Break Down Your Walls

[43]

~𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐~

The whole way up to Tom's office, he keeps a firm grip on my body as if letting me go slightly would cause me to break. Haz was left downstairs and his eyes never left me until I was out of reach of his sight. Abby, Noelle, and Elizabeth all watched from a distance, as well, not wanting to overwhelm me.

Once we make it to his office, Tom helps me get to the couch and pours more water into my cup, wrapping his suit jacket tighter around my shoulders. "Tom?" I let out shakily as he busies himself with making me comfortable.

"Hm?" He responds, turning around from his spot where he was pouring water from his water bottle into my small paper cup.

"Please, just sit down." I beg, tapping the spot on the black leather couch next to me. His expression softens as a small smile forms on those thin, soft lips. He makes his way over to me, kissing my forehead gently before he sits down and hands me my cup.

"I want to explain what happened." I begin, taking a deep breath. Again, his face becomes filled with worry.

"You don't have to if it's going to stress you out again." He warns me, placing his large hand over mine which is resting on my knee.

"No, no. Telling you would make me feel better about all of it." My eyes look into his and I already feel like I'm breathing easier. He simply nods his head and keeps our eye contact, letting me know he's intently listening, which is something he does very often. Tom likes to make sure you know you're being listened to.

"My mum called last night. I told you how I talked to her about us dating, but the conversation wasn't long or heartfelt at all. So, you could say I haven't really talked to my parents in a few months.

"I blamed them for a long time along with myself about what Alex had done. I still have trouble doing that, but I think I'm getting better at accepting the fact that it was up to him in the end." Tom begins to rub his thumb gently over my skin, another thing he does regularly when he wishes to comfort me.

"Anyway, I wasn't expecting my mum to call and especially not about you." His dark eyes narrow and he slightly tilts his head which causes a small brown curl to fall out of its intricate place and lay against his forehead.

"I haven't heard her so happy and excited in a really long time. I didn't know why until she told me how her and my dad want to have us over for dinner one night." I wait for a negative reaction from him, but instead I see a glimmer of happiness in his eyes.

"I would love to meet your parents as long as you're comfortable with it." He assures me, more weight being taken off of my shoulders.

"I haven't had dinner with my parents in a long time and we've only been dating for a short time, so I was worried it would chase you away. They can be quite a handful." I look down at my hands, taking in another long breath.

"Y/n. Look at me." I raise my gaze slowly to meet his and all I can see is just pure and genuine kindness. "Nothing could chase me away from you." Tears start to form in my eyes. They never fall, but they make themselves known.

Tom places a soft kiss on my lips. "Was that all that was troubling you?" He asks after we pull apart.

"Well, what set me off was that it started to rain and I couldn't find my umbrella. Everything was going wrong and it just made me feel helpless. It all sounds pretty stupid now that I'm saying it out loud."

"Love, it's not stupid at all. We all have things that set us off and you have been that reason for me for the past month and a half." He gives me a wink along with his usual smirk, always knowing how to make me laugh.

"I just don't want you to feel like you can't come to me about these things when they happen. You don't have to wait. If you're starting to feel like you can't take it on your own, I'll always be there to help carry the load." He adds.

"I know. And you can always come to me, Tom. I know you're still getting used to communicating your feelings, but I just want you to know that everything you feel is valid." The look on his face is one that I can't quite describe other than just utter gratitude. His shoulders relax, his cheeks relax, even his smile slightly lowers and his chest rises and falls with a sigh.

"I love you with every bit of my being." He lets out. My heart is uplifted and it seems as if all of my energy is restored as I lean forward and place another kiss on his lips. My hand reaches up and grabs the back of his neck, keeping his head close to mine. Once we pull away, both of our smiles are too wide to even express.

"And I love you with all I have." I respond. Telling him how I feel about him multiple times a day gives me an overall sense of absolute joy.

"Are you going to be alright to work today?" He asks, kissing my cheek with a light tickle of his lips.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, talking to you really helped. We need to keep working on my audition, as well." I give him a wide smile and I can see his cheeks turn a light pink with bashful humbleness.

"I'm glad. And yes, we still have some work to do before your audition. We also need to be looking around for good film opportunities." He says, his voice changing more to the manager tone compared to the boyfriend tone he was using earlier.

"I'm so excited! I really want to nail my first one." I know this is a lot to ask of myself, but I feel like I can do it. As long as I'm not going for the main character, I should be okay. A supporting role would be sufficient for me and starting my resume.

"That might be hard, but I'm sure you'll be able to do it." He kisses my forehead, getting up from the leather couch and heading towards his desk, pulling out a huge pile of papers that I already know has my name on it.

Throwing out my paper cup, I head towards his desk, grabbing the pile in my hands. "All accepting or denying?" I ask.

"Denying." My eyes widen at that one word, feeling absolutely horrible for every one of these people, hoping that they'll find somewhere else to start their working career.

"Alright. I'll get right on it. See you at lunch?" I wish I could just stay in here with him forever, but that would be too unprofessional and I can't get special treatment.

"Of course, darling." He replies, the corners of his lips rising into a smile, causing his eyes to squint and form little wrinkles next to them.

As I leave his office and close the door behind me, I actually feel grateful that I had an anxiety attack. If I hadn't, I don't know if I would have actually asked Tom about going to my parents. I'm glad that I did, though, because he made me feel so much more comfortable with the idea of forming a relationship with them again.

I place the pile of papers on my desk, taking a seat in my spinning chair and looking out of the huge window behind my desk. Sometimes I wonder what would've happened to me if I had never gone for this job. I would have never met Tom, Haz, Abby, Noelle, or Elizabeth. I wouldn't have gained the confidence I have now or the life experiences. Such as being stalked and drugged, but also going to formal events and award shows.

I feel like I haven't appreciated UK Casts enough and what it has done for me and even for Charlie. This office building will never leave my mind, no matter where I go. A lot of memories are being made here and I can't wait to make even more.
~ ~ ~
Wow it's been a hot minute since Ive last updated! I'm so sorry guys! This was an awful chapter to put out after making y'all wait so long :(

Hopefully I'll get back into the groove of writing, though, and get the actually good chapters out of me!! Thank you all for being so patients with me and my nonexistent updating schedule!

Also, thank you for 40k reads! I seriously can't even believe it. If you had told me a few months ago that this sorry would've gone viral, I wouldn't have believed you!

I'll catch y'all in the next chapter <3

~Aidan