Red Sweater Tom

What's Happening?

You haven't talked to Tom for a few days now. It's actually the 4th day you haven't talked to him in a row, so you are getting a little worried. Normally, when he gets in work mode, he kinda falls off the face of the planet. But it usually is only for a day or two. And if it's longer he normally calls you a few times at least to talk and take a break. But now you haven't even heard from him at all for 4 days running.

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Right now you are sitting at a cute little cafe just a block from your home. You got off work earlier than usual, thank god, and you finally have some time to enjoy yourself. Sadly, the free time is letting your mind drift to Tom, so you're starting to miss him. You are sitting outside, soaking up the sunshine, trying to take your mind off Tom, when you feel someone come up to sit at the table behind you. They clear their throat and you turn around to see a tall man with shaggy blonde hair and dark green eyes. You're taken aback when you realize he is staring at you with a wide grin on his face. ~apparently the throat-clearing was directed towards me...~ you think to yourself.

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"Hello!" He says cheerfully.

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"Umm...hi.....?" You say, seemingly rude, but you have no idea who this man is. You find it odd that he is greeting you.

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He continues to stand there for almost a minute without saying anything, so you decide to speak up. "Is there something you need, sir?"

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He looks back down at you with a weird look in his eye, then his expression quickly changes back to his creepy smirk. "Oh umm...yes.... I was curious if you knew where the...uhh... Where the nearest bank is..." He asks. Clearly that was not what he was bothering you about, you could tell by his hesitation, but you brush the questioning thoughts in your mind away and answer him.

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"Yes, there are a few around here, but one that comes to mind is just a few blocks west of here." There is one bank just around the corner, but you want to get this creep as far away from you as possible. "Just turn at the next corner and go about two or three blocks and it'll be directly across the street." You give him the directions and he, again, gives you his eery smile, thanks you, then is off. As soon as he gets around the corner you take some money out of your purse to give your waitress then leave in the opposite direction.

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~That was really weird...~ you think to yourself. What could he have been bothering you about? You could tell by the way he asked you his question that that was not truly the reason he came up to you.

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As you're nearing your home, you see a tall, familiar figure standing outside your house looking down at his phone.

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"Hey stranger!" You yell to Tom jokingly. His only response is looking up from his phone to you. He starts walking towards you, taking long and quick strides, while he simultaneously slides his phone in his pocket. When he gets closer to you, you see his facial expression and are immediately taken aback. He is pale and looks as if he's going to be sick. You stop where you are and just stare at him, but he doesn't seem to notice because he is still walking towards you at the same speed. He continues to get closer but isn't slowing down. When he finally closes the gap between you two, it's with a huge hug that engulfs you completely. It's so tight that you feel like you're going to suffocate if he doesn't let you go soon.

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"Hi.....Tom..." You let out in little gasps. He let's you go but puts his hands on your shoulders and holds you out at arms length looking at you as if he's checking to make sure you're not hurt.

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"Where the hell have you been? Why aren't you answering my calls? Why aren't you at work??" Tom is talking at the speed of light.

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"Tom, slow down, what's wrong?" You say slowly, motioning your hand as if saying he needs to take deep breaths.

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"I just... I've been trying to call you... I've been trying to find you all day!" Tom says in a shaky, unsure voice.

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"I accidentally left my phone at home this morning... And I got off work early so I spent my afternoon enjoying myself..." You explain calmly, then start to wonder what Tom is hiding. "Tom, can you tell me what the hell you're freaking out about?" You say, taking a step back, getting angry.

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"It's a long story, don't worry about it.." He says, trailing off. This irritates you. He was acting weird the last time you two hung out, he didn't talk to you at all for almost 4 days, and now he thinks it's okay to hide this from you?

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"Tom, I don't know what is up with you this past week, but I want you to know it's not okay. You've been acting weird with me all week long, you haven't talked to me for almost 4 days, and now you're hiding something from me that I feel like I should know--"

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"Y/n, I know, I'm sor---" Tom cuts you off, but you don't let him finish.

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"No Tom, don't tell me your sorry. This isn't okay. How would you like it if I hid something, that's clearly a big deal, from you?" You pause for just a moment. "You know what? Why don't you call me when you've got this figured out?" You say sternly, then turn around and walk towards your front door. You're shuffling through your purse for your keys and you finally find them. You hear Tom starting to walk towards you so you quickly put your keys in the lock and twist your wrist, and the door swings open. You get in the house and slam the door just before Tom gets to it. You stay there and listen, hoping he doesn't take his key out and open the door. You don't hear anything for a few seconds, then you hear him sigh and walk away. You turn your back to the door and lean against it, then slide down to the floor.

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You and Tom hardly ever argue. And normally, when you do argue, it's over shortly. But this whole week hasn't been normal with either of you.

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~What the hell is happening with us?~

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~end part 5~