~𝚆𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜~
Charlie and I walk down the stairs, hand in hand. My eyes search the now clean kitchen in the near distance, trying to find Haz and Tom. In my searching, I hear rustling in the den and so my eyes naturally follow to find the sound. They are both lounging on the couch, Tom leaning back against the armrest with one hand holding a small glass of whisky and his other arm draping across the head of the couch. Haz's back is to us as he is crouched over, his elbows on his knees and his head dropped low.
"Hey, is everything okay?" I ask, leading Charlie into the room and taking a seat on the other couch to the right of them. Charlie's grip tightens on my hand as her blue eyes are focused on Haz who still hasn't brought his eyes up from the ground.
"I told Haz about everything." Tom says, his voice deep and husky with frustration before he takes the finishing swig of his whisky.
"Bastard." Haz mumbles before picking up his head, and for the first time, I see pure anger and hatred in his usually kind eyes. It frightened me, if I'm being honest, and it definitely surprised Charlie because she moves closer to me on the couch, but her eyes are locked with his.
"What are we going to do?" Charlie asks after a few agonizingly tense and silent seconds. Her voice quavered, which only happened when she was genuinely nervous. She seemed so in control upstairs, like she would go looking for him to take on Steven with her bare hands. Now, her already pale face was even paler and her eyes were widened with fear. I can't tell if her fear is caused by Steven potentially coming for her, or if she was terrified of what Harrison would do if he did.
"You'll stay with me." Haz says curtly, his body not moving an inch. His face seems to soften as he adds, "If that's okay with you."
Charlie's face begins to gain it's color again, her shoulders relaxing as a smile almost forms on her lips. "Of course that's okay. I know you'll keep me safe." Her last sentence comes out with a hint of that fear that was in her voice before, but it was barely audible.
"Let's hope nothing has to come of this. The police are on it and looking for him now." Tom says, his own anger seeming to wash free off his face and his soft expression is making an appearance again. "We have more exciting and fun things to look forward to anyway." Those chocolate eyes lock their hold on me before he winks, that handsome smirk curving his thin lips.
"You're right." I smile back, wrapping an arm around Charlie's shoulders, her head resting on one of mine.
Just then, beeping comes from the kitchen and Tom jumps up from the couch, placing his glass back on its coaster before he speeds to the oven. "I should probably go help him set up the table." I smile at both of my best friends, releasing my hold on Charlie which is quickly replaced by Haz's strong embrace after he raced to get to her side.
"How's it going, Mister Chef?" I ask, grabbing bowls and spoons while he carefully places the hot pot of dip on the stove. He lets out a triumphant sigh, leaning his head back a little as he takes off his oven mitts. The scene makes my heart beat out of my chest and I have a weird feeling that he can hear it. Then his eyes move from off the ceiling to meet mine.
"I think I have mastered your favorite dish, Miss." Tom replies, his smirk plastered on his face. I teasingly look at the pot with a disapproving face, as if it had come out green instead of golden orange. His face all of a sudden turns grey and his smirk turns into a frown. "What did I do wrong?" He asks like a little child.
I suddenly feel guilty, but I keep a smile on my face as I step towards him and go up on my tippy toes to kiss his peach fuzzed cheek. "Nothing, darling. It's perfect, thank you." I respond, feeling his strong arms taking a hold of my waist.
"Anything for you. Even if it's as small as making buffalo chicken dip." He lets out his melodic laugh, causing me to melt in his arms, yet he holds me upright and glued in place. His large hand reaches up, brushing my cheek as he moves a piece of loose hair from out of my eyes.
A content sigh leaves my lungs, reluctantly letting him go so I can grab the carrots, my mouth watering from the smell of the dip. Tom is right behind me, helping carry the extra things that couldn't fit in my arms. We make our way towards the light grey, granite table and Tom starts to put things randomly on it.
"What do you think you're doing?" I ask him in disbelief. I look at the messy table, shaking my head with pursed lips.
"What?" He asks, his face falling again as he looks from me to the table.
"This is not at all aesthetically pleasing, Tom." I continue to shake my head and then he begins to laugh, the angelic sound makes me weak in the knees, but my determination is stronger. I begin to mess with the bowls and the spoons, setting everything in a matching pattern. I don't even really notice Tom silently moving away from the table, still chuckling to himself.
Then, I hear footsteps coming into the open walled room. I look over my shoulder to see Tom coming in with the bowl of delicious spice, Charlie and Haz only seconds behind him as they walk in, hands laced together. "Wow, Y/n." Tom says, his mouth opened in surprise.
"Making a house a home." Haz's soft voice reaches my ears and I feel my cheeks grow pink in pride. I wonder what it must have been like in this penthouse before I had come. Was it cold and empty? Did Tom even spend much time here before me? Or was it exactly the same, just one more person filling it?
"She has a way of making anywhere feel like home." Tom says as if I weren't even in the room, yet his eyes are fixed on me, a whisper of a smile dancing on his lips. Again, I look down at the ground, my cheeks completely red now.
"Oh shut up, let's just eat already!" Charlie exclaims, sitting down at one of the chairs. I look at her, my laughter coming out louder than I had expected to the point where I have to cover my mouth. The boys join in, taking their own places. I feel Tom's arm wrap around my waist, pulling me along to our seats.
The conversation flows easily, laughter and joy spilling from each and every one of us. It is hard to believe that just a few minutes ago we had all been terrified or angry at our situation, at what could happen and the person who was behind it all. It isn't until the conversation slows, when there are more stretches of silence before Charlie and Haz decide to go home, that I start to feel a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I wrap my arms tightly around my best friend, wishing I could hold her for hours without having to ever let go. I can feel her chest rising and falling in a staggering pattern, her silent sobs only really noticeable to me. She buries her head into my shoulder, her face covered by my hair. It's been years since I have seen Charlie like this, like she couldn't do something to help and that hurts her as much as it hurts me.
I reluctantly pull her at arm's length, looking into those deep blue eyes. I push her hair to the side, cupping her cheeks in my hands and using my thumbs to wipe away her tears. "We'll be okay. Call me once you've settled in at Haz's, okay?" I ask her, trying to keep the lump in my throat from turning into hysterics I can't control.
She can't seem to make out the words, so she simply nods her head while taking in deep breaths. "I love you." I tell her, dropping my hands from her cheeks.
Charlie takes a few more breaths before whispering, "I love you, too."
The boys seem to go in for a handshake, but end up pulling each other into a tight embrace. They pat each other's backs before pulling away with stern faces. "Take care of that one for me." Haz says, nodding towards me, his breathing seeming to be faster than usual. "She's like an annoying little sister." He adds, his smile reaching his lips again.
I run to him, wrapping my arms around his long torso. "Love you, you big jerk." I respond, his hand rubbing the back of my head. From behind his large body, I can see Tom wrapping his arms around Charlie, whispering comforting words into her ear.
"Love you." Haz says, his chest vibrating with the words. "Call me if anything happens, okay?" I know these words aren't meant for me, his head moving to look towards Tom's direction. I pull away from him with a sigh. Why does this feel like a goodbye? Nothing is going to happen tonight. They can just come over again tomorrow.
"I will." Tom says, his voice dark and protective, the voice that had been used so many weeks ago to protect me from the unknown stalker in the coffee shop.
"See you guys soon." I say, waving my hand while trying to smile, but it hurts. Knowing what can happen, knowing what waits, it is terrifying. To have someone want something so bad that they don't care what they have to do to get it, that's terrifying, especially when you're the one in their way to getting what they want.
"See you soon." This time Charlie's voice was filled with stubborn determination. I know for a fact that when I get home from work tomorrow, she's going to be waiting for the call to come over.
Watching them leave is not as hard as the words that we had said to each other, the goodbye that was never said. Tom and I go towards the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes in silence. My heart beats loudly in my chest as the thought of sleeping right now seems so far off. I worry about what I'll see in my dreams, but at least Tom will be there holding onto me, keeping me in one piece when I feel like falling into a million.
We don't even head to the den to watch a movie or anything, us both heading towards the bedroom with heavy feet. This is after Tom had his rounds to make sure everything is locked and called the receptionist downstairs about three times to make sure the elevator that would lead to his penthouse was unable to work until five in the morning. It's still silent as we get ready for bed and I know the silence is not in existence because we have nothing to say, it's because we have no idea where to start.
I sit on the bed, watching him bustle about the room to make sure everything is where it is supposed to be and turning off the lights. Once he reaches the bed, he takes my hands in his, looking into my eyes through the dark like Charlie had done a few hours before. "Are you okay?" He asks and not because that is an obvious question to ask, but because he honestly wants to know how I am doing, what's going on in my head.
"I know I shouldn't be, but I'm scared." I say after a few seconds pass, trying to grasp the right words.
"I would be a bit worried if you weren't scared." He says while picking up one of my hands and kissing my palm. "But you're right. I'm going to protect you, Y/n. No matter what happens, you'll never leave my sight, do you understand?"
The tears finally begin to spill from my eyes. I can't hold that lump down anymore. I nod my head up and down frantically, falling into his arms and taking in his scent. It's like lavender, having the effect of making me calm and sleepy like a silent lullaby. The emotions of today have been so exhausting that my body doesn't know what to do anymore. The tears quickly dry on my face because they stopped altogether right as Tom had his grip on my entire body.
I feel us adjusting to lay down and the silk covers wrapping around us, but I don't open my eyes, focusing on the scent and warmth of Tom's body around mine. He must think that I am asleep already because the last thing I hear before my body succumbs to the exhaustion comes from his lips right next to my ear, "I'm going to marry you one day."
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I literally cried like three times while writing this chapter HAHA enjoy :'(
Thank you guys so much for reading and making my dreams come true! You guys are all truly amazing!
I'll catch y'all in the next chapter <3
~Aidan