Always You [Tom Riddle]

sixteen

It was saturday and a big day for Tom. He released a new painting. The owner of the art gallery invited him to the openings. Of course he would come and of course Juliette would be there too.

At the gallery, Tom was mostly preoccupied by his fellow painters and fans of his work. And it was fine for Juliette.

Juliette strolled around the gallery. She looke over to the paintings that hung on the walls. She never really understoond painting and the meanings behind it. But she enjoyed art anyway.

She went back to the hall where Tom was at. She wanted to be near him again. When she entered the hall, Evelyn was there. She was standing beside him. Juliette saw how he looked at her. He never took his eyes off of her. She wanted to cry but she couldn't. She wanted to scream but she wouldn't. So she pretended like her heart was fine. The truth was she's not fine.

She stepped closer to them. She tried to be tough. This wasn't the right time or the right place to make a scene. She didn't want to embarrass Tom or herself.

When she was behind Tom, she touched his arms. He looked back and found Juliette. He put an arm on her shoulders. And Evelyn was still there too. Still talking with Tom, and with Juliette a couple of times.

It was over so they went back to their cabin. She avoided Tom everytime he wanted to get near. She was quiet.

He knew something was wrong so he asked her what happened. She lied and says everything was fine. Nothing to worry about. But tom knew her. He knew there was something. So he forced her to talk. She was slipping away from him, and he won't let it go further.

"I saw the way you look at her."

Tom was confused. "Like what?"

"Tom, if you're bored with me, tell me. Don't play behind my back."

At that, he was mad. He didn't play behind her back. He didn't do anything wrong. He loved her and it would never change. "What do you mean? I didn't play behind your back. Why would i?"

Juliette couldn't hold back the tears. She finally cried after holding the tears back for the whole day. "Tom, i tried, okay? I knew i'm busy. Maybe you were right. I was wrong. But i tried to talk to you, just like you always wanted. But whenever i tried to talk about our relationship, something always came up. You slipped away and i can feel you fading away. I can feel you catch feelings for Evelyn."

Her words made him angry. But mostly hurt. How could she say that to him? Didn't she understand that he loved her? "Is this about Evelyn? Fuck her. I told you she was one of my buyers. Why didn't you believe me?"

"I wanted to, Tom. But you never looked at me the same ever since she came. What? You having second thoughts now?" Juliette screamed. She never screamed before. And it felt wrong.

She expected Tom to scream back at her. She was ready. But she was shocked when he lowered his voice and tears filled his eyes. "Don't make me the villain here, Juliette. You don't trust me so how could you make this relationship works? Relationship is built on trust. So if you can't trust me, you can't make it work. It doesn't matter, does it? Every word that come out from my mouth is a lie to you. You don't trust me, Juliette. So how can i convince you that i love you, it's always you."

To her surprise, he cried harder each time. He was hurt. He was angry. But he didn't want to yell at her. He didn't want to scream. He loved her too much to snapped at her.

She couldn't hold back her tears. She realized how wrong she was. She realized she might just ended their relationship instead of fixing it. She just hurt the one person who loved her to death. She couldn't even look at Tom.

She ran and left Tom alone in the cabin. Tom tried to stop her, he tried to call her name, but she didn't look back. She ran and ran until her feet ached.

Juliette ended up at Blaise's home. She needed someone to talk to. He was surprised to find her at his doorstep crying. He let her in and served her hot tea. He sat in front of her, didn't say anything, just look at her deep.

She wiped her tears away. "Is Thea home?"

He shook his head. "She's out with her friends. What's wrong Juliette?"

She took a deep breath. Whenever she tried to speak, the urge to cry came back. She was finally able to told Blaise everything, even when her voice breaks and tears are rolling down her cheeks.

Blaise hold her close and tried to embrace her. He knew what she did was wrong. But he still felt terrible for her. She was his best friend. He loved her more than anything.

She was much calmer this time. "I guess i'm just afraid that what happened between me and Terence, will happen again between me and Tom."

Blaise sighed. "It was years ago. You need to let go of the past. You need to forgive your past. Tom is not Higgs. Open your eyes, Juliette."

She nodded. "I know. I feel terrible now. He loves me so much and i accused him of something that he would never do. Blaise, what if he doesn't want to forgive me?"

"You need to talk to him. Figure things out."

Juliette knew Blaise was right. Tom was not Higgs. He was different. She was a bet for Higgs. But certainly not for Tom. Tom loved her. He cherished her. He was always there for her even when things get tough. He never left. Never even think about it.  Even when he was angry, he didn't raise his voice on her. He could be vulnerable with her. He could cry in front of her. He trusted her. So why does it hard for her to do the same?

Blaise was right. It was years ago. She needed to let that go. She needed to forgive the past if she wants to build the future.

She remember his words. Fuck him. You're worth more than just a fucking bet, Juliette. He was a bastard, forget about it. You're worthy of someone far better than him. Don't ever let him get into your head. Don't let him ruin your life. You're worth it. You're worth to me. He said that to her in the astronomy tower.

She won't let anyone ruin her life, her relationship. She would let go of the past and hold on to the future.

♡