His ( A Tom Riddle Love Story)

CHAPTER TEN

Chapter 10

Cindria's POV

I looked at Caleb with shock as he took a few steps closer to me. He was looking at me with adoration, then suddenly his eyes were empty and he was reaching out for me.

What was he doing?

I felt uneasiness stir inside of me as he reached out and gripped my shirt. I didn't like this.

I just wanted us to be friends!

"Caleb, what are you doing?" I said in fear while he lifted up my shirt. "Caleb! I don't want this! I told you I love Tom!" I said hysterically while he lifted up my shirt even higher.

My bruises and scars were unnoticeable in the dark but right now I could care less. My shirt was taken off and the wind in the room chilled me to the bone.

"STOP IT! STOP IT!" I yelled while trying to get out of grasp, tears leaked from my eyes while Caleb leaned forward.

I was scared.

Everybody was at the feast.

Nobody would hear me.

Just like back then.

"TOM! TOM! PLEASE! TOM! HELP ME!" I shrieked out while Caleb bent down and kissed down my neck.

I hated this.

Suddenly, the door was slammed open and there stood Tom looking impassive as always. Caleb stopped what he was doing and was looking down at me in shock.

"C-C-Cindria, w-what's going on?" He asked in confusion.

I pushed away from him and ran to Tom. I wrapped my arms around his muscled waist and I cried into his chest.

"I-I-I'm sorry!" I cried.

I felt his resilient arms wrap around my bare torso and pulled me closer to him. "If you don't want me to report you for sexually assaulting a student, then you should hurry up and get out of my sight!" I heard Tom snarl at Caleb.

"But I don't understand, what happen-" Caleb started but was cut off.

"I don't care, all I'm saying is that if I see you anywhere near Cindria again, I won't hesitate to kill you," Tom hissed angrily.

I heard shuffling feet and the slamming of a door.

"Tom...I'm sorry, I won't do it ever again. God, Tom I was so scared! If you hadn't come, I don't know what I would have done" I said while looking up at him.

He stared back down at me before pushing my head into his shoulder and holding me tight.

"Thank you, Tom," I whispered knowing full well he would hear me.

"Don't lie to me, or do something like this ever again."

"I won't. I promise! I won't even try to make new friends. I don't need anybody except for you Tom!" I said with my face in his shoulder.

"That's exactly what I want to hear from you, Cindria," He said while pushing me back a bit.

I looked at him in confusion before I saw what he was looking at.

Free from my shirt, Tom and I were standing in a place where there was light, indicating that all my bruises from my stomach to my neck were on showcase.

I could hear Tom's breath hitch as he looked at me in shock.

I didn't blame him.

It was ugly.

From my neck, there were red marks, red hand marks from Mr. Henderson trying to choke me to death.

Multiple times.

Above my covered breasts were scars, scars that made words.

The words 'MURDERER' were slashed on my pale skin. Scars that could only be made with a knife covered my upper body, and the scar from the end of my ear all the way to my lower back.

The one I got from the broken down orphanage.

Burn marks marred most of my upper arms and all the way down to my elbows. Tom moved behind me and I could hear his breath become uneven.

My back, though I couldn't see it, was filled with lashes from a whip Mr. Henderson owned from his farmhouse. I could feel Tom's hands trail down the lashes and I felt my heart beating out of my chest.

"This is what he did to you for the past 4 years?" Tom asked from behind me.

I didn't answer.

I couldn't.

"Answer me!" He roared.

"Yes!" I yelled while flinching and hugging my body with my burned arms.

There were a few moments of silence and I held my breath in anticipation. After some time, I made a move to turn around.

"Don't! Don't turn around," He cried.

I felt tears flood my eyes and I felt the uneasiness in my stomach intensify.

Then, I felt warm brawny arms wrapping themselves around my waist from behind, pulling me into a strong heated body. A head full of dark hair rested on my shoulder and I could feel something wet on my skin.

Tom.

Tom was crying.

I couldn't believe it.

In the years that I knew Tom, he had never ever shed a tear in front of me. He told me crying was for the weak people who couldn't survive out in the real harsh world or reality.

Obviously, he was wrong.

"I'll kill him," I heard him whisper. "I'll make him pay for everything he made you go through! Every last bit of pain you endured, he will feel tenfold of it! I'll make it my life mission!"

"Tom, it's over. I just-" I started but then cut off.

"NO! It is certainly NOT over! How can you be like this? He made you suffer for how many years and you're willing to forget that?" He yelled.

"Tom, I can't forget," I said hurriedly.

There was silence and then Tom turned me around in his arms. He rested his forehead on mine and looked deeply into my eyes. His eyes were slightly red and I wondered briefly when was the last time he ever cried.

"I'm sorry. Look, we're going to go back to the common room, you're going to come to my room, and you're going to explain to me why that disgusting bastard of a human dared to write such a thing on your skin. You didn't tell me in the past, but you're going to tell me right now," Tom said while leaning in closer.

If I just stood on my toes, then my lips would be touching his.

I swallowed and nodded my head in agreement.

Tom moved away from me and went over to retrieve my shirt. He walked back over to me and handed it to me. After putting it on, Tom grasped my hand and walked me out of the classroom.

I could hear all the students in the Great Hall enjoying their meal and conversing with their close friends.

We would have been with them if I hadn't chosen to lie to Tom and meet up with Caleb.

Pain stabbed my heart as I thought about the person I thought was my friend. It was a good thing Tom was there to save me.

Soon we reached the Slytherin Common Room, and Tom began leading me up the boy's dormitory. I soon realized that the Prefects of Hogwarts had their own little dormitory to themselves. Tom led me into his private bedroom and shut the door behind him.

He sat me down on his bed and seated himself right beside me.

"You can start now," He said while looking at me.

"Tom, I can't. It's terrible. You'll hate me," I said while looking at him painfully. He pulled me towards him and allowed me to lay my head on his lap and my legs on the bed.

"Start from the beginning," Tom said again while looking at me. "I'll be the judge of whether I'll hate you or not, and believe me, with you I don't care what you did, I'll never hate you no matter what. So now start the damn story."

I breathed in and I could feel my eyes dampen a bit as I reminisced what happened years ago.

"I was eight when Mrs. Kayla Henderson walked through the foster home doors and decided to adopt me. She went through hours of paperwork and questions, just to adopt someone like me. She brought me home, and even though Mr. Henderson was shocked at first, he saw how much Mrs. Kayla loved me and decided to take me as his own." I said while shivering a bit.

Tom ran his hand through my hair, calming me.

"One day, when I was supposed to go to school, I decided to act spoil and refuse to go. The people at school treated me nicely but not as nice as my new adopted mother. I wanted to spend all my time with her."

I let out another ragged breath before continuing.

"So she let me stay in from school, sh-she drove us to our favorite bakery and we ordered our favorites; a huge red velvet cupcake with swirled icing and sprinkles on top. We exited the bakery and were headed towards the park, where we usually sat at our favorite bench."

I covered my eyes with my fists as I felt tears beginning to drip down my face.

"I-I she found someone from work and she told me to just to stop for a second. I still r-remember how she held our tray of cupcakes in one hand and talked to her friend so animatedly. I saw this pretty leaf on the ground, it was colorful and everything. I wanted to give it to her, I just wanted to give it to her!"

I sniffled and cried some more with my fists still covering my eyes.

"It was on the sidewalk, and when I bent down to reach it, I accidentally kicked it into the road. I wasn't watching where I was going, I just walked forward to pick it up and when I looked up, I saw a truck coming towards me at full speed. I was in shock, I couldn't move, I was so scared. Then I was pushed out of the way, and when I looked up I saw blood. And my adopted mother on the floor, not moving. There was so much blood. I ran to her and gripped at her arms asking her to wake up, she didn't. Mr. Henderson heard what happened and rushed to the hospital; to see the daughter he never wanted crying her eyes out over the body of the woman he loved."

I moved my fists to see Tom looking down at me with his soothing dark eyes.

"I don't blame him for the pain he took out on me, Tom. I deserved every single blow, insult, and burn that Mr. Henderson made me go through. This is why I'm able to forgive him for all the things he had done to me," I said while looking at Tom with a pain filled gaze. "I took away the most important person from him, god I'll never forgive myself!"

"So you blame yourself for your adopted mother's death?"

"Tom, I killed her. I killed her! I killed her!" I cried, gripping my hair tightly.

"No, you didn't. You know it yourself, what happened was an accident! It's because of that Mr. Henderson bastard, he drilled it into your mind with pain that it was you who killed your adopted mother! Do you think your adopted mother sacrificed her life for you just to let you endure this type of life? She sacrificed herself because she loved you like her own daughter, and judging by the way you described her, I wouldn't be surprised if she ran in front of a thousand more buses for you," he finished while picking me up by my shoulders and hugging me.

"I'm happy that it wasn't you who died, or else I would have never met you," He whispered pressing me deeper into him while moving me onto his lap.

Tom gently lifted my head up to look at me. Our faces inches apart and then Tom was kissing me.

His lips molded onto mine perfectly and I could feel something spark in between us. The imaginary butterflies in my stomach fluttered and beat the insides of my tummy. The intensity between us increased and I could feel myself kissing back.

Was it possible to get a heart attack from a kiss? If not then, I might be the first one.

Tom removed his lips from mine and shifted me in a better position and no second later, his lips were on mine once more. His hot soft lips smothered mine and I knew that if I died now, I would probably die as the happiest girl alive.

Thank you for reading.