Supernatural (Tom Holland x Reader)

12. Murder?

At dinner that night, the boys all sat as far away from me as they could possibly get. Even Paddy was afraid of me, it seemed. Nobody spoke while we ate our steak. If you could even say any of us ate. The boys mostly just picked at their food...pushing it about their plates with the ends of their forks or blowing on the peas to see if they could get them to move.

"I would like to talk about earlier," I finally said. My voice, however soft, cut through the silence like a thunder crack in the middle of the night. All three of the Holland children looked up at me and then back down at their plates. Okay, I thought. "Look, I'm sorry I scared you, Paddy. And I forgive you for what you said about me, Harry, Sam. I know how close you were with Tom. You're just taking it hard. I understand."

"NO." Harry barked, throwing his fork back onto the plate so hard it cracked. "How could you possibly say you understand? You have no idea what it's like, losing someone like that...he didn't deserve it. You have NO IDEA!!!" He roared the last bit at me. I blinked hard, determined not to lose my cool again, but despite my efforts, the room still shook lightly. I took a deep breath and imagined the room steadying itself. It obeyed.

"I know exactly what it's like," I replied near-silently. A tear made its way out of my eye, over my cheek, and into my lips. The three boys looked at me, disbelieving. "I had a brother once too. Benjamin." The memory made my throat strain and my nose tingle. "I was twelve. He was nine." My voice cracked as I began the story I'd never told. "We were playing tag by the river one day and he pulled my braids so I pushed him in." I swore I could feel the breeze on my face again as I spoke. "I'd known he couldn't swim, but the river wasn't deep and I didn't think..." I heard screaming, distant in my memory. "I didn't think he would be in any danger. I didn't mean it!" I was full-on sobbing as I added the last bit...more to myself than to anyone else. "He hit his head when he went under once and knocked himself out." My voice was empty and silent now. "By the time I got to him, he'd drowned."

There was silence for a long and terrible moment as I mopped my nose on my silk napkin. "I killed him. I killed my baby brother...the person I loved most in the world." I heard a sniffle and looked up. All three boys were in silent tears before me. Paddy silently laid down his fork and walked carefully over to me, wrapping me in a tight embrace.

"I...I am so sorry," Harry said weakly. "I had no idea."