Chapter 13: Just to be safe

And you're with me wherever I go

'Cause you give me this feeling, this everglow

- Coldplay

I didn't know how to process what Jayna had just told me.

And had she really mentioned the one name that I'd never expected to hear again – at least not so soon? I had to ask again as my grip on the phone tightened, "What did you say, Jays?"

"Okay, I know this must be a total shock to you, Ali, but yeah… Something happened to Tom while shooting on the set for Cherry. You know, his latest movie with the Russo brothers. It's based on this popular novel and all kinds of crazy things happen –"

"Umm no, I don't know."

I wasn't even aware that Tom had started filming a new movie. Of course, I was probably the last person who would be receiving his life updates at this point. We were barely even friends now.

And honestly, I couldn't bring myself to look him up in any online media, just in case there happened to be mentions of any new girls in his life – someone who wasn't Tessa, his gorgeous blue Staffordshire bull terrier.

"But what happened?" I asked Jayna. "Is he hurt?"

"Yeah, he was in the middle of this scene that wasn't even action-heavy, but somehow something went wrong and he fell. He's at the hospital now, somewhere in Ohio. I think Harrison mentioned a broken wrist and maybe some fractured ribs? The doctor is still checking."

I forgot to breathe for a moment. Then a cold, painful sensation seized my chest. "What? That sounds serious."

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Owen who was wearing a deeply concerned look on his face. So far I hadn't filled him in on anything Tom-related at all, and right now didn't seem like the best time to do it.

"I know," Jayna said, sighing. "We're all so worried. I had to call to tell you even though.. Even though you said you didn't want to hear any news about him no matter what…"

"Yeah. No. I'm glad you called me. I just – I guess I need to figure out what to do now."

"Alison Rose Kinloch, don't be stupid. Of course you need to reach out to him."

I winced. When Jayna used my name in full, she really meant business.

Jayna continued, "And don't forget, this is the guy that the entertainment world is constantly demanding time from, and he chose to detour to our middle-of-nowhere town to spend two hours with you. You mean something to him, so I'm sure he'd want to hear from you."

"All right, all right. Jays, just.. Let me handle this my way, okay?" I chewed on my bottom lip as I thought about what I was going to tell Owen once I hung up. "I'll talk to you later. I'm with Owen right now. Bye, Jays."

"Is everything okay?" Owen questioned, touching my arm gently.

I exhaled a long, loud breath. "Umm, yeah. I don't know, actually. Jayna called about a friend of ours who got into some accident and who's now at the hospital. Nobody's sure of the extent to his injuries just yet."

"What? I'm so sorry to hear that, Ali. Anyone I know?"

If you've been following the Marvel movies, then probably, yeah.

Out loud, I said, "I've not mentioned him before, no. His name is Tom. He – he's a good friend but we haven't really been in touch lately. His work takes him to a lot of different places."

"Right. Well, where is he now? Do you want to visit him at a hospital or something?"

I shook my head. "He's in Ohio. It's all right, I'm sure he's in good hands. I'll just send him a quick text."

My fingers moved swiftly to unlock my phone screen and type out a message that hopefully contained just the right amount of friendly worriedness:

[Me:] Hey Trev, you okay? My Spidey sense is getting some concerning vibes about you. Hope the doctors are giving you their very best treatment. Update me when you can.

After hitting 'send', I put away my phone and resumed my attention to Owen. "Done. So sorry about all these interruptions. Would you still like to come in?"

Owen studied my expression, which I hoped was as neutral as I'd intended it to be. "Sure," he replied. "But don't feel like… I mean, we don't really have to do anything. We can just sit and watch a movie on Netflix…"

"You mean we can Netflix and chill?" I quipped, an amused smile tugging at my lips.

Owen laughed as he caught the joke. "I'll let you decide, Miss Kinloch," he teased.

I smirked. "Okay, Mr Pearce. Let's go."

I didn't hear back from Tom until the next afternoon. The immense relief that washed over me after seeing his name on my phone screen was startling. Clearly I had underestimated just how worried I was.

Tom had sent a voice message instead of a text reply:

"Ali! I'm so glad to hear from you. Don't worry, I'm fine. My wrist is broken, which makes it super challenging to type… Hence this voice message. The rest of my injuries are just bruises that should heal up soon enough. Thanks for checking in on me. I hope you're doing great. Oh and is your Spidey sense named Jayna or Harrison, by any chance?"

I replayed the message several times, taking in the warmth of Tom's voice and smiling at his British accent.

In the safe, solitary space of my apartment's living room, I allowed myself to feel, just for this brief moment. To miss Tom – the way we had talked, laughed and touched. The electric connection I had felt with him, over and over again. No holding back.

It was a bittersweet sensation. But I stood by my decision and I was going to keep my distance until the day that Trevor McGeek ceased to affect me in any possible way.

And that meant not replying to his voice message… At least not within the next few days anyway. I was about to toss my phone aside and continue working my Statistics assignment when I heard a "ding", which signaled the arrival of a new email in my phone.

Two swift taps later, my eyes read the email subject line and blinked with the slightest excitement. It said Study aid and it was sent by my college's department of financial aid and scholarships.

Another tap on the phone screen revealed the content of the email: My application to switch to a health and medical major had been approved, and it came with a study aid offer of $200,000.

"What the –" I breathed, wondering if I'd somehow read it wrongly. "Two hundred freaking thousand dollars?!"

As far as I knew, my college would never normally award such a huge amount of financial aid… I scanned through the email again and noticed that the offer was from an external scholarship program.

"Kingston Scholarship Fund," I said the unfamiliar program name aloud, my eyebrows knitted in curiosity. I did a quick Google search but there were hardly any results.

Why would an obscure scholarship program decide to help me, of all the gazillion students out there? Why was I chosen?

Something stirred in my thoughts, and the tiniest hunch crept in. It was a long shot, but I had to try…

I performed a fresh Google search, using the keywords "Kingston" and "Tom Holland".

And there it was. I scrolled past one search result after another that affirmed the same thing.

"Tom Holland was raised in Kingston-upon-Thames, England."

"Tom, who was born at Kingston Hospital and grew up locally..."

"Tom Holland now lives in Kingston upon Thames in London near to his childhood house."

Kingston was Tom's hometown. It couldn't be a coincidence, could it?

I couldn't risk it. Just to be safe, I knew what I had to do.

Heaving a quiet sigh, I began typing my email reply and mentally bid goodbye to the scholarship that would've been a huge help in getting me through medical school.

It was really nice and thoughtful of Tom to support my career aspiration, and I was grateful. I truly was. But – it just couldn't happen this way. I wouldn't want to owe something so massive to anyone.

Certainly not anyone that I was trying very hard to remove from my world, my memories... and my heart.