Unconditionally

18

After two months of dates and many overnights at her house Tom felt comfortable with her. Vic, was not as comfortable and was still very guarded, but she was slowly starting to really feel something for Tom. He said he loved her over and over and she couldn't say it back. She tried but she just wasn't ready. It was a Saturday and she had just finished her second cup of tea sitting at her reading nook taking in the sun. She had stopped working and moved on to social media, she opened her instagram and realize that she had a lot of notifications and a picture tag. She opened the tag and there was a picture of her sitting at her nook working. Tom had without her knowledge taken a picture of her moments earlier and posted to his instagram tagging her in it with a sweet caption 'my love my life my busy little bee'. It was sweet and she was moved, but also incredibly pissed. She wasn't ready, she couldn't even tell him she loved him and he had just gone public with their relationship. Seconds later her phone started to buzz, and Henry's name flashed on the caller ID. She sighed and silenced the call.

"Did you just post this?" she said turning to Tom. He smiled "yes you look lovely and it was a great picture of you." She pinched the bridge of her nose as her phone buzzed for the third time. "Why would you do something like this without telling me?" she was angry and he had just caught on to that "I didn't think I needed permission to say publicly how much I loved my girlfriend!" He was just as angry at her reaction. "It's not that Tom, I just don't like my private life out there like that!" That wasn't it, she was more worried about Henry's reaction which is more than likely who was causing her pocket to buzz. "Victoria, I am a very public figure as are you, this is normal." She let out a shaky breath "I don't want to be public with you quite yet, there are a lot of aspects of my life that you don't know and I really need this to stay private." Tom furrowed his brows in confusion. "What does that mean?" Her phone was buzzing for the seventh time still burning in her back pocket and she pulled it out reaching for it and answered the call.

"Hello" her eyes still on Tom who was glaring at her in disbelief "Are you with him now, publicly" Henry's voice was steady but scary. "Can we please talk about this later?" "Victoria, tell me now!" his voice was loud and Tom could clearly hear the male voice on the other line. The anger merging with confusion. "Hank, I can't talk about this right now" Henry scoffed picking up on her cold distant tone "Why? Is he there? Are you afraid of him finding out your dirty secret?! Why not Victoria I know about him why shouldn't he know about me?" she closed her eyes she should have just turned her phone off. "This is none of your business, I am not your problem anymore, please just leave me alone. " Toms face was cold and looking at the ground. "You're right go to him, be with him he loves you, and that is something I could never do" there was a click and then the beep indicating he had ended the call his words said in anger still burning through her soul. "Who was that?" Tom sat down on the bed pushing his fingers though his hair in frustration. "My past" she said Toms face softening at the tone in Victoria voice. "Is that why you didn't want this to be public?" she nodded quietly as the pain of Henry's words burned and broke her heart all over again. She was breaking over a man who was never hers. " My life isn't what you think it is Tom, There is so much of me that you don't know. You should have asked me if I was ready for this." Her voice cracked and Tom worried that she might never feel for him they way he did for her. "Are you ready?" she looked at him longingly. "I don't know." He said nothing, he stood and kissed her forehead and walked out of the door.

Everything was crashing around her she had tried to hold on to the two most important things in her life and she had failed. miserably. She called Henry back in a vain attempt to hold onto something, she didn't think he would pick up but he did. "So your with him now?"again with the question that she could not answer "I don't know, yes.. I guess? but I didn't want the world to know... I just don't know Hank" she scoffed "how can you not know Victoria?" she sighed "Because I don't this is all weird, and hard. I don't like the spotlight you know that, I just want to be .. Ugh!" he knew what she wanted "You just want to be with me?" He blurted the words out he didn't even care that Lucy could clearly hear him. "Yes" she said softly. He was taken aback at her honesty and his in this moment. "Who are you talking to Henry" Lucy asked. Victoria's heart stopped beating. The progress of moments ago came to a crashing halt. "She is there? Are you fucking kidding me? Did she hear what you said?" he didn't answer her question "What do you really want Victoria?" His tone was softer and she didn't want to hold back anything anymore. "You ok! I want you but I can't have that can I!" "Henry who are you talking to!" Lucy was now trying to take the phone from him but he managed to keep the phone. She kicked him hard and he dropped the phone. "Hello? who is this?" Victoria said nothing. "Lucy give me the phone!" He was trying desperately to get it back. "Who is this?? Are you bath and body wash girl? well he's with me now you need to leave him the hell alone. We are getting married soon so you need to take your cheap ass and find your own man." Henry took the phone by force and pushed Lucy onto the couch. "Vic?" She was shocked he was getting married, he was moving on and yet here he was trying to interrogate her about her relationship. "Goodbye Henry, congrats on the engagement" "Vic, no wait!" "No Hank I don't want to wait anymore, we had our chance and you didn't want it so please stop calling... stop freaking out every time something in my life becomes public, stop calling me. You wanted to be with Lucy then go be with Lucy." She wanted to hang up but she waited "Victoria" he said softly.. "I can't hank, we keep going round and round and yet here we are... I love you... you know that I won't lie about it but I deserve to be loved in return." He closed his eyes picturing her. He could almost see the frustrated look on her face.
He was now hiding in his room with a locked door while Lucy tried to break through the door. "I know you do, and I want to, I really do, but I just can't. " she smiled "Goodbye Hank, I wish you all the happiness in the world." she hung up, but this time she was not sad. She felt relief in a way she had some closure and that was exactly what she needed. She went back on instagram and found the post that Tom had made of her. She went to the comments and wrote 'I love you baby'. it was simple and meaningful , moments later Tom called. "Hello?" she said "Do you mean it?" his voice was soft and careful "Yes, I am sorry it took me so long, I don't want to be without you baby" she smiled, she didn't mean it but she hoped that with time she would.