Somebody That I Used To Know

Good Man

This chapter gets kind of heavy.

Also, Tom uses the word f-king in front of a name, he's not meaning like... you know. I figured that I should clarify because when it's used it is a very serious topic of conversation about assult and that word in that context could be taken in very poor taste.

Some trigger warnings may apply.

"Hello?" Tom says, answering the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Hiddleston, this is Officer Avers."

"What can I do for you? Is everything alright?"

"Um... Matthew West has escaped."

Tom's face drops. "W-what?"

"Thomas?" Molly says. "What is it?"

"I wasn't on duty when it happened, they called me in. We're sending guards to your house, two for the front, two for the back, two for each side of the house. If you'd like, we can send more for inside the house or the garage. Are you home?"

"Y-yes."

"And Molly and Lillian? What about them, are they home?"

"We're all home, sir."

"It needs to stay that way. We're on our way right now. If you need groceries or to pick something up, we'll do it for you. Nothing will be delivered to this home and you have to stay inside."

"What?"

"Mr. Hiddleston, this is a very dangerous situation. We don't know what Mr. West is planning to do and we don't want anyone to get hurt. Until he's found, you have to stay inside."

"What about the backyard? I have a 5 year old, Officer, we can't be stuck inside."

"You can go outside on your property with a guard."

"This is insane." Tom snaps. "What if you don't find him for two months?"

"After a week, you will be allowed out of the house with supervision. This is court ordered."

"You're putting the victim under house arrest?"

"It's for your safety. I understand that this isn't ideal but it will save you and your family a lot of trouble. Our job is to protect you and that's not happening if you can't stay inside. I'm very sorry about this, I know this isn't something that you want to hear. We'll be there soon. If you need anything in the meantime, please don't be hesitant to call. Have a good day."

Tom holds the phone in his hand, mouth gaped.

"Thomas?" Molly says. 

"Matt... escaped." he says.

"What?"

"We can't leave the house for a week and if we do after the fact, we need a collection of guards to follow us around."

"I..."

"What did I do?" Tom snaps. "I mean, what in the world could I have possibly done that deserved Matt in the form of karma."

"You didn't do anything wrong. He's just a horrible person."

"But why me? Why my family? You worry about me, my mum worries about me, everyone in my life just can't think about me without worrying. I mean what was possibly that bad that I did?"

"Nothing. You know that this isn't your fault."

"Well it keeps happening to me. First I figured, this is just bad luck and it's what I get for being a celebrity. Then... I mean we have this deal and he escapes custody after being released the first time. Don't you think that if you were released from prison, you wouldn't do something that would result in you getting sent back?'

"Tom, honey, you just have had really bad experiences. You're a good person, you didn't cause this."

"I... I... I'm good to you and Lils, I'm a good son and brother, I'm not an arse, I have my flaws but I've never flown off the handle, I haven't hurt anyone... I... I think that I'm a good person."

"You're an amazing person."

"So why does this keep happening to me? I don't understand it, Molly, I just want it to be stop. I just want to know what I did to deserve this."

Molly feels her heart sink. She holds her husband in her arms and softly rocks back and forth. "You didn't do anything wrong, you're such a good person, baby."

Tom rips from her arms and stands up. He unbuttons his shirt and tosses it onto the dresser. He turns around, his back facing Molly. Small lines litter his back, the scars aren't too bad but they're noticable. On the left side of his lower back, next to the spine, is a large, raised circular scar. "Do you know that I will never be allowed to be shirtless in a movie again? That's not something I strive for, I prefer not... but look at this. Lily has asked me "Daddy, why does your back look like that?" while we've been playing outside in the sprinkler. Keep in mind, I had a white shirt on, it was noticeable through the material. The scars on my arms were caused by me, but they have to use CGI to remove them because I don't play a lunatic-"

"Thomas-"

"No, I'm not done, I have more to say. My back teeth are damaged and I'll need dentures when I'm older because I forced myself to throw up and the acid has ruined them. Most men sit there and fantasize about their wives, they can't wait to come home to them... well it took a year for that to happen and at most, we do it 4 times a year. I was so miserable and thought that you hated me so much that I took a bottle of asprin to try and kill myself. Aspirin. I should've used. I should've used a fucking gun, it would've done the job right. I can't even kill myself, Molly, how pathetic is that?"

"Stop." Molly says. "You have a great life, you are so lucky that you survived. Are you having thoughts again?"

"No, no, I'm not, but I don't forget them. I understand Matt but fucking Rachel? Rachel. She was a tiny little thing and how the fuck did I let that happen?"

"There was nothing you could do, honey. You can't be embarrassed about that."

"You don't know what it's like. You can't just say that I shouldn't be embarrassed and that's that, it doesn't work that way."

"Tom, honey, please stop. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I know that I didn't, Molly, I'm aware of that. I know that I did nothing wrong and yet I've gone through so much humiliation that I want to have done something horrible that can justify what's happening to me. I don't understand why it's me, I just don't. I've never done anything remotely similar to deserve what's happened to me. It just... I just want to know why."

Molly puts her hand on Tom's face and softly smiles to try and make him feel better. "I love you so much. Bad things happen to good people and... I guess horrible things happen to amazing people. There's nothing we can do to take it all back so the only solution is to move forward and hope that everything will be okay. Put your shirt back on, honey, and why don't you try to lie down? I'll rub your back for you some more, okay?"

Tom slowly nods and grabs the cotton shirt, climbing onto the bed. He clutches a pillow and Molly sits down next to him, pouring lavender lotion into her hands to make the massage feel better.

"You're a good man, honey." she says. "Never forget that."