A/N: You'll find out why Jude won't let Tommy in in Chapter 12. I'm dead, so you don't have to bother with my incessant rambling tonight.
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Chaper 10
The sun was going down as I finally made my way out to the parking lot. It would have been beautiful if my mind wasn't tainted with the horror of what I'd just been through and was, in fact, still going through.
Exhausted didn't even begin to describe the fatigue I felt; I would've gladly keeled over on the asphalt and never gotten up, but I had a feeling that if I did I would somehow wake up in a hospital bed later. If it wasn't for my lack of vitality, I might have realized that a cab wouldn't magically be waiting for me as soon as I walked out the door. Alas, I finally recognized this fact and turned to go back inside when a familiar car caught my eye.
I dragged my feet about fifteen yards down the aisle of cars until I was directly in front of an electric blue Viper. Looking inside, I noticed a figure asleep in the driver's seat. It could only be one person--Tommy. I found myself smiling; he had stayed here for me, even though I had clearly told him to go back to the hotel earlier. Stubborn man.
Quietly I slipped into the passenger seat beside him, comforted by the familiar feel of the soft leather of his seats. This car held so many memories; if Tommy ever tried to get rid of it--which I highly doubted, but you never know--I wouldn't let him, because I think I loved this car almost as much as he did. Hey, I had received my first driving lesson with these wheels, so it held a certain sentimental value.
As the door clicked shut, Tommy's eyes fluttered open. He shifted, then froze when he saw me sitting next to him. After a second, he relaxed, probably after realizing that I wasn't some creepy stalker fan. Although that might be fun to try on him sometime.
"Hey." I said softly, watching as he fully woke up.
"Hey." Tommy replied with a yawn, stretching the best that he could in the small space of the car's interior.
"I thought I told you to go back to the hotel, Tommy." I stated, still a little irked that he hadn't followed my wishes.
"I did." I raised an eyebrow. "You never said how long I had to stay there." Tommy said.
Give me a break.
What are we, five years old? Of course I meant go to the hotel and stay there for a while, like sleep in his room for a couple of hours. Still, you had to admire his logic, no matter what age level it was equivalent to.
"I meant for you to stay there for longer than two seconds--you know, actually go to your room and sleep in a bed." I admonished, wondering how I had to be the mature one even though he was seven years my senior.
"How was I supposed to know? You didn't say that." Tommy shrugged as I rolled my eyes. "Besides, I was actually there for three seconds." Tommy teased, smiling at me.
I smiled. Crap. I swear those pearly whites of his are infectious. He knew I wasn't mad at him for coming back to the hospital. In fact, he could probably tell that I was even a little bit grateful.
"You're one of a kind, Quincy." I said, chuckling slightly. When was the last time I had done that? If felt good--laughing, that is.
"So are you, Harrison." Tommy replied in a more serious tone. He was looking at me...differently, I guess. I know that's not very descriptive, but I'd never really seen this look on his face before--it began to unnerve me.
We stared at each other for a few seconds, during which something indescribable passed between us. Finally, unable to stand it, I broke the silence. "So, what are you really doing here?"
"Giving you a ride." Tommy explained, gesturing at the vehicle we were seated in with more gusto than needed. Sometimes I wondered just how deep his feelings for this car ran...
"But what about my car? I was going to go get it when I got done here." I commented, a sudden pain striking through my heart at the thought of my Mustang. I vowed right then and there to never get rid of it, no matter what. That was one of the last things I had left of my dad, not to mention all the time we had spent together fixing it up.
"It's already taken care of." Tommy answered vaguely. Ok, where is my car and what has he done with it?
"Tommy, where the heck is my car?" I interrogated, narrowing my eyes in expectation of his answer.
"The hotel." He said simply.
"Ok. You want to explain how it got there?" My eyes were still squinted as I glared at him. However, all I really could think about was the fact that Tommy still looked better than a junior bacon cheeseburger with no pickle even when I was squinting. Is it possible to look good squinty? Apparently so, because he did. Life is just not fair.
Tommy released a sigh before answering, showing his reluctance to explain. "I took a cab to where the awards were held last night, drove your car to the hotel and grabbed a quick shower, then caught another cab back here to wait for you."
That actually made sense. Except for one thing. "How did you get into my car? It was locked." Okay, squinty eyes was giving me a headache. A normal glare would do just fine for my purposes.
"I snitched your keys." Tommy said, not even having the grace to look sheepish. I wonder if he acted the same way after one of his trademark hit-and-runs--you know, hook up with a girl and be gone by morning, never to speak to her again. Eh, who cared, it was none of my business anyway.
But I still cared.
Just a tiny bit, though. Miniscule.
When I didn't reply to his confession, Tommy just shrugged and stuck the key in the ignition.
"You ready to go?" He asked, hand poised to start the engine.
I glanced at the large building in front of me, thinking of everything that had happened in the past 24 hours. "Yeah." I answered quietly, squeezing my eyes closed in an attempt to shut out the assault of thoughts and emotions I was experiencing just from seeing the hospital.
Silently Tommy nodded and drove away from the hospital, most likely in the direction of the hotel we were staying at. Settling more comfortable into my seat, a loud grumble alerted the world to my body's current thoughts.
"You hungry?" Tommy questioned, a small smirk on his face because he already knew the answer.
Well, duh. "Ravenous." I agreed, suddenly realizing I hadn't eaten since last night. After everything, I hadn't really paid attention to my physical needs, but now that I was away from the hospital, I couldn't ignore my body anymore. It wanted food, a long hot bath, and sleep.
"Ravenous? I didn't know you knew words longer than six letters, Harrison." Tommy joked, trying to lighten the mood.
I smiled in return. "I didn't know you could even count that high."
He smirked. "You'd be surprised. I have a lot of hidden talents that you don't know about."
"Yet." I added. One of these days I would figure Tom Quincy out; it just wasn't going to be today, or probably any day soon, for that matter. It didn't mean I wasn't going to, though. Patience is a virtue, as my junior high art teacher always used to say.
Tommy swung into the first fast food restaurant we found--a Taco Bell. As he pulled into the drive-thru, he asked, "What do you want?"
"Chicken quesadilla and some cinnamon twists." I answered after glancing at the menu board for a minute. He nodded, then gave our orders into the speaker before pulling up to the window.
About ten minutes later, I stuffed our trash into the bad the food came in and dropped it onto the floor next to my feet. I was somewhat surprised that Tommy let us eat in his car, but I didn't bother commenting on the fact. All I could concentrate on was the cheesy goodness dripping from the quesadilla before my mouth devoured it.
I slouched down in my seat then, and the rest of the world seemed to disappear as I drifted off to sleep listening to the purr of the Viper's engine.
x.xxx.x
I remember waking up sometime later to a strange sensation. I stiffened, still disoriented from my slumber. Then it felt like I was being squeezed--later I would realize that Tommy had tightened his grip on me as I woke up.
I was juggled around a little bit while Tommy searched for something in my purse, probably the key card to my room. Finding it, I heard a click and moments later I was being lain down on that blissful softness known as a bed.
"Tommy?" I mumbled groggily, still not really sure where I was or what I was doing.
"Shh, Jude, go back to sleep." He replied softly, in a voice he probably would've used if he were talking to a child. I complied in seconds and retreated back into a world that I wouldn't remember in the morning.
x.xxx.x
A few hours later found me wide awake, staring up at the ceiling in the dark. No matter how hard I tried, my body refused to shut down again, even though I still needed way more sleep than I had gotten. Leaning over, I glanced at the clock on the end table. 10:38. A little red dot indicated that it was PM. So, I'd only gotten a couple hours of sleep and it didn't look like I was going to get any more anytime soon.
I flipped on the lamp next to the bed. A shiny glint reflected in my eyes; it was my Grammy award. Kwest must've put it in here for me. It wasn't unreasonable for me to have forgotten it in all of the chaos from last night, so I appreciated Kwest looking after it for me. Oh, no--Kwest. How did he react to the news about Sadie? They still hadn't started dating yet, but I knew about all of the secret looks they shot each other that they thought no one caught. Truth be told, they were in love with each other. They just hadn't admitted it yet. And now they never would be able to.
Suddenly, I found myself directing an intense amount of hatred and loathing at the object in front of me. I hated how shiny it looked in the light--there was nothing for it to be so sparkly about. It was just a stupid piece of junk; it didn't mean anything.
I jumped out of bed and grabbed the vile thing before storming out my door, thankfully remembering to grab my key on the way out.
Award in hard, I pounded on the door to room 2124 and stepped back, waiting for someone to answer.
MyCrAzyWorld -- That's such a relief! Seriously, though, feel free to tell me if my wordiness reaches the point of being boring. I'd appreciate it! Thanks for sticking with me so long! D
Adrienne -- I made you cry? Would it be bad if I said I was happy about that? I'm glad you liked the little bit of Jommy in the last chapter. I still don't want people to forget that this will be a Jommy; I couldn't imagine it as anything else. Thanks for reviewing!
tommyandjude4ever -- Hehe, Tommy and Jude are both so stubborn that you never know what they'll do next or how long it will take them to work something out. You'll just have to wait and see! Thanks for the great review!
squashstar -- Wow,what a great compliment! Thanks so much!
cecapo3610 -- Thanks! More is on the way, I promise!
scott4eva -- Will do! I might be gone for most of today (Friday), though, so it might be a couple days before there's another update.
Duddley111 -- Aw, thank you! Please keep reviewing--I really enjoy them!
kolerox -- Lol, there will be some good Jommy action eventually. It just might take a while. Thanks for the review!
tampabay15 -- I'm glowing from your review! Thanks so much! I'm really glad you're enjoying the story. )
Tanya50801 -- You'll just have to keep reading and find out! Thank you for your wonderful review, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.
Thanks guys! I 3 you all--keep 'em coming, and I'll keep cranking out chapters. Hope you enjoyed it. D
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