Tom Parker Fan Fiction: The Promise

Chapter Five - Broken Glass, Broken Dreams

Chapter Five – Broken Glass, Broken Dreams

It’s been a few months living in the flat. I’ve still got my job at WHSmith that I’ve had ever since Dad’s leaving habits seem to repeat more often. Tom does his gigs at the local pub more often now – every Friday and Saturday. Non-existent jobs seem to be everywhere, yet not financially helpful anywhere, so Tom’s had to get a job at McDonalds. Everything seems to have fallen apart. We’ve dreamt of this a thousand times, yet our fingertips are holding onto the cracks. Barely so.

After getting paid at WHSmith I ran out the shop right through the streets of Bolton jumping into McDonalds. I see Tom at the back of the shop cooking the chips he looks miserable until he hears my screams and his name as he grins over to me. I show him the money then slam it back in my pocket he laughs as I swim through the crowds to the front of the counter as he makes his way on the opposite of the counter.

“Meet me at the back, y’know the car park!” He whispers as I nod grinning as he kisses my forehead.

“Get me a mcflurry!” I mouth to him.

“What do you think I’m doing?” He laughs. We always do this. Tom gets a load of burgers to scoff and gets me a Cadbury mcflurry.

Making my way to the back I check that no one who works at McDonalds is there. I poke my head through to see two people smoking. I hide down the alley way to the back of McDonalds resting my head on the brick wall. I suddenly hear Tom’s voice mumble along with the others, then silence.

“Delilah?” I hear him whisper. I run over to him and give him a massive hug. He grabs a McFlurry from his bag and passes it to me, “We’ve got to be less than ten minutes because those boys will be back along with the manager…” I can tell Tom doesn’t want to work here, but he’s doing it for me which makes me feel worse. We can barely afford anything because we don’t have the best jobs in the world. At least we have the flat to stay, even if it’s not exactly perfection within four walls.

“I’m sorry about this Tom…”

“Don’t be…”

“No, I am you are doing this all for me? I don’t deserve it… It’s obvious you don’t want to do this.”

“I’d do anything for you Delilah.” He says resting his hand on my cheek, stroking softly with his thumb.

“Stop it Tom! Stop with all this! I hate seeing you like this…” I say shaking his hand off me as he takes out a cigarette, “You never used to smoke… Look if you’re stressed about living in a flat together with no money you can go back home to your loving parents I can survive on my own.”

“No, Delilah, we stick together throughout whatever shit blocks our way, remember?” Tom complains sounding hurt, his eyes fill with concern.

“I can’t see you like this…”

“I don’t like seeing you like you are now, worrying over me which makes me worry about you… You’re not afraid remember? You trust me and I trust you.”

“We’re almost out of the street, Tom! Can’t you see! We’ve got literally no money… We get excited when I get £50 one day! That’s literally nothing!” I say waving the notes about before finally eating some of my mcflurry. Tom doesn’t say anything he just simply takes a drag from his cigarette. I take it out of his mouth and step on it.

“Delilah I’d be happy even if we were on the street because I’d be with you…” He says taking a bite from his burger then holding both of my arms and shaking me gently, “everything’s going to be okay!” He says kissing me.

Finishing Tom’s burger and my McFlurry we finally part our ways. Me going back to our flat and Tom going to have a final hour and a half at McDonalds. At the building of the flat I see our window smashed into pieces. Shit. I run up the stairs to see a gang of people throwing chairs about, throwing things out the window. Me and Tom’s things. I run through were the door was into our flat.

“What the fuck do you think you are doing, this is my flat!?” I shout as one of them, with thin, greasy hair and literally no teeth in a muddy white tracksuit. He whacks me against the wall hitting my back, hard.

“Where you money!” He spits face to face to me as I hold the temptation to correct his grammar.

“Why the fuck would I tell you?!” I say as he pushes me harder against the walls, going through my pockets. Shit, my fifty quid. He goes into my back jean pocket as I kick him in the balls.

“You fucking stay away from me, you perverted bastard!” I shout as he laughs pushing me away from the entrance of the flat so no one can see.

“Only if you give you money…” He says attempting to touch me again, I punch him in the face multiple times until he gets the message. Another lad comes up from behind him and goes into a different pocket. The pocket with the money in it.

“Hey boys! Look what I found!” He laughs waving it about.

“Give that back, you twat!” I shout attempting to get it when I turn around the others had already found £800 that me and Tom thought we hid well. Shit.  

They finally leave me in peace, yet leave me in worry since they took most of our money. Tom arrives an hour later and I hadn’t moved from where I was sitting. In a ball surrounded by the glass and clutter. I hear his footsteps on the broken glass when I see his feet next me. He lends a hand down as I pull myself up dissolved in tears.

“You’re so stupid…” He says attempting to laugh yet in tears, kissing me, his hands on my cheeks, “You’re so stupid” He repeats kissing me again, he wraps his arms around my neck as I press my face against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

“I’m sorry I tried to stop them…”

“That’s not why… It’s because you didn’t get me… I would’ve protected you! They didn’t harm you did they?”  I shake my head violently on his chest.

“They attempted to but I didn’t let them… I punched and kicked them but then they found most of our money… We won’t be able to afford to live here for long, Tom…”

“Well what about the damage?”

“That wasn’t our fault, we won’t have to pay them…” I manage to say through the tears yet I find myself sobbing more and more.

“Shhhhh” Tom says softly rocking me back and forth, “It’s gonna be okay…”