Lovers of Freedom

A funeral

Next day we received a phone call from the lobby. Tom and I looked at each other and I spoke.

"Yes?"

"It's me, Matt. I'm at the airport. Can you please find Tom and... tell him to call me as soon as possible?" Matt said. His voice sounded as if he had been crying for a long time. I pulled the phone away and covered it with my hand.

"it's your brother. Something happened, you need to..." I said. Then I went back to the phone call.

"Where are you going? " I asked, Matt was crying now.

"It's my mum Annie. She passed away early morning today. I have to go to my dad in Belgium. Tom needs to do the same." Matt said. I didn't know what to say.

"When's your flight leaving?" I asked.

"At 4pm...I really shouldn't have come so early here..."

"Matt. I'll be there with you okay. Are you at Milton Keynes?" I said. Tom looked at me. I hung up.

"Tom... I don't know how to say this but...your mother passed away." I said Tom sighed.

"That was to be expected..."Tom said, uninterested. "My mother and I really didn't have a relationship. I left home at 16 to live with my aunt...and... are you going to Belgium?"

"I am... I need to be there for Matt." I said. "I mean I know whatever happened with us last night...was a mistake. I am dating your brother and..."

"Bullshit Annie. I can't believe you're telling me this. "Tom was angry now. "You know what. Yes. Fucking leave to Belgium with him. Go to my dead's mother funeral. If you want, you can also shag my father. " what he said hurt me and I slapped him.

"I know you're hurt by this and... you're just slashing out at me. Come with me to Belgium Tom. I think you need this. Our relationship can wait as well as me talking to your brother. I want to believe everything you said yesterday but first so need to think this through to see if l am doing the right decision." Tom held his face and sighed.

"I have no respect for that woman Annie. I don't give a fuck she died." Tom said serious. A part of me wanted to believe he was lying.

My mother always said that when a man hated his own mother it wasn't a good thing. She thought that was a massive red flag. However, my mother always missed the whole picture and I had no idea how was Tom's relationship to his parents.

Had him been abused by his mother growing up? Did she beat him up? What the fuck had she done to him so he would not want to go to her funeral?

"I'm sorry she died Tom... I'm sorry your unresolved issues stayed that way." I said. Tom's facial expressions relaxed.

"I didn't hate her Annie...I think I loved her as much as a child can love his mother...but... things are complicated. I can't go. I can't face her..." he said. Tears started rolling down. I hugged him. I had never seen him crying in my life.

"I'll go for you. At the end of the day, I kind of have part of you in me. " I mean I wasn't pregnant nor anything and we hadn't had sex since January but... we had kissed and I had stolen a part of his heart.

Oh my God, how pathetically romantic was I becoming?

Tom hugged me and I held him in my arms while the tears fell down his face. I wondered if this was the only time in my life I was going to see him cry.

I arrived to the airport at 2pm and found Matt on the other side. He kissed me, cried on me and asked me about Tom. I lied and I said he had work so he couldn't escape and he would pay his respects later.