Chapter 3: Away From Home
Sybil groaned as she heard her mobile phone play At the End of the Day from Les Misérables. "Hello?" she said, rubbing her eyes to wake her up. She sat up in bed, and then heard Larry's voice.
"Hi, Sybil. It's me."
"What do you want, Larry?" Sybil huffed, not wanting anything to do with her ex.
"I still love you, Sybil," he said down the phone.
"Yeah, well, you screwed someone else in your spare time and that was your fault and now, as much as you might love me, I really don't love you, so I'm not going to get back together with you, Larry," Sybil said strongly.
"But, Syb, it was an accident – you know that," he said, pleading desperately with her.
"How exactly? How can you fuck someone accidentally? It wasn't magic, Larry; it was you cheating on me and knowing perfectly well that that's what you were doing."
"It was only one time, though."
"Was it?" Sybil said, beginning to get a bit fed up. "Hypothetically, if I were ever to get back together with you, which I'm not, by the way, I would never be able to feel confident that you would stay loyal to me."
"But, will you think about it?" he asked in hope.
"Not a hope in hell! Besides, I've moved on – I've met someone and I don't want you coming along and screwing everything up between us."
"But, Syb, you don't under-"
"Goodbye, Larry," Sybil sighed, hanging up the phone and falling back to sleep.
When Sybil woke up properly about half an hour later, she pulled on a pair of old, tatty jeans and a plain long sleeved black top. She chose a heart locket that she'd had since she was five and put a pair of plain diamond earrings in before wandering downstairs to grab a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice. When she sat at the kitchen table to have her breakfast, both Mary and Edith walked in. Surprisingly, they were chatting as if they were friends, and not trying to bite each other's heads off. "Morning," Edith said to Sybil.
"Morning," Sybil said.
"You sound cheerful," Mary acknowledged.
"I am," she replied.
"So you enjoyed your evening with Tom, I take it?" Edith asked.
"I certainly did," she said with a grin.
"You only broke up with Larry a couple of weeks ago," Mary stated. "I'm surprised that you haven't spoken to him and have already got over him completely." Actually, I did speak to him, Sybil thought. But I still hate him. She decided not to say this out loud, as she knew that Mary would make a big thing of it. Instead, she didn't reply to Mary's comment at all. She stayed just as quiet as she had been for the past few weeks, but this time not because of mourning for her relationship with Larry, but because she was confused. Was it right that she'd got over him and clicked with Tom in such a small space of time?
After finishing her breakfast, she got up from the table and put her bowl, spoon and glass in the half-full dishwasher. She returned back upstairs, planning on doing some more work. Although she was on a gap year and wasn't doing any studying for classes, she still wanted to educate herself. She couldn't stand not doing anything, so she studied anything that took her fancy – some history, some geography, some Latin, some science – she was just determined to learn something new. She managed to do a little bit of work, but Mary's comment about breaking up with Larry was stuck in her head. Had she got over him too quickly? Was she a little too blunt with him this morning? Or was it right to tell him outright that he didn't have half a chance with her? With a few minutes of contemplation, she decided to ring Tom. "Hello?" he said into his phone.
"Hi, Tom, it's Sybil," she said.
"Are you alright? You sound a bit upset," he said, concerned for her.
"Umm, yeah. Are you busy today?" she asked.
"No, do you want to come round? You sound really depressed," Tom offered.
"Sorry. Umm, would you mind? I feel like I need someone to talk to, that's all," Sybil admitted.
"No, of course I don't mind. You don't know where I live, though. I could come and pick you up now if you want," he said.
"That'd be really nice, actually. Sorry for making you do this. If you've got more important things to do, then don't worry about it," Sybil said, trying to make it clear that she knew how clingy she was coming across.
"At the moment, Sybil, there isn't much that's more important than you," he said gently. "I'm on my way." They each hung up the phone. Sybil didn't know how far away Tom lived, so she got her coat and bag ready so that she could easily grab them as soon as he turned up.
Before long, Tom arrived and Sybil went with him. Edith was the only member of her family whom she could find, so she was the only person whom she told where she was going, but she didn't tell her when she expected to be back home, because she, herself had no clue. She climbed into the passenger seat and waited for Tom to start the engine and drive off. It didn't take long to arrive at Tom's house. Sybil hadn't been around his neighbourhood much, but she vaguely knew where she was in relation to her own house. He led her into his house and she made herself comfortable on the sofa as he went to make her a cup of tea to cheer her up. When he came back to give her the mug full of hot liquid, he said, "What's wrong? Something's very obviously up."
"Well, you know about Larry," Sybil said. Tom sat next to her and listened. "Well, this morning he rang me to ask if I'd get back together with him. And, you know, of course I refused to have anything more to do with him, but then this morning, Mary mentioned how I got ever him so quickly and now I'm doubting everything and I don't know what to do." Sybil wiped her cheeks clear of tears and took a small sip of tea.
"Hey," Tom said softly, brushing the back of a finger over her cheek and then pulling her into a hug. "It'll be alright. Trust me, things will sort themselves out. If you're certain that you're never going near him again, then why worry about it?"
"Because Mary messes with my head, and you'd have thought I'd have learned to stop listening to her after eighteen years, but she's usually right and I'm usually wrong," Sybil said, trying to stop her body from shaking.
"There is no way that you're usually wrong, Sybil. I refuse to accept that," Tom said reassuringly, holding her tighter. "Sometimes, sure. But there's not a chance that you're usually wrong." Sybil smiled weakly. "Look at me," he said, a finger gently under her chin. "This might be a bit out of line, but, from what I can see, I like you more than Larry does – or at the very least, I have more respect for you than Larry does."
"That's fair. I think that's probably right."
"So, forget about him. From what I've gathered so far, he was only with you – by the end of the relationship at least – for a good time in bed." Sybil sighed and drank more of her tea. "Things will be fine. I promise. I'll do what I can to make you more cheerful. Why don't you stay here today?" Sybil looked up at him with a half-shocked-half-worried expression. "Why not? I'm not doing anything and surely it's better than sitting at home all day?"
"I suppose that's true," Sybil admitted. "Would you mind though? I don't want to stop you from doing anything else that you'd rather do."
"Sybil, I like you. Spending my day with you sounds perfect." Sybil smiled at Tom's comment.
"Thank you," Sybil said. "You've made things less painful for me." Tom placed a finger gently under her chin again and lifted it so that her eyes met with his. He placed a soft kiss on her voluptuous lips, letting her know just how much he already meant to her.
"Glad to be of service," Tom said after pulling away.
Later on that day, Tom and Sybil were sharing a takeaway pizza whilst playing a game of Monopoly. They had been playing it for a couple of hours and it was clear that Tom was probably going to be the one to lose all of his money first. Sybil was sat across the board from Tom so that she could keep her money and property cards in order. Tom had just rolled the dice when Sybil's phone played At the End of the Day for the second time that day. This had better not be Larry, she thought as she stood up to walk across to her bag to rummage for her phone. "Hello?" she said, after reading the caller ID as Home. "With Tom. I did tell Edith where I was; did she not tell you? Oh, well that's not my fault, is it? Yeah, I know. Okay then, bye." She walked back over to sit by the Monopoly board after flinging her phone back in her bag. "Sorry," she said to Tom. "That was mum wanting to know where I've been all day."
"Does she want you back home?"
"Probably, but I don't really want to go back home. I think she just wanted to make sure that I was safe."
"Fair enough. My mam does the same thing. She's been checking up on me more and more since I moved to England. If you want to go home at any point, just tell me and I'll be more than willing to take you," Tom said.
"Thanks, but I'd rather stay here."
"Are you doing anything tomorrow?" Tom asked.
"I haven't got any plans at the moment," Sybil said, rolling the dice. "Why do you ask?"
"Just because I'm happy for you to spend the night here if you'd rather avoid your family."
"That's really sweet of you," Sybil said, feeling her cheeks redden slightly.
"I realise you don't have any pyjamas or anything, but I've got a decent spare bedroom that you could use," Tom said.
"I might take you up on that," Sybil said, crossing her legs on the floor.
Later that day, after Sybil had won the game of Monopoly, she and Tom decided against staying up too late and chose to go to bed instead. It was at this point that they both realised that, although they were both tired and wanted to go to bed, they also wanted desperately to continue to talk to each other – even if the conversation deteriorated into almost nothingness, they wanted to be able to hear each other's voices, or at least be in the presence of one another. "Why don't you sleep in my bed?" Tom suggested. "I know it might seem a bit forward, but it is only sleeping, and I don't really want to leave you. Besides, my bed's more comfortable than the one in the spare room."
"Are you sure?" Sybil asked. "I don't want to intrude on your personal space."
"You won't be intruding on my personal space, Syb. I promise you that," Tom reassured her, tightening his grip around her waist slightly. "If you'd rather have a bed to yourself, I completely understand, though. I don't want to pressure you into anything at all. I just thought I'd let you know that if you wanted company tonight, you'd be more than welcome to have it." He smiled at her gently and inclined his head to give her a kiss.
"That sounds really nice," Sybil said once she had broken away from Tom's lips. "But only as long as you promise not to tell Mary or my father. If they find out that I'm in a bed with a man I've known for the grand total of two days they'll have a hissy fit and I wouldn't be surprised if dad banned me from leaving the house or gave me an eight o'clock curfew or something."
"I swear on my life that I won't tell anyone. It'll be between you and me and nobody will ever know," Tom said sweetly as the two of them began to walk up the stairs, turning the lights out as they went. Tom had to lead the way, as Sybil didn't know where anything was. He pointed out the bathroom to her, just in case, and then he led her to his bedroom.
When they got into his room, they both started to undress. Tom managed to get undressed quicker than Sybil. He pulled his top off from behind his neck and flung it to the side of the room – he was too tired to deal with it now. He then undid his jeans and slid them off, kicking them towards his discarded top, finishing the pile of dirty clothes off with two socks. He was naked apart from his boxers as he scrambled into bed to stop the chilly night air hitting him like a wall of ice. Sybil was only half undressed at this point. She'd been sorting out her jewellery beforehand, so, so far, she'd only managed to get her top off. She carefully shimmied her jeans off and put her clothes in a neat pile on the floor by the foot of the bed. She was now wearing only her knickers and bra, which were both plain and not very interesting, but they were comfortable. She nipped quickly to the bathroom. When she came back she found that the main light of Tom's bedroom was turned off, but his bedside light was on, allowing rather a lot of light into the room. Tom stared at Sybil as she walked around to the right side of the bed and slid under the covers beside him. "You look gorgeous," he commented. Sybil could feel herself blushing a little. She looked down and said,
"Thanks. But, it's just my body. It's nothing special."
"I beg to differ," Tom said as he let his hand peruse her waistline slowly and carefully. He gave her a soft kiss, but then settled down to let himself and his new girl get some sleep. He turned off the light and turned into Sybil slightly. She placed her arm over his torso and found comfort in feeling the rise and fall of his chest corresponding to his breathing. She nuzzled her head slightly into the crook of his arm and she let him hold her softly. She smiled slightly at the thought of spending the night with Tom. "Hey, Sybil," Tom murmured quietly.
"Mmm," Sybil mumbled in reply.
"Aren't your parents going to wonder where you are if you don't return home soon?"
"Dad might. But mum knows I've been here all day and she's always been much more relaxed about this sort of thing than dad has. If dad realises I've gone, mum will put his mind at ease. Besides, if I tell him, he'll just order me to come home, and I don't want that." Sybil could sense Tom's smile. "Thank you for letting me stay. And thank you for letting me sleep in your bed and take up your room."
"You don't need to thank me for anything. You mean the world to me, Sybil. I would do this for you any day." He pressed a kiss gently through her hair, and soon the two of them were fast asleep.
The next morning, the young couple were woken up by Tom's phone ringing. He rolled over, picked it up and pressed the green button. "Hello?" he said wearily. He was obviously not very awake and was clearly not in the mood to get up. "Yeah I know. I might have to cancel. Because I'm with Sybil. No! Don't be horrible! She just shared my bed, that's all. No, but…" Tom hung up, not wanting to argue with Thomas, his best friend, at this point. He was fed up of being told by others what he should and shouldn't do with a girl. Sybil wriggled so that she could look at Tom properly. She sat with her legs crossed and her back slouched. She stretched her arms in front of herself.
"I hope I'm not making you cancel any plans because of me," she said seriously.
"No, I'm not cancelling things because of you," Tom said. "I didn't want to go out with the guys today anyway, so you just happened to be here at a convenient time."
"Fair enough," Sybil said, not minding that Tom was using her presence as an excuse – she'd done the same with her own family members before and she knew exactly what it felt like to have to go somewhere when she really didn't want to. "But I can't stay all day today. My shift at the hospital starts at two this afternoon and I'm going to need to go home to get my uniform and things."
"I swear you said you didn't work…" Tom mentioned.
"Well, it's very part time. And it's not the most exciting job. It's just admin and stuff really, but it keeps me in touch with the hospital so that I'm on good terms with them when I get my degree and things. And it gives me something to do. I can't sit around and do nothing all the time," Sybil said.
"Oh, well, I'll take you back home later if you want," Tom offered.
"Thanks. But aren't you working today?" Sybil asked, not wanting to stop him from doing what he had to.
"No. There's a strike going on this week. It doesn't affect me directly, but I've gone on strike to support those who really need it."
"That's nice. Unfortunately, a hospital isn't really one of those places where strikes are possible. It's a bit tricky to pack up everything, leaving a queue of injured and ill people waiting by the hospital doors."
"I suppose that's true," Tom said. He kissed Sybil on the forehead as a good morning.
"Can I use some of your toothpaste?" Sybil asked as she slid out of bed and walked to the end of the bed.
"Yeah, of course you can. It's on the shelf in the bathroom."
"Thanks," she said, as she walked out of the room. As she left, Tom admired the curves of her body. Her clothes had shown her off quite well, but now that he was seeing her skin with no barriers, he noticed her curves even more. Her breasts were held in a beautiful shape by her bra. Her waist went in before her hips went out again. Tom loved that beautiful hourglass figure, but he never thought that he'd ever go out with a woman who had such a figure. Everything about her body was perfect. She obviously cared for her body, but Tom liked that it didn't define her. He liked that she was happy to eat pizza from time to time and he liked that she wasn't so obsessed with her body that she hated it. She was willing to strip to her underwear and let Tom touch her skin. She looked after herself, but wasn't afraid. Tom liked that. He liked her.
I know this has kind of been a long time coming, but that's because life got in the way a bit (I really wish it didn't do that). Hopefully you like this chapter. I know they're going a bit fast (which a lot of you didn't like in one of the other fics I've written), but for this fic I've actually got something planned rather than making it up as I go along, so everything will sort itself out - I promise! Please review if you have the time and favourite and/or follow if you feel this story is good enough. Your support means everything to me.
