Let Me In

Tom fought to hold in a chuckle as he heard a soft thud followed by a muffled groan from Skye’s bedroom. It was precisely December 20th and in downtown Sheffield there was an annual Holiday Party hosted by a few bars located on one of the main streets. Usually Tom just went with his brother or a gang of guys he usually hangs with when he isn’t with Skye, but this year Skye wanted to go seeing as it’d be Jonson’s first Christmas in Sheffield.

Another thud resounded from the bedroom and Tom stood up from his spot on the sofa in the living room and walked to Skye’s bedroom. Knocking twice, he put his ear up to door and called to her.

“Skye are yeh alrigh’?” He asked kindly, hoping not to set her off. The response he received was a high pitched whine, the sound of Skye fumbling around her room, then groping the door for the door handle before finally she hastily pulled the door open.

Tom had to cover his mouth to hide his laughter. Skye huffed in frustration, the maroon skirt and black leggings she had asked Tom to find for her were pulled onto her body correctly, but the white tank top was on backwards and Skye’s arms were tangled in her long, grey knit sweater.

“Well don’t just stand there!” She whined, wiggling about in the restraining jacket she’d made out of her own sweater. Tom chuckled walking towards her and pulling the sweater up over her head.

“Yeh’ve got yer top on all backwards,” He told her before pulling her arms out of the armholes of the tank top, tugging it right-side front before guiding her arms back into the tank.

“No wonder it felt all funny,” She grumbled out. Her response pulled his lips into a smile as he helped her into the sweater before standing back to look at her. Tom’s heart leapt in his chest and he had to clear his throat before speaking again.

“Yeh look amazing, love,” He said to her sweetly, finding it hard not to pull her into his arms.

“Thank you,” She replied, a light blush staining her cheeks, “Do you think you could help me with my makeup?”

Tom groaned this time, running his hands through his hair and shaking his head. He was terrible at doing makeup, Skye rarely asked him to do it, but he still completely dreaded it. He never knew putting someone’s makeup on was so hard! He had to hold completely still and be precise, he couldn’t just wing it and hope it’d turn out okay because it never did. Never.

“Skye, you know how much I hate-“

“Please, Tom! I know you’re not bad at it, I get compliments whenever you do my makeup. No one ever says anything when Jillian does my makeup!” She pleaded, pouting cutely and shuffling a bit forward, extending her arm out for Tom to take. He groaned again loudly, grabbing her hand and leading her to the bathroom.

“Yer kissin’ me arse, but yer lucky I like yeh so much or I wouldn’t be doin’ this,” He replied, as he kicked open the bathroom door and flicked on the lights.

“Oh thank you so much,” Skye said with a breathy sigh, “Are we in the bathroom?”

“Yes, ma’am, I’m gonna make yeh sit on the loo,” He told her before maneuvering so she could take a seat on the toilet lid.

“Make me pretty!” Skye said in a high-pitched shrill voice. Tom laughed, searching through the drawers beneath the sink for Skye’s makeup.

“Yeh already pretty, knobhead,” Tom teased lightly.

“Aren’t you just full of compliments today,” Skye giggled, swinging her legs back and forth as she waited for Tom.

“What colors do yeh want on yeh eyeballs?” Tom asked, looking through pallets of eyeshadow.

“I don’t know, brown? Would brown go with what I’m wearing?” Skye asked, touching her own face.

Tom found a pallet of brown and turned to hold it up next to Skye. He looked between the pallet and the beautiful girl on the toilet seat.

“Yeah, it’ll work,” He said with a shrug, grabbing a tiny makeup brush and kneeling down beside Skye.

“Alright now don’t play some joke on me and give me an eye shadow mustache or something,” Skye warned as Tom opened the pallet.

“So that’s what this stuff is called, eh? Eye shadow?” Tom asked as he ran the brush across the brown of the pallet.

Skye giggled and shook her head, “I can’t believe I trust you with this.”

“Neither can I,” Tom scoffed before holding up the makeup brush, “Now shut yeh eyes!”

~

“Jonson said he’s going to meet us at Soyo around 11, he’s gotta finish a presentation for work,” Skye said over the hum of the taxi and the roar of Sheffield at night.

Tom nodded, watching the lights of the city pass as they cruised down West Street until the taxi driver pulled to the side of the road, right outside the bar they’d planned on spending the entire night at. He paid off the driver and helped Skye out of the car before smiling widely. Music flooded the street from the three bars on West St. that put on the Holiday party. People where everywhere, walking along the pavement in the cold weather or running to and from one of the bars.

“Yeh ready?” Tom asked Skye, pulling her closer to him as to not get separated. Skye had a wide smile on her face as she nodded at him and murmured a soft yet joyful ‘yes’.

He led them to the entrance of the bar and pulled the door open, letting Skye in before him. Instantly the music became ten times louder. The air was thick with moisture and body heat. Conversation filled the bar and people filled every corner of the dimly lit bar. The vibe of the bar was incredibly festive, everyone was having a good laugh and overall a good time. The bar was made out of a brick walling with dark wood flooring. The tables and bar were black and colored Christmas lights hung from the ceiling giving the room a warm, iridescent glow.

Tom weaved them through the crowd of people, holding Skye by her waist and searching for familiar faces. Soon enough he spotted his brother and their friends. He directed his route towards them with Skye, gripping his hand tightly.

“TOM!” Oliver’s voice boomed over the roar of the bar and Tom grinned, pulling them through the crowd before Oliver ran towards them, grabbing Tom and pulling him into a hug. Tom grinned, letting go of Skye’s hand for a moment to hug his brother back tightly.

“I’m so glad yeh made it!” Oliver shouted, squeezing Tom tightly before stepping away. Tom ignored the smell of marijuana and beer that wafted from his brother and his friends as he looked back to grab Skye’s hand and tugged her towards him. Skye immediately went rigid as she gripped his hand tightly, her other hand grabbing his arm.

“Good to be here,” Tom shouted back, turning to Skye to see an uncomfortable smile on her face. Oliver noticed Skye’s current mood and shrugged at Tom.

“Hiya, Skye,” Oliver said to her, moving closer to him and touching her shoulder gently. Skye perked up a bit, clearing her throat and nodding at Oliver.

“Hey, Oli, how are you?” She asked politely, his grip on Tom’s hand becoming sweaty.

“Just grand! Here let’s sit at the table, yeh can meet the lads and lasses I’ve managed to scrape up,” Oliver beamed before leading them to the table. Tom recognized all the guys Oliver had brought, grinning at them and waving as they walked up. Tom first helped Skye onto a barstool and ordered them both a tall beer before going to talk with his friends.

Not being able to remember the last time he had gone out with the lads, Tom indulged himself in their conversation and drunkenly generous offerings. He didn’t turn down any drinks, enjoying himself in the contagiously happy environment.

Tom looked over at Skye to see her talking to Oliver’s current girlfriend and she seemed to be enjoying the conversation. Relief filled Tom, seeing as Skye never enjoyed going out to begin with and hated meeting new people even more, he couldn’t be happier that Skye was having a good time. He smiled at her, watching as she laughed at something from the conversation, her hair falling off her shoulder and her hand toying with the necklace hanging low from her neck.

Suddenly he felt a sharp nudge in his side. Tom winced and turned at the assailant. Matt, a good friend of Oliver’s drunkenly grinned at him.

“Is tha’ yeh bird?” He questioned with a fairly impressive eyebrow wiggle. Tom scoffed, shaking his head before taking a large gulp of beer from the glass in his hand.

“Oh so yeh come ova ‘ere holding her hand and yeh keep lookin’ ova at her all night, and she ain’t yeh bird?” Matt joked, nudging Tom again.

Tom laughed, shaking his head at his drunk friend. “Nah, she has a boyfriend. We’re jus’ friends anyways, always ‘ave been!” He clarified, before lifting his glass for another long swig. Matt nodded knowingly, before moving closer to Tom.

“Yeh had me fooled, mate. If yeh tryin ta hide yeh feelings yeh best wipe the hearts from yeh eyes! Yeh whipped, boy, everyone can see it! Cheers!” Matt said cheerily, knocking their glasses together festively before turning to the girl on his other side.

Deciding that he had left Skye alone for too long he made his way back to her. Skye was talking to Oliver and his girlfriend, the three of them with smiles on their faces. Tom took the seat next to Skye, placing a hand on her shoulder and saying ‘hello’ at the same time. Skye only jumped a tiny bit before relaxing into his touch.

Noticing the way Skye calmed so quickly he looked at the drink on the table next to the small purse she had brought. Suddenly Tom realized why Skye was so comfortable. Oliver’s girlfriend, Hannah had gotten Skye drunk.

“How’re you feeling?” Tom asked, moving his chair closer to Skye’s wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She grinned in his direction and placed her hand a little high on his thigh.

“I’m great! This is so much fun, I can’t believe I haven’t gone in years past!” She exclaimed, a wide grin on her cheeks. Tom looked over to Oliver and Hannah, who both were wearing smiles that’d put the Cheshire cat to shame, and shook his head at them.

“Well we’ll go from now on, I’m glad you’re having fun,” Tom replied with a soft smile. Skye laid her head on his shoulder and patted his leg.

“You’re the best, Tom,” She said gently, before pulling away and asking, “What time is it? Should Jonson be here by now?”

Tom pulled his phone from his back pocket and clicked the center button. Sure enough, the screen illuminated to show him a bright 11:42 p.m. Immediately Tom felt uneasy. Jonson was supposed to call Skye when he got to the bar and even though Skye was drunk, there was no way she’d miss his call.

“Can I check yeh phone?” Tom asked, just wanting to make sure Skye hadn’t somehow heard the call. She nodded and Tom grabbed her purse, opening it before clicking her phone on. There were no missed calls or texts. Tom cleared his throat, putting her phone away and sitting back in his seat.

“What is it?” Skye asked, sensing his sudden change of mood.

“Nofing, my phone just died,” Tom lied easily, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Well what time is it?” Skye pressed on, her face directed at Tom, but her eyes focused beyond him.

“It’s uh, fifteen minutes till,” Tom replied. He quickly scanned the bar, hoping for once that Jonson would magically appear. He didn’t want Skye’s night to be ruined; for once they were able to go out with friends and have a good time, he didn’t want to tarnish this.

“Till what? Ten, eleven, twelve, what?” She kept on, placing her hand on his leg once again. Tom couldn’t ruin her night. He just couldn’t do it.

“Eleven. It’s 10:45.”

Both Oliver and Hannah who had been watching the scene unfold gave Tom confused looks, but didn’t question aloud what he had said.

“You should’ve just said that in the first place, you knobhead,” Skye joked, reaching for the table so she could feel for her drink. Oliver moved it to her hand and they all watched as she finished off the last of her beer. Tom sighed, letting out a deep breath before telling them that he was going outside for a smoke.

He grabbed his jacket before making his way to the exit. The second his lungs filled with cool air Tom took a moment to collect himself as he leant up against the brick side of the building. He reached into his pocket and grabbed his cigarettes, taking out a stick and a lighter before holding to his mouth and lighting the end.

Tom knew he shouldn’t have lied to her that he shouldn’t have felt the need to cover for Skye’s shitty boyfriend, but he couldn’t take away her happiness. Skye was sitting in a bar, getting wasted with her friends like any normal young adult and Tom wasn’t going to take that memory away from her. He couldn’t let himself do it.

So instead of venting, he took a deep drag, letting the smoke fill his lungs for a few seconds before he let it out again.

The streets were filled with people. Loud music and laughter rebounded off every building as people roamed the streets, the cool air whipping at any uncovered skin. Tom watched people as they drunkenly stumbled down the sidewalks, the many happy faces and shouts of “Happy Christmas!” sent to one stranger from another. The holiday season was always meant to be happy and yet for some reason they always made him feel lonely.

Tom finished off the last of his cigarette before throwing it on the ground and stubbing it out with his toe before he turned to walk back inside the bar. He made it to the door before a deep laugh caught him by surprise. Tom stopped walking, the person entering the bar behind him running right into his back before apologizing and entering the bar.

Scanning the streets for the voice, Tom saw a tall dark haired figure walking on the other side of the street with a small group of people. The group had broken out into a chorus of Christmas carols, sung quite off tune with words slurred together. Tom took a couple steps closer to the road, trying to get a better look at dark haired guy singing and laughing across the street.

A sudden sense of anger and confidence came over Tom. He quickly looked both ways before running across the road. The cold air nipped his skin and he was sure his cheeks were flushed, but as his feet met the pavement of the sidewalk and he ran up behind the group he didn’t care about the freezing temperature.

“Jonson, yeh blithering idiot, wha’ the hell are yeh finking mate?” Tom shouted. At first no one of the crowd noticed, they kept walking and singing, one of the guys howling into the night sky followed by their loud laughter. Tom followed hotly, anger boiling up in him quickly.

“JONSON!” He roared. Jonson came to a halt, looking confusedly behind him before his eyes met Tom. Jonson’s eyes went wide, one of his friends stopped walking with him, but the rest of the group kept on. Tom wished it was quiet so he could hear himself think, but the atmosphere on West St. was so far from peaceful there was no way he’d find a place to think clearly.

Jonson just stared at him. Not moving or blinking, just stared worriedly at Tom. Tom sighed, running his hand nervously through his hair before biting his toungue.

“Wha’ the fuck are yeh doin’?” Tom demanded, piercing him with a sharp glare. Jonson let out a long sigh, taking a step closer to Tom.

“Listen, I… I need you to not tell Skye about this,” Jonson answered gently, not meeting Tom’s eyes.

“What?!” Tom thundered, losing his cool and pacing towards Jonson, “Are yeh fucking nuts? We’ll see if I eva let yeh near her again afta this! Fuck off mate, yeh tell yeh girlfriend something and yeh stick to it! I already lied for yeh tonight and I’m not about to do it again. Now yeh betta have a good fuckin’ reason why yeh out ‘ere celebrating wif this lot instead of yeh girlfriend or I’m gonna-“

“What, you gonna hit me? Tom, you caught me alright? I’m a piece of shit person, I blew off my girlfriend to hangout with my friends, but hear me out. I spend all my time working and being with Skye. I need a break every once in a while! I haven’t seen these people in months and I didn’t want to disappoint Skye. I really do care about her, okay? I’m not just with her for jokes or anything, she’s an amazing person. I honestly want to be with her for a very, very long time just… not tonight, I guess? So please, don’t tell her you saw me tonight. Watch out for a bro?” Jonson asked carefully, holding his hand out to Tom. Tom looked down at the hand Jonson was offering him, then back up to the guy he was just beginning to like.

“Yeh a fuckin disgrace,” Tom spat in disgust, “She isn’t just some bird yeh can lie and screw around wif. She’s different and I’m not gonna let yeh hurt her.”

“Tom-“

“Fuck off.”

Tom turned on his heel, ignoring Jonson’s calls after him as he stalked furiously across the road then into the bar again. He pushed angrily through the crowd to the table, finding Skye and Hannah dancing with Matt and Oliver, the four of them looking like complete drunk fools.

“Tom! Join us!” Matt shouted as Hannah fell into his arms, laughing her head off. Tom shook his head, moving to Skye and grabbing her arm.

“Should we leave now?” Tom asked her sternly, she placed both of her hands carefully on his chest, a light giggle coming from her mouth as she bit her lip.

“But Jonson isn’t here yet! And we’re having such fun!” She said as she stumbled into Tom’s arms. Tom shook his head before wrapping an arm around her waist and helping her to the table.

“It’s late and….” Tom hesitated, taking a deep breath before, “And Jonson called me. He’s caught up at work and won’t be able to get home until really late. Something went wrong with the presentation or summat.”

Skye pouted before nodding. “Alright then, I’m tired anyways. Apparently, I’m not used to being up this late!” She said with a laugh and a shake of her head. Tom grabbed her purse and they said goodbye to their friends, Skye sharing long hugs with everyone. He took her hand and led her first through the bar until again he made his exit.

Tom waved down a taxi, Skye clutching his hand tightly as he helped her into the cab. Once he slammed the car door shut he leant back on the cushioned seat and closed his eyes, resting his head on the cold window. Skye wrapped her arm around his and laid her head onto his shoulder, running her hand down his arm until she reached the hem of his jacket where she played with a loose string.

The soft Christmas music coming from the speakers in the cab and the sound of Skye’s breathing calmed him. He looked at the lights of the city as they zoomed by and distantly wondered if the taxi driver was missing being with his family while he drove drunken bastards around the city late at night.

“Hey,” Skye blurted suddenly, lifting her head from his shoulder.

“What?” Tom asked turning to face her, only to find his breath caught in his throat. He hadn’t realized how close they were sitting or how if he had just turned his head their lips would be mere inches away.

“I was just thinking about that medical surgery Jonson proposed to me,” She murmured slowly, unknowing of how close Tom was to kissing her or how hard his heart was slamming against his chest.

“And?” Tom whispered in response.

“I think I’m gonna do it.”

Tom couldn’t breathe.

The proximity of her lips was too much for him.

He was torn and compromised and he couldn’t focus.

He couldn’t breathe.

So he leant in and gently slotted his lips against hers.