the devil's redemption [tom r.]

38|| Cute Distractions.

WITHOUT ANY PREVIOUS WARNING, Tom pushed her off of him like she had a deadly contagious disease. Rosalind stared at him, wide-eyed, only a couple of feet away.

He'd been kissing her, softly, like he always did. What happened that made him suddenly act this way?

"Tom, what-"

"What's happening to me, Rosalind?" She couldn't exactly read the tone his voice held. He seemed very confused, his eyebrows contorted in a furrow.

"What do you mean?" She answered his question with another question, her voice so low he barely heard her.

"This. . this is not me. I'm not just a stupid lovestruck teenager! Since when did I let myself become so weak?" Hurt flashed across her face at his harsh words, but he didn't seem to notice. He was too busy pacing around, his hands pulling at his hair slightly.

"Love doesn't make you weak, Tom," She spat, crossing her arms over her chest as though trying to comfort herself. "It makes you human. Which is not a bad thing."

"But I don't want to be human. I don't want to be ordinary."

"Listen, Tom-" But she was interrupted when he finally looked her way, his face showing a range of emotions she'd never seen him portray before– at least not all at once.

He seemed confused, angry, and sad. He also appeared to be disappointed, as though he'd failed himself.

"Just. . shut up! Shut up for a second," Her lip quivered as she tried to hold back her tears. She wouldn't exactly describe herself as a person who cried easily, and when she did, it was only when she was deeply, seriously hurt.

She refused to obey him, "What happened? You didn't seem to have a problem just a few minutes ago, when you kissed me!"

He completely ignored her words. "You're a distraction," Tom pointed out, and by now she was biting her lip to stop the quivering. She could do nothing, however, to stop the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

Is that what he viewed her as? A mere distraction, nothing else?

"I'm becoming. . soft," He spat, "I can't let you control me like this anymore."

"I'm not controlling you, Tom. It's you who does the controlling, if anything," She pointed out angrily. "And for your information, not everyone in the world thinks like you do. Love is not manipulation, nor is it a curse. It's a blessing, Tom, believe me. You should pity yourself, if you don't care to experience that!" She was still holding herself, her anger taking the best of her and causing the tears to finally fall. They were angry tears.

She was angry at him, for being so bipolar and confusing. But mostly, she was angry at herself, for thinking that he had a chance. A chance of being able to feel anything towards her.

"This was not supposed to happen, I was not supposed to let my guard down," He was talking to himself at this point, taking a seat on the couch.

She took a step towards him, towering over him as she stood confidently. "You can't push me away forever."

"No, you don't understand. I'm not supposed to feel anything!"

"But you do, don't you?" She asked gently, kneeling down to be in level with his face. "You feel something towards me, you can't keep denying that."