Caught Red Handed

Chapter Twenty-Seven, "He Slipped"

Tom's Perspective

Once we pulled up onto the curb and parked, I helped carry the groceries inside. I had noticed that Tord had come back from his work and left his door half-open, but I didn't really care. I began sorting through our groceries and putting away all of the cold products like the freshly bought milk and bacon. Edd helped by putting away the snacks and such, while Matt focused on finishing the dishes he had abandoned earlier. It was his turn to do the community dishes, and he had always been one to lag behind on chores. All of us do sometimes, but we usually get it done in our own time. As I was rearranging our fridge-space to accommodate the eggs we had just bought, I was startled by an accented voice behind me. "Did you get any of the stuff I asked for?" He asked and I pulled out the list from my pocket. At the top, it indeed said "Tord's cooking week list". Oh, I completely forgot that this week Tord had offered to cook for us.

"Yeah, I got everything on the list." I told him before cramming the small paper back into my pocket. I then placed the last of the groceries in the fridge and closed it, looking up at the Commie looming over me. He offered his hand, but I refused and stood up on my own. I don't trust him worth anything. "You should come up onto the roof after dinner. It's nice up there." He suggested and stared at me with his cold dead pupils. I stared back him with a suspicious expression and crossed my arms. "Why should I? Are you going to push me off or something?" I asked while keeping my defensive posture. Tord shrugged and glanced away. "I just think you'd like it. Seeing the night sky. It's very clear tonight." He told me and turned away from me, facing the direction of his room. "Well bye." He said plainly and walked back to his room. That was a very weird encounter to say the least. "You should join him. Maybe he wants to get closer to you?" Edd guessed as he ate out of the new ruffled lays bag. He then fed me one once he knew I was watching him eat.

"I don't know about that Edd, he's probably just trying to lure me out of the house so that he can do something stupid and nefarious." I said dismissively and walked to my room. I've spent a lot of time around other people, I think I'll hang out in my room and listen to music. So, for the next hour at least I relaxed in bed and listened to my favorite music with my eyes closed. I almost fell asleep a few times, but I caught myself. After a while, I got tired of resting my eyes and smiled when Ringo hopped up onto my bed. "Oh hi Ringo.. It's nice to see you." I said politely and watched as Ringo laid down on my chest. I slowly stroked the friendly feline and sighed tiredly. Today's been a calming, fairly uneventful day. I've enjoyed it as far as I can tell. Ringo and I bonded for a few minutes before he wandered over to the foot of my bed, curling up for a nap. I took out my earbuds and stopped my music, sitting up.

I had the ridiculous revelation that I had forgotten my beautiful Susan in the living room, so I slinked out of my dark room into the abandoned room. I glanced around and picked up my sweet guitar, distracted by the noises and scents coming from the kitchen. I peeked my head into the kitchen to see Tord cooking a delicious tomato soup with some chopped fish dish being baked in the oven. I drooled at the sight, but I wouldn't let Tord know that I wanted his cooking. I watched as he slowly stirred his soup and added more salt before tasting it. "Yeah, that's enough." He muttered to himself before leaving the soup to settle. He then took out the cheese block he had requested, pulling out a plate and knife as well. He then cut up the cheese into thin slices, laying them out like a platter. He's really good at cooking for someone who never cooks for us, I guess he's just too busy with his own activities.

He then spread out crackers on the plate in a similar fashion before taking out a different type of cheese and repeating the action. He began prepping the table, setting the cheese platter in the center and putting dishes out on the table with bowls on them like a restaurant would. He added the correct silverware on either side of each dish and momentarily paused to stir his soup. After setting the table, he took out the rolls Edd had probably bought for him and set them out in the bread basket we usually used for bagels. It was conveniently empty because of Matt constantly eating the bagels as a snack. Once Tord had set the table the way he liked, he poured out the still warm soup into each bowl and checked on the fish, which smelled delectable as soon as he opened up the oven. He carefully pulled out the tray with our shared oven mitts, setting the very hot tray onto the stovetop.

He checked on the consistency of the fish before trying a small piece. It's not the first time I've seen him down something right out of the oven, but I most often saw him eat toast as soon as it was toasted. What a strange Norski. Tord carefully removed each bowl from their plates and set them beside their respective dishes, plating the fish with a sauce he had seemingly bought. He then proceeded to put the remaining tomato soup in a small plastic and set it in the fridge for later. I froze in place when he suddenly turned and made direct eye contact with me. "You're not very sneaky you know. Come on, you can have your first dibs." He said with a toothy grin and I tried to act cool, scoffing and sitting down. I was really amazed at how well he had done everything. Tord sat across from me and waited for me to take two rolls and consume one before calling the others to ravenously consume their food.

After having a delicious meal and Tord getting complimented many times for the meal, I cleaned off my dishes and contemplated whether or not to go up to the roof like Tord had requested. I felt uneasy that the idea, but I really don't have anything to lose other than my life. Not a big deal. I went against my better judgement to lay in bed and let the deliciousness settle in my stomach all night, instead climbing up the ladder at the back of the house and finding a good section to lay on the roof. I ended up on top of one of the two window outlines with the shingles, laying with my legs on either side while I stared up at the sky. It was silent for a few minutes, very peaceful and beautiful. "Tch- that doesn't look comfortable at all. Come on Thomas, up you go." He said like a parent and pulled me up next to him. I very carefully got my footing and watched as he laid down on the parting between the two sides of the roof.

I rolled my eyes and copied him a bit further away. "No- come here stupid-." He muttered and pulled me up into his lap. I squirmed and tried to get off of him, which resulted in me almost slipping and falling off of the roof. Luckily, Tord was holding me very tightly. "Just stay still, calm down." He instructed me and helped me get semi-comfortable in his arms. I was still grossed out about being in the Norwegian's arms, but at least he wasn't holding a knife to my throat. I laid back as he laid flat against the roof, relaxing slightly. "Aren't the star's beautiful?" He asked quietly and I gazed up at the twinkling starlight. "Yeah." I whispered in response and shifted slightly so that I could look up at him. "Why did you bring me up here?" I asked confused and Tord looked at me with a hollow, emotionless look in his eyes. "I needed to wake you up. I'll tell them it was an accident, I promise." He whispered close to my ear. I shuddered, and before my brain could fully process what he had told me, I was aggressively yanked up by my neck and tossed off of the building. Though I may have had a chance of surviving in some alternate timeline, I had landed on my head and my neck had snapped in an instant. My body became paralyzed as I screamed out in pain, all of me feeling an unbearable sensation of impending death. My brain began to shut down and filter out all of my senses, until the last thing I felt at all was hearing a distant yelling.