Lonely

Boundaries / Chapter XI

NARRATION'S SHIFT BACK TO VALERIE

It was nice to see Tom again. I wonder, when will I accept his kindness as just that - kindness and not some sort of elaborate scheme, where he wants something in return. Trust issues - courtesy of my father. I sighed and looked at the clock, it was near 10am, so breakfast was ending soon. I put the blue sweater on along with some distressed black jeans and made my way downstairs. At first I wanted to grab Will from upstairs, but then I remembered he never told me his room, so I hoped to find him downstairs and I did.

"Hello, beautiful. What a gorgeous jumper! The colour looks so good on you." Will gave me a quick hug.

"Why, thank you, you flirt. Tom gave it to me." I smiled, blushing slightly.

"Keeping you warm, how cute." Will said mockingly and I gave him a nudge for it. "Ouch!"

"It didn't hurt, shut up." I chuckled and we went into the canteen. I felt better than yesterday, so I decided to grab some food I usually enjoyed. I grabbed two croissants: one with hazelnut filling, for dessert and one with eggs and bacon. I poured two cups of coffee and brought it to our table.

"Thank you for the caffeine, milady. Nothing I need more in this moment." said Will dramatically, attempting to bow. I chuckled and started eating.

"Coffee is nothing compared to how you took care of me yesterday, it really meant a lot and really helped." I said with a soft smile.

"You'd do the same thing, don't mention it." He responded with his mouth full.

"Yeah, maybe, but still. Thanks, dude." I took two big sips of my coffee. It was nothing compared to the coffee I've had with Tom on the other side of the street the other day, but it had to do for now.

"I wanted to ask you! How did that meeting go today?" He asked excitedly. I looked at him confused, a meeting? Did he mean Tom?

"What meeting? I mean Tom was only there for like 10 minutes maybe, hard to call it a meeting-" Will interrupted.

"Noo, Val. The girl! She came in earlier today and asked for you so I told her your room number, she wanted it to be a surprise. Honestly, that's why I thought you were so late for breakfast." I felt blood leaving my face and I instantly stopped enjoying the food.

"She never got to me...did she give you a name?" I asked quietly.

"Yeaaa...? It was Tamara..." Will said carefully, observing my reaction. I must have looked terrifying, because he immediately started explaining himself. "I-I'm sorry if I was not supposed to tell her, truly, Valerie." I slowly nodded and took a deep breath.

"No, no, Will, it's okay, you didn't know. It's okay."

"I'm really sorry." He looked at me with worry. "I know you might not want to now, but if you'd ever need or want to talk about her, I'm here."

"Thank you and really, don't worry, it's okay. I'll just tell at the reception not to let her in, in case she comes back. I wonder why she never made it to my room though..." I think out loud, taking a bite of my croissant.

"No clue." said Will, sipping his coffee. We finished breakfast in silence, I was too busy thinking about Tamara and Will I guess did not know what to say. "Want me to come with you to the reception?"

"That'd be great, honestly." I said with a grateful smile, standing up and putting our trays on top of each other to then move them to the edge of the table. Once we were at the reception, I rung the bell to call the nurse.

"Hello, darling, what is the matter?" Alice opened the door to the nurses' room and walked towards us.

"Hi, I heard that someone was here to visit me and I just wanted to ask you not to let the girl named Tamara here, if that's not too much trouble." I asked politely.

"You sound just like your uncle, dear." Alice chuckled. "Don't you worry about it, he already sorted it out." I raised my brows, confused.

"Pardon? Who sorted what exactly?"

"Your uncle - Tom." I guess my expression has not changed, so the nurse continued. "He made sure she found her way out quicker than she arrived and requested that she's not to be allowed in. He also asked to be informed about any future visitors of yours." I opened my mouth, not knowing what to say.

"Uh..." I closed my mouth and looked at Will. He was as stunned as I was. I shook my head as if to wake me up from the hypnosis. "Sorry, could you please call my uncle and let me speak with him?"

"Of course, of course. There you go." Alice handed me the hospital's cellphone and gestured towards the entrance, so I could have some privacy. I excused myself to Alice and Will and went outside.

"Tom Hiddleston speaking, hello?" I heard his 'business' voice on the other end.

"Hi! Hi, it's Valerie." I said quickly, somehow nervous. I wasn't a fan of talking on the phone.

"Oh, hello, it's so good to hear you. Is everything alright?" Tom asked with worry in his tone.

"Yes! I mean...I know we've just seen each other, but I had the weirdest conversation with Will and then I talked to Alice and I guess I just need to hear from the source." I explained hectically.

"Of course, anything. What's up?"

"Tamara. Was she here today?" I blurted out.

"Ah...yes. She tried visiting you, but I bumped into her and persuaded her to leave." He said, calmly.

"She never got to my room, thankfully, but how did you know it was her?"

"She mentioned she was visiting you and that I knew you, so I connected the dots. I asked Alice not to let her in ever again, I hope I didn't overstep." 'Overstep?? You stopped a hurricane from destroying my, however frail, wellbeing!' I thought.

"No, it's...actually very thoughtful. Thank you. That clears it up." I sigh. "I'm really glad I didn't see her. The other thing though..." I took a deep breath, scared that I'm making a mistake. I felt I shouldn't say anything, I shouldn't complain, but it just didn't sit right with me.

"Yes?" Tom encouraged, with warmth in his voice.

"I...I don't want to sound rude or ungrateful, because truly the care you've given me is something I will never be able to repay, but...I don't think I...I don't really feel comfortable with your request to know about my guests. Not that I am expecting anyone, but it felt just a bit..." Tom interrupted me.

"Too much, I agree. I got carried away, Valerie, I'm sorry. You don't need to worry, I'll fix it with Alice. Please, don't ever feel like you owe me anything or that you cannot tell me that something is wrong. You can always tell me. I am not expecting anything of you. Please, don't ever feel that way, there's no repayment to be made. And always tell me when I'm out of line or when I'm disrespecting your boundaries. Okay? Can we verbally shake our hands on this?" I could feel my eyes well up and I made a mental note to mention this to Catherine, because that ain't normal.

"Yes...yes, of course. Of course." I half whispered. "Thank you."

"It's okay. I hate to go, but I really do have to, I'm rushing to a rehearsal, is it okay if I call you back later?"

"Don't worry, it's fine, thank you for clearing things up."

"Bye, Valerie, take care, please." He said and the line disconnected.