I don't deserve such a caring and loving person in my life that I can call my best friend, but here he is cuddling me close to him.

Even though the earlier event had thrown me into an unexpected fit, he knew how to calm me down like he always did.

I don't want him to leave,  and I pray and hope that I'll get at least one more week of this.
~ ~ ~
Philip was put in his place! I love how caring and protective I made Tom and I really hope that it's accurate!

Comment what you want to see happen next as the story is coming towards its finish.

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Thank you guys so much for 500 reads! That's an amazing birthday present <3

~Aoife