Butcher & the baker

8: Working out

When you throw your car into park on your driveway you just needed to take a breath because what the hell just happened? No doubt you'd be the talk of this town after today, you took a shaking breath as you left your car and headed into the house you thought you could call home just a few days ago.
You didn't want to deal with James when he got home probably a few minutes later so you grabbed what few belongings you had in your shared bedroom and threw them on the floor in the guest bedroom which you guess was now yours? you locked your new bedroom door as you laid on the bed and let the day sink in, you let tears flow freely as you let sleep slowly take you as you laid on the uncomfortable bed.
Waking up hours later to the sound of your alarm you decided to not even check your phone notifications and get ready and pack your lunch in silence, you got into your old jeep and put in your cassette which immediately filled your silence with Billie Holidays song "until the real thing comes along" you couldn't help but smile at the familiar song as you drove down the path to Tommy. You had no idea what to say to him as you pulled in front of him, he got in and seemed just as unsure as you
"Hey"
Was all your garbage brain could come up with, you didn't know what to do when suddenly it felt like your body moved on its own accord and threw your arms around him and hugged him ignoring the uncomfortable feeling of the middle console and shifter digging into your stomach
"Thank you, you didn't need to do that but thank you"
You felt safe in his arms that immediately embraced you, he seemed just as thrown off guard as you were by your actions, after several moments past you slowly let go of your bear-like grip on him
"Just so you know, I moved into a different room, it's not much but it's a step in the right direction right?"
He nodded and put his hand on the side of your face and patted you affectionately
"I can't thank you enough, I guess you're stuck with me a bit longer because I suppose I'm gonna try to find a place by myself and probably stay in town longer than planned"
Tommy's smile was very evident even with the mask
"Well we better get going, we can't be later than I bet we already are!"
You laughed as driving don't the driveway. You felt calmer than you've been in two days and tried to ignore how you felt when you saw him smile.

Getting into work it was comforting to know you two would be the only ones there for while, starting your opening duties you quickly lost track of time before you felt someone slowly grab your hand, out of reflex you yelp and meet a pair of familiar warm eyes
"Tommy! Be careful scaring me half to death I could've hade a hot sheet or knife in my hands"
You say while slapping his arm, he just shrugs his shoulders and flex's his arms showing off his impressive upper body muscles
"I don't care if you're some sort of strong man supposedly you could still get hur-"
Your last lines of teasing were taking away by Tommy grabbing you by the waist and throwing you over his shoulder and spinning you like the fastest roller coaster
"I GET IT YOU'RE TOUGH JESUS I YEILD I YEILD"
You said between fits of laughter before he slowly lifted you off his shoulders with his large arms you haven't been able to stop thinking about, you felt your arm graze his long surprisingly soft dark hair as you got set gently on the ground while you both came down from your giggle fit you looked up and saw his eyes filled with uncertainty when you were about to ask him if something was wrong you hear Karen's voice
"Would you two STOP horsing around already"
before you could even process what she said you looked at Tommy and he simply shrugged and you figured out he was about to warn you the cashiers were gonna come in but then, OF COURSE, you started goofing off. You whisper a quick "thanks I guess" as Karen scoffed and went to counting her till for the morning shift.
Within an hour you saw LudaMae make a B line towards you, she threw herself at you and you almost felt yourself fall at the motherly embrace
"Hey hi good morning-"
That was all you managed before she shoved your face in her shoulder
"Oh, I was so worried about you! He didn't hurt you again, right? Well I ought to send Tommy and the boys over there and see how he like being h-"
You pulled yourself out of the embrace "Call off the hanging mob I'm okay- see?"
You do a spin
"honestly it's just a few bruises and they're more sore than anything nothing ice and some time can't fix, I moved into the guest room for now okay? I'm gonna save up and get my place"
You gently held her forearms and tried to assure her
"Well if you need anything, let me know okay? I can co-sign for you if you need, It's the least I can do"
"That's honestly amazing- I don't know why you're being so nice to me, you hardly know me"
She smiled and at you and turned her head towards Tommy who was trying his best to look like he wasn't listening in on your conversation, she dropped her voice a bit
"Well it just feels like we're family already dear, you're the first person who ain't blood that ever showed my boy some friendship, I ain't never seen him so happy and confident at work, I cannot thank you enough" you saw the tears well in her eyes as you just shrugged
"Oh well Tommy's has to be the sweetest man I've ever met so you don't gotta thank me too much"
You also let your eyes steal a glance at Tommy who staring at you with the side of his eye, you would bet your last penny he was blushing
"I'll let you know if I need help with anything Luda-Mae"
Luda rubbed your shoulder
"Oh honey you can call me mama like the rest of the family, it can help me pretend I had a daughter as beautiful as you"
She pinched your cheeked as you giggled
"Okay, momma then let me get back to work before I burn this bread"
She patted your face where she pinched and went towards her office
"Sorry Tommy, I have the Momma card! You're stuck with me now"
You yell out to Tommy who seemed to laugh and shake his head in response. Maybe things could be okay here.