Red Sweater Tom

Ringing Off The Hook

You are still holding the phone to your ear and you hear the line go dead, but you can't seem to move to put the phone down.

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You're frozen from realization of who he is.

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"The man from the cafe" you whisper to yourself.

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~what do I do? What do I DO??~ you are freaking out and don't know how to handle the situation. You stand up with your phone still in hand and pace around your living room.

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~should I call Tom? What will I tell him? Will he even answer me? He has been completely cut me out of his life these last two weeks.... He obviously doesn't want to hear from me....~ your thoughts trail back to what they were before the phone call. Then you curse yourself for being so easily distracted. You continue this back and forth argument in your head for thirty minutes when your phone rings again.

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You look at the caller ID, relieved to see that it's not the blocked number again, but unhappy because it's not Tom.

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"Luke?" You answer, surprised. He almost never calls you. The only times you hear from him are when he needs to get a hold of Tom, when he needs to yell at you for distracting Tom, and when he needs you to talk to Tom when they can't see eye to eye.

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"Y/n, thank god you answered," he says, sounding genuinely relieved.

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"Umm what's going on?" You ask wanting to know why he's calling you.

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"I can't get a hold of Tom, have you talked to him at all in the last two days?" He asks you, clearly sounding worried.

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"No I haven't... I haven't talked to him for two weeks actually..." You trail off, still emotional about it.

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"He's still keeping his distance from you? How has he not given in yet!" He says seemingly to himself.

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"What do you mean 'how has he not given in yet?'" You say in a mocking tone.

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"I've had to keep taking his phone from him all week to keep him from calling you!!" He says frustrated.

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"Why won't you let him call me??" You say angrily.

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"Hey, don't be mad at me, that's what he told me to do. He's trying to keep you safe. You know that I understand how strong yours and Tom's friendship is and I'm not going to try to ruin it! But he needs to do what is best for you," he explains, defending himself. You believe him because, ever since the beginning, Luke has been very kind to you. Even friendly at times. You know that Luke really wouldn't do anything to yours and Tom's friendship unless Tom told him to do it.

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"Okay, well...what is he trying to protect me from?" You ask him.

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Suddenly in a hurry, Luke says, "look, I can't tell you. But trust me when I say it really is for your own good. I have to go," he says then hangs up.

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You throw your phone down onto the couch angrily and start pacing your living room again.

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