Someone to Remember

Tuesday morning crept upon her as she awoke at nearly six forty-five in the morning to the sound of her phone buzzing. Groggily, she reached for it to find a new message.

Tom: Rise and shine, missy. You’ve got a big day ahead of you and lots of people to meet.

She idly smiled at the message from her fellow co-star and pushed herself out of bed, replying as she went.

Maya: Yes sir. You get ready too.

Maya quickly showered and got dressed into something a bit more casual than what she wore to her audition; a long-sleeved, lavender V-neck shirt with a pair of black skinny jeans. Once she ate a bowl of corn flakes with a glass of vanilla almond milk, she checked her phone again.

Tom: I am ready actually. Just got done with a morning jog. ;)

She snorted lightly at the strange use of a smiley face in the message and shook her head. Dragging herself over to the couch, she threw herself on it and replied.
Maya: Hot. I’m guessing you’re going to the meeting all sweaty then.

His reply was almost instant and she got the feeling that he was much like her, sitting around with nothing to do for at least an hour.

Tom: You bet I am. ;) But no, I showered after I got back.
Do you need a ride again to the building? I can swing by…

A slight blush snuck onto her face at his word choice and second wink face. She could picture the tall, British man with that attractive smirk on his face as his skin was covered in a thin sheet of sweat. The question in the message, thankfully, refocused her on replying. She was in no mood to argue that morning so she obliged, only to please him.

Maya: Hehe, if you want to want to pick me up, sure.

The phone in her hands buzzed again after a few moments, and Maya found herself grinning like a fool.

Tom: Perfect, I can come get you now and maybe you can see my place before the meeting.

Maya: Sounds great to me, mister. :) I’ll wait outside for you.

Tom: Alright. Be ready!

With that, Maya finished getting her bag together and kissed Link’s head softly before heading down the complex stairs to wait for Tom. She was thankful that she remembered to grab her heavier jacket before heading out because of the bone chilling London breeze that swept by her once she was on the sidewalk. Pulling the jacket tighter across her, she leaned on the brick wall of the building, looking up and down the street for signs of her companion.

Suddenly, a force knocked Maya down to the ground and she felt someone trying to pry her purse from her arm. For a moment, she wasn’t sure what was going on, but then she turned her face to see a large man hovering over her, yanking away at her purse. With all the force she could muster, she punched the man on the jaw, hoping to startle him long enough to get away. But the man was barely phased. He reached down and returned the blow to Maya’s cheek before another man’s shouting made him run off without anything.

Maya slowly sat up, lightly holding her tender cheek and blinking away the tears that wanted to escape her eyes. She grabbed her purse from her arm to inspect the damage and was grateful that nothing was taken from her.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” she heard a frightened voice say to her.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said with a slight crack in her voice. “Growing up in the ghettos of Chicago prepares you for this kind of crap.” She looked up to see who exactly she was talking to and found Tom rushing to her side, kneeling down.

“I’m serious, Maya,” the bewildered man said. “Where are you hurt?”

“Don’t worry, Tom, I’m fine,” she replied calmly as she reached for his arm to get up.

“Don’t worry? Don’t worry? How can I not worry when this just happened?” He shook his head fiercely as he helped her stand and brush off the dirt and dust from the sidewalk. “You should’ve waited inside until I got here.”

“Hey,” she said sharply after he spoke. “Seriously, I’m fine. And I didn’t know this was a shady part of town. Shit, I didn’t know I was going to get hurt from standing outside for five minutes.” She saw the unwavering concern on his face and sighed deeply. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t know.”

“It’s okay,” he mumbled quietly as he wrapped an arm around the shorter woman’s shoulders. “Let’s just get to my place before something else happens.” Maya nodded without argument and leaned into him slightly while they walked over to his car. They both got in silently and on the way to Tom’s house, he constantly looked over to her when he had the chance.

“I want to check that out as soon as we get there, okay?” he posed quietly, taking in just how shaken his younger co-worker looked. She hadn’t taken her eyes from the passenger window the whole time and stayed extremely quiet, only nodding when Tom spoke to her. His brows furrowed as he sighed and pulled into the driveway of the immaculate house. “We’re here,” he mumbled to her. She nodded again and unfastened her seatbelt, silently getting out and waiting for Tom to lead the way.

The two walked into the grand house and Maya felt her jaw drop a bit. It was a beautiful sight to see. The modern fixtures with the house’s slight vintage feel had the perfect contrast. His living room was large enough for any family gathering and the kitchen was perfect for setting up a cocktail party for a movie premiere. She felt a bit jealous at how nicely he lived compared to her small one bedroom apartment that would, at most, hold five people.

She pulled out her phone to check the time; seven-twenty. When she frowned down at the device, she felt a sharp pain in her cheek spread along her jaw. Instinctively, she held her cheek to lessen the pain, but that action only made it worse. She cursed under her breath, which caused Tom to look over at her with all of the past concern washing back over his face.

“Let me look at it,” he said gently, leading her to sit on the couch. Once she was sitting, he carefully removed her hand from her face and looked over the swollen bruise that was appearing. “I’ll get some ice.” He rose and walked into the kitchen, wrapping a few ice cubes in a small towel. Maya reached into her purse and pulled out her on-the-go makeup kit and opened a mirror to inspect the bruise. It was only starting to show, so she immediately went to work at covering it up with her various powders and liquids. Every stroke of the brush, however, sent more pain over her face and she could feel the tears welling up again.

Tom came back over and sat next to her, waiting patiently for her to finish so she could properly ice the wound. A frown spread on his lips as he watched her eyes at every touch to her face, noticing the pain she felt.

“Here,” he said once she finished, handing her the ice. “Leave this on it until we leave again and I’ll make another bag to take in the car.” Maya looked over at him and nodded, mumbling a thanks. He forced a smile for her and headed back to the kitchen to fill a plastic, zip close bag with ice cubes.

“Was it you?” she called out to him, her eyes not leaving her purse. Tom poked his head around and looked at her curiously.

“What do you mean?”

“Was it you? The one who scared the guy off. Were you the one who shouted at him?” She finally looked up at the tall man, watching him as he moved back to the couch.

It was his turn to respond with only a nod as he looked off to the other side of the living room. Maya’s lips twitched up slightly to smile softly at him.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, scooting a bit closer to him to nudge his shoulder with her own. “If you hadn’t been there..” she trailed off, looking down. “I don’t want to imagine what could have happened to me.” She looked up again to meet his soft gaze. “You know, for someone who played a villain,” she started again, the smile on her face only growing slightly because of the pain. “You’re one good hero.”

He laughed lightly at the statement and shook his head a bit. “I’m glad I could pull off yet another side of myself.” The two laughed softly at first, but when Maya made a face of discomfort from her cheek, they ended up laughing more. “You’re not supposed to keep hurting yourself, silly,” Tom said to her through laughing fits. Maya rolled her eyes and rose from the couch, putting everything back inside her purse.

A hand lightly pressed against her back and she turned to see Tom smiling warmly at her. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked her. She nodded and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

“I’m perfectly fine,” she murmured in his ear as he hugged her back gently. She pulled her head back to smile at him softly. Seeing his face up close was a sensation she surely enjoyed. His bright blue eyes stared into her hazel ones with a slight intensity to them that made her shudder lightly.

“Are you cold?” he asked quietly as his eyes searched hers. She shook her head lightly and it finally hit her that she was so close to him. It was just like the audition all over again, except there was no one here to watch them. She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked down as she felt her body start to tremble in his embrace. Maya was never the kind to get nervous over anything, especially boys. No other guy she had been with ever made her feel this weak from a simple stare or sentence.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered to her. One of his hands left her back to push back her deep brown hair from her face. He tilted her face up so she wouldn’t have to look away from him. The look in her eyes reminded him of a small, frightened animal; darting quickly between his eyes and slightly wider than normal.

Maya bit on her lip and tried to avoid his holding stare, and was thankfully distracted by the buzzing from her pocket. She knew it was the alarm she set just in case she overslept.

“We.. We have to go,” she mumbled as she disengaged herself from him, turning back around to grab her bag and to hide the blush creeping onto her face.

Tom nodded and walked by her, going into the kitchen to get the bag of ice for her cheek. Maya’s eyes followed him and soon, she felt bad for pushing him away. She walked over to the front door and waited until he was behind her to open the door.

“I’m sorry about that,” she said, frowning slightly. “I just‒”

“It’s fine,” the older man said, forcing a soft smile and patting her back gently. “Come on, we’re going to be late if we stay.” Maya could see the faint look of hurt in his eyes, but said nothing more and walked out the door. She didn’t know what cause Tom to start acting this way, but she had to find out soon.