Forever and ever 2. The adventure starts now.

Part 137.

Tom's pov~

The silence tended to scare me sometimes. Especially when I could hear my own heartbeat, acutely aware of being immersed in reality.
Thud, thud.
My heart's keeping me alive.
The foam crackles as it dissolves into the water. The wind howls loudly, prompting the window to shut abruptly, and then, the faint ping of a phone, surely not mine.

I gaze toward the edge of the bath, just inches away, her screen glowing. Flooded with messages from various people, including Red-curls, a social media notification, and at the far top, freshly arrived, Clark. But it was locked, and since she changed her password, there was no chance to crack it without her finding out. But broaching the subject seemed even more daunting. Did I even have the right to do so?

My stomach churned, threatening to bring the acid up to my throat as the images of the two of them having their moment rushed back into my head. How could she do this to me? I asked myself that question multiple times a day, only to come up empty-handed each time. There simply was no answer, at least not one I could find.

Why would she cheat on me? Why would she kiss another man when I gave her every ounce of strength I had left? I held onto hope that she hadn't had any contact with him since my departure, but almost four weeks later, and they were still messaging each other. WHAT THE FUCK WERE THEY TALKING ABOUT? Were they intimate messages? Private ones that I was never meant to find out about? Was Y/N still keeping secrets from me, or was she now an open book?

A knock on the door interrupted my rush of thoughts, and I quickly noticed how cold the water had become in the last ten minutes. While I wanted it that way, my hands looked pale, and as wrinkled as my skin already appeared, one could think I had slept in acid.

Without my permission, the bathroom door opened, and Y/N's reflection appeared in the window.
"Are you going to come out soon?" Her gentle voice echoed through the room. She was being extra careful around me, either because she felt sorry for my battered face, or because she pitied herself. I hoped it was the latter; I didn't need pity for a few punches. So what? Then I could only breathe through one nostril. See through just one eye, and feel only one cheek. Having one lung was still better than having none, and half a face was still better than George's.

I nodded, my movements restricted. Then she drew closer, and closer, and even closer, so accustomed to my body that the thought of me suddenly feeling uncomfortable didn't even cross her mind. It didn't occur to her that her touches hurt. That it pained me to think she was unfaithful with these hands. That with these eyes, she admired another man, and with these lips, she spoke words I dreamt of never hearing.

She gripped my upper arm, the one I used to support myself on the edge of the bathtub, and helped me to stand. She wrapped me in a towel, just like my mother used to do when I was seven, and kissed my heart with warmth meant to heal wounds. But the worst part was that it worked. I wanted a second kiss, and I wanted to wrap her in my arms. To lean on her as if I would magically heal again, my ribs no longer a problem, my lacerations disappearing, my eyes not tearing up. Were they tearing up? Did she see how hurt I was? I hoped not, and I hoped even less for her to see them.

She reached for the black t-shirt, wondered if she chose this color because the white one was too haunted by the stains of George's blood. She lifted the hem, ready to pull it over my head as if I didn't have two hands of my own. I didn't need hers for that.
"I got it." I grumbled, my thoughts suddenly overwhelmed by the foreign kiss, bringing a cruel cloud into my stomach.
"Are you sure?" Her phone buzzed in the background, a reminder of what was actually going on in our lives. And that was Clark. It wasn't me, nor her, it was him, in her life.
"Positive." I declared, stared at the door in stubbornness, hoping she'd take the hint to stay away.
"Okay," she nodded. "Let me know if you need anything." If she was disappointed, she didn't show it as she escaped from the bathroom. Her footsteps echoing through the room on her way out. A soft thud letting me know she even closed the bathroom door.