Sacred Silence | A Tom Riddle Story

56: Lessons.

'Siobhan.' The sound drifted towards her from somewhere far away.

She stirred awake restlessly, being pulled roughly from the depths of sleep. Her eyelids felt heavy, not agreeing with the dreadful task of opening. Finally, the small dim room came back into focus.
Shiv blinked a few times before her eyes found Tom, standing at in front of her, watching down on her curled up figure. She straightened in the large chair and pushed her hair behind her ears. 'What time is it?'

'Only an hour later, I thought we'd better head back.' He had his hands in his pockets and looked at her, amused. 'How are you feeling?'

To be very honest, her head was hurting and pounding like she had just attended a rock concert. Her mouth was dry. 'I'm fine,' she shrugged.

Tom nodded and then kneeled down in front of the chair. She frowned and watched as he picked something up from the floor, then realized it was one of her shoes. He must have taken them off whilst she was asleep.
Shiv straightened her legs and watched as Tom slipped her loafers back over her socks.

'I put an undetectable extension charm on your bag, and put the useful books in there,' he said absent mindidly as he tied her shoes.

Shiv frowned, only vaguely registering what a weird sight this was. She nodded and stared past Tom, closing her eyes for a moment to savor this moment.. She was a normal teenage girl, with her boyfriend who was kind to her, and nothing at stake.
Sadly, she was pulled out of her daydream rather quickly.

'I was thinking,' Tom started.

'Please don't,' Shiv sighed, and she leaned back in the chair. When his face became stern, she threw him a feeble apologetic smile.

'You know I don't like others getting near you,' he stated, almost business like. He moved over to the other foot and slipped the shoe on, his long ringed fingers delicately looping the laces into a knot.

'Really?' Shiv taunted. 'I hadn't noticed.'

Again, he threw her a stern look. She bit her lip, but her eyes sparked playfully. Tom's eyes lingered on hers longer this time, and when her shoes were on, he placed his now free hand on her knee. His grip was firm.

'Your attitude is only making me more glad for what I'm about to say,' he said crossly.

Shiv felt her herself retreat in her chair a little more, automatically reacting to his changing demeanor. She crossed her arms and tried to ignore the tight clasp of his fingers on her knee.

'I'd prefer it if you reserve yourself for me, and me alone from now on,' he said, not breaking their eye contact. 'Since I did you the courtesy of calling you my girlfriend,' he added.

Those words made a spark of anger light up inside of her. 'Don't act like you're doing charity work here Tom, you're not out of my league. Find an insult that's actually true.'

Tom sighed in annoyance and shook his head. 'My disgust was with the word, not the subject. Keep snapping like that, and you'll regret it.'
Why did she have the strong urge to do exactly that? Before she could muster up another witty reply, Tom spoke again. 'Did you hear me? Me and me alone.'

Shiv narrowed her eyes a little. Sensing a catch. 'What do you mean?'

The slightest hint of a smirk fell over his face. 'No more touching yourself. Not even when you're think of me-' he ignored her guilty stare and flushed cheeks. '-That is now for me alone. Your body is mine.'

He finished speaking with such calmth, his face so steady. His haughty eyes scanned her for any form of refusal or push back. She thought about his demand for a few seconds, then realized there was little she could do in the moment. If she said she wouldn't, she was sure she'd be in for a tough lesson. She could always lie, pretend to live by her promise when she wouldn't. It wouldn't be the first time.