Breaking Free (Tom Holland) BOOK ONE [COMPLETED]

Breaking Free Chapter 10

"This is a sight I wasn't expecting to see," I heard my sister say. Tom and I broke our position. Standing in the doorway looking confused and tired were Valerie and Chase.

"We were just practicing for my commercial," I sputtered.

"Why?" Valerie questioned. She closed the door behind them. Chase stood awkwardly next to her unsure of what to do.

Tom ran his hand through his hair. "Vanessa called your phone earlier because she was having a hard time with her lines. You weren't there so she told me about her problems. I gave her advice and somehow we ended up here," he tried to explain.

Valerie snorted. "Somehow you ended up here? That's not a very good explanation."

"What is your problem? It's not like this is a big deal," I wondered.

Valerie looked as if I had slapped her in the face. Chase put his hand on her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. Instantly she began to calm down. "Sorry," she said after she was fully calm. "I've just had a really rough day."

Now I was even more concerned. "What happened?" I asked as I approached her. I took her hands in mine and squeezed them.

For a second Valerie looked as if she was going to burst into tears. Just as quickly as it came it went away. A huge smile spread across her face. I instantly knew it was fake. "Nothing. I'm fine I swear. I'm going to head to bed early." She let go of my hands and walked upstairs to her room. I turned around to ask Chase what was going on but he was already halfway out the door.

"Chase wait!" I called after him.

Chase let out a heavy sigh. "I can't right now Vanessa. I'm tired so I'm going to go home." He closed the door behind himself with a soft click.

Tom and I stood in the middle of the entryway feeling confused. Neither of us knew what had just happened nor why it had happened. We stood there for a while. In fact, we stood there for so long I forgot Tom was even there. It wasn't until he put his hand on my shoulder that I remembered he even existed.

"Hey," Tom said softly, "You okay?"

I looked at him. I wanted so badly to tell him that no not everything was ok. But coming to him with my acting problems and my personal problems were two completely different things. We weren't at that stage in our friendship yet.

"Yes I'm okay. I think that's enough practice for one day. Thank you so much for all of your help."

Tom nodded. I could tell he knew I was not okay. He didn't push the matter. "It was a pleasure. Feel free to call me if you need a ride."

"That's going to be impossible. You guys are going to start filming tomorrow. I'll probably barely even see you."

"True. I'll try to keep in touch."

I walked Tom to the front door. I watched him get in his car and drive away. Then I went back inside and closed the door. After contemplating whether to check on my sister I eventually decided against it. There was no need to start another useless fight. Instead I went to my room and flopped down on my bed.

I lay in bed tossing and turning for what felt like hours but was only 45 minutes. I was about to give up on sleep entirely when a text message came through on my phone.

Tom: I made it home in one piece. Have a good night and try not to worry too much!

A small smile spread across my lips.

Vanessa: I'm glad you made it home safely. I'll try not to worry too much. Sweet dreams.

As I hit the send button and put my phone back down I began to feel myself drifting away. Soon I was happily in slumberland.

I woke up the following morning feeling slightly less stressed than the night before. I checked my phone and found two new messages; one from Tom and one from Samuel. I decided to open the one from Samuel first.

Samuel: I figured I'd text you instead of calling you since it is really early in the morning. We got somewhat of an extension on our deadline. I'll fill you in on the details when you get here.

I was so happy I could cry. Everything was beginning to work out. I opened Tom's message.

Tom: It's freezing this morning! 😱😱 Be sure to dress warm!

I looked at the timestamp on the message. It had only been sent an hour ago which meant it was probably still really cold outside. I climbed out of bed and began to get ready for work. Despite the cold I could already tell it was going to be a good day.