Fear (TordTom)

Chapter 10: I'm Sorry

Tom had completely spaced out. As soon as he saw Tord's wrecked, bleeding body, his mind drew a blank. His head hurt like crazy. He felt sore and his throat felt raw. Scarlet dripped from his fingers onto the wooden floor.

Did I kill him? Tom's chest felt contracted again. Then he saw Tord's chest gently rising and falling, meaning he was still alive, but not conscious. He's still breathing.

Trying to make everything as swift as possible, Tom hastily began cleaning the blood. He couldn't send Tord to the hospital. That would raise suspicion against Tom, and he definitely didn't want to be someone's lab rat again. He carried Tord (Tom was surprised he could do this, the commie weighed a lot and it took all of his strength to hold him bridal style in his arms) and brought him to his bathroom, locking the door from the inside and laying Tord inside the tub. Tom was relived he didn't hurt Tord as bad as he thought. A few scars were red and visible and his sweater sleeve had a large cut in the fabric, where a gash was seen, but it would heal up just fine.

Using a wet paper towel, Tom cleaned the blood of of Tord's forehead. He traveled down and began rubbing at the cheek, chin, and neck, being careful as to not touch the huge, problematic grazes that decorated his face. With effort, Tom removed Tord's red hoodie and draped it over the towel rack. He would wash it later.

He began to clean carefully on Tord's arm, using a new, soaking paper towel. The incision was still bleeding heavily, so Tom had to grab a few more wet towels and pressed softly against it. The towels soaked up the blood just fine, and when he removed them, the wound had stopped bleeding.

He grabbed the first aid kit that his aunt kept under the sink and grabbed some alcohol to clean the wounds. Next, he snatched some Neosporin and squirted it on the cuts, and finally sealed them up with a few large bandaids. It was at this moment that Tord blinked open his silver eyes, his pupils dilating and growing until they fixed on Tom.

"T-Tom." The commie flinched back. His face contorted in pain, and he glanced down at his arm and back up at Tom's face. Tom gulped.

"I, um, I'm sorry." Tom coughed out awkwardly.

"You did this to me?" With the look on Tord's face, he already knew it was true, except he wanted his confession too, just to prove his point.

"I...yeah." Tom ran his hands through his hair.

"You're a monster, then?" Tord said quietly, but there was no contempt, only curiosity.

"Um, I guess." Tom looked away. He got up and sat on the counter of the sink, while Tord tried to hoist himself up out of the bathtub. He succeeded, and with a grunt, crawled out and sat himself on the closed toilet seat. Tom sighed and looked away, lost in his own thoughts. He worried about what his aunt would say, especially since some of the household items were broken and now gone.

"So...how does it happen?" Tord's voice snapped him from his trance. Tom looked down at his checkered shoes for a moment. Was it really worth telling Tord? The commie had a big mouth from Tom's perspective, and the last thing he ever wanted was going back to that awful point in his life. He shuddered just thinking about it, and the scars that were still on his back and arms prickled.

Then Tom realized that there was no getting out of this. He had attacked Tord out of the blue, and there was still some part of Tom that cared for the commie and wanted him to be okay. Tord should know the truth. If Tom was completely honest, he would've told Tord way sooner than right now, because he knew that he wouldn't say anything about something that was this big and impactful.

Tom took a deep breath. "You really want to know?"

Tord nodded. His eyes were full of seriousness, something that was unusual in the commie. "Yeah, Tom, I really do want to know."

Tom cleared his throat.

And everything spilled out. From his parents' deaths, to the horrible place where he got his powers, and everything about his transformations. Tom spilled out more than he wanted to, but when he was finished, he felt emptier, like he had dropped off all the baggage he was carrying for so long. It felt good to get it all off of his chest, and Tord seemed very understanding of it all.

"I can't believe you've been holding this in for so long..." Tord sighed, rubbing his bandaged hand on his face. He dropped his shoulders and exhaled. "This...this is why you act so tough. Truth is, you're really afraid, but you can't show it or else-" He paused. "-all this happens."

"Stupid Edd. Ugh, you're gonna be in hell these next few weeks." Tom flinched slightly. Tord said it with such hatred. He guessed Tord was harboring some burning fury for the green hoodie boy.

"I don't know what I'm going to do." Tom sighed, burying his face in his ripped hoodie sleeves.

"I know what I'm going to do." Tord said. He hopped off the toilet seat and hobbled over to Tom, forcing his hands away from his face and staring into his voids. Tom growled and tried to struggle out of Tord's grasp, but the commie had a firm grip on his small wrists.

"I'm going to help you."

"How?" Tom asked skeptically. He shifted away from Tord on the counter, freeing his wrists.

"By teaching you self-defense." Tord replied simply. "I can't protect you all the time, and soccer only takes you so far. You can't act helpless in every situation."

Tom rolled his "eyes". The commie had a point, but why should he accept help from him now?

"Please?" Tom forced himself to look at Tord. He looked so genuine that it felt almost impossible to decline his offer.

"Fine. But don't think it's because I'm your friend." Tom huffed.

Tord smirked. "Alright. Deal." He stuck out his hand. Tom frowned for a moment, however he reluctantly grabbed Tord's hand with his own.

And they shook on it.

Aaaaaa. A new chapter. This one took me a little longer than I liked, but since I made a deal with my friend Ember...I decided to muster up all my two brain cells and finish it! So Tord's gonna teach Tom self defense? Wonder how that's going to go?

Usually Tom doesn't fight, although it might seem that way on the soccer field, but to him, it's completely different, since if you throw punches, you get penalized for it. Tom does get up and recovers quickly, so that's one of his strengths! And yes, he's strong, so don't worry about him. He'll be just fine.

Anyways, make sure to vote, comment, and maybe even follow! A new chapter will be posted in the near future! Have a great day!
:)