Surrender -Tom kaulitz-

11.

We drove around the dark street and I examined the sidewalks not knowing what I was looking for exactly.

After a while, my eyes were finally met with Arlo's body laying on the pavement.

I gasped at Tom to stop and he obeyed immediately. I hurried out of the car and fell on my knees next to my brother.

"What in the actual fuck ?!" I yelled. The brunette looked lost as his eyes darted around his surroundings before falling on me.

"Mars..."

"What happened to you ?!" I shrieked. His front tooth was broken, missing the lower part of it, and deep cuts covered his arms and his bare legs.

"They beat me up, Mars. I told you I needed-"

"Is everything okay ?" Tom appeared from behind.

"Tom, you can just leave. It's okay, I'll handle this." I looked at him with pleading eyes.

The guitarist disdained my request. "There's no way I'm leaving you down-"

"Tom, please. Thank you for driving me up here. But this is enough." I begged but he wouldn't budge.

After a few seconds of hesitation, he brushed a hand through his dreads. "Alright, I'll be in the car." He walked away angrily and sat down in his car, staring in our direction.

"Isn't that the guy from that one boy band ?" Arlo wondered, before chocking on his own blood and coughing it out.

"Are you really saying that right now ?" I grabbed his arms. "Let's get you cleaned up, come on."

"No, don't take me home, they'll know where I live. I can't risk it." He shook his head nervously.

"Then why'd you call me ?!" I sighed in disbelief.

"Cause I can't call Dad ! Obviously !" He exclaimed and I breathed out heavily.

"You really are a piece of shit, aren't you ?" I shivered, getting cold. " What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know, Mars, you can leave if you want." He fell back down on the cement floor in a groan.

I sighed, looking around. My eyes fell on Tom's car and I hesitated before finally making a decision. "Tom's car has tinted windows. He'll drive us home without them catching you or whatever."

Arlo seemed hesitant.

"See, the thing is that you don't really have a choice." I blurted out and he finally agreed, attempting to get up. I pulled him up and we started walking towards the big black car.

Tom hurried out and opened the door for me. "I'm driving you both home ?"

I nodded shyly. I hated that I was asking too much of him. I pushed my brother in the backseat and he laid down. I sat in the front, breathing heavily as Tom started the car.

As he was driving, I felt a few glances my way. I knew he wanted to say something but he figured that it probably wasn't a good idea to conversate with me. I was chewing on my lip nervously, the lump in my throat was growing bigger and the last thing I wanted to do was cry in front of my brother or Tom.

It took us less than thirty minutes to get there and, as soon as the car stopped, Arlo ran out, throwing up on the pavement. "Getting beaten up and laying in a car don't mix well..." He chuckled and I glared at him.

"Go home, asshole. And don't ever call me to deal with your bullshit again." I spat out as he staggered towards the house I grew to call home. He flipped me off and I rolled my eyes before looking straight ahead, still sitting in the car.

I took in slow breaths, feeling Tom's gaze on me. He was probably wondering if I was going to leave the car or if I wasn't. But, to be honest, I didn't know either. The only thing I was sure of was that I felt really safe at that right instant and I wanted to enjoy this feeling for a few more minutes.

We remained silent for a minute or two. I wished he'd say something... or not.

No, Tom, please, don't say anything...

"You okay ?"

And here comes the waterworks. Tears drowned my face as I started sobbing uncontrollably.

I was so over this. Always picking up my family's shit after them. Always having to assume the consequences of their actions.

Your mom died ? Just bury her yourself. Your father refuses to sign your admission papers for the competition ? Just fake his signature and risk going to jail in order to participate. Your father hits you ? Just spit on his face and cover your bruise for the next week.

I sobbed in silence as I sat on the edge of the car seat with my face buried in my hands. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." I began to hiccup while my tears fell continuously like a steady rain.

"What ? No, don't apologize, Mars." Tom placed a comforting hand on my back. "I'm here."

"You shouldn't have seen that." I cried out. "A boy like you shouldn't have to drive to a risky street in the middle of the night to pick up some junkie from the sidewalk. You're not supposed to be here."

"A girl like you isn't supposed to either." He stated and I shook my head, sniffling.

"You don't know me, Tom. You don't know what my life looks like. What it feels like to grow up with a fucked up family in fucked up conditions and a fucked up past." I defended, my voice thick with tears.

"And I'm here for you. You don't have to go through that."

"But I do though." I looked at him. "It's my family, Tom. I have to. I'm all they got."

He studied my face for a minute. "I don't want you to feel like shit. I don't want you to live in a place like this. I don't want you to live with people who hit you or people who get beaten up on the street. What if they did follow us ? And they plan to beat you up to get to your brother?" His expression was unreadable and I listened to him as he talked, his tone shifting from anger to sorrow. "I can't leave you like this."

"It's just the way it is." I looked down, breaking eye contact. "If I win the competition, I'll figure my stuff out. But I can't just leave."

"I tried so hard not to think about it that much. I tried to act as if you don't go through this. I tried to convince myself that I didn't care. I knew it was a slap bruise, I'm not stupid. I was overthinking about whatever I could do for you. A way to help you out of this situation."

"I'm sorry, but this isn't any of your business. I'm grateful for your will to help but there's nothing you can do." I sat back, wiping my tears away.

"Yeah, I don't know what to do." He sighed then quickly gathered himself. "But what I'm sure of is that there's no way in hell I'm letting you walk into that house tonight."

I blinked. "But-"

"I don't care." He started the car in a rapid hand movement and I flinched. "Call it kidnapping, call it rescuing, I don't care. You're not getting in there."

I remained silent as he navigated accross the city.

I was feeling better. This sense of safety felt nice. I gazed at Tom and found myself liking this different version of himself. He was always acting cocky and flirty all the time and, to see him now act so affectionate and vulnerable, made me wonder how many versions did Tom actually hid.

He always babbled about not being able to catch feelings for anyone, that meaningless sex is his way to live, but was there any version of Tom who was actually capable of falling in love ? Was this confident self just a mask, hiding away all this vulnerability ?

Ugh, get a grip, you sound cringey.

✌🏽👨🏽‍🦳
The next chapter is pretty long, so stay tuned. (It's probably one of my fav scenes from this book)
Bye😗