Tom stayed in those woods, on the ground. Just thinking all day. How could he get out of this? He couldn't. How could he get Becky to him? He couldn't force that, either. His breaths multiplied. It was dusk now. He felt the sun, with the very last glow, lose itself. And he was so alone in those woods. He felt the wetness of his eyes and the breeze against them. The stars had no shape. They had no brightness. Huck wasn't here.
Huck really thought he wanted to marry Becky.
Tom found himself replaying those moments. When they were right in front of each other. He kept on imagining it, their eyes meeting, reflecting the sunset. He kept on picturing Huck's perfect face and the pain that Tom had. If only Huck wanted him.
In the mist, the silence, the dark, Tom kept thinking.
What he had with Becky wasn't love in the way he wanted. It was just friendship. They had been together so long, there wasn't romance left. Tom couldn't remember the last time he felt anything deeper than loyalty and kindness towards her. But Huck... They had known each other longer. They had experienced more together. So why, at the same time, was it all so fresh? Why did he feel more attraction to Huck than he could remember feeling for Becky? Tom was brought back to that moment, just days ago, seeing Huck in those woods. Days can change so much.
All he had left to do was to marry Becky. And then his life would be over, and it would be better than this, right here, suffering in the woods. They'd be married soon enough. And no matter what Tom wanted, and no matter what could have happened with Huck, Becky would be there. Because she always was, in some way. She was the last chance of normalcy and of being happy the way he should've been.
Tom felt the echo of the air and the wind and the dark. It was all around him. With each breeze sliding against his skin, he thought for the briefest moments it was Huck, with a hand on his shoulder or his arm or their knees pressed together. There was so much Tom would never do. So much he would've had with Huck. Now he would never have the chance.
YOU ARE READING
Tuck Sinn
Teen FictionTom Sawyer has grown up into a high schooler. So far, he's lived a peaceful life in his small town. He is dating Becky Thatcher- his childhood sweetheart- and their relationship, of course, has its ups and downs. They've been through everything, to...
