Tom Riddle - Downfall

Chapter 24: Myrtle

One day, Kim sits beside my bed. She looks at me with tears in her eyes. It's the day we wanted to go to hogsmeade. "Kim? Kim.." I hug her."What happened?"
Im a bit confused and also concerned now, as I reach out to her and hug her tightly, asking her what's wrong.
Kim: "Myrtle..." She begins to speak, but she seems to struggle a bit to say the words that she's trying to get out. I can tell that she's holding back tears as she tries to talk
"... She's gone. Myrtle... is gone... "

"What?" I look at her, completely shocked. "What happened? Who told you?"
Kim shakes her head as I ask her more questions after hearing what she had just told me. She seems very hesitant and reluctant to give me any more details about what happened, but then she looks back up at me and takes a deep breath before speaking again.
"I... I was there..." She pauses for a long moment, seemingly trying to get herself together and say the words out loud now.
"Myrtle is..." She hesitates to say the words and then continues.
"...dead. The basilisk killed Myrtle."
"The basilisk?" This is just a rumor, but still... it scares us all. That's why we have to stay at the castle for the next weeks. It's forbidden now to leave the castle. Also we should only go from Classroom to the common rooms in groups..

I stand up, and after Kim fell asleep again, I go over to Toms dorm. I knock on his door.
Tom was in his own room, writing, when I approached his door and knocked loudly on it. He puts his quill down, not knowing who would be knocking on his door right now, and he walks over to answer my knock.
To his surprise, it's me standing outside his door, and he seems confused as to why I would come to see him at such a late hour of the night. He opens the door and invites me inside.
Tom: "Lucia? What brings you here so late at night? Is everything okay?..." I start crying immediately in front of him."I'm sorry, I didn't want to disturb you, but.. Kim is asleep.. I don't want to be alone..Myrtle was a friend. "
Tom seems shocked to see me suddenly begin to cry in front of him now, and he quickly reaches out to me to give me a hug and comfort me. He feels so bad for what Kim and I have endured this past night now, and he knows that she was close with Myrtle, too. Even though he doesn't seem to be sad.
"Don't be sorry, Lucia. You can stay here with me as long as you need." He continues to hug me tightly and tries to comfort me as best as he can. He tries to wipe away my tears and help me calm down again.
"I don't know why I .. I just wanted to see you. " tears fall down my cheek, and Tom wipes them away and holds my head. I never saw him caring about someone like that. But he is holding me close, and it feels good. I feel safe. Tom doesn't know what to say right now. My tears are falling down my cheeks, and he can see that I'm clearly still distraught over what happened. He feels his heart break a bit for me now, as he continues to hold me and tries to comfort me.

"Oh, Lucia..." He whispers. He doesn't want to force anything or seem like he's taking advantage of my vulnerability right now, but it seems like the only way he knows how to comfort me is to hold me tight and be there for me while I go through this difficult time.
"She told Kim she heard strange noises lately.. Just like me, Tom." I pull away from the hug and look up to him with wide eyes and tears in my eyes. Tom seems to freeze a bit when I mention the strange noises that Myrtle said she's been hearing recently. It makes him start to wonder how much Myrtle knew before she was attacked.
"What kind of strange noises?" He asks quietly, not sure if he really wants to know the answer to this question, but also wants to know the truth at the same time.
"The noises in the walls.. I told you about it. She heard them too. What if.. something will happen to me now, too?" I look at him with a serious look. Tom is taken aback by the thought I present to him now, and he quickly shakes his head no, as if trying to deny the fear I'. expressing.
"Nothing is going to happen to you, Lucia. Myrtle was attacked because... she was.." He trails off a bit as he speaks, but then he quickly tries to reassure me again. He holds my hand for a moment to try and make me feel better.
"... You don't have to worry about that now, okay,"
"What do you mean?" I look at him confused and suspiciously."What do you know, Tom?" Tom gets nervous and tries to make excuses.
Tom looks down as I question him, seemingly unable to make eye contact with me right now. He takes a moment to think about what he should say in response to my question,
"I... I... uh... It's just... I don't know much, okay? Don't worry about it, I'll make sure you're safe in here." He tries to give me a reassuring smile, and he seems so sincere that I almost believe that he's telling me the truth right now.
I hug him again. "I'm sorry that I .. annoyed you with my crying .." At least I stopped with the crying."I know, these things I mean.. feelings and all this is not really you." I turn around and slowly leave his dorm.
Tom looks disappointed now that I seem to be leaving so suddenly, but he also looks like he's not trying to pressure me into staying longer if I don't want to.
"No, don't apologize... I'm the one who should be sorry for how confusing and complicated I am sometimes. But... you'll have to promise me that you won't go back out in the corridors alone, okay? At least until we figure out what's really happening here." He pauses for a moment before he continues. "I'll come see you again tomorrow, okay?"
I nod and leave his dorm.