20 TPN STORIES IN 20 DAYS CHALLENGE

Day 16 - Helping Hand

[Submitted by @K0r0shi_qwq]

Generally speaking, we could all agree that Grace Field's spectacular escape had changed a lot of lives... The escapees obviously had the opportunity to save their own skins while trying to change the world, the demons had a topic of conversation among the people, and the higher-ups and farm leaders had monumental pressure on their shoulders. Isabella was enjoying her captivity with a big weight off her conscience, she was much more at peace with herself now that her beloved children were all escaped and almost safe... Well, almost all of them... the 4 year olds and under hadn't had a chance to escape, and other than Phil, none of them had any idea what had become of their family in that fire... And then there was Tom.

Tom wasn't particularly smart, he wasn't a learner and didn't have the faculties that Phil or to a lesser extent Sherry had, but he was someone with very developed instincts, in the game of tag he often teamed up with Chris because together they made a good pair that managed to survive longer than other kids their age, they even managed to win by hiding for a whole game, this shocked Norman who thought he had won by having caught Emma last. He was able to pick up on everyone's behaviors with ease... Isabella even hesitated to recommend him to HQ when he would've reached his peak. Tom had noticed that Phil's mental state was deteriorating day by day and he had finally taken him to task in a corner, and Phil had snapped. They shared the secret of this cursed house now, but that meant that Phil's mental fragility would also become Tom's burden...

It had particularly hurt when Tom had come to the conclusion that Chris had abandoned him, he was inconsolable. Since this first crisis, Tom began to study relentlessly, day after day he read every book in the library and he metamorphosed into a new version of Ray, he had also considered the latter as a model to follow, His addiction to knowledge had even come at the expense of his health as he began to pull all-nighters to study on the sly... Naturally his grades soared, within three months he was at Sherry's level and in five of Phil's... But he was aiming for the perfect score, he wouldn't take any action to help his family before that!

But the price he had to pay was becoming too heavy, the more he understood the hell he was born into, the less he accepted it and the more he closed himself off, the knowledge he shared with Phil at first, he now kept secret because he felt Phil was responsible with Emma for the decision to leave them in this shithole. The two of them had become cold to each other... And Nina had seen it, Nina didn't really have a connection with either boy but she watched Tom and she could see that something was wrong so she started to comfort him whenever he needed it. He appreciated her help immensely, and in retrospect he felt that it was what had kept him going rather than breaking down. So he had told her the secret of Grace Field, she deserved his trust and affection while he didn't deserve much, so he was grateful to her.

The years had passed and they had stayed together, they were now 6 and 7 years old and enjoying their new life, Phil and Tom had reconciled: Phil had apologized for not taking everyone's opinion into account but pointing out that it was not the most reasonable idea and Tommy recognized that his reaction was disproportionate.

Their life was simple now, Tommy had his besties back and with them and Nina they did whatever they wanted, it was the perfect life and they hoped it would last as long as possible.