I'll save you from yourself

|| Bill’s POV ||

“We’ll be back in an hour,” Sonnie said as she and Abbie got out of the car with Tom and me to say good-bye for the time being, “But I’m not giving you guys anymore time then that. Strange towns are so not my thing and I wanna try to get home tonight.” She gave me a quick hug before Abbie pushed her away and wrapped her arms tighter around me then Sonnie had.

“Okay, an hour,” I agreed with them, taking Tom’s hand once Abbie let me go. They waved as I dragged Tom into the restaurant and out of eyesight. Tom slumped into the corner booth after I finally let go of his hand and I sat across from him. He looked so tired, completely worn out. It actually worried me quite a bit. Tom simply didn’t look like himself.

I reached over the table and took his hand in my own once more and Tom finally looked at me again. He had completely ignored all three of us in the car; I had started to think he wasn’t going to give me a bit of attention. “Tomi, I really am sorry I hurt you when I left,” I said quietly and his eyes just narrowed on me. “I didn’t have a choice. Lacy told my mom I was better, that it was time for me to go home.” I rubbed my thumb over the top of his hand, he was relaxing slightly. “I promised I was going to come back. Why didn’t you believe me? Why did you leave?”

Tom gulped back some before his eyes softened on me and his hand squeezed my back. “I didn’t think you were going to come back,” he admitted. It took all I could not to just swoon from his voice again. I loved the sound of Tom’s voice. “No one ever comes back when they say they do.”

“I’m not like everyone else, Tom.” I told him, using the words he had said to me before and he tilted his head at me, waiting for me to finish. “I’m better then them. I don’t mean it in this vain narcissistic way. But, I would never hurt you on purpose. I would never break a promise to you.” I told him. His shoulders relaxed some and I smiled, getting up and going over to his side of the booth and sitting next to him.

“But you still left me,” He said, his voice sounding a little harsh, but beautiful at the same time. “You still walked away just like everyone else always has, Bill.” He frowned, looking at me now and his tongue traced over his lips in a way that made me doubt he even realized he did it, “What is there to make me think that you’re not just going to walk away again?”

I smiled at him; I knew how to answer that. “Because I tricked two of the craziest girls in the entire world into helping me find you. Because I spent three hours in a car with those same two girls and a TomTom that wouldn’t shut the hell up just because there was a chance that I could see you again. Because I would have spent forever looking for you if I had too. Because I’m in love with you, Tom.”

Tom was smiling the more I talked, though as long as I live I will never forget the look on his face when I told him that I was in love with him. It was a mixture of happiness, disbelief, shock, fear, and love all at once. But the only ones that stayed there for more then a moment or so was the love and happiness. “Do you mean that, Bill?” He asked me, his voice cracking a little. I just nodded. Tom smiled at me, his hand wrapping around the back of my neck and he pulled me close, pressing our lips together in the sweetest kiss. “I love you too, Billa.”

Fin.