[WORD COUNT: 2471!]
PLEASE READ AN AT THE END OF CHAPTER 💞

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

You'd awoke on Tom's chest in an array of sweat collecting on your forehead, heart pounding and your hands gripping the sheets beside you. The feeling was familiar, yet a long time coming. It had been almost three years since you'd had a nightmare as bad as this one, waking up in a puddle of your own sweat feeling like if your heart continued to speed up it would tear through your muscle tissue and be exposed to the cold air.

Yet you didn't remember a thing. All you knew was that whatever happened was bad, and left a strong angsty feeling in your chest like there were wires being tangled around your lungs and pulling until they sliced. It almost felt like something from the Saw franchise.

Your eyes had been open for a while, yet all you could see was black until you finally came to realise you were awake, swallowing flatly before moving to sit upright. Your abdomen pushed against Tom's hips, making him groan in discomfort and roll over, sending you tumbling off the side of the bed with a thud.

"Ouch!" You groaned as a matter of factly, looking up to see Tom sound asleep still, cheek spurred over the pillow and nose slightly flared as it moved loose strands of hair every time he exhaled. Well, you were sure enough awake now. You rolled your eyes, picking yourself up from the carpet in a slow movement, realising the birds were chirping outside. It came as no surprise that your body clock, despite the nightmare, had you awake at almost six in the morning. Running a chilled hand through your hair, you opened the curtains just enough to open the window. The morning air was cold and felt refreshing on your clogged skin, blowing strands of hair off of your shoulders and drying your damp lips.

"Hey, it's freezing in here!" You heard Tom groan from the bed sheets.

So he was awake.

"Oh, so was it that you chose to ignore after I fell off the bed, or?" you chuckled sarcastically, jumping onto the bed and straddling Tom at the waist. Tom moved his hair away from his eyes to look at you, seeing you yawn and stretch.

"Sorry about that, love" he smirked, poking your stomach making you crease into a ball and roll over onto your side.

"You know I'm ticklish there!"

"And?" Tom retorted, moving the sheets off of his legs and crawling towards you, pinning you down with his body weight as he placed a kiss on your cheek. "Good morning by the way"

"Good fucking morning to you too" you leaned up, kissing his soft lips. God, how you had missed that. It felt like years since you had been able to kiss his like this, feeling the warmth and faded taste of mint on his lips. Your heart fluttered as your hand moved as if on autopilot, to the back of his neck, drawing him closer as your lips moved against his and your fingers intertwined with his curls.

Tom hummed against you, a smile appearing throughout the kiss as his hand gripped your hip, pulling you fully underneath him on a straight angle. Neither of you chose to deepen the kiss, just letting your lips rest against one another's. It was peaceful and heartfelt.

Eventually, you pulled away for air, placing one last peck on his nose. 

"Why are you awake this early anyway?" he scrunched his brows together, thumb gently massaging the underside of your shirt where your hip lay, sending a gentle shiver up your spine.

"I had, uh... I had a nightmare"  you shrugged, "It's nothing though. I used to get them all the time"

"You sure? I mean if you used to have them all the time that's a problem on its own"

"Tom," you warned with a smile, "I'm fine"

"You better not be fibbing" he teased, rolling the ball of his finger over your forehead. The gesture made you relax more than expected, eyes closing and a hum leaving your lips as he strolled down your cheek and along your neck.

"So..." you asked gently, words soft and almost slurred from the relaxation and tiredness flowing through your body, "about New York"

"I am still serious about the trip. We're not safe here" his fingers stopped abruptly, moving his hand away making your eyes flutter open.

"Yes, I know that," you smiled "I was gonna ask when you were planning on leaving"

"Well, uh. I mean, whenever we can"

"There's a flight that leaves tonight" you averted your eyes to your hands, resting on your stomach. Tom didn't say anything for a moment, moving off of you yet pulled you up with him.

"You serious about this? I mean, I 've got nothing to lose but you... You've got a whole life ahead of you"

"Have I though Tom?" you sighed, "I mean, after everything, all I have is you and I'm ok with that. I... I don't really trust anyone but you right now"

"And that's not how it should be. I shouldn't be holding you back-"

"You're not holding me back, please Tom your not" you adjusted your seat, placing a hand on his cheek, "you make me feel safe to the point where I don't need anyone else, you're not holding me back and if something happens it's my fault, okay?" You rubbed your thumb along his soft skin, making his eyes flutter every time you travelled further to his lashes. He nodded slowly.

"You really wanna do this, though? We can wait"

"No, Tom. We can't. You know that" you said quietly, but with a stern spark in your voice. You weren't snapping at Tom, but he was right when he said staying here was dangerous. Harry wasn't dead and knowing his heart was still beating left every door open, every perfect opportunity for him to come along and finish the job right when you turned your heads.

"I'm just trying to do what's best for you" he whispered, eyes looking down. You removed your hand, following his eyes and laced your fingers together.

"Look, it's six o'clock. We've got all day to sort things, let Everdeen plan the flight and I'll do the packing. You have had a... Seriously rough week, so if anything getting some extra rest might do you good" you placed your hand on Tom's side, feeling the bump in the fabric of his shirt where the stitches were peeking upright.

Tom took a deep breath. He didn't feel safe going to sleep without you by his side, not because he felt vulnerable but he was worried about losing you. He couldn't afford to let you leave his life, not on your own terms but on someone else's. He wasn't scared you'd leave him because you weren't like that, but he was scared you'd go missing and never return.

"Promise you'll stick around though, and wake me up if you're going out"

"I pinky promise nothing is gonna happen to me, okay?" you smiled at his golden heart being put to work, showing how much he cared making your insides melt.  He nodded, leaning in and placing a soft and gentle kiss on your lips. To say you had shared so many kisses, this one was particularly different. Tom had openly admitted that he was over this agreement and that he felt something more for you than he did at the beginning. You'd been so eaten up about it that you never really got to process that feeling, and this was it. You wouldn't dare to even think that you were feeling the same way as him, but you felt it. You felt the love he had for you in that single kiss as if he had some kind of superpower that took over your mind. It felt different, strange and passionate, but not even a hint of lust was present.

He backed up to pull away, but something in your mind clicked and you pulled him back, reconnecting your lips and moving to sit on his lap. You adjusted in order for you to get comfortable, wrapping his arms around your waist as small strands of your hair fell on his cheeks. He felt content. Perfectly content in that moment. Forgetting everything he had to worry about as if realising that maybe the world wasn't against him.

Finally, you allowed him to pull off, looking down into his eyes which were slightly hidden behind his lids. You bit the inside of your cheek, a meaningless expression of your face as you mesmerised the small freckles on his nose, and the way small wrinkles had formed on his forehead from smiling. Tom was like a masterpiece, often something you could only admire from afar, yet you were allowed to be this close to him. Face to face, noses almost touching, admiring all of him.

"Lay with me? 5 minutes?" he whispered gently.

You smiled, "sure" before sitting back and lying down back in your spot on the bed, but this time Tom lay behind you, arm coming over and tucking itself around your waist to scoot you closer, legs touching as his chin rested on your head. You could feel the heat radiating off of him, and his chest lightly hitting your back to the pattern of his breathing. You could smell the familiar cologne he wore without fail every day, and feel his fingertips on your skin, despite the clothing acting as a strong barrier. And there you slept for what felt forever.

You woke a couple of hours later yet again by your body clock, striking you awake as if punishing you for falling asleep in the first place. It was almost eight, so the day was still new. You unhooked Tom's grasp from your shirt, placing his arm over his stomach as you slithered from under the sheets and dived for the shower, feeling your clothes sticking to you from the sweat. After doing so, you changed and did your hair, maybe half an hour later and came back to see Tom still sound asleep. Despite loving his presence, he needed to get some rest. He'd been through hell and back and knowing he was only healing now, took a huge weight off of your chest.

Only, figuring you were moving to New York, you had to pack everything. Which meant going back to the old house... Which meant leaving the hotel room...You wanted to wake Tom like he had asked you to, but you couldn't. He was asleep and he looked too comfortable to be disturbed.

A knock at the door pulled you out of concentration, running to the frame before they could knock again and possibly disturb Tom. You creaked open the door slowly, seeing one of Everdeen agents standing very professionally waiting. You shot him a smile, before leaving the room completely and closed the door behind you.

"Can I help you?" you smiled.

"I was just sent to make sure everything was running according to plan" he smiled, voice very deep and echoed around the small hallway.

"Yes, but uh, may I ask a favour?"

"Of course"

"I have to go back to the old house for a couple of hours, could you maybe stay here and watch Tom for me? He asked me not to leave him and I know he'll only get paranoid if he knows he's alone" you rushed out, hands kneading together.

"Of course, miss. But wouldn't you rather one of our team members go, or even so escort you?"

"No. I'll be... Quite alright on my own. Could use someone alone time" you smiled awkwardly, to which the officer nodded.

"If you need anything, here's our number. I'll be here when you get back" he smiled, handing you a small white paper card with printed black numbers on the front and the companies logo on the back. You nodded, taking it and sliding it into your pocket with a mumbled thank you before dashing off down the hallway.

You weren't exactly sure what to expect going there alone, as only part of it was right. You needed some alone time, yes, but you would have much-rathered someone come with you. Just in case. But, your gut was somewhat telling you you would be okay. You just hoped for once it was right.

It was less than a twenty-minute walk to the old house. Coming back wasn't at all pleasing, as it was a mess and nothing like you remembered. A large part of you was filled with pure anger, knowing that Tom had spent all his money and time building this place to make it his own like an empire knocked down by the common enemy. It was cold inside, and the living room floor was filled with shattered glass covering the majority of the couch and flooring. You braced your jacket over your stomach as you wondered in further, the darkness in the room making your skin crawl.

Luckily enough, the lighting was still working as you flicked the switch, which was quite surprising considering. You ventured further, stepping over the larger shards before finally reaching the clearing of the stairs and made your way up. You figured you'd get the clothes today, and organise some staff to come to get the larger parts tomorrow such as furniture.

Finally, you reached Tom's bedroom, deciding not to waste any time in packing and headed straight to the drawer. The eariness was tight, and not to mention uncomfortable. Almost deafening.

So when you heard the front door open, your senses were dialled to eleven.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Heyyyy oh my goodness I am SO sorry for the late update this week! Life has been treating me pretty shit but I cannot thank you enough for all the support I have had off you guys! Thank you so so much! 💫🥰💞

Also, you guys were very confident in me making a second book, so when this one comes to an end here is what will happen: —

At the end of the last chapter, I will ask the question again to see if any of you are still interested or whether or not I should let this book be one on its own (I would so be up for writing a book 2 btw)

If the answer is yes, I will wait maybe a month in order for me to plan out the story, as I already have Sex for Homework to complete, and another book coming out straight after called 'Habits'. So, again leave your thoughts ☺️☀️

Thank you again for all the support this book has had, I wouldn't here be without you all!

Love you all and I'll see you in Chapter 20! 🧜🏻‍♀️