Tom Holland Imagines

Cherry Wine (angst)

A/N WARNING: DEPICTIONS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE PLEASE DO NOT READ IF THIS IS TRIGGERING. if you or someone you know is struggling in an abusive relationship, please reach out and get help because someone hurting you is not love.
based on the song "cherry wine" by hozier

Tom showed up to the bar late that night, you were supposed to meet him and Harrison at eight, but when you arrived half past, Harrison was sitting in the booth alone. He smiled up at you from across the room, nursing his beer, you had texted Tom that you'd be late but to order a round anyway and put it on your tab.

"Hey, H, where's Tommy?" You asked with a smile as you sat next to him, plopping in your place before nodding at the bartender you had come to know after the months of frequenting the bar with Tom and Harrison. You looked at him and he shrugged unconvincingly, the both of you knew exactly where he was.

The two of you were silent, not wanting to talk about the current status of Tom's whereabouts, there was too much to unravel with that. You were worried about him, how could you not be with him never coming out to spend time with you or Harrison anymore. The two of you knew exactly what was going on with Tom, but neither of you would dare bring it up, for he would just deny it.

Twenty minutes later, Tom walked into the bar with a false skip in his step, flashing the bartender a smile as he walked to you and Harrison. The closer he got, the more you could see his bloodshot eyes and the flush to his face. He was paler than normal which made the red blossom on his cheek stand out to the naked eye under the dim lights of the booth.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late, got caught up." Tom chuckled as the waitress who shamelessly flirted with Tom brought over a beer for him. "Thanks love." He spoke softly with a smile as she placed the glass on top of the napkin.

Tom took a sip of his beer and you watched as the liquid trailed down the side of his mouth and to his neck, slowly skirting around the scratch marks on his collarbones, the stretched neck of his shirt giving you visibility to the skin he was hiding. You knew that if he peeled off the cotton material, his beautiful golden skin would be littered with old scabs from the scratches of her fingers drawing blood, a scar from a year ago when she threw the broken glass at him in the middle of the night, and bruises from the countless times you knew she had hurt him.

"So, how're things?" Tom asked with a smile, trying to keep whatever conversation you could make as light as possible. He knew that you could see the claw marks on his wrist, though they were mostly from himself, he didn't want the questions—Tom hated all the questions.

"They're alright. My boss has been a bitch to me lately, he's got something up his ass and it's not pleasant." Harrison said, trying to joke around as you continued to trace the countless wounds Tom wore on his skin. He chalked up the scrape on his forehead to a nasty fall when walking his beloved Tessa in the park, that also explained the limp he walked with for two weeks, but you knew better. Of course you knew better, you were the person Tom came to when he needed anything, but when he was with her, you didn't exist.

Maybe had you known that she actually loved him, things would be different, you wouldn't be so hurt and adamant for Tom to get out of the relationship. That was the lie you told yourself. You loved him, more than anything, but his safety came first, no matter how happy he said he was.

As the night went on, you stayed silent mostly, other than a small chuckle or hum to make it known you were listening. All you wanted was to go home and cry, seeing Tom with the pain behind his eyes as he lied through his teeth was too much to bear.

"I'm gonna head home, early shift in the morning." You lied, smiling at your two best friends as you placed a twenty on the table.

"I'll walk you home, it's late." Tom said, standing up slowly, wincing silently as he cleared his throat to mask the groan he let out. He took a deep breath that didn't go unnoticed by you, feeling bad that you wanted him to spend as much time with you as he could. You chalked it up to wanting to keep him away from harm, but your selfishness took over in this sense, wanting Tom to yourself, wanting him to be with you, wanting him to love you the way you loved him.