Break Down Your Walls

[45]

~𝚂𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢~

"You can turn around now." I say with a small chuckle as I'm swimming in his large button down. I cross my arms in front of me, the long sleeves flopping around my wrists.

Tom turns with a devilish smirk on his lips causing me to tilt my head with a roll of my eyes. "You peeked didn't you." I say, a little giggle escaping my lips.

"That's a secret I'll never tell." He gives me a small wink, yet something is off about his demeanor, it's not nearly as playful as usual. His shoulders are slightly hunched and his eyes keep moving from me to the ground.

"What's wrong?" I ask, my voice almost becoming a whisper. A debate seems to go on inside his head, the gears turning and turning. Eventually, he meets my eyes with a tense atmosphere.

"Can you sit down please?" He asks and my heart begins to quicken as I become really confused. I slowly sit down with narrowed eyes, Tom taking a spot next to me. I have a feeling I might know what this is all about and I can't help myself from asking.

"Is this about Zendaya?" I ask, almost choking on my words.

"Yes." He says simply and I can feel the the tears coming.

"W-why was she he-here?" I ask, stuttering as I try to keep the tears suppressed. I can tell that Tom is noticing how I feel about all of this because he stares right into my eyes.

"She told me she wanted to discuss more advertisements for the company. That's not why she was here, though. I thought she was here for business, but..." He trails off wondering if he should tell me, or maybe if I could handle it.

"Tom." I say in a hushed whisper, begging for him to tell me just by using his name.

"She kissed me." Tom says quickly, looking away from me. I get up from the couch as tears begin to flow down my cheeks.

"I knew it. I should've stayed! I mean how could you resist a tall beauty like her? You two have history and I'm your secretary. I don't look good in the press and-"

"Stop it." He says quietly, but I continue to ramble on. "Stop it!" He yells, standing up as well. I step back a little, more tears swimming under my eyelids. "Stop." He says more gently as his chocolate brown eyes become glassy.

"I didn't kiss her back. But you didn't let me tell you that. You need to trust me, Y/n." He says as if my lack of trust broke a piece of him apart, his words filled with pain.

"I'm sorry. I do trust you. I just overreacted." I try to dismiss it, not wanting confrontation.

"You didn't overreact. If I had kissed her back, that would have been understandable. But I didn't. I pushed her away and that's when we heard your knock at the door. She tried to make me sit down and talk about why she came, but I told her to open the door and then leave. You know the rest."

More tears fall as I feel awful that I didn't trust him to be faithful to me. Tom is the sweetest, kindest man I have ever met, even if he didn't start out that way. He's gentle with me, patient, and understanding, as well. "I'm so sorry." I whisper through sobs.

"There is no need for you to be sorry." Tom wraps an arm around my waist while his other hand reaches up to my cheeks, wiping away my warm tears. "It was just a misunderstanding."

"So you don't still love her?" I ask, my voice quivering through a whisper.

"I'm not sure if I ever did. Not like the way I love you, that is. It's cliché and cheesy, but I really have never felt this way before. Zendaya is one of the people I pushed away, but anytime I tried to push you away, you were determined to get closer. I'm glad you didn't give up on me."

"I wish I had never doubted you. That was unfair of me. I'm so sorry." I look up to meet his dark eyed gaze.

"You need to stop apologizing for simply having feelings. If you hadn't acted the way you did, I would've thought something was wrong with you or that you were a robot." He lets out a soft chuckle and the warmth of the sound helps me to do the same.

"I'm definitely not a robot."

"That much I figured out." Again he puts on that smirk that causes every part of my body to crumble underneath myself.

"I should be heading back to my desk, hopefully no one has called since we've been occupied."

"I should get better at not distracting you." He lets out another laugh as I pull away from him. I look down at the ground with a sly smile, walking towards the door.

"Or maybe I need to stop distracting you." I reply, giving him one last glance before leaving his office.

Again, I stop by and see Haz's office door opened a crack. I knock twice softly before opening it a little wider. "Hey." I say quietly, him looking up from his paperwork.

"Hey." His eyes squint slightly as his lips curve into a wide smile. All of a sudden, in that moment, he reminds me of Alex. He's like a replica of him just in that smile. Tears start to form in my eyes, spilling quickly yet quietly.

Haz quickly stands up, walking towards the door frame, grasping me in his arms. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Thank you. For everything." I whisper through my silent sobs.

"Of course." He rests his head on top of mine, his chest rising and falling in a sigh. He keeps me there for I don't even know how long.

Haz is always there for me when I need him, always willing to do whatever is needed for me to feel comfortable. Alex did the same thing for me when he wasn't on the drugs.

"You remind me of him." I say in a very gentle and quiet voice. Haz steps away slightly, still having his arms around me.

"Of who?" He asks with a tilt of his head. I wipe the tears away from my cheeks with a small smile.

"My brother."
~ ~ ~
I think you can tell what kind of mood I'm in.

Thank you all so much for reading and taking this story to such high heights that I never thought could happen! You all are seriously the best.

I'll catch y'all in the next chapter <3

~Aidan