Tom Riddle - Downfall

Chapter 11: About broken noses

I walk outside of the caste and find Tom standing outside. Near the Owlery, "Tom!" When I say his name, he quickly turns around and looks at me, startled for a moment by my sudden appearance out of nowhere. He stares at me for a few seconds until he finally speaks in a soft voice.
"Lucia... what are you doing here...?"
"Tom! What did you do? I saw Orion, and I especially saw his nose!" I look at him mad and shrunk my arms before my chest.
Tom's eyes widen, and his expression softens a bit as he realizes why I'm so upset. He instantly becomes apologetic, and he tries to explain himself.
"I hit him... I'm sorry, but he was touching you, and he wasn't asking for your consent... I saw red when I noticed that he was trying to touch you against your will..."
"Tom, you're right. He did something wrong, but he apologized, and he was drunk. You had no right to do that?" I look into his eyes. I have the feeling that he doesn't understand why I'm mad at him.
Tom seems slightly annoyed that I'm not acknowledging his defense of me, and he takes a step towards me in order to get closer. He speaks again quickly as he tries to reason with me
"He may have apologized and been drunk, but that's no excuse! He didn't have the right to touch you without consent, and I didn't let him get away with it. I had to defend your dignity, Lucia..."
"You had to.. WHAT?" My eyes light up in a negative way. "You don't have to defend anything from me!" I am so angry right now."I can handle him myself and we.. we barely know each other. "

Tom seems surprised by my reaction and the sudden increase of my anger. He takes another step towards me as he continues to explain himself, still attempting to justify his actions.
"Lucia, I know that you can handle yourself. But... I couldn't let it stand! He was touching you without your permission in a highly inappropriate way! I'm not just going to sit back and watch something like that happen, especially not with you..."
"What do you mean? Especially not me?"
I can't understand why he's acting that overprotective.. Tom looks at me in disbelief, and he tries once again to explain himself, although it seems like I'm not quite listening to what he's saying.
"Lucia, I don't like watching guys touch you without your consent. It's a matter of respect, and Orion was completely disrespectful towards you!"
He's starting to become really frustrated here, especially because I don't seem to understand his intentions. He's getting annoyed, feeling like I don't understand why he feels so protective of me, and it's true. I don't understand anything.
"I know he was. But I don't understand why this is your business, Tom?" I sigh and step backward slowly.

"Because I care about you!" Tom snaps, taking another step closer to me to emphasize his point. He's really struggling to deal with my responses here, and he's starting to get really frustrated with me. He's feeling really annoyed, and he seems more irritated than ever before now.
"Why don't you understand that I was defending you against him? Can't you just appreciate that someone cares about you that much?!"
"I.." I look to the bottom for a moment.
"You care about me?" I ask him and look over to his hand, which is obviously slightly bleeding from his punsh.
As soon as I ask him if he cares about me, his demeanor changes instantly, and he softens up slightly. He sees that I've noticed his bleeding hand, and he slightly blushes as he looks down at it. He tries to suppress the pain and ignores the bleeding wound.
"Of course I care about you. Why else do you think I was so angry when I saw him touching you?"
He looks at me nervously, hoping to get through to me and convey his feelings for me now. I roll my eyes in disbelief
"Tom, your hand. Come with me please. We .. have to fix this. " Tom looks down at the slight bleeding wound and then back up at me. He's visibly relieved that I've changed the topic and seem to finally be willing to listen to him. He nods softly and allows me to take him by the hand, leading him towards the infirmary.
"Okay... I guess I might as well get it fixed..."
He sighs softly as he follows me. He seems to have calmed down now, and now my attention is shifting to his slight injury, which I'll need to tend to now.