Unscripted Love • A Tom Hardy fanfic

Chapter 69

[ In previous chapters I wrote Fiona as writing music, but I changed it to just general writing ]

When Fiona arrived to work the next morning, she mentally thanked Mike for not saying anything about the latest gossip. Since he worked most of the day in his office, Fiona was able to focus entirely on Megan and Mariah instead of waiting every second for the moment he would bring up the elephant.

The long drive home was tiring, but Fiona found herself consumed with thoughts in her head. This time none of them were about Tom. She had thought of a new story line, not a romance like her last story but something darker. As she drove she fantasized about the main character and what his strengths would be but knew it would mostly be focused on his flaws. He would be an emotionally wounded man with a dark secretive past, she wasn't sure what his past would be like but she liked the mysteriousness of him.

When she got home she powered on her computer for the first time in a long while and opened a blank word document. Just as she began typing Tom's name popped up in the lower right hand corner, notifying her that he had signed on to Skype. She forgot she was automatically connected when she turned her computer on. She opened the application and logged out before he could message her.

Words sprouted from her fingertips as she furiously typed the story from her mind. Line after line came together effortlessly and within a few hours she had written four long chapters about a man named James Delaney. Feeling proud, but also looking for feedback from fellow writers, she nervously uploaded her work to Wattpad and awaited for someone to stumble across it.

. . . . .

Fiona's phone, next to Tom on the bed, vibrated when she received a star on her story. Tom clicked the notification and launched the app which opened up directly on Chapter 1. He knew she would be mad if she found out he read it, but he continued anyway.

His heart ached knowing that she had been just on the other side of the screen. Would this be how the new normal, him lurking a website for her posts without actually having her in his life?

He fought back tears that constantly teetered on the edge of his bottom eye lids, warping his vision. Wiping them with the back of his hand, he focused on the story in front of him. After 20 minutes, he found himself absentmindedly clicking for the next page that never came. Tom forgot that it was Fiona's work and not a fully completed story.

Turning off the light, Tom curled up with Woody on the large bed. Fiona's pillow smelled of laundry detergent instead of her, but he pretended it didn't as he hugged it tightly against his chest. In the dark of the empty house, Tom thought more about the story and wondered how the rest of it would pan out for James Delaney. Then wondered how the rest of it would turn out for him which left him wide awake feeling alone in the large house.

. . . . .

Rolling over to find the early morning sun shining into her eyes through the small rectangular windows, she was reminded of her shattered broken heart. Instead of the wooded forest out large glass windows, she saw stubs of the trees that grew in the front yard through a dirty screen. She stretched out on the bed, her fingers fell flat on the sheets instead resting on top of Tom's shirtless chest. Rolling onto her stomach she buried her face in her pillow and sobbed.

Her bedside table vibrated just before the music of her ringtone began to play. Lifting her head from the tear spotted pillow she grabbed the phone and pulled it toward her.

Seeing Tom's name flash on the screen made her body shake. She felt relief that he called, yet furious at the same time. Her stomach churned like she was about to vomit, but she accepted the call anyway.

"Hi," she muttered into the phone.

"Hi," Tom copied, he was caught off guard that she actually answered his call and hadn't actually had anything planned. "Fiona, please come home."

"I am home," she sat up in her bed and turned off her alarm clock before it chimed. She surely wasn't going to be falling back to sleep now.

"No. You know what I mean, home, here with me," Tom said as he let the dog back in from doing his business. "And Woody. We both miss you."

"Well, I do feel awful leaving Woody," she said quietly. She had been with him practically every day since Tom brought him home.

Tom began to do Woody's voice through the phone, "I need my mum. Pwease come back."

"Sorry Woody, I really wish I could," she played along. "But your dad fucked it all up."

"Fiona," Tom said in his regular voice again. "I know I did, I saw how it all looked and I'm definitely at fault here but I love you."

"Then why did you..." she couldn't even bring herself to say what she already knew. Tears streamed down her face harder than before.

"Nothing happened between us, we really are just friends," Tom tried to explain. "Come home so I can see you. Please."

"I have work today," she said flatly.

"Come after," Tom begged, his hand was squeezing the phone that he thought it might crumble to pieces any second.

"I can't."

"Yes you can, why can't you?" He pushed, hoping she'd give in.

"Because if I see you, I'll forgive you," she admitted.

"Good, good, that's good, isn't it?" Tom stood in the hallway, while Woody sat patiently at his feet waiting for his breakfast.

"No it's not. I don't want to forgive you. I look like a fucking idiot, you know that? You embarrassed me. You left me looking stupid."

"I know I did, fuck, I know. It's all over everywhere, how much of a little shit I am. But Fiona, I didn't cheat on you."

"Oh my god, you're sticking to that, huh?" She laughed loudly. She wasn't feeling sad anymore, instead she was furious and genuinely amused. "Ok, ok, let's say you didn't sleep with her..."

"I didn't."

"Right, right," she laughed while she got dressed. "You did, however, fondle and flirt profusely with her in private, right?... Oh no, I forgot, it was in a very public place with cameras and media everywhere. Not hurtful at all."

"No, I know it was hurtful. I have no idea what I was thinking. I'm an ass and I'm really sorry. Please come home so I can make it up to you," Tom begged.

Fiona sat down on the bed. She wanted badly to forgive him, to go back to loving him but every time she saw his face she saw Jessica's too.

"No. I really want to, I do, but I can't get past this."

"I'm not giving up on us," Tom stated, his mind wandered to grand gestures like playing their song outside her mom's house, or writing his apology on large cards.

"Well, you may have to," Fiona shrugged. "Anyway I have a long drive ahead of me now."

"I love you, Fiona. I'll do anything you need me to do to make this better."

"I need you to go back in time and not break my heart. Unless you can do that, I really have nothing else to say," she paused. "I have to go though."

"Ok, ok. I really fucked this up, huh?"

"Yeah. You really did," she said before hanging up.