Alex's POV:

I grab my jacket and keys on the way out the door. Once I hit the street I call Tom to let him know I'm on my way.

"Hello?"

"Hey Tom, its Alex. I just wanted to let you know I'm on my way to the studio right now".

There is a short silence and some rustling on the other end of the line.

"Right, yeah, I almost forgot. I'll be on my way in a few minutes. I'll see you then"

Tom is quite a scatter brained, forgetful person, but something seemed off, even for him.

"Okay, see you then," I answer.

The line went dead. Just like that. There was no cute 'Alright! Bye!' like usual. Something is definitely off about Tom. I guess I'll find out when I see him.

I slide my Iphone back in to the pocket of my hoodie and continue to make my way to the recording studio. I get there before Tom and wait for him inside the room we've rented. A few minutes later he comes crashing in, his arms stretched around a bass drum.

"Hello," he greets hurriedly, "Sorry I'm late".

I greet him with a smile, "I'm just glad you made it".

"Yeah!" he sets the drum down on the ground. "Yeah," he repeats, staring off.

I watch him, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah! Sure! Of course!" he answers, nervously.

I grab his shoulder and stare in to his eyes, "Tom".

He pulls away from me, turning to fiddle with things, "we better get started if you want to get any work done!"

His awkward laugh set my teeth on edge. I hate this. I know something's wrong but he won't let me help.

"Right then," I state evenly, trying to play along like everything's alright.

I step in to the booth. We were recording and tweaking for a little over an hour. Tom seems a little out of it but he was operating his equipment normally so I'm not too bothered. He kept hanging around after we were done, gathering his things slowly as I text Charlie.

"Have you got a place to be?" I ask him.

It's very obvious he was waiting for me to ask.

"No not particularly," he answered his face lighting up, despite his passive tone.

"Want to grab a bite?"

"Sure," he flashes a smile at me.

He was beginning to warm up to be more like his normal self once the evening went on. We must have been sitting in the restaurant for hours, just talking. There is an air to him like he'd rather be here than anywhere else. No, like he felt safer here than anywhere else. There is something seriously wrong but I just don't know what.

Tom reaches his hand up to run his fingers through his hair. That's when I saw it. There was bruising on his arm. I reach over and grab his wrist.

"Who did this?" I demand.

"Listen, Alex, it's really not that big of a deal-"

"Did Kathrin do this? Are you still seeing her?"

"Maybe… Anyway, it's no business of yours".

"You know, what a lot of people don't know, is that women can be abusive too. And she is Tom! Don't you remember what happened last time? You said you were going to stay away from her".

"She said it would be different this time".

"Well it obviously isn't".

I had forgotten I was still holding his wrist until he moved to stand up. I finally let go of him. He leaves the restaurant with a huff. I dig in to my wallet and throw some crumpled notes on the table in an amount I mindlessly hope ads up to the total. I shove my wallet back in to my trousers, already half way to the door. I rush out the door and in to the dim streets of London. Tom is nowhere to be seen, lost in the twilight. I let out a sigh and start on my way home.