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Chapter 14: Hardcore Days (Part 1)

Jade stood in the flat waiting for Tom to come back. She was furious at how he just went out to talk to Sarah when she had been with him all day. Where was her time? To top it off she had the latest issue of NOW magazine burning at the bottom of her bag. She couldn't wait to show him what she had found. He lied to her but she lied to him as well when she told him she had stayed home on the night of his "outing" waiting for him. That was far from the truth and it turns out she wasn't the only one with lies.

The truth was on the night she had gone out with Veronica; they had done more than drink and dance. They had also gone home with random guys they had met at the club that night. Jade had felt so horrible about it that she had stayed away from Tom trying to convince herself that she had no reason to cheat on such a loving man that would give her the world if he could. She had spent the past few days just thinking about what a horrid person she had become and what a sweet guy Tom was, but what she saw this morning only justified her actions.

On her way out to meet with Tom after about a week of not seeing him she was ecstatic to tell him about the charity event she would be hosting in Paris and that she would be leaving early Wednesday morning with her friends. She had hopes of him missing her the way she missed him that week but apparently he was too occupied with someone else to even give her a thought. After getting her morning coffee she spotted the magazine on the newsstand just outside the shop. Her eyes bugged out of her head and she dropped her coffee on the pavement in shock. She paid the man for the magazine got in her car and read every word over and over again. She was completely livid.

She was surprised she had even made it to the flat with how fast she was driving and that she was able to control her emotions in front of Sarah and Tom. Frankly if Sarah had been the one to answer the door she was sure she would have lost her cool in a moment but after that kiss Tom had given her letting her know that she was his she became calm. That is, until Sarah had walked into her line of sight and now here he was telling her to wait a moment while he tended to "Little Miss Carnival". The nerve of that git!

As Jade wore tracks into the living room rug from her pacing she came to a stop when she heard the front door close. Tom had a look of frustration on his face that was quickly wiped away when he looked up and saw Jade. But as soon as he caught eyes with her his radiant smile faded into a look of confusion. Jade rummaged through her handbag until she found what she was looking for she held it up to his face and yelled "What the hell is this?

There on the cover of the magazine was a picture of Tom and Sarah walking through the park fair just simply smiling at each. Although he could see how Jade had gotten the wrong idea about them- they did in fact look like a couple. Tom took the magazine from her hand and read the headline that read:

'TOM GETS COZY WITH MYSTERY GIRL AT LOCAL FUN FAIR! ARE TOM AND JADE OVER? WE GOT THE SCOOP! PICTURES INSIDE!'

Tom quickly perused through the gossip column carefully looking to see if they had captured their moment on the Ferris wheel which he was thankful they hadn't. All the pictures in the magazine were from hours before their kiss. He thought what a silly idea it was for him to think that there would be a picture when they were so high on the Ferris wheel that it would have been impossible for anyone to get a picture.

"Well do you have anything to say?" said Jade.

"What do you want me to say? You know Sarah and I are just friends nothing more." Tom threw the paper on the coffee table and tried to ease Jade's thoughts from thinking the worst. Putting his hand on her shoulder, she shrugged it away. He deserved that and so much more. She would blow her top if she had found out about that kiss as well as the almost kiss in his study.

"Tom you two shouldn't be friends! She works for you! You know how this bloody makes me look?"

"How does it make you look Jade? I'm the one that should be worried not you." He said trying to keep calm and not wanting to argue.

"Yes you should be but you're not are you?" said Jade grabbing her bag and swiftly putting on her shoulder ready to head out the door.

"What do mean by that? Just because I choose to ignore it you think I don't care?" he said.

"Is there something going on between you two?" She said as she came to face him. She could only hope that there was nothing going on but seeing those pictures made her jealous as hell. The pictures of Sarah and Tom playing games, and eating cotton candy, and walking together made her angry. She would love to do all those things with him so why didn't he take her with him?

"No." he partly lied. He wasn't sure if it was true or not when Sarah hadn't pursued him in any kind of way. Why should she be under fire when she had done nothing at all?

Jade searched his eyes for anything that would make her think otherwise. She scoffed when she found none; before she could turn away he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him holding her body against his. He gave her a kiss on her forehead that usually calmed her down when she got riled up. Her body slouched in his arms alerting him that she was composed.

She laid her head on his chest wondering if he was being truthful but how could she expect him to be truthful when she had not been truthful to him. Placing his index finger under her chin so that she would look at him he kissed her lips.

"Jade I love you. Please don't doubt that."

Pinching the bridge of her nose she let out a sigh and said "I lied."

"Lied about what?"

Avoiding his inquiring look she stared down at her pink pedicure toes (which she thought needed to be retouched before her trip) and said "I went out… that night you were with her. Just for… drinks and dancing. Veronica went with me."

Tom let out a small chuckle and said "It's ok we're adults. I'm not your mum you don't have to explain anything to me."

You wouldn't be saying that if you knew everything about that night she thought. Turning back to him her mind focused on the previous subject.

"I just want to know why you were with her. Why did you feel the need to lie to me?"

"Technically I didn't lie to you love, you asked me what I did that day not who I was with." He countered.

"Okay then why were you with her?"

Tom sat on the couch and pulled her over to sit on his lap.

"She was feeling down about being away from home so I just felt as a friend I would be there for her."

"Well you shouldn't have to be the one to do that." she said heatedly all serenity melting away at the thought of him comforting Sarah.

"Jade please calm down, you have to understand that she's here all alone with no one that she knows except you and I. We have each other but she has no one."

Jade took that into consideration. Yes indeed she was alone but Sarah shouldn't take away precious time that Tom could have with her. After all they were young and in love they were supposed to be together all the time. Whatever this friendship they had she wasn't sure if she was comfortable with it. Since Tom had established himself and Sarah as friends there was most definitely no way of firing her because when Tom became friends with someone they were in his life for good. If Sarah being alone was the only thing that stood in the way of Tom and Jade spending time together and having a happy ending then, Jade would come up with a solution to that problem. In fact it was at the tip of her tongue.

"We should fix her up with someone!"

"uh-fix her up? Fix who up?" Tom's stomach turned when she said her name.

"Sarah! Yes, I think I know the perfect man for her!" Jade got up quickly from his lap and went to get her Blackberry and sat down next to him.

"With who?"

"I don't want to ruin the surprise! Just tell her that we're all going out Saturday night. She kissed him on the cheek and began to set up the date. There was no stopping Jade once she had an idea she would do everything in her power to get the ball rolling. Tom sat by and watched as she let a giggle out every now and then whilst texting whoever this mystery guy was.

"By the way I'll be going on a trip this week. The charity I'm involved in is going to Paris to help raise money for disabled children we're going to volunteer for a telethon! I'll have to look my best so tomorrow I'm going to have a hang with the girls. See me off tomorrow?"

"Sure love."

The whole day had gone by with him and Jade sitting on the couch talking and watching television. Under the façade he put on for Jade he could do nothing but grimace at the thought of Sarah going on a blind date with whoever it was.

The following morning Sarah woke with the worst feeling she had ever had in her whole entire life. Her body ached so badly at the joints it felt like she had been working out non-stop for an entire day. She was freezing cold as she desperately tried to bundle herself in the folds of her blanket. Her mouth was dry and her throat hurt too much to talk or even breathe as she took small breathes to avoid the hurt that caused her windpipe to extend more than she wanted it to. She had intended on going to work but it was just too much to handle with the way her body felt. In that moment the thought of dying didn't seem like such a bad thing…..

….Why was it so cold? Hugging her body with the one blanket she had, she still couldn't get warm. Sarah was fortunate enough that sleep had lasted through the morning and that it was now noon. Her breathing had now become congested as her stuffy nose prevented her from breathing in air. There was a pounding in her head that she could not describe. Her brain throbbed, her body ached, she was cold, she couldn't breathe, she would say things couldn't get any worse but as soon as that thought crossed her mind there was a knock at the door. Sarah tried to groan into her pillow but her chords wouldn't allow it.

She lay on her bed with clattering teeth hoping the person on the other side of her front door would just go away. The knocking only got louder and faster. With all the strength she had she attempted to get up from the bed and into a sitting position. The pain she felt as the blood flooded throughout her body let out a small strangled whimper from her lips. Her body began to shake from the cold chill she felt and as quickly as her bones would allow her, she wrapped her blanket around her stiff carcass, stood and with the pace of a snail made her way to the door.

With the way things were going she figured it was Tom at the door. Her suspicions were confirmed when she opened the door mid knock. The last thing she saw was the look of alarm as she fell to the floor giving into the fatigue.

When she fell to the floor it caught him by surprise. Tom rushed to her and quickly caught her head before it hit the wood floor and gently laid it down. Her body was boiling as he placed his hand on her face to shake her awake. Her eyes opened a little letting him know that she was conscious. He closed the door and scooped Sarah up in his arms leaving the blanket in the little hallway and took her to her room. As he laid her the bed she began to shiver.

"C-c-c-cold." Her voice sounded awfully hoarse. "Blanket."

She wanted to cry at the hurt it caused to talk because it sincerely felt like a mace was lodged deep in her throat and each time she talked its spiked metal head shredded her voice box to pieces.

"Okay sweetheart I'm getting it." Tom quickly walked to the door and picked up the blanket and returned to lay it on top of her feeble body. He again placed his hand on the side of her face and then on her forehead and felt the same scorching heat at his palm. "You're burning up."

Tom turned to go to the bathroom and get a wet wash cloth to cool her down when she grabbed his arm.

The way her body shivered under the queen sized blanket frightened him. Was she really that cold? Tom placed her arm under the blanket and kicked off his shoes.

"What are you d-doing?" she asked straining to keep her eyes open even though she so badly wanted to just go back to sleep. She may have been sick but she was still in her right frame of mind. Well sort of.

"Sarah you're shivering like mad. If you're cold I'm not going to let you freeze." He said as he took off his hoodie. His shirt clung to his jacket rising just to the middle of his lightly toned abs before he pulled it down. Was this heaven? A body like that could make any girl sick or healthy smile.

"It's okay." She said as she let out an uncontrollable shiver.

"Shhh no talking" he said as he put a finger to his lips. "You're voice sounds ghastly."

Tom cracked a smile to show that he was joking although her voice did sound really bad. With all the strength that she could muster up she narrowed her eyes at him. As much as she knew it was wrong for him to get into bed with her she didn't care, she was freezing! Any body heat that could be given with clothes on was better than nothing. Not wanting to argue the fact that he was getting into bed with her because all the ache and talking hurt way too much she let him lye next to her. When he got into the bed behind her, her body tensed as did his.

Climbing under the blanket, Tom wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her in close. His hand lay flat the skin of her midriff as her shirt raised a little from his movement. Her body tensed at the touch and so did he. Her body heat was sweltering even through her clothing which seemed to be a pair of shorts and a black tank top. The fact that he might get sick didn't matter to him. All that mattered was that she would get well.

Tom laid his head down on the pillow and waited for her to relax. His nose lay in her hair and he could smell the scent of raspberries. He was thankful to be laying behind her as a smile crept up on his face as he took in the scent.

In minutes she relaxed in his hold her breathing became slow but heavy. Her shivering stopped but she still clutched to the blanket for warmth. After another few minutes she turned herself over to face sudden movement surprised him as he thought she had woken up. She snuggled in close to his chest entwining her legs with his. The feel of her body next to his was something of great pleasure that he had dreamed of doing since that last time he held her in his kitchen. He had longed to be this close to her and even though the circumstances of how he came to be in this position were particularly odd he was glad he could hold her.

Tom brought his hand to her face and pushed back the strands of hair that were strewn across it. The beauty that lay behind those stands captivated him. The arch of her brow as she slept turned into a furrow as she dreamed. There was a small thin scare on the left side of her cheek that made him curious as to how it had gotten there. Tom's eyes memorized every feature of her countenance from the length of her eyelashes, down the slender of her cute nose, to her plush pink lips. How would he tell Jade that he was in love with someone else? How could he tell Sarah he was in love with her when she had convinced herself that she didn't like him in the way he liked her? He wanted her that much he was sure of.

Not giving it anymore thought, with his arms wrapped around Sarah he fell asleep feeling content that he would get to wake up next to her.

Sarah woke with an ailing in her stomach and feeling heat all over her body. She kicked off the covers and wiped the sweat off her brow. The room was dark and she was aware that she wasn't alone when a pair of arms scooped her in close to their body. She felt panic set in at the thought of who it was next to her. Out of assurance she looked down at her body and saw that she was still in her own clothes. Laying her head back on her pillow she felt the ache in her stomach and pressure in her throat.

Quickly enough she removed his arms as fast as she could and ran straight into the bathroom and threw up into the toilet. After what seemed like an eternity she sat back against her bathtub trying to control the dry heaving. Breathing in air was torture as it felt like she was inhaling glass and it cutting her throat with each breathe she took. With a head of messy hair, Tom came in with a glass of water for her that she felt she couldn't keep down.

"Here drink this." He said trying to give the glass to her only to have his arm pushed away.

"You're body could be dehydrated. Have you eaten anything today?"

She gave a shake of her head. Tom observed her as she was sweating profusely.

"Sarah I'm taking you to a doctor."

She said nothing again but shook her head.

"This could be something serious. Please just let me take you to a doctor."

"No." she finally spoke as she breathed heavily.

"Sweetheart, please drink this."

"No hospital?" She asked as an exchange for drinking the water.

"Okay." He reluctantly agreed.

With a shaky hand she took the glass from him. She felt weak from all the vomiting and yet again wanted to go back to sleep. She placed the glass to her lips and took a drink only to put the cup down and retreat back to the toilet. If she wasn't so sick she would have felt embarrassed throwing up in front of Tom but with the way she was feeling now she didn't care. He apparently didn't care either because he pulled her hair back to keep it from falling into the toilet.

She fell against the tub again closing her eyes and taking in air once again. She hated being sick.

Tom came to sit next to her with a cold wash cloth in hand. He wiped her forehead, cheeks and her mouth gently. He went to get the glass of water to take it back into the kitchen but she stopped him. Feeling like she could no longer keep her head up, Sarah laid it on his shoulder.

For the longest time they said nothing. Tom didn't want her to talk if it hurt her too much so he just merely sat there listening to her inhale and exhale. Her congested breathing unsettled him. As much as he wanted to take her to a hospital he knew she would refuse and continually fight him on it.

Sarah took the glass of water and took small sips letting the water flow down her dry gullet. After minutes of sipping she was finished with the glass and placed it next to her on the floor.

"You should go home." She croaked.

"I'm not leaving."

"Ple-please go. You'll get sick too."

"Sarah, you're really sick I'm not daft enough to leave you here when you're in this condition."

"I can handle-"

"No you can't you can barely drink a glass of water and my guess is you can't even get up on your own."

This was turning into an argument he didn't want to have with her. He was going to stay with her until she got better and that was final.

"Fine." she said weakly giving into sleep once again.

When sleep over took her he yet again scooped her up and laid her on the bed. He felt that now that her chills were gone he wouldn't lay with her. Tom pulled the blanket up bedside her on the bed in case she got cold and walked into the living room. Taking a glance at the clock on the bookshelf he saw that it was now 8PM. He sat down on the sectional and thought about the condition she was in.

It was hard to see her look so frail when he had only ever seen her in good health and spirits. The fact that she tried to wane him away only made him want to be with her even more. She needed him as much as she didn't want to admit it he knew she needed him to be there with her.

Since Jade would be out of town he would stay with Sarah until she felt better than she did now. Then when she did feel better he would tell her about the impending blind date Jade had set up.

Jade.

What was he going to do about her? Every time he was with Sarah it seemed his feelings for her would grow more and more. And with each growth went the love he had for Jade. It wasn't a lot that would be taken away but he felt little by little they were falling away from each other. Her definite flaws showed with each word she spoke nowadays. The things she would tell him about her nights out with Veronica always seemed to flow in one ear and out the other but that particular night she went out she seemed different. The details of her night were pretty vague than usual, like she was grazing over major details of that night. Why else would he have not seen her in a week?

Tom knew that his love for Jade wouldn't just fade away in the blink of an eye they had a history. Four years in fact. Since he couldn't see her at work anymore given that filming had stopped for over a year she wanted all his attention. How was he supposed to give her the attention she wanted if she was leaving all the time? Yes he had to leave the country every now and again but she always came with him. How was that not spending time with each other? Each time they came back she would go back to complaining about how they were never together. Tom had all the time in the world for her but she refused to see that.

On good days she could perpetually love him and he her. Those were the days they could spend hours in bed talking about their future. They would talk about where they were headed in their lives and how both were destined to be together. If they were to have a moment like that now who knows what they would talk about or if they would even talk at all. All he knew was that even if he weren't in love with her he would do anything for her.

Love was a complicated emotion. He had these two women in his life that were complete opposites one he was falling in love with and one he was sure he may or may be falling out of love with.

Tom laid his head back on the couch and let out a frustrated breathe of air. When did his life become so complicated? As Tom stared at the blank T.V. screen he caught sight of an envelope on the coffee table. Was it the same one he had seen last week? Reaching forward he picked up the letter and saw it was addressed to Sarah. The sender labeled their name as J. Emerson.

He knew it was wrong to read the letter but he wanted to know why she was so upset that day he had taken her to the fair. He needed some insight on her life. He took out the letter from the slit Sarah had made on the side of the envelope and quickly began to read.

Sarah,

How are you? Good I hope. I know it has been awhile since we've been in contact but I just want to let you know that I will always love you. I know you had your reasons for leaving but did you have to move so far? I'm so worried about you. I can't believe you moved to London and didn't tell anyone! This whole time I thought you were in California. Six months of no contact and you finally let me know of your whereabouts! I would expect something like that from Eli but not you!

I shouldn't waste time getting angry at you in a letter so I'm going to say I'm glad you have decided to write to me although a phone call would have sufficed.

I know this is not the right way to send you the news but seeing as this is the only means of getting news to you I will write it down. Honey I'm sorry to tell you this but Mrs. Johnson informed me that Jess married Annabelle last week. They are expecting their first child this Christmas. I know that it's only been a few months since you last saw him but please don't let this ruin you.

Please come home for the holidays. I don't know if that new job of yours is keeping you busy during that time but please come home. We all miss you very much. I miss my baby girl.

Love Mom.

Tom read the letter twice before placing it back in the envelope. He was filled with questions. How could she just keep this to herself? How could she keep all of her emotions bottled up? Why hadn't she contacted her mother in so long? Those questions would have to wait to be answered he wasn't going to drill her with questions about her past while she was sick unless she brought it up first.

Placing the letter back on the coffee table he got up and went to check on Sarah. She had tugged the blanket up to her waist and was soundly sleeping on her side. Tom got to his knees on the side she was facing and caressed her face gently so that he wouldn't wake her. Without hesitation he planted a kiss on her forehead. Lying down on the floor he stared at her for a moment before falling asleep to the sound of her shallow breathing.

Thanks for Reading. I know its not much of a chapter but I still hope you liked it.!