Lifeline (Bodyguard!Tom Holland)

Lifeline (3)

A/N: This chapter takes place in Tom's POV and starts off where he and Y/N first met.

Tom hated hospitals. He hated them. The lights, the smell, the beeping, the death, all of it.  His newest assignment started here though, and despite his apprehension towards the building, his job meant a lot to him. 

He walked upright and stiff behind Mr. Irwin, the toughest boss on the east coast, he'd argue. Mr. Irwin hadn't told any of the guys their assignments in advance, keeping the customers wishes of a low profile exchange, so Tom had no idea why he was skimming past room after room in the bright halls of Sibley Memorial. Mr. Irwin slowed as he approached the end of the hall on the third floor where there were a couple men who looked like they were from the secret service or something, posted outside the door. They were huge.

"Name?" One of them asked, stepping forward to show his intimidating stature. 

"Irwin, we are here to see the boss," Mr. Irwin said, not faltering at all even though the agent dwarfed his 6'1" frame. 

The other man looked through a list he held in his large, sausage fingers and nodded, allowing the men inside. They were told to follow them inside, and "don't speak unless spoken to", which was Mr. Irwin's choice of words. 

"Mr. Irwin to see you boss," one of the large men bellowed, earning a polite wave from the senator and then he left to take his place back on the outside of the door as Tom and the others walked past him. 

They entered the room and the first thing Tom saw was a blonde woman in the corner, holding a young boy close to her chest. She would have been pretty, if she didn't have a scowl on her face that was pointed directly at the bed. As Tom turned the corner behind Mr. Irwin, he saw Senator Y/L/N, from the news. The one who got shot. 

So this is the big assignment. No wonder. He thought to himself and then his gaze landed on the girl with her body half off the bed. She was snuggled into Senator Y/L/N's side, her hands hidden in the sleeves of her blue and white Georgetown sweater that engulfed her body. She leaned up as they entered and Tom watched as she looked them all up and down, studying them.  She looked like she hadn't slept in days, the bags under eyes obvious to Tom, probably because they looked so familiar from his own reflection in the mirror. She was pretty though.

"Mr. Y/L/N. These are my two best men. I can assure you, nothing will happen to your family while they are in our care," Mr. Irwin spoke, gesturing to Tom and Luke as they each sent a nod in the senator's direction. 

"Perfect. I will need someone with Y/N and Laura at all times," Mr. Y/L/N gestured to the mean looking blonde woman and to the girl by his side, Y/N. Tom never believed in love at first sight, but he felt his heart skip a beat when they locked eyes and then it was torn away when she averted them. 

Tom zoned out as he watched her fold her fingers together in obvious nervousness. He'd seen the news coverage of the attack, her father being the primary target, but of course she was scared for her own life as well as his. His job was to make her feel safe again, but no one took the job as seriously as Tom did. They were just in it for the money. 

He felt like she was radiating fear as her eyes continued to dart between his boss and her father as they conversed back and forth like she wasn't in the room. He wasn't prepared for her to jolt up from the bed and cross the room towards him and then bypass him as she flung herself out of the door like a madwoman. 

"Y/N!" her father yelled just as the door slammed, making Tom jump at the loudness of his voice. He looked back at Mr. Irwin before receiving a silent "duh" to the question of whether or not he should go after her. 

His feet moved even before he gained confirmation and he entered the hallway just as she pushed herself into the stairwell and he watcher her back disappear behind the door. He picked up as much speed as he could to reach her before she made it down to the first floor. 

The stairwell is where he felt it for the first time. The spark. It was cliche and he knew that, but he couldn't help that when he looked at her, he wanted nothing more than for her to be safe, and that wasn't the bodyguard talking. 

Now its 6 days later, and he knew more about this girl than he ever thought he would that day in the hospital. Of course, you learn a lot about someone when you live under the same roof, but he paid attention on purpose. 

He knew that she woke up at 7:52, on the dot, to get ready for her class at 9:30. He knew that she drank grande caramel macchiatos from Starbucks every morning, but not without extra caramel drizzle. He knew that she always did her laundry on Wednesday nights because she didn't have class early on Thursday and she never ever took more than a 12 minute shower. 

He noticed all the little things about her and, yes, it was a part of his job to know his client inside and out, but this usual tedious part of the job wasn't as bothersome as he found it before. He liked knowing her, but he also liked being employed and if Mr. Irwin every found out that he was thinking about Y/N in anything but a professional way, he'd be out on his ass and someone else would be with her 24/7, which made his blood boil. 

It was late one night when he crawled into his cot that was settled in the living room of the first floor. His shirt had long been discarded and his back welcomed the cool sheets as he sunk into the mattress. Lack of sleep was a usual part of the job too, unfortunately and being a light sleeper was actually a blessing when it came to being a bodyguard. 

His body jolted awake as a loud boom echoed throughout the unfurnished main floor of the home. His heart was accelerated as he folded the blankets back, grabbed his 9mm from the table next to him and bolted up the stairs as fast as he could. 

The 30 second ascend up the stairs felt like hours as Tom went through every fathomable cause of the noise, his mind automatically going towards intruder. He saw the blanket and books sprawled out on the couch when he flipped the light switch, but no Y/N. He didn't want to call out her name, as to not scare whoever was in the house, so he held his gun up and quickly made his way to the second stair case and that's when he saw her, sitting at the top in the darkness. He flipped another switch and watched her cover her eyes with the back of her arm. 

"You alright, Y/N?" he asked, as she uncovered her eyes at the sound of his voice. His breathing was starting to calm down until he noticed that she was sat there in nothing but a large t-shirt and he tried his best not to look at her as anything more than a client in that moment. He took in her tired expression and realized she'd fallen when his eyes fell upon her shin which was seeping blood from a small cut. He put his gun into safety mode and pushed it into his waist band since there was no need for it. 

"You're bleeding." 

The awkwardness faded after that night, when he decided that he wasn't going to jeopardize her safety for his own messed up crush, if that's what you could call it. She could be killed if he wasn't on top of his game. He made a promise to himself that no one would ever know about his thoughts, especially her. 

So now he's walking 10 paces behind her on campus, his eyes scanning every Fratboy Kyle and Sorority Suzie that passed him. She'd asked him to not make himself obvious on campus so he was dressed in some casual slacks and a light blue button up, which for him was as casual as it gets. 

She whispered with her friend, Jess, as the approached her old dorm and he saw Y/N falter when Jess asked her to come in. 

"Maybe next time, I need to, um, get back to the house," she obviously lied, another one of Tom's many talents that he picked up from his profession. 

"Okay, I'll come by later." 

Y/N turned hastily away from the building and Tom watched her look around the courtyard for something. 

He had a sixth sense about a lot of things, and she wasn't telling him something.