Broken Dreams

by Rissa Blakeley

  We got Henry to the bed and I shouted, “Claire! Go grab his pack.” She stood still in shock. “Claire! Now! We don’t have much time.”

  ***

  “Henry, stay with me. I’m here.” I stroked the top of his head, pushing his grime-filled hair from his eyes. “It’s alright, lover. You stay with me. I’m going to give you what you need soon.” Henry was clenching his jaw, growling in pain. “I know you’re in there. You have to fight it.” He was breathing short, quick breaths through his teeth. “Nick, what the fuck happened?” Claire slammed the door and ran to the bed, then began hooking me up.

  “I don’t know. I saw him rolling and rubbing his neck. He hurt his hand again, and then when we ran out of the building, it was like he reinjured his ribs or something. I looked at him and his eyes were graying.”

  With Henry incapacitated, having Sophie around to answer questions would have been helpful. My breath hitched and tears formed in my eyes. I watched Henry rolling in the bed in complete agony.

  Claire reached for him to try to stabilize him. “Henry. Henry. I need to know where it hurts.”

  “Ev-ery wh-ere,” he groaned out.

  “I’m going to try to assess you. Please don’t fight me.” I watched Claire tending to my ailing Henry. I looked down at the needle with the bag attached, willing my blood to leave me faster. I moved closer to him and held my wrist over his lips.

  “Bite me.”

  Claire looked at me like I was insane. “No! No way! I am not letting him bite you! Are you out of your fucking mind?!”

  “No. He could be dying! He needs me. I have to save him. Henry, it’s okay.” He cracked his eyes open, and tears ran down the sides of his face. Then I felt a pair of strong arms yank me back. “Ow! What the fuck?!”

  “I will not allow it,” Nick argued.

  “You are not the boss of me!” Then I saw his eyes graying, as well. “Nick! What happened in there?” He stood there, fighting himself. A near constant growl was coming out of Henry. We were running out of time. “Where’s Thomas?!” Nick opened the door, and Thomas was standing right outside. He grabbed him by the shirt collar and dragged him inside.

  “Here,” Nick growled.

  “Claire, set him up for a vial. This is taking way too long. Nick needs some, too.” Claire pulled out what she needed from Henry’s pack, and hooked up Thomas. I scooted up the bed and tried to comfort Henry as much as I could.

  Then there was a knock on the door, which was not what we needed. Everyone went quiet but Henry, who was still writhing in pain on the bed. Claire jumped up, went to the door, and cracked it open just enough to see Addie standing just outside the door.

  “Is everything okay in there?” She was concerned. Claire bit down on her lip, searching for the words.

  “Umm, yeah. He’s just injured, and tends to be a big baby about it.”

  “Oh. Okay. Well, if you need anything…I’ll be just out in the kitchen with Rosa. Please, thank him for me.”

  “I will. Thanks.” Claire slammed the door shut, making sure to lock it. She ran over to Thomas and swapped out his vials. She handed me the first one.

  “Henry. Henry, try and sit up.” His whole body was trembling and rigid. He cracked open his eyes again. “It’s going to be okay. Here, open up.”

  He parted his chapped, scarred lips and I poured the vial down. He swallowed hard, and continued his harsh breathing pattern. I stroked his face gently with my fingers.

  “Shhh… It’s going to be okay.” He seemed to have started to calm down, but not enough. Claire pulled off the next vial and tried to hand it to Nick. He pushed it away, and nodded toward Henry.

  “But Ni…”

  “He needs it more than I do right now!”

  “But…”

  “Give it to him!” Nick snapped. She handed it to me just as I handed her back the empty vial. I looked at Nick. “It’s okay, Elaina. I’ll be fine until you’re done with that.” He slouched down against the wall. Claire unhooked Thomas, and I poured the last vial down Henry’s throat.

  Within a couple minutes, Henry’s breathing had slowed down, and was at a more normal pace. His muscles were no longer contracting, and his growling had ceased. Relief swept over me, but he still needed a good dose. Those vials were just a Band-Aid to a larger problem.

  “Open your eyes, Henry.” He slowly cracked them open and I could see the faintest green coming through. “Henry...” I grabbed his face to kiss him, completely ignoring the fact that I was filling a bag. “Ow! Claire, help me!”

  “Thomas,” Claire said as she unhooked me. “Go and get a cup or something.” He ran out of the room.

  ***

  Addie and all of the kids were sitting, talking and eating when Thomas flew into the kitchen. Addie stood up. “Is everything alright with him?” She was still very concerned.

  “I…I jus’ need a cup or somethin’ like tha’.”

  She tilted her head to one side, and looked at him with confusion. “Why on earth would you need a cup?”

  “Water. Jus’ some water. He is havin’ a hard time wit’ the water bottle at the moment.”

  “Alright.” She reached into the cabinet, cautiously handing him a small juice glass. “Is there anything you need me to help with?”

  “No!” Addie looked shocked that he spoke to her in that way. “Sorry. No, ma’am. We’re fine. Like Claire said, Henry’s a big baby.” Thomas turned on a dime, ran back to the bedroom, and slammed the door.

  ***

  Thomas tossed the cup to Claire, and she filled for Nick. He didn’t sip like he normally would. He dumped it back like he was doing a shot at the bar. He passed the cup back to Claire, and she filled it for Henry. The cup of blood nauseated me more than the vial. I hesitated.

  “Take it! Give it to him!” Claire insisted as she shoved the cup at me.

  “Okay,” I said, with a meekness that I rarely possessed. I stroked his face. “Henry…” I held the cup to his lips. “Drink up.” He cracked open his eyes again. I was careful not to spill a drop as I tipped it up, and he drank at a slow and steady pace until the glass was empty. I wiped his lips, and handed the cup back to Claire. “Henry?” I whispered while holding his face.

  “Yeah…?” he drawled out with a harsh rasp in his voice.

  “Oh, Henry!” I wrapped my arms around his neck, and began to weep into his chest.

  “Hey… hey…” He was trying to console me. “It’s alright.” He rubbed my back with his unbroken hand. “Love, it’s okay. I’ve got you.” Each word sounded better than the last. He looked at the rest of our little family. “Thank you,” he said. Everyone nodded once. “Oh, and thanks for telling them I’m a big baby.” Henry smirked, as did I. Everyone laughed in relief.

  “I’m going to go rinse these out,” Claire held up the vials and cup.

  She made it to the door, when Thomas warned, “Go out the front. They’re in the kitchen.”

  “Thanks.”

  ***

  Claire, oozing with suspicion, crept through the house and then quickly headed out the front door. Addie stood up when she saw Claire go outside, and decided she was going into the bedroom again. She listened at the door before she knocked with a heavy fist.

  ***

  “Open this door!” Addie yelled from the hallway. I was cramming all the tubing and needles into Henry’s pack. Just as I zipped it up, Addie opened the door on her own. “If you don’t tell me what is going on in here, I’ll throw every one of you out!” I contemplated telling her the truth. “First, I hear Henry yelling in agony, and then laughing? Then I see Claire sneaking out the front door!” She was angry, and she looked like a snake ready to strike. Nick looked at me, wondering what my response would be.

  “Well, Henry was injured several weeks ago. He got into a nasty fight with some jerk who was trying to steal our ammo and supplies. Let’s just say Henry fared better than the other guy.” I looked back at Henry, and he was staring out the window, trying to avoid eye conta
ct. “We think his ribs were fractured or something when the guy planted his boot into Henry’s side. I’m not a doctor so I can’t tell you for sure.”

  “What happened to the other guy?” I just looked at Addie with a quirked brow, and she knew. “Oh. Right.”

  “Nick said that once they sprinted out of the school, he buckled over in pain. We think he may have reinjured them. Plus, he reinjured his hand. And he has a few other nagging issues that haven’t healed yet, due to him trying to be the hero all of the time.” I said it with some attitude. Nick looked relieved at my explanation. Addie came over and picked up his hand. Henry hissed and yanked it back.

  “I think we should splint this for more support.” Addie sounded concerned. “I have just the thing. Be right back.” She walked out of the room. We all breathed a sigh of relief. Nick gave me a thumbs up. I helped Henry sit up at the head of the bed.

  Claire came back with water and an armload of snacks, all the while cramming a small candy bar into her mouth. She passed out the snacks and waters, and handed me the clean glass.

  “Where did you find that?” I asked with an absurd amount of excitement. My mouth was watering because I had a major weakness for anything candy. I poured water in the glass for Henry.

  “Back of his truck,” she said with a mouthful of chocolate and caramel. “There’s some food in his pack, as well.” Apparently, I didn’t notice that while I was trying to cram some of our draw supplies back in.

  Addie came back in, holding a couple short rulers and a roll of medical tape. She looked at Claire with a raised eyebrow while she chowed down on a small bag of potato chips.

  “Why did you run out so fast?” Claire chewed and swallowed, trying to have some manners to answer Addie’s question. I would have just spoken with my mouth full.

  “Oh, he kept asking for more water. Plus, he said he was hungry.”

  “Y’all just cater to him like he is the king, huh?”

  “Oh, yes. My King Henry.” I winked at him, and he smirked. Everyone stood silent. I sat down beside him and opened up the pack of crackers with peanut butter sandwiched in the middle. I held the cup to his lips and he sipped. I handed him a cracker, and he ate it in one bite.

  Addie sat down on the bed and began unwrapping Henry’s injured hand. He hissed, over and over again. “Oh, geez. You really banged it up good.” Nick and Thomas chuckled a little. “I see,” Addie said when she heard them laugh. “So you punched something.”

  “Yeah. It was a moment of stupidity. I have several of those on a daily basis.” Then I laughed because it was the truth.

  “Ms. Addie?” I spun around with my Sig out, pointed at the door. The girl screamed.

  “Who are you?” I demanded.

  “Elaina…put away your gun,” Henry demanded. “Julianna. Come in. It’s okay. She won’t harm you. I promise. Well, if you try to steal that chocolate out of her hand she might.” He softly smiled at her. Julianna took a hesitant step toward the bed.

  “I just wanted to see if Mr. Henry was doing alright.”

  “Thank you, sweetheart. I’m doing better.” I was still confused. “Elaina, this is Julianna. She was at the school with Rosa. And that’s Justin, his sister Shay, and that, of course, is Rosa.”

  “Hi. Sorry about the gun, I just got startled,” I was mumbling over my embarrassment.

  “It’s fine,” Rosa said, as she wrapped her protective arms around Julianna. I noticed she was very much like Addie, with her mothering mannerisms.

  As Addie finished splinting and rewrapping Henry’s hand, she said, “I cannot thank you boys enough for rescuing my daughter…and these wonderful kids.” Addie became emotional. She walked up to Thomas and hugged him, then Nick.

  Addie worked her way around the room, and finally got back to Henry. It was difficult for her to speak. “Thank you so much.” She gently hugged him. “I thought she was gone.” Addie broke down.

  I rushed to her side before she collapsed to the floor. I held her tight in my arms while she wept. After a few minutes, I guided her toward the bed so she could sit down.

  “I thought I lost her,” she said over and over again. I understood her anguish. I looked over at Henry. He curled his lips into his mouth and looked away from me.

  Rosa gingerly sat down on the bed and took Addie’s hands. “Momma, we tried to get out.”

  “I tried to find you. I went everywhere, even Justin and Shay’s house. Their whole family…” Rosa grabbed her and pulled her close. I heard small cries, and realized that they were coming from Shay. Justin took his sister’s hand and held it tight, like he was never going to let her go. I looked over at my brother and he nodded at me.

  All the sadness began overwhelming me. I kept seeing my father coming at me on the street near the church. Then Jenna trying to kill Nick. Nate. Henry turning Nick. My mom dying at the hands of Kellan. And Sophie taking that awful fall.

  Then my Henry and the pain that he lives with every single day of his life. It tore me up so I got up and excused myself. I ran out the front door to try to collect myself. I sat down on the porch stairs and wrapped my arms around my legs. I was afraid if I let go, I would fall apart. I was shaking, trying to hold myself together.

  Several minutes had passed before the door opened behind me. I didn’t even look up. I felt his cool body sit down beside me. A pain-filled sigh saturated the air around us.

  “Hey, love.”

  “You should be in bed.”

  “I’m fine right now, but Addie said only for a few minutes. Any longer than that, she said she was dragging me back into bed, whether I wanted to or not.” He mocked Addie’s southern drawl and attitude. We both laughed. He wiped my tears away. “I have to say, she’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to a mother, even though I’ve known her for only twenty-four hours.”

  I put my face into my hands again, muffling my words. “I thought you were going to turn, Henry. I can’t handle seeing you that way. I don’t think I can handle another loss, especially if it was you.”

  “I know, love. But look. I’m alright.”

  I looked at him. “Henry…you will never be alright.”

  “I know.” He was saddened. He pulled me close, and hissed in pain.

  “What happened in there? Why were you so bad coming back?”

  “There were a lot of undeads. Hundreds, Elaina. Hundreds. Most of them were kids. I have never seen so many in one space. I was already hurting when we got there. I don’t understand why I’m turning faster than I used to.”

  “Maybe it’s because of all your recent injuries.” I looked up at his eyes…beautiful, breathtaking, and just brilliant.

  “I don’t know. I’m so glad you didn’t come with us. It was terrifying, even for me. The smell was off the charts. Even Nick was sick. The kids had piled up the true deads all the way up to the third floor. It was a brilliant move to protect themselves, but it was hell trying to climb over them to get up there. I don’t even want to get into the gore.”

  “Yes. Please don’t.”

  The door opened behind us. “Alright, Henry. Come on now. You need your rest.” I stood and helped Henry up. I watched him walk into the house and head toward the bedroom. Then I decided that I needed to go with him. “Uh…no.” Addie stopped me at the door, waving her finger at me. I looked at her with bewilderment. “He needs his rest. I know what y’all will do if you are left alone.” I blushed so much my face felt as if it was set ablaze.

  “But…I was just going to get him comfortable and then leave.”

  “Promise?” Addie had her eyes completely zoned in on me.

  “Yes! I would never do that in someone else’s home, especially during waking hours.” I huffed and pushed past her. Henry was chuckling and holding his ribs. I closed the door behind us. “We aren’t teens, for pete’s sake. She does know we were supposed to marry, doesn’t she?”

  I knew he thought it was hilarious because he took me the night before, and I was lying. I didn’t find it very hum
orous. I helped him out of his shirt and began undoing his pants as he sat down at the edge of the bed. I realized he was missing that essential article of clothing that would keep him covered with his pants off. I was gawking at his body when I heard Henry say, “Hey, are you trying to get me in trouble?”

  “Oh, come on! You’re setting me up!”

  “Setting you up?”

  “Yes!”

  “Because I didn’t wear boxers on purpose this morning because I knew this exact moment would happen?” He rolled his eyes.

  “Don’t roll your eyes at me!” I growled at him.

  “How do you like it?” He swung his legs around to lie down in the bed. I pulled the covers up to his waist, leaving his pants undone. I admired his battered body. He still looked beautiful to me. I sat down next to him and reached out, touching his chest.

  His skin was so smooth and cool. Of course, he still had those nasty bruises and scars. I gently touched each and every single one. Every bruise and scar happened because he battled someone, somewhere, at some point. Henry grabbed my hand.

  “Hey. It’s okay. They are just bruises and scars.”

  “It’s not okay. This is not okay. None of this is okay.”

  “I understand that more than most, but we don’t have a choice.” He placed my hand over his heart. “This beats for you. Whether life is shitty or grand, my heart is always beating for you.” I smiled with sadness and kissed him on the forehead.

  “You need some rest. I better get out of here before Addie drags me out by the collar.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me down. “Henry…please.” He held me close and kissed me as he pushed me down onto the bed. “Henry…stop. I have to go,” I mumbled between kisses.

  “I don’t want you to go,” he said in that deep sexy rasp that worked for me nearly every damn time. Then he nuzzled into my neck and began touching me. “Take off your shirt. I want to see my black-haired beauty,” he whispered.