melting together again (tordedd)

3

Tord fidgeted with his fingers, looking down at the ground. I had a bad feeling. "W-Well", he stuttered, "I live h-here." Wait, what? Now I stared at him, an unbelieving expression on my face. "What?" I could see him biting his bottom lip, still avoiding eye contact. It seemed like he struggled finding the right words. "Y-You see, I-I live o-on the streets." Again, my heart broke in my chest. A pang of sadness once more exploding inside of me. He had lived on the streets all this time? That had to be hard.

The rain had turned to a slight drizzle. At this point the clothes of both of us were soaking wet. All the while I thought about what to do though the choice I made was rather obvious. In less than a minute I offered him to come back to my place. Instantly he raised his head to look at me, shock written all over his face. It wasn't all that surprising to me since I knew how unbelievable those words sounded. I mean, he was the one who had nearly killed us. "Y-You are joking, r-right?" Without thinking I shook my head, before replying that I'd never joke about something so serious. Tord let out a rather loud sigh.

"I mean, I'd like to. But", he hesitated in the midst of his answer, obviously trying to find the right words, "I can't." "Why not?" As soon as I asked him this question, realization hit me.

"What if Tom sees me? Or Matt?" I nodded, comprehending what he attempted to tell me. While Matt wasn't that much of a problem he'd for sure get a panic attack, flashbacks or such things. Tom on the other hand would fly into a fit of bloodthirsty rage. He'd surely try to kill Tord as soon as he saw him. And I wasn't sure if could stop Tom when that happened. But I decided on trying.

"Don't worry, he'd have to get past me first." "But-" Before he had even the chance to counter I already continued. "Tord", I said, my voice sounding more serious now. I brought my hand up to his shoulders again and stared at him. He did the same, his gray orbs still wide as plates. "Just come with me. I don't care what the others will think. You're my friend and because of that I'm helping you."

For a few moments no words were heard. Tord lowered his head, obviously thinking about what I had just told him.

Taking a deep breath he looked up at me, before nodding his head. "Okay." It was hardly audible.

A small grin crept on my lips. "Then follow me." To make sure he did I took his hand. I then started to walk, dragging Tord with me. At first I felt how he hesitated to come with me but soon enough he walked beside me.

Since the apartment building wasn't so far away we quickly reached it. My pulse accelerated when the both of us entered the building. I could feel how nervous Tord became. Reassuringly I tightened my grip on his hand. He seemed to get what I was telling him. I wouldn't let Tom hurt him. Tord deserved help.

Not a word was said while we were on the way to my apartment which was on the third floor. Carefully I peeked around the corner. After I had made sure no one was there I walked towards my door. As quick as possible I unlocked it and went inside, pulling Tord with me.

Once we both were inside I shut the door behind me. A shaky sigh went past my lips.

A few seconds passed by in which neither of us said a word. It felt somewhat awkward so I decided to break the silence. "I'm gonna get fresh clothes for us", I announced, "Follow me." Tord did as he was told and went after me.

When we got into my room I rummaged through my closet, trying to find dry clothes. Since I was a size larger than Tord he'd fit into them. Once I'd given him clothes I told him where the bathroom was so he could get changed. I meanwhile stayed in my room, changing clothes.

After I was done I went to the kitchen. The clock showed it would be 1am in a few minutes. My stomach growled and I realized I hadn't eaten all day. I walked over to the fridge which was almost empty. With a mental note to buy food tomorrow I took out the last bit of bacon I had and headed over to the counter. There I made sandwiches. It wasn't much but better than nothing.

I heard steps and I turned around to see Tord entering the small kitchen. He wore the white t-shirt and black shorts I had given him. Due to the short sleeves of the shirt I saw that his whole right arm was littered with scars. I didn't even want to think about how much this had hurt. Ouch.

"You wanna eat?" I asked him, holding the two sandwiches in both of my hands. Tord came closer and hesitantly grabbed one of them. For a moment the scarred skin of his hand grazed mine. In this moment I felt how rugged it was.

I took a bite of my sandwich while watching Tord do the same. Just then I noticed how thin his arms were. A sad theory popped into my mind. Tord seemingly noticed my staring. He looked at the floor for a second before saying: "If you want to know what happened just ask." My eyes went wide. This was the first time he spoke without stuttering. Despite that I knew from the undertone of his voice he struggled. "Okay", I replied, "But let's sit down on the couch. My legs are really tired." Tord simply nodded his head in agreement. Then we both walked over to the sofa.

I let myself fall backwards, landing on the soft fabric of the couch while Tord carefully sat down. He then laid the sandwich on the small table in front of the couch. I turned on the lamp next to me. The light tainted everything in a warm and soft orange glow. Now I was able to see the full extent of his scars. It seemed like his whole right side was scarred. I had a theory on how he got them. "Are these from the, uh, explosion?" Without hesitation Tord nodded his head. "Yeah, actually." That statement alone hurt more than it should. I wanted to ask more things though nothing but a rasp went past my lips.

Tord obviously noticed this and went on to explain. "After my, uhm, robot exploded I landed on that hill. My right side was buried under pieces of hot, sharp metal." He said, his voice wavering as if he tried to hold back his emotions. He continued explaining, telling me how Pau an Pat found and helped him. From what I heard they were like parents for him. They'd also been the ones to bandage him up. His accent thickened near the end of his story, making it clear for me how much guilt he felt. "The pain was unbearable. Not even the physical but the e-emotional one." Sniffles were heard. Tord didn't even look at me but I knew he attempted on holding back his tears. It was no use since I saw them trailing down his face.

I reached for his scarred hand, grabbing it rather tightly and rubbed softly over his knuckles to comfort him. "Shh, it's okay", I whispered. Tord looked up at me, tears still running down his cheeks. He pulled himself away, to the other side of the sofa. I just stared at him. He lifted is legs up before hugging them. "It's not", he mumbled.

I scooted over to him. Not knowing what else to do I put my left hand in his right shoulder. Immediately Tord slapped it away. "Don't touch me", his voice broke in the midst of the sentence, making it sound like a screech. He raised his head and glared at me, tears still streaming down his face. Before I ask him what was wrong I heard him murmur. "I don't deserve your help." That shattered my heart.

"Tord", I said with a soothing voice, "That's not true. Everyone deserves to be helped, including you." At that point I cupped his cheeks with my hands, carefully wiping his tears away. A soft whisper was heard. "Why?" Tord asked me, giving up on holding his emotions back. "Why do you help me?"I destroyed your house. Hurt all of you. Nearly killed you and actually killed one if your neighbors!" Like before his thick norwegian accent made it hard for me to understand what he was saying. But I got the message.

"And yet, here you are, allowing me into your home. I just don't understand."

A sigh left my lips. The guilt in his voice nearly brought me to tears. It was clear to me that Tord was confused. I'd probably react that way too if I was in his situation. "Why", he asked again, his accent thick. I knew he wanted answers so I proceeded to tell him: "I said it before, you're still my friend. I couldn't care less about what the others think, I'm helping you because you're important to me." Not once I broke the eye contact. I wanted him to understand that I would be there for him.

Tord mumbled something about not deserving it, to which I replied that wasn't true.

Quite suddenly he hugged me, burrowing his head into my shoulder once again. A little bit hesitantly I hugged back. "Du er engel, Edd." He spoke just loud enough for me to catch it. Though I had absolutely no idea what he just said I smiled.

We sat on couch for a while before I noticed that Tord had calmed down. In fact, he was sleeping. Carefully I shifted position so Tord leaned against my shoulder. Then I grabbed the blanket which I draped over the two of us. Feeling somewhat sleepy as well I closed my eyes and drifted away.

--
If you're wondering why it's always Edd's point of view: I'm just trying something new. Also, I find it more interesting.

Thanks again for reading this.