I'm Not Broken - TH

•7•

Tom left for school, leaving me all alone in the large house. I don't know how to be alone, I don't know how to be in a safe place. I'm so use to the abuse.. the fear.. this is unnatural.
I grab his laptop, wanting to check my social media and see what people are saying. I assume there's not much talk about it considering barely anyone even spoke to me at school.
My eyes widen as I click on my Instagram, seeing my notifications have blown up. Comments from people I don't even know on every recent photo, saying they miss me and hope I'm okay. Where did these people even come from? Why are they pretending to be my friends? I laugh when I see a comment from one of the popular girls. I guess worrying about me is the new trend.
I close the laptop, not wanting to see anymore bullshit posts from the fake people I use to see everyday but didn't care about me until now. I walk down the hallway towards the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea, there's a lot of time to kill today. I put on the kettle and lean against the counter, tapping my nails to the surface.
"Good morning Ms. Massey."
I jump, a slight shriek coming out in surprise.
"I'm so sorry I didn't mean to scare you. I'm Jeanette, I'm Mr. Holland's housekeeper." The woman says softly.
"Sorry, I'm a bit jumpy." I say, shooting her a smile.
"Understood, I'll try not to sneak up on you." She giggles. "Would you like me to make you some breakfast?"
"Oh no, I can manage thanks." I say.
"Alright well if you change your mind, I'll just be in the study tidying up." She nods, and walks off.
I pick up the phone he gave me, pulling up our texts.
Chloe: could have warned me about the housekeeper. I practically jumped through the roof.
I pour the water from the kettle into my cup, and make my tea while checking the text.
Tom: Jeanette is harmless. She was really excited to know that a female would be living with me because you'll actually appreciate the flowers she gets.
I smile at the text, typing back.
Chloe: she gets you flowers?🥺
Tom: every Sunday. Says I need some color in my life.
I love that. I already adore her and I barely spoke to her. She's right, Tom does need some more color around here. He is so cheery at school and when we hang out, but here? It's gloomy. I don't understand why.
Deciding to explore the house a little more, I walk down a hallway I have yet to see, and come across a room. Inside is a piano, some old dusty book shelves, and tons of photos. Photos that obviously haven't seen the light of day for a while. This room definitely isn't used often.
I smile as I pick up a photo of Toms family. I have seen his mum only once before when Toms car broke down and she had to get him from school. Other than that I have never seen his parents until this photo. They look like such a happy family. His dad looks like a proper business man in a tidy suit. What I'd give to have a full and loving family like this.
I look through a few more photos, coming across one that catches my eye. It's of a large group of men, all dressed nicely in suits, all holding pistols in their right hand. Tom stands on the end of one side, his dad standing on the other, and his two twin brothers and Haz kneeling in the front. That's weird.. why would they take a photo like this? And why would they all be holding guns?
I flip the photo over, seeing writing in black sharpie saying in memoriam of Taylor Stanley. Hm.. I've never heard him talk about a Taylor Stanley.
I set the photo down and step out of the room. I decide to continue exploring, that is until I'm stopped in my place when I look up to see a man standing in the hallway.
"Who the hell are you?" He asks.
"I- I'm c-"
He grabs me by my arm, dragging me down the hallway and I squirm and pull to release myself from his grip. He didn't even let me finish. I've never seen this man in my life. Panic starts to set in, and I feel the same fear I felt with my dad.
"I'm Chloe. I'm Toms friend." I say.
"Holland doesn't have friends." The man states. "Sit down and don't speak until I call him."
He aggressively pushes me down onto the couch, pulling out his phone. I feel my lip quiver, tears being held back. The aggressiveness just takes me back to my dad. To the source of my fear.
The door opens, and I look over to see Tom walking through the doors. As soon as he sees me upset his face softens, quickly making his way over.
"What did he do to you darling?" He asks softly.
"Sir I just-" the man tries and Tom gives him a look I've never even seen before.
"Did I ask you?" He says.
"No but-"
"Exactly. I asked her. Shut the fuck up." He spits to the man, and turns back to me. "Go on, tell me what he did."
"He just grabbed me, and it scared me. That's all." I shrug. "I'm fine."
"You touched her?!" Tom raises his voice at the guy, who has pure fear in his eyes. I can't help but wonder what the dynamic is here. Why does Tom have so much power.
"I- I thought she was breaking in!" The guy exclaims.
"Get out of here before I kill you." Tom says lowly and the man practically sprints through the forbidden door, making me question why he's so scared of Tom. Surely he wasn't being literal when he threatened to kill him. Right?
"I'm so sorry.. that shouldn't have happened." He apologizes. "I will let them know that they are no longer allowed over here without permission. Which they should already know."
"It's okay Tom. I'm okay. I just don't understand why he was so aggressive. I'm not very big and I don't seem like a threat. What damage could I possibly do?" I let out a small laugh.
"The guys that work here are.. different." He shrugs. "Don't worry too much about it, they won't be bothering you again."
I look at the clock, seeing it's only halfway through the day.
"Why are you home?" I ask.
"Because I wanted to come check on you and make sure you're okay." He says.
I smile, loving that he cares about me to the extent of coming home early to see me. No one has ever cared for me like that. It's nice to feel loved and wanted for once.
"Thank you, for everything."
"Of course, you're my best friend." He smiles. "Don't tell Haz I said that though."
"My lips are sealed." I laugh.