Noir (Tom Holland)

Seven

Three days came and went and I had received no call from the flip phone. The silence was beginning to give me a false sense of hope that I was free from all this shit, but I knew better. I knew that by not hearing anything that I was utterly and royally fucked. But that didn't stop me from being in a better mood. I found Todd on Facebook and we ended up having another date. However, when we went to his apartment and had sex,he called his ex girlfriend's name out, so after that incident, we decided to stay friends until he was completely over her.
Lilah and I both decided to watch Gone With the Wind for the umpteenth time and talked about how pretty Scarlett's dresses were in the film. I told her that I thought Rhett Butler was handsome, but she scrunched her nose and called cooties. It was rightfully deserved, but I couldn't help but be offended.
My nights at home were even more peaceful. I didn't wait by the flip phone every night, praying that it wouldn't ring. Instead, I took hour long baths and went to bed early. It was like having a vacation after a decade of working. It was what my life should've been and not some misconstrued weave of murder and crime and my fucked up attraction towards Tom.
On the fourth day, I had run four miles and returned to my building. I opened the door to my place and in the center of it all was Tom and Harrison standing behind a bound and gagged Katy with a gun pressed to her head. There was blood dripping from her nose and her eyes were smeared with mascara from crying. I felt the need to throw up upon seeing the sight.

"I've given you one too many chances, Reese," Tom spoke calmly, but his demeanor told a different story. "When I call, you answer. If you don't answer, you die," he pressed the gun harder against Katy's temple and she let out a distorted cry. "I've let you off the hook with that sharp tongue of yours because I thought it was cute," he started, "But when it starts to not follow authority, I wanted to cut it out of you. Would I like you silent, Reese? Would I want to keep you around then?"

"What do you want, Tom?" my voice was wavering. I kept my eyes on Katy, trying to tell her it would be alright, but even I didn't know that. Tom was unpredictable, unreadable. I would think he's doing one thing, but he does the exact opposite. He was chaotic in his actions and now his chaos was affecting those around me. "You know what I want, Reese," he snapped, "Don't spoon feed me that bullshit." Harrison took the passport from his jacket and threw it on the floor right in front of Katy. "You either go to Vienna," Tom dug the gun deeper against Katy's temple, "Or you in your friend are caught in a tragic murder-suicide. You don't want her to die, do you? You don't want that for her." Subconsciously, I shook my head and whispered a no. "Good," he smiled, "Take the passport then."

I stared at the passport on my floor. Picking it up meant my demise, but keeping it on the floor meant Katy's. So this was what the silence had built up to. This was what he wanted, to make me think I was safe before destroying my oasis. This was my punishment, my life or Katy's.

"Pick up the passport, Reese," Tom warned, "I'm not asking again." My limbs were still. I couldn't move them if I tried. I felt a sob rise in the back of my throat, but I forced it down. I must keep my calm, I reassured myself, don't lose your shit. "One," Tom counted and took the safety off the gun. Upon hearing the familiar click, I rushed to the floor and picked up the passport, watching Tom's reaction. Katy closed her eyes in relief as she realized I saved her life and began crying.

Tom smiled, "Good. The world's back in order." He then pulled the trigger and I shrieked, shoving Tom away from Katy. But there was no shot, there was no ammo in the gun. He knew I would give in. I was dead either way. Tom turned to Harrison, "Take Katy back to her place and give her the lecture. We don't want her late for school." Harrison untied Katy and she rushed over and hugged me tightly and sobbed. "Shhh," I said, trying to comfort her, "It's alright. Everything's fine. You're safe now." The last sentence was bullshit, however. She wasn't going to be safe for as long as she knew me. She would always be collateral damage.