Out of body. (Tord redemption story.)

Chapter two: Can I bum a smoke?

Tord pounded his fists on the table in frustration. He hated not being the boss. He HATED it with a passion. But he had this job to make ends meet. He had to say awake for long hours, leave his ringer on so that Pat's reminders would reach him. Reminders to take his stress pills and pain pills.
Tord worked at a small office that was part of a larger company in Sussex, and even in London's more rich areas. It was a robotics company, sometimes helping to build computers as well as VR sets, many different things. Tord was in charge of design, and some degree of build. He was the lead designer, and he worked very hard to please his boss, and to keep his and his Dads apartment.
As Tord scrawled a new design, his coworker, Grace popped her blonde head into the room.
" Hey, Norski, I don't get this." She smiled in a fake way. He grimaced.
" We covered this in the meeting yesterday morning." He pinched his nose.
" Well, the wiring isn't working! These are the instructions YOU wrote!" She complained, whining loudly enough for the whole office to hear, leaning against his office door.
Tord couldn't deal with this woman.
" Tell me exactly what you did." He said, doctoring his 3rd coffee this day. It was already 9:00 pm. He tapped his pen on the varnished wooden surface he leaned against.
" Well," She began, " I hooked up the green and yellow wires to the main panel,"
" Grace," He cut her off, " Kvinne, it says on the first paragraph not to touch the green wires AT ALL." His frustration only grew.
She looked at the paper in embarrassment.
" We just lost a weeks worth of work because of you, so please, leave." His face was scary and his good eye shone blood red.
" Yes sir!" She bowed her upper body and jogged away.

He only held his head in his hands for a moment, and then straightened his back.
" FAEN." He growled.
After work, he rode the underground home. He thought about Tom's favorite movie when they were teens. In it, a cowboy walks up to his rival and asks if he can bum a smoke. There's blood dripping from his chin were he punched him. The guy turns and he has a black eye, but he smiles, and says " Just this once." Then, the movie ends.
When Tord came to their little porch, he spotted Pau, smoking a cigarette and chewing his lip absentmindedly.
" Papa."
Paul turned his head and gave a little smile.
" Can I bum a smoke?" Tord sighed out.
" Just this once."

•
Matt's POV
Matt went outside today, to visit someone. He was with Edd and Tom. Tom was sporting a red heart locket, Edd had a sketch book tucked under one arm, and Matt was wearing a worn black scarf.
It was cold today, cold enough for snow. But the sky only was cloudy.
They all halted in front of a public park, barely inhabited this time of year. They began to walk up a couple hills. Walking along a cliff for a short while, then up a hill with tall grass, then, the trees, and the path up a very tall hill. Mud stuck to their shoes, leaving Matt grossed out, but they continued nevertheless.
They came to a party of shrubs, bushes, and other plans such as ferns, now getting closer. The ferns cling to their plant legs, and brushed their hips, they were quite over grown. That's why it was fairly easy to trip and fall here, Matt had done That here a long time ago, when Matt was only 10.
He was only 9.
His shorter friend, only 4 or 5 inches taller than Tom and Edd, and a few shorter than Matt himself, was a year younger than him.
He had fluffy, chestnut hair that stuck up into two devil horns.
He was lanky and very skinny, sometimes Edd made him eat.
He liked red, and he had a noticeable accent. He was funny and nice to his friends. He was caring when he wanted to be.
Sometimes he watched late night cartoons in Norwegian, with no subtitles next to Tom. Tom couldn't understand any of it, but Tom still obviously enjoyed those times, and looked forward to them on the weekends and summers. Sometimes they would play video games instead.
He used to cook tasty meals with Edd in the kitchen, making pancake art and smiley faces out of different foods. Edd would always seem brighter and more content whenever Tordy tied his apron around his waist and gave Edd a little smile. Tord's smile.
Matt noticed these things, everyone had something special to do with Tord. Even he did. Photos. Whenever Tord went away fro his job, they would send silly photos through email: Matt would send pictures of a drunk Tom, or an angry Edd. Sometimes tord sent little selfies, or just dumb memes, which made Matt happy.
He was a little weird about Anime girls, and he loved guns, and violence, and bacon, but he was still a Norwegian goofball at heart. A-And maybe, just maybe, he didn't mean all of the things that he said or did that day. Maybe he didn't have to die. But he did.
He did.

Matt felt a hand on his shoulder. Edd.
" It's okay." Edd tried.
Matt realized he was crying, sobbing actually. So was Edd, but not as much.
Edd's normally joyful green orbs had been a bit duller since the incident. Almost as if a part of him had dissolved into thin air.
Matt glanced at the other male.
Tom lay on the grass, unconsciously fiddling with his heart locket. Matt could see a single tear emerge from one of the black voids. Then another. Tom was silently crying.
Matt held his scarf in his arms and hugged it. It didn't provide comfort. But it felt pitifully better.
They all missed him.
Matt wished he would come back.