Thomas Hewitt: End Of The Line

Falling Man

⚠️Warnings: Gore, language, and naturally Hoyt. ⚠️

Thomas found little comfort in the basement. As the minutes turned into hours he began to accept the fact that she had made it out and she was gone. He knew what he had done was bound to cause problems once the rest of the family figured it out. The temper tantrum Hoyt would inevitably throw did leave him somewhat uneasy, but what worried him most was the disappointment Mama would most definitely feel. He could tell she had grown just as fond of her as he had.

He heard the front door open upstairs and listened for footsteps. They were light and gentle, he could tell it was Mama. He braced himself as he heard her walk from room to room. Without a doubt she was looking for Ronnie. He knew he needed to go to her. He slowly made his way up the stairs and pushed that damn door open to see her standing in front of it waiting for him. She had confusion written all over her, but the longer she looked up at him she began to realize.

"Thomas," she said as fear slowly crept into her eyes, "what have you done?"

He hung his head as she started to panic. The combination of fear that Ronnie would run to the authorities or that Hoyt would murder her youngest son reduced her to tears. He had no time to offer her any comfort before they heard tires on the gravel outside. Mama looked to the door with wide eyes as Hoyt made his way to the house.

"He'll kill you," she whispered before she turned back to him, "you go on downstairs. I'll handle him."

Thomas looked up at her stubbornly. He wasn't going to let her deal with the consequences of the mess he'd made. Mama started to protest, but she was cut short when Hoyt kicked the door open. He was dragging a man by the hair. At least that would keep him distracted for the time being.

"Mama, why don't you get the table set. We've got a guest," Hoyt said before he turned to Thomas.

He already knew. That look in Hoyt's eye was devilish. He knew what Thomas had done and Thomas knew Ronnie hadn't achieved the freedom she so wanted. He should never have let her leave. He held his breath and prepared himself for the worst.

"That damn wife of yours is in the car. You oughta go get her," he muttered as he pulled on the man's hair harder, "wake her up while you're at it. Wouldn't want her to miss this."

Thomas felt some relief that she was at the very least alive. He wasted no time in making his way towards the door to get to her.

"Oh and boy," Hoyt said over the screams of his captive, "I don't know what game you're playin', but you let her go again, I ain't bringin' her back alive."

Thomas knew he meant it too. He didn't dare challenge him on that. He silently made his way past the two men and out the front door. The cop car was parked with the back door wide open, but when he approached it he didn't find her there. In fact, she wasn't in the front seat either. Before he could turn back to the house he heard the sound of muffled sobs coming from the trunk. He walked around and opened it to find Ronnie curled up with her tear stained face pressed against the floor. His brow furrowed in sympathy when he saw the angry looking bruise that was beginning to form where Hoyt had hit her. She weakly lifted her head to look up at him. She didn't speak. Once she saw it was Thomas looking down at her she laid her head back down in defeat. He knelt down to pick her up and she let him. She rested her head against his chest to dry her tears on the cloth of his shirt.

"I'm gonna die here, aren't I," she whispered.

"No," he said in that gruff voice.

She looked up at him to see he was staring straight ahead at that house. His blue eyes had anger in them, a rage that was not directed at her. She could tell he didn't want to bring her back there, that he was truly on her side, but he didn't have a choice. He had been put in a position just as impossible as she had, only these people, that man, they were his family. Yet, he chose to protect her and she knew she could trust that he would continue to do so. Something about those eyes of his had confirmed that.