originally, i wasn't going to let tom stay. after he told me everything with jade, i felt horrible for him.
people don't understand that getting engaged makes you even happier with your partner. the thought of spending the rest of your life with them is a boost of confidence.
when that feeling gets ripped away from you, it isn't fun at all. you feel like you don't want to go on any longer. seeing tom's reaction to jade when he was telling me everything reminded me of when jack died.
i remember telling the doctors and the police everything that happened that night. i could barley even get my words out through my sobs.
now, the same thing was happening with tom.
"listen, i can have your mother get your stuff and bring it-"
"no," tom said harshly, "not my mother."
"okay... i'll see if windsor can do it." i changed my plan as a grabbed some ice cream for us to snack on, even though it was 9:00 in the morning.
"thanks," he said as he grabbed the spoon i brought over.
"so," i started as i took a bite of the ice cream as well, "are you going back to london?"
"probably not. i can find a hotel here to stay in for a couple of weeks." he explained, "there's no reason to sort things out right now."
"you know it gets better eventually-"
"doesn't seem like that," he interrupted.
"tom, i know our situations are much different. i never thought i would be able to get past it, and honestly i still haven't." i explained, "but instead for focusing my life around the past, i worry about what makes me happy in the present."
he just looked at me, without saying a word. it was too silent in the room, so i put on our favorite movie; twilight.
"i haven't seen this movie since that night you stayed over," he said, actually cheerfully.
"i've only seen it once since then," i responded. i assumed i probably shouldn't tell him that i watched it the day my heart was broken by him.
i guess it didn't really matter now, i was over it.
i got to thinking about what tom said, about staying in italy for a couple of weeks.
"hey tom?" i broke the silence.
"yeah,"
"instead of wasting your money on a hotel, why don't you just stay here?" i offered, he looked at me with bright eyes.
"really?" he asked with a mouth full of ice cream.
"of course! this place is too big for me and lyra anyway."
he gave a weak smile as he finally finished the last bite of his ice cream.
he spent the entire day at my house, we barley talked at all though. it wasn't the awkward kind of silence, it was more of a comforting silence.
i looked over at the clock, too see it was 4 PM.
"why don't we go out and do something tonight?" i suggested as i brought him a cup of water.
"why would we do that?" he asked harshly.
"well, we need to buy you clothes first. then we can get some drinks or something,"
"i don't need to buy new clothes-" tom started before i interrupted him.
"tom, i am not letting you where the same outfit for a couple of weeks straight."
he rolled his eyes as he got up. i chuckled as we began walking out to the car.
tom hadn't had a chance to really look at my house yet. by his reaction, i could tell he loved it just as much as i did. i could also tell he loves the views too.
"enjoying yourself?" i asked as i grinned. he gave a weak smile back.
"are you sure i can stay here?" he changes the topic.
"of course you can!" i assured as i sat down right next to him outside.
"can we go out for drinks tomorrow instead?" he asked, "i don't want to leave here yet..."
i nodded as he put his head on my shoulder. i never looked at him, but i could tell he was crying again. i could hear the small sniffles that he was trying to hide. i could also feel his tears drinking down onto my arm.
i gave a frown as i finally looked down at him. the sun was hitting his face directly, showing each imperfection that make him perfect to me.
he would looking out at the view of the hills in front of him. i didn't blame him, it definitely was a million-dollar view.
i wrapped my arm around his other shoulder and pulled him closer to me. he took both of his arms and wrapped the around me. he was now laying on my chest, barely managing to keep his eyes open.
i looked back out at the view. another think i loved about this house is that i can see a vineyard that sits a couple miles away.
tom's sniffles finally stopped as his breath calmed down. i looked back down at him to see his eyes were closed, and he was fast asleep.
i couldn't help but continue to look down at him. i never realized how much better he looks when his face is actually relaxed.
i was interrupted by my phone beside me vibrating. i didn't even look at the contact name as i answered it, not wanting to wake up tom.
"hello?" i asked in a questioning voice.
"sage?" i heard a familiar voice through the phone, "thank god you answ-"
"jade?" i asked harshly, "what do you want?"
"wait, i thought you were in italy?" she changed the subject. what is she going on about?
"yeah, but what does that have to do with anything..." i continued to speak in a harsh tone.
"why are you on tom's phone then?" she questioned. i pulled the phone away from my ear, seeing that i was indeed using tom's phone.
"oh yeah, he was here a couple minutes ago-"
"can i talk to him?" she interrupted me.
i looked back down at tom, to see he was still peacefully laying on my chest as the sun continued to reflect off of his skin.
"he got on another plane..." i lied, "he must have just left his phone here."
"well thanks anyw-"
"why did you do it?" i started speaking harshly again, still trying to keep my voice low to not wake up tom.
"sage, i didn't mean to-"
"everyone says that jade. i want you to listen to me, give tom some time before you try anything. he was broken when he got here, and it killed me to see him like that. this is all your fault, jade, so don't act like the victim here. now if you will excuse me, i have somewhere to be. goodbye, jade..." i ranted as i hung up and put the phone down next to me again.
i managed to calm myself down, just by looking at tom.
i know it's uncomfortable, but i laid down on the wooden deck, pulling tom down along with me. when we hit the ground, he adjusted himself along with me.
we both ended up being turned on our sides as he went back to sleeping. i was a lot more comfortable now.
i couldn't help but let myself fall asleep as well.
TOM POV:
i heard sage's entire conversation with jade. i was so glad she covered up for me. her saying that i wasn't there actually meant a lot to me.
i pretended i was asleep. not because i didn't want to talk to jade, but because i was comfortable where i was.
she was holding me in her arms, trying to comfort me through this. even though she went through something far worse than this, she still would comforted me more than anyone.
i never felt this comfortable with someone before. i find myself having a hard time to trust people, i've been like that since i was a child. something about sage makes me feel like i could trust her with my life.
after her call with jade, i felt her lay down on her back. i knew the wood wouldn't be so comfortable for her, so i adjusted us both to wear we were facing each other.
i didn't open my eyes quite yet, but i could feel her gaze on me.
it lasted a couple of minutes, till my hand that was near her chest felt her breath lighten, signaling she was asleep as well.
i finally open my eyes, seeing the sunlight reflecting on her face along with mine. she did look beautiful.
is it bad to be thinking this way about another women even though i just got out of a relationship?
or was it the relationship the cause my true feelings for sage to be blinded?
she was pretty, she always was.
i remember when i was finally turning a teenager, and let's face it...my mind was going to different if you know what i mean.
sage used to always be the one i fantasized about. her eyes, her mouth, her body. everything about her was absolutely perfect.
i felt myself getting that familiar tingling feeling in my stomach...dang it.
i tried to push it off as a curled back up into her chest.
i didn't realize i had fallen asleep as well, until it started sprinkling outside.
i opened my eyes, seeing the moon was already out. i look in front of me to see sage, water drops from the rain slowly running down her face. she was still asleep though.
i got up, trying not to wake sage up. i picked her up as gently as i could and started to carry her inside.
before i made it to the door, it's started pouring. i looked back down at sage to see her eyes were slowly starting to flutter open.
"mhm, tom?" she spoke quietly in her sleepy voice.
"go back to sleep, darling..." i responded as we finally got inside. she gave the faintest nod as she tried to snuggle up in my arms.
i carried sage to her bedroom, laying her down on the soft bed. the moment she hit the surface, she clenched onto the covers and pulled them closer to her.
i took the soft blanket at the end of the bed, gently laying it on top of her body.
i have a quick glance over to her body, then quickly turned away to leave the room.
before i made it to the door, i heard her faint voice call out my name.
"tom?"
"yes, darling?" i asked in the same tone as i walked back over to her.
"stay,"