Thomas Hewitt: End Of The Line

Nothing Else Matters

Warnings: Violence

We're gonna make it Tommy, we have to.

How precious, Hoyt thought to himself from the porch. He had seen them from the window and not a word had slipped past his finely tuned ears. He had briefly contemplated breaking the door down and squeezing the life out of her right then and there, but he withheld himself. He was glad he did, if he hadn't he wouldn't have uncovered such a useful secret. She was pregnant. It seemed there would be an end to her reign after all. She'd be too weak to survive childbirth, he would make sure of that. He wouldn't be the direct cause of her demise, but his hand would be in it, he could content himself with that. He smiled to himself as he listened their scheme. He found it quite amusing that they were naive enough to picture a world in which they could live without him, to think he'd let them go. Ungrateful is what they were. He was the only reason that Thomas had managed to touch a woman, he'd brought her there in first place. He'd brought them together, albeit against his will, but without him they wouldn't have existed. Perhaps they needed a reminder. If they wanted to be together so bad, then so be it. They'd be together, but first, he wanted to see them do it. He wanted to see them try and run from him.

They waited until long after nightfall to make their attempt. Ronnie hadn't even tried to sleep, she knew it wouldn't be any use trying. As Thomas held her she lay wide awake, terrified, though she couldn't quite explain why her fear was worse than it had ever been. He was finally on her side, he was going with her. He had protected her well enough before and it wasn't that she doubted him, but she knew what they were up against. If one wrong move was made and they were caught, she wasn't so sure Hoyt would hesitate to pull the trigger this time. Her insides twisted and turned as the time drew closer. Freedom was alluring, but failure would result in a heavy price. She savored each breath she took as the seconds ticked by, she held Thomas' arms a little tighter when she felt him stir, because she would have been lying if she said part of her didn't think these may very well be her last minutes. Even the sound of his breath in her ear seemed more precious than ever. She felt him tighten his hold on her waist and pull her into him as if he'd heard her thoughts. Ronnie turned her head and found his eyes were open. He'd been watching her for quite some time, he knew she couldn't sleep, neither could he. He didn't want to. He was just as frightened as she was that this would be it, that they were walking into a death trap. He didn't want to close his eyes, he didn't want to waste a single second on sleep in case he was correct in his own fears. He had hoped the night would pass slower so that he could have her in his arms just a little while longer, but the house was silent. His family had gone to bed and it was time.

"I'm scared, Thomas," Ronnie admitted into the darkness.

Just hearing her say that out loud frightened him to the core. Ronnie had always been the strong one, whether she knew it or not. For her to admit weakness only confirmed that leaving that house really was life or death. He leaned in and pressed his forehead to her's, he took a deep breath and hugged her as tight as her growing body would allow. He wouldn't lose her again, he wouldn't lose either of them, he would be damned if he did. She nodded her head against his and they stood.

The house seemed darker than it usually did. Each step they took had to be steady and inaudible. She had pictured that night over and over again, memorized every crack in the old floorboards, knew exactly where to place her feet, yet her sense of direction seemed to have abandoned her as they moved. She watched Thomas open the bedroom door and the sound of her heart rate quickened to an uneasy and unsteady beat. It was so loud in her own ears she feared the devil would surely hear it in his room below. She found herself frozen in place when Thomas motioned for her to follow. Her eyes were wide and she didn't understand why every part of her body screamed for her to stay put, but he had promised himself he'd be her strength. He reached his hand out for her's and helped her take those first few steps. She shook as she held onto him as tightly as she could while he guided her to the top of the stairs. If they could make it down without interruption, she could breathe, at least that's what Ronnie told herself. It felt like such a long time to hold it, the staircase seemed at least ten steps longer that night. Once they reached the bottom they paused, ears piqued for any hint of movement. It was eerily silent as they began their walk to the front door. The closer they got to it, Ronnie took the lead, anxious to find the handle she knew was hiding in the darkness before her. She felt Thomas pause as her fingers wrapped around it and she turned back to see him looking at the basement door. They had no protection other than his bare hands and part of him wondered if it would be foolish to walk through that door without a weapon. However, he knew if he opened it, he would be starting a fight they could possibly avoid by simply running. He felt her squeeze his hand and he turned to meet her concerned gaze. She shook her head no as if she'd read his mind. They didn't have any time to waste, they had to go right then and there. He reached forward and put his hand over hers to turn the handle. The soft click it made raised the hair on both of their necks, but the silence that followed as the door stood wide open before them ignited a myriad of different emotions in each. For Ronnie, it was as if life had come rushing back to her. As she stepped into the night air she felt her senses, her instinct, her will to survive fill her once more. There was no one stopping them, they had a chance and she wasn't one for dancing, but she felt as though she could have given it a try in that moment. She even let herself smile. Her joy was more than evident and Thomas knew he was ready to give in to it. She turned and shared that smile she had on with him. His only regret would be that he hadn't said goodbye to Mama, but he had a feeling she would find a way to forgive him. It brought him some joy of his own to think she'd be proud of what he was willing to do for his little family. He had no idea what life would be like away from his home and he would have been lying if he said that that unknown world didn't terrify a part of him, but if it meant he could keep that smile on Ronnie's face then he'd run with her. She deserved it, she had suffered long enough for him.