A Fighting Chance (Tom Holland AU) [2]

Eighteen

On our first day of shooting for Eternally Hunted, I received a call from the detective I filed my police report to. "Ms. Chance?"

"Yes?" I was currently sitting in the makeup chair, having been chatting to the artist the entire time.

"We just wanted to call and let you know that Mr. Bryan has pleaded guilty to all charges and is not accepting a lesser sentence in exchange for it. There will be no need for you to give any further testimony at all." I let out a sigh of relief at that, and the artist raised an eyebrow.

"That's so great to hear, truly. Thank you so much for letting me know."

"Of course. Congratulations on the pregnancy again. It's a magical thing."

"Thank you, again." I smiled. Once the call ended, the artist looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"What was that about, love?" I bit my lip as I looked at her gently. Sure, we hadn't met before today, but there was something about her. I felt like I could trust her with my life.

"Well, there's this secret I've been keeping for over two years now."

A few weeks later, I was giving an interview for this live podcast where I was the special guest. I was excited, this was the first podcast I had ever done. Tom was sitting outside of the recording booth, and he shot me a smile and a thumbs up. "Now, Grace, as we all know, your fiancé Tom recently announced that the two of you are expecting."

"Yeah, we are, and we're both ecstatic about it." I grinned at that. Little did I know, this interview would take an unexpected turn.

"How do you feel now that your career is coming to an end?" I was taken aback, and Tom seemed to be as well.

"E-excuse me?"

"Well, with the new baby, you're obviously not going to have time to act or dance. How do you feel about that?" The host looked at me questioningly, and I suddenly felt very weird.

"Um, I don't intend on this being the end of my career. I intend to find a way to keep doing what I love while raising a child. There are plenty of successful actors and actresses who have managed it, so it definitely is possible."

"Hmm." He looked down at the questions he wrote, and I got a sick feeling in my stomach. Were they all going to be as bad as that? "And how do you feel knowing that you'll be having a child out of wedlock?"

"Uh... well, neither of us mind and neither do our friends and family, so I don't really feel anything."

"Are you worried at all about the wedding? Do you know if you'll be able to fit in your dress with a belly like that?"

"The wedding is more of a personal matter--"

"Do you think the GHB you exposed yourself to has ruined your pregnancy?" At that, my blood ran cold. How did he know about that?

"I-I, uhm... What?"

"I've heard from a reliable source that you exposed yourself to GHB while at a club a few weeks ago before you found out about the baby. Do you think that has ruined your pregnancy?" This guy was such a fucking asshole!

It took all I had not to both yell and cry as I explained that his information was false and told my story. I looked back at Tom, and it seemed like his blood was boiling. I knew we had to get out of there. "Thank you so much for having me, but I really do need to get going."

"But Grace--"

"Bye now!" I stood and removed my headphones, walking out to where Tom was. I let out a shaky breath as I looked at him, and he pulled me into his arms. "Can we go home now?" I whispered, and I felt him nod before pressing his lips to my head.

The ride home was silent, but as I sat down on our couch, I burst into tears. "What the fuck was that?!"

"I know, baby. But hey, look on the bright side." He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, causing me to look up into his kind eyes. "I was reading their comments in the cab home. Everyone else agreed that was a piece of trash and none of what happened should have. Plus, they all are admiring you for speaking about your story with no filter."

"That's good," I whispered, letting out a shaky breath. Tom slowly pulled me into his arms, pressing a kiss to my head.

"I'm so sorry, my darling. I wish I could figure out who told the interviewer about the club."

"I know who." My voice was light, but I knew he could hear me. He looked down with a perked eyebrow. "The only people who knew before today are you, Steph, Beth, Ali, Daya, Ryan, and the makeup artist on Eternally Hunted."

"No one except the makeup artist would ever dare..." I nodded with a sigh, shaking my head.

"See, I told you I trust too easily."

"Grace, come on--"

"Seriously!" I took a deep breath. "That's how my nudes got leaked."

"What?" He looked completely shocked, and I didn't blame him. Sure, the two of us could get pretty kinky at times, but sending nudes was the line I would never cross. Not after what had happened.

"When I was a freshman in high school, I was dating this older guy. We had been together for like a month, and my naive self thought I was in love with him. When I told him that, he told me the only way he'd believe me was if I sent him nudes."

"Darling..."

"I know. At the time though, I didn't know any better, so I did. And the next day, they were the only thing everyone was talking about in school." I took a deep breath. "I did dump him that day, but I never learned my lesson about trusting too easily. Guess it's come to bite me in the ass now, huh?" I chuckled sadly, leaning into him.

"I'm so sorry, Grace."

"Don't be. It's my own doing." I took a deep breath before looking at him. "Do we have any more pickles?"

"You and your damn cravings." He chuckled playfully, and I raised an eyebrow. "There's a fresh jar in the fridge."

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that interview was way out there and would probably never happen ever, but I like adding drama any chance I can.

Let me know your thoughts!