I'll Tear Down the Stars for You

Tom’s POV

“So Tom,” I looked over at David who had spun around in his desk chair. “I would like you to re-do the guitar for Human Connect to Human. I was listening to it about half an hour ago and noticed a wrong chord,” I groaned and stood up from the comfortable sofa and walked to the door that lead to the sound room where we would play our instruments or sing. “You don’t need to yet though,” so why did you bring it up? “I’m just warning you,”

“But you need me here right now when I could be downstairs beating the guys asses on the racing game we were playing?” I moaned, slumping back down on the sofa, folding my arms across my chest as I huffed in annoyance.

“Stop being such a baby Tom and grow up,” David chuckled at me.

“Yeah Tom. Grow up,” I looked away from David to the doorway to see Megan standing there, grinning at me.

“What are you doing here?” I asked her. “I thought you wanted nothing to do with me,” she didn’t say anything. She just stared at me, and I could see the glisten of tears graze across her eyes.

“I have to talk to you,” her voice cracked. I waved my hand at her signalling for her to enter the room, which she did and was soon stood in front of me. It was at that moment I realised how beautiful Megan really is.

“Go ahead. I’ve already been given shit from others so I guess what you have to say to me won’t change how I feel right now,” I mumbled.

“It’s about Ebony,” well of course it is. “I’m worried about her. I think,” she shook her head.

“You think what.?” I urged. She can’t just stop there. She’s got me wondering now.

“I think that Mark is beating her,” she whispered.

“What?! What the fuck makes you think that?! You best not be fucking with me here Megan to take the piss because I still love Ebony!” I screamed in her face after I had stood up.

“I’m not taking the piss out of you because you still love mom. Mom told Mark something that he didn’t like so he beat her. She told him something about you and he didn’t like it. He doesn’t like your name being mentioned in the house for a start and he’s wanting to keep the both of you away from each other. He’s doing anything he can that’s possible,” a tear slipped down her cheek and fell on the floor.

“Wh. What did she tell him?” I took a step back from Megan and watched as another tear fell to the floor.

“That she loves you. Not him,” she whispered, tears now flowing down her cheeks.

“Bollocks. Ebony is over me. She’s moved on. Hence why she’s engaged to Mark,” I felt myself breaking inside. I hate the fact that she is engaged to a man that’s not me.

“Tom. Believe me when I tell you that she still loves you. Remember, you supported her through everything her brother did to her. She gave birth to 4 of your children and you helped her support us while we were growing up as the annoying kids that we are. You were married to her. You were everything to her. She trusted you enough to date you, and she doesn’t just give out her trust. You have to earn it. Which you did. If she didn’t still love you, then why was is she so heartbroken? And still is? I mean, you can tell by her eyes that her heart still hurts from the divorce and you can tell that she still loves you. And on top of that, Tom. She told me that she loves you and not Mark. Is that not enough proof?” I sighed. She was right. But I hate being wrong.

“But the beatings? How do I know you’re not making that up?” I asked her.

“David. Can I take Tom out for about an hour?” David nodded his head at Megan who grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the mixing room, down the stairs and out of the recording studio. “I walked here so you can drive us back to my house,” her house?

We both got into my Audi R8 and I put the keys into the ignition, turning it to make the engine roar to life. I could do that all day long. Hear my baby roar into action.

It wasn’t even after 5 minutes of silence had we arrived at Megan’s house. Turning off the engine, I sat and stared at the house with a blank expression on my face. Where she lives now is a peaceful area; no paparazzi around the house. The birds tweeting in the trees added to the peaceful effect.

“So. Getting out the car?” I looked over at Megan whose hand was on the door handle. “Because I think you should,” she grinned at me, swinging the door open and getting out of the car and walking to the house. I followed her footsteps, my hands beginning to sweat. I was scared of what I’d see if what Megan told me is true.

“She told Robbie this morning that the bruising on her face was from falling over in the shower last night. Robbie didn’t believe her when he knew that she doesn’t like showering in the evening. He now knows that something is going on between Ebony and Mark,” shit. Mark. I’m in his house. My hands instantly began to sweat even more.

“Is Mark going to be here?” I asked her as I followed her through the hallway.

“No. He’s at some meeting. I wasn’t listening to what he was telling me. Something about the dishwasher? I don’t know,” she stopped and gasped. I looked over to where he was looking to see Ebony laying on the sofa asleep. My eyes widened as I saw the big, black and purple bruise under her eye, as well as little bruises dotted across her face. There were blood stains on her clothes which looked fresh. I looked at her right hand which hung off the sofa to see that her fingers seemed out of place. Broken? Dislocated? Whatever it was, Mark was still a bastard for doing it to her.

I slowly walked towards her, trying not to wake her. She looked so helpless as she slept without any knowledge of me being in her home. As I got closer to her, I could see tear stains on her cheeks. Had she cried herself to sleep? I felt my insides twist at the thought of what had been done to her and that it was all my fault. If it wasn’t for me divorcing her, she wouldn’t be in this position and we would still be a happy couple. God, I feel awful. I wouldn’t be surprised if she doesn’t want to get back with me.

“The bruising don’t look like something you’d get from falling over in the shower, right?” I looked over at Megan and shook my head. “See? They were made by Mark. Because of you. You mean more to mom than Mark does. She doesn’t love him, she loves you,” I couldn’t help but smile at that. She loves me.

“When she wakes up, I’d like to speak to her,” I kneeled down in front of Ebony and stroked her cheek with my index finger.

“That’s fine with me,” I could feel Megan’s eyes on me as I stared at Ebony, watching her slowly breathe. I closed my eyes, my hand still on Ebony’s face and sighed. Control yourself Tom. Don’t beat yourself up because Mark is a bastard. You didn’t know this was going to happen.

I opened my eyes at the sound of a sob and saw a tear roll down Ebony’s cheek. She was crying in her sleep. Oh my God.

“Tom?” I smiled at the weak voice and stroked her face with my index finger again.

“I’m here Ebony,” I whispered to her, wiping away a tear of hers.

“I hurt,” she whimpered, more tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Where?” I asked her, running my fingers through her hair.

“Everywhere,” she whispered. I looked up at Megan who nodded at me and left the living room to go to her bedroom. I looked back at Ebony to see her staring at me, her eyes glistening with tears. “Why are you here?” her voice cracked as more tears fell.

“Megan told me about what Mark has been doing to you,” I sighed, running my index finger along the bruise under her left eye. I watched as she winced from my touch.

“Mark didn’t do anything. I fell down the stairs, that’s all. I’m fine, promise,” really? The stairs?

“Megan told me you claimed that you had fallen over in the shower,” I questioned her. Her lip quivered and more tears rolled down her cheek.

“Oh Tom!” she cried, sitting up and flinging her arms around my neck. “It hurts so much!”

“Shhh. It’s okay. Are you going to tell anyone?” she pulled away from me, but her arms still stayed around my neck.

“Are you mad?! Mark will just go even more mental then he already is!” she closed her mouth and looked me right in the eyes before opening her mouth again. “It’ll just make everything worse,”

“But it’s not right. He can’t do this to you! It’s a serious matter!” I snapped out of frustration. It wasn’t meant for Ebony, but for me. I was frustrated with myself.

“It’s like a web, Tom. I got myself into it, and I’m stuck. I can’t get out of it and now the spider is coming to get me. Nothing can save me. So I just have to cope with it on my own. I’ll be fine. I’m a strong person, okay?” more tears fell down her eyes as she hid her face in my neck again. I pulled her away from me and stared at Ebony.

“Tom. Don’t leave me,” she whispered. I stared into her emotionless eyes and stood up. “Tom. Please,” she begged. I looked down at her and grinned, sitting down on the sofa and pulling her onto my lap, holding her tightly against my chest.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered against her hair, a tear rolling down my own cheek.

“What for?” she asked, looking up at me, her nose touching my chin causing a chill to run along my body.

“I did this. I did this to you,” I pointed to her face and hands. “If I hadn’t of divorced you then this wouldn’t have happened to you. I feel so bad and I would do anything to change things to make them how they were,”

“Tom. I’m fine. And as much as I want everything to change, I know they won’t. It wouldn’t be the same anyway,” so she had thought about it? I looked into her eyes to see that they were telling me that she had regretted what she had said. “Because Mark is in the way and would probably try to kill you or me ... or both if I ditched him,” she added.

“You’re not fine though. Well, you are. You’re gorgeous, but what I mean is your health. I mean, look at your hands. Babe, I think you need to take a trip to the hospital. Want me to take you there?” I asked her, rubbing my hands in circles on her waist causing her to shiver in my arms.

“Tom I’m fine. There’s nothing wrong with my fingers,” I knew she didn’t want to go to the hospital because they’ll ask her how she did it and they’ll know that she’s lying. Ebony is such a bad liar, she makes me look good. “Anyway. Mark is going to be home soon, so you should go,” I nodded and she slipped off of my lap so that I could stand up and walk out of the living. I didn’t expect her to help me or anything due to the state that she’s in.

I stood still once I reached the living room door and turned to face the front door. “Just. When you do decide to do something about this, tell me and I’ll be here for you throughout it, okay?” she nodded her head and turned away and closed hers, a signal for me to leave the house and let her rest, which is what I did.

***

“Tom?” I looked up from my interlaced fingers to meet Bill’s worried eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I mumbled.

“You’re forgetting that I’m your twin brother. I can tell something’s wrong. Come on. Tell me,” I sighed and looked deep into his eyes.

“It’s Ebony,”

“Of course,” he interrupted.

“No, Bill. This is serious. Mark is.. beating her,” my voice cracked. “Megan came to the recording studio today and told me about Ebony and Mark, but I didn’t believe her so she took me to Mark’s house; he wasn’t there by the way, and I saw Ebony asleep on the sofa. Her face was bruised and it looked as though her fingers were broken,” tears pricked at my eyes as the image came to my head again.

“Did you speak to her?” Bill asked.

“Yeah I did. She denied it all and told me that she just fell down the stairs. I told her that Megan had told me that she had fallen over in the shower. That was when she admitted what Mark was doing to her, but she refused to do anything about it and that she can cope with it. But I didn’t believe her because she looked so helpless on the sofa. I was about to leave, but she pulled me onto the sofa and sat on my lap,” I smiled at remembering how nice it felt to have her snuggled up against me. “And I told her that I’m sorry and why I was sorry but she just told me that there’s nothing I can do about it and that us being together again wouldn’t be the same as before, but I knew by the look in her eyes that she regretted saying that,”

“You see? She still likes you. She’s just afraid of Mark by the sounds of it,” Bill grinned at me.

“I know. I told her that when she does want to do something about Mark, that she knows that I’ll support her through it. She nodded her head at me and I left the house so that she could sleep and because Mark was due home anytime soon,” I told Bill.

“You’ve done everything you can do, Tom. There’s nothing more you can do. One thing you can do though is let her know that you’re there for her and just give her time. I bet she’s confused and needs time to get her head around what’s going on,” he told me, moving to sit beside me and placing his hand on my shoulder.

“I know Bill. I just. Eugh. I wish I hadn’t done what I did, ya’ know? I feel so bad, and I want to have her back. So bad. But I know that it isn’t going to happen. She’s too scared to let Mark go,” a tear rolled down my cheek as I looked Bill in the eye.

“You never know,” he shrugged. “She does like you, and by what you said. She’s too scared to let Mark go. She’s just scared of what he could do to her. Or you. But if she could leave him, she would. Like I said, just give her time,” I nodded my head in agreement with Bill but deep down inside of me, I knew that I disagreed with his words because I want Ebony back so bad, it hurts.