Half Sick of Shadows » Band of Brothers [2]

10: Something at Work

"There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand." - Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

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When Juliette woke it was just her and Thomas left in the living room of the small, largely destroyed house. Tom was still asleep, and she didn't try to wake him, but she looked to where Martin and Will had been previously and found their things still there. She thought they'd probably gone out to look for food.

Even though she hadn't eaten anything since England, the thought of food made her feel queasy. Her worries from the previous night came flooding back to her, and subconsciously she glanced out of the smashed window as if hoping to catch sight of all of her friends who hadn't shown up yet. She chewed on her bottom lip, lost in thought.

She must have been sitting there, thinking, for about half an hour before Tom woke. She didn't notice at first, still worrying at her lip and thinking hard on what might have happened to the currently-MIA paratroopers. When Tom spoke up she jumped.

"You're worried about him."

Jules whipped her head to face him, a hand coming up to press against her pounding heart. When her eyes locked onto his, she sighed, a sheepish smile coming to rest on her lips. "He's probably fine, right?"

Tom grinned rakishly. "So you knew who I meant, then?"

"That means nothing!" She had flushed at his suggestion and was shaking her head adamantly.

Tom rolled his eyes. "Jules, you don't have to pretend in front of me. Okay? We tell each other everything."

She sighed. "It's not like that. It's just - It's not -" She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "I don't."

"You don't what?"

"I don't feel that way for Gene."

Tom scoffed. "Sure you don't."

"I don't! And you don't know the whole story."

"Tell me, then," he said with a quirk of his eyebrows. "Because your mouth is saying one thing but every interaction I've ever seen you have with him says another. Don't think I didn't see the sleeve rolling."

At this revelation, she flushed positively crimson. "I - no, it's - it's because of -"

"Alex," he finished for her with a small sigh.

"How did you..?"

Tom sat up properly from his position on the floor and ran a hand through messy blond hair. He glanced out of the front window of the room for a moment before turning back to her. "He told you, didn't he?" When she didn't answer, he added, "That he loved you."

Juliette sucked in a harsh breath. "How did you know that?"

Thomas laughed quietly. "Jules, everyone knew that."

"He told you all before he told me?!" Now that was something she hadn't expected of Alex.

"No," Tom told her carefully, watching her every reaction to his words. "He never told any of us. But it was so clear: why he was always so hard on you, why he never let you go in alone... You know, he used to always ask me about you. All the time. He never wanted to push you into telling him anything but he knew you spoke to me, so he'd ask me if you were okay basically all the time."

She had to look away. Her hands clenched and unclenched themselves in her lap. "I never knew."

"I know you didn't. But that's not your fault. He just..." Tom shook his head, watching Jules closely even though her eyes were averted. "He never knew how much he scared you."