A New Leaf (Eddsworld Tom x Reader)

Chapter 8: Betrayal

     

    As Tord and I approached the house, I suddenly felt a stab of nervousness. My thoughts echoed throughout my head. When I go in there... Will they be angry? Will they be relieved? I have no idea what to expect. I regretted leaving in the first place. I shouldn't have let their argument bother me as much as it did.

My face crumpled into a frown as I imagined what would happen. Tord noticed my growing discomfort as we got closer to the house.

"Hey, it's going to be fine, okay?" he said. I smiled at him, grateful for his reassurance. Finally, we reached the front door. I drew in a deep breath as I pushed through the door with my free hand. I expected to see all the boys yelling or doing something as they were before, but to my surprise, it was actually rather quiet. I walked into the living room, finding Matt and Edd talking quietly amongst themselves. Where was Tom?

"Uh-Hey," I said softly, catching their attention, "Where's Tom?"

"Oh. He uh- left to go look for you," Edd answered, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. I guess he still isn't sure if we're still friends after what happened earlier.

"Ugh. Why can't he just mind his own goddamn business?" Tord sighed in frustration. My forehead creased in worry. When will Tom get back? And in that horrible moment, a figure walked into the room. I looked up to see Tom. He had mud on his shoes and dirt on his jacket. He must have been looking the entire time Tord and I were at the park.

"Y/n, you're back-" Tom's face melted into relief as he rushed towards me, but abruptly froze midway when he glanced down at something.

I looked down, following his gaze to my hand. My stomach suddenly dropped as I realized. I didn't even realize I had still been holding Tord's hand.

A flash of hurt flickered across his face. But he covered it up quickly by resuming his normal, cold stare when he looked back up at me. 

Tom's steely gaze pierced me like a knife. The air in the room chilled me to the bone. An utter dread replaced any emotion I had felt before this. I felt completely empty.

"I'm glad that you two got to have a nice time while I was out for hours searching for you," Tom sneered, his voice dripping with venom. My heart felt like it was being crushed, torn from the inside out. 

"Who's the kid now, Y/n?" Tom scoffed, looking away from me in pure disgust.

As he stalked off, I quickly pulled my hand away from Tord, regretting ever speaking to him in the first place. Tears burned in the back of my eyes. What if Tord was just faking when he held my hand? What if he just wanted to mess with Tom after seeing us become closer? My heart hurt just thinking about that possibility. Tord seemed so genuine when we talked, much different than when we first met. 

I'm so stupid. I should've known Tom would be upset with my friendship with Tord. They hated each other. That was obvious from the beginning.

My eyes brimmed with tears not only from despair, but a sudden anger as well. Tom had acted so cold to me this morning, why was he being protective only now? I wasn't some kind of object that he owned, I was allowed to hang out with Tord. My throat swelled in rage and I regretted not telling him off before he walked away. I felt bad about the hand holding, but I don't think Tom's anger was completely justified. I wouldn't realize this until later, as in the moment I couldn't make sense of these thoughts, dismissing them as misplaced sadness and instead focusing on how much I just screwed up.

My legs felt shaky, knowing I had just ruined the chances of any kind of relationship with Tom. My head was spinning and I wasn't really sure what to do. Tears threatened to spill at any moment.

"Hey, are you okay, Y/n?" Edd asked in a concerned tone from across the room. Everyone was looking at me now, confused at my sudden odd behavior. My body felt like it was about to collapse, as the tears finally spilled. I looked Edd straight in the eye.

"No."