Heartless

Leaving

                 

*Sad song for a sad chapter (at least Tommy's happy, though)

~

Tommy woke up first, with her in his arms. He brushed away the curls that shaded her face from his and placed a kiss on her cheek.

Toni stirred, awoken by his soft touch.

"Good morning," he whispered.

"Good morning," she replied drowsily.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked.

"Well, thank you. How about you?" She asked, stroking his face.

"I can sleep well now that you're here." He said.

He placed a soft kiss on her full lips, biting them as he pulled away.

Toni just stared up at him, grateful to be in his arms.

After a moment, she thought of her house and her future, turning her pleasant expression into a worried one.

She looked away, deep in thought.

"What is it?" He asked, moving her face to align with his own.

"I...my house. What am I going to do?" She asked.

"You'll live here with me, under my protection. You won't ever have to go back, Toni." He stated.

She silently nodded her head. She wanted to believe him, really. She wanted to believe she was safe and no one could harm her again. But still, fear lingered in the back of her mind.

He gently stroked her chin while looking down upon her; slowly falling in love with her all over again.

"What's on your mind?" He asked.

"Everything," she answered truthfully. Everything was on her mind.

The true reason she was not having a break down right now was staring down at her. He was the only thing keeping her sane.

She hugged him tight, burying herself in his chest. With him, she knew who she was and could function properly. She had no idea what would happen if he left.

That is what scared her.

"It's going to be okay," he said, gently stroking the small of her back. Just rubbing along her smooth skin birthed arousal within him.

She wanted desperately to believe him. But deep down she knew it was not true. Being with a man like him would bring her no peace.

Despite what she felt for him, she could not live like this.

~

"I'm going back to my house...to get a few things. And see what survived the blast," Toni said.

"Okay," Tommy said.

They had begun to get dressed.

"Would you like me to come with you?" He asked. Although he had other affairs to attend to, he would gladly cancel them for Toni.

"No, no," she said shaking her head. "You don't have to do that. It's bad for business."

Tommy was glad she understood. "You're a tough one." He said, smirking at her.

Despite her conflicting emotions, she smiled back. He really did have a beautiful smile.

He leaned in and kissed her. She gladly accepted since, she decided, this would be her last time.

After kissing her lips, he kissed her forehead. "I love you, Toni," he whispered against her skin.

I love you, Tommy, she came close to saying. But she could not bring herself to.

After tying her coat closed, she headed for the door, giving Tommy a small smile before deciding to leave...permanently.

~

She kept her steps quick and purposeful. If she slowed down now, she would change her mind.

The biting wind made it difficult to determine if the tears that fell from her eyes were from sadness or the cold.

She ached for Tommy. Even now, only a few kilometers away, she yearned to go back into his arms.

But, she decided, he offered her more pain than healing.

Closing her coat tighter around her, she turned the last corner on the route to her house. Seeing what lie ahead caused her to make an abrupt stop.

She knew her house like the back of her hand by now and yet, the blackened mass of bricks before her looked nothing like it.

Taking one hesitant step forward, she approached her home.

Slowly, she stepped under the black police rope that was sprawled across the entrance.

Before she could go any further into the structure, a voice called out to her.

"Miss," it said, "Miss!"

Toni turned to see a police officer walking toward her.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I'm afraid this building has been declared structurally unsound. For your own safety, please, step away." He said in a concerned tone. It seemed that even he was uncomfortable being this close to the house.

Structurally unsound. Those two words rang in Toni's ears. How could her own house be declared structurally unsound? Just yesterday, she had been in the kitchen, cooking as if all were normal.

Because, all was normal.

She had not known that moments later and army of men would come and destroy everything she owned.

"...Mum, mum, please step away"

Toni realized she had drifted off again.

"Sir, please," she said, "This is my home. It will only take a minute, I promise."

Her plea was all but impossible to ignore for she was already on the brink of tears. She was the perfect damsel in distress.

"Shit," the officer cursed to himself. "Alright," he finally said, "but no more than half an hour."

"Alright, thank you, sir," she said.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped into what was once her home.

~

Shorter chapter but what did you think? Do you think she's really going to leave him?

Also, you should know that I went back and changed the chapter entitled Girl. The scene where Tommy chokes Arthur seemed pretty out of character to me so I changed it a little bit. He would never hurt his brother like that. You don't have to go back and reread it. Everything else is the same.

Sorry about any mistakes but thanks so much for reading :) Don't forget to comment and vote. Have a nice night.