“Elaina, you have to calm down,” Addie said.
“No! You don’t understand.”
“You being this upset isn’t going to help the situation.”
“He’s going to put a bullet in his head! You have no idea what he’s going through, or what I’m going through right at this moment!”
***
Nick ran outside and sprinted into the barn. He climbed the ladder, skipping a rung with every step. Henry was sitting against the wall, the Sig to his temple. His body was shaking.
“Hey, my brother.” Nick tried to speak in a calm and soft manner. The tears were running down Henry’s face. “My baby sister is in there crying her eyes out because of this.” Henry didn’t respond, but Nick knew what he said affected him. “She loves you beyond reason. Why don’t you give me the gun?” Nick held his hand out.
“Go so I can do this unwitnessed.”
“No. That’s not going to happen. I won’t allow it.” Nick sat down in front of him. Henry’s eyes were ticking back and forth, watching all of Nick’s movements, knowing that he may try to snatch the gun from him.
“I can’t do this anymore. I can’t fucking do it.” Henry’s hand shook while he gripped the Sig.
“You don’t have a choice. She will shatter without you.”
“How can I hold her together? I can’t even take care of myself half of the time!” Nick slowly worked his way closer to Henry. “Don’t get any closer!” He backed off a little, as Henry drove the business end of the Sig further into his temple.
“Alright, alright. I’m backing up.” He pushed himself back about a foot. “Listen, I can’t claim to know or understand everything that you’re going through, but I can say that I feel the pain. It’s only been for a short time so I can’t imagine how you’ve lived this long with it. You are strong.”
“I’m weak,” Henry spit out.
“No, they said you were weak. You, my brother, could move mountains if you put your mind to it.”
“Just leave me. Please, I beg you.”
“No. If you pull that trigger, I’m going to sit here with you while you do it.”
“I can’t burden you with anything else so, please, just go. I just want to get this over with.”
“No. My sister needs you. I have to protect her needs. I promised my mother, before she passed, that I would protect her, and I think this would fall into that category. Now, why don’t you hand it over?” Nick put his hand out again.
“Back off!” Henry growled. His hand continued to shake as he held the gun to his temple.
***
I ran back out to the barn as fast as I could, leaving Addie in my wake. I heard Henry yell at Nick. I hurried up the ladder and saw him sitting there with the Sig to his head.
“No!” I screamed. I ran to him, but before I could reach him, Nick grabbed me.
“Sit,” he commanded.
“No! He is…”
“I can see what is happening here. I have two working eyes.”
“Please, both of you, just leave me alone.”
“No. Nick, tap me.” I dug through the pack and pulled out what I needed.
“No, Elaina. I will no longer accept your blood.”
“Henry, you have to.”
“I don’t have to do anything.”
“No, you don’t. Nor do you have to do this. I am begging you. I wish you could see the good that is inside of you.”
“I have done so many bad things. So many. Some I can’t even tell you about because they are so awful. I don’t want to burden you with it.”
“I understand, but you have to move forward.”
“You don’t know everything, and there is no forward. It’s now or backward. I want to choose my destiny.”
“You taking your own life is not an option. I’m taking that right off of the table.” Henry watched as Nick tapped me. He licked his lips. I could almost see him salivating.
“I can’t have a life if I am not living!” he growled.
“You are living. Your heart is beating, you breathe, you laugh, you cry, you make love to me. They can’t do any of those things.” He swallowed hard, and it dawned on me. “You only did that earlier as a last moment with me, didn’t you?” He slowly nodded, acknowledging my epiphany. I was shaking because I was so angry. “You asshole!” I screamed at him. “You did all of those things to me just so you could have me one last time?! If I didn’t find you, you would have gone through with it!”
“You don’t get it. It wasn’t for me. Remember, I stopped myself? I did it for you. You were the one who begged me to finish. I didn’t want to. It hurt too fucking much.”
I felt guilt ridden because I forced him to feel the pain. Nick glared at Henry while he took off one vial and popped on another. I hoped he wouldn’t ask any questions. I had a feeling he didn’t want to know, and I wasn’t about to elaborate any more about it.
He held it out to Henry, who didn’t acknowledge it. He sat and stared at me. Time for a new strategy.
“Henry! You are to drink that now! It will make you feel better.” He smirked at me. “What’s so funny?”
“You think it will make me feel better?”
“Physically, yes, it will.”
“Not up here, Elaina.” He tapped the Sig at his temple. “Not fucking up here.”
“I know you don’t want to do this.”
“You don’t know what I want or don’t want.”
“Yes, I do.” Nick popped off the next vial. “Take them, please,” I begged. He held out his injured hand, and I laid the two vials in it. He dropped them in his lap. “Henry, please. I am begging you. I need you. I can’t walk this earth without you next to me.”
“You will find a new love, one who isn’t a bloody leech.”
“You are not a leech. I’m fine with giving you my blood because I love you and I want you to live. What happened to rising up and forming a society…what about a memorial for Sophie…what about a family…what about us?” The moment my voice cracked, his jaw trembled. I inched closer to him. “Henry, I want to have a family with you. I want to give you a child. I want to make a home with you. I want to marry you. I want to help you. I want to take care of you. I want you to be by my side every day.” His body slacked. I slowly reached up and grabbed the Sig out of his hand, sliding it across the floor to Nick.
I grabbed the vials and straddled his lap. I popped the cap off of one. “Come on. Drink this for me.” I held it up to his lips. He parted them slightly, and I poured it into his mouth. When he swallowed, I felt relief wash over me. I opened the next one and made him drink that one, as well.
“I'm going to leave you two alone.” Nick got up and went back down to the house. I held onto Henry. I held him tight so he couldn’t shatter. I wouldn’t let it happen.
He wasn’t crying anymore. He was just sitting silently with one hand around my waist, accepting my love. I turned and looked at his face. He had his head tipped back against the barn wall, his eyes closed. He jumped when I ran the backs of my fingers over his stubbly cheek.
“Where would I be without you?” he whispered.
“I don’t want to think about it.” I kissed his lips. He parted them, and his cool breath made me shiver. Then he opened his eyes, those beautiful emerald eyes that stole my heart years before. I pressed my forehead against his, and he wrapped his arms around me.
“Thank you,” he whispered. He was feeling the small, temporary high kick in. He rested his head back against the wall again, and I watched my Henry melt into the background.
I will freely admit that I was really scared out of my damn mind that he was going to pull the trigger. I knew he didn’t want to, though. He needed me in his arms, as much I needed him in mine.
We sat there for a long time, just holding each other. I didn’t want to let him go. No matter how fucked up he was, or how fucked up the world was, I loved him with everything I had.
Chapter 41
N
ick wa
lked back into the house, and Claire met him at the door in full blown panic mode. “Is he…?”
“No. She talked him off the ledge, thankfully. I left them alone. They needed the time together.” He pulled out Henry’s Sig. He pulled out the magazine, then chuckled.
“What?”
“Empty.” He checked the chamber, and it was empty, as well. Nick laughed a little more, then slammed the gun down on the table. “Damn him! He is such a fucking manipulator!”
Claire grabbed his arm. “Maybe he didn’t know.”
“Are you serious, Claire? Henry? Leave the house with an empty weapon? I will lay it all on the line that he has the fucking bullets in his pocket.” Nick clenched his fists at his side. “He is manipulating us! Her! Goddamn him! My baby sister… That motherfucker! I’m going to beat the shit out of him!”
“Nick, calm down, please.” Claire grabbed his arms. “Remember, he’s probably drunk.”
“Yeah, he is. God, he pisses me right the fuck off,” he growled. “Sometimes I wonder what she sees in him.” He kicked a box of their supplies that was near the door.
“Now, Nick, calm down.” Addie stepped into the conversation.
“Addie, I’m sorry. You have no idea what he has put Elaina through.”
“I know I don’t, but she loves him.”
“He’s playing mind games with her! He has this sick obsession with control!”
“He is a damaged soul. He doesn’t know any better.”
Nick laughed. “Why does he always catch a break? I don’t get it. Poor Henry, beaten and abused his entire life. No one understands what he has put her through. He hurts her so much! I can’t stand by and watch him continue to tear her heart out, stomping on it like it’s trash!”
“Nick, be quiet before you say too much!” Curiously, Addie looked at Claire.
“His explosive behavior is enough to cripple my sister. It already has!” Nick ran his hands through his hair. “I’m going to go beat his motherfucking ass.” Nick took two steps toward the door before Claire grabbed him again.
“No! You know how he is.”
“Are you saying I can’t hold my own? Thanks for the confidence boost. I’m pretty sure I can beat down a drunk.”
“You listen to me…” Claire jammed her finger into Nick’s chest. “Do not tell Elaina that the gun was empty. Do you understand me?”
Nick just glared at her. “I feel like I’m betraying her by not telling her the truth.”
“You can talk to him about it in private without her around. Don’t say anything to her. Please. It will completely crush her.”
“I agree,” Addie said. “Some things are better left unsaid. It’s not your place.”
“That’s my baby sister he is messing with! I have to protect her. I am all she has left.”
“Not from my point of view. She has you, Claire, Thomas and, even though he is out of sorts, she has Henry.” She was right, and Nick knew it. They were all family. “Just let it rest. You can speak to him about it at another time.”
Elaina opened the back door, and she ushered Henry to the table. Nick nearly became unhinged when he saw his face.
***
Because his stomach was grumbling with vigor, I finally talked Henry into going inside and eating. He jumped off the ladder, landing next to me on the barn floor. I took him by his good hand and led him in through the back door.
“Sit and I’ll get you some food.” He cradled his head on his forearms on the table. I went out to our supplies and pulled out the last jar of peaches. I saw Nick storm into the kitchen and heard something slam on the table. When I looked up, I saw it was a Henry’s Sig.
“Here.” Nick pointed furiously at Henry’s face when he looked up. “The next time you fuck with her like that, I will do it my goddamned self.” Henry jammed the magazine back into the Sig, then put it back in his jeans. “You hearing me, asshole? I fucking mean it! I will take you out back like a lame horse. Do you understand me?”
“Fuck off.”
“Is that your answer for everything? Someone gets under your skin, figures out your manipulative ways, and you tell them to fuck off? Is that all you got, GQ?” I stood in the doorway, watching the exchange. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I saw it coming. Henry started to stand up. Drunk or not, he could kill Nick in a split second.
“Henry, sit down!” Slowly, he lowered himself back to his chair. “Nick, why are you threatening him?”
He kept glaring at Henry. “Because he’s cashing in on your emotional support, and I don’t fucking like it one bit.”
“Can I ask what brought this on?” I was still lost.
“You can ask him. He knows exactly what I’m pissed off about.” He pushed past me and, a few seconds later, I heard the guest room door slam shut.
“Henry…” He sat at the table, looking down. “What’s going on?” I handed him the jar, a fork, and a bowl. He popped open the jar and poured the peaches into the bowl. He poked at them for a minute before taking a bite. “Henry…”
“Just leave it for now,” he mumbled before he took another bite. He chewed slowly and methodically.
I felt warm hands wrap around my arms. I turned around to see Addie looking at me with a touch of sorrow in her eyes. “I think it may be a good time to leave.”
I nodded. “Yes, I think we’ve overstayed our welcome. I apologize.” Henry sat in silence, eating his peaches. “I’m going to start to get our stuff together.” I left Henry with Addie.
***
“How are you doing?”
“Had better days, I suppose,” Henry mumbled, poking at the last peach in the bowl.
“I just want to say something to you. Some motherly advice, but take it how you wish.” Henry looked up at her. “Don’t play with her heart and mind. The only place it will get you is alone.” He nodded at her. “She loves you with everything that she has. There is no need to test it.”
“I didn’t intend it to be that way.”
“Then what was your intention?”
“I wanted to see if I could pull the trigger. I’ve tried many times. Obviously, I was unsuccessful.”
“And what did you find out?”
“That I can’t.” He choked on his words. “I love her too bloody much to do that to her.” A couple tears trickled down his face. He wiped them away with his bandaged hand.
“Keep that in mind next time you think about it. Make sure you pull Nick aside at some point and explain it to him.” Henry nodded. She reached out and touched his hand. “I’m going to help Elaina. Just sit and relax.”
***
I went out to the barn and collected all of the boxes of booze again, bringing them back to the truck. I was angry with myself for even bringing them, but I knew that if I didn’t, he would be sick without them. I wasn’t ready for detox. I went to get the last box, and Addie walked up.
“Are you sure you want to bring those?”
“Yes. I’m sorry for offering them to you. I shouldn’t have. He has to have it or he’ll be sick.”
“I understand. Let me help you pack up.” Addie stacked the boxes in the truck as I handed them to her. I had a feeling she wanted us to get moving so the kids wouldn’t witness anything more horrendous than they already had.
I walked back inside and folded up our blankets. Nick and Claire came out of the bedroom.
“We’re leaving. Pack up.” Claire looked a little stunned. She turned back around to go back to the bedroom. Thomas helped me gather as much as he could, then ran it out to the truck.
***
Addie went back into the kitchen and sat with Henry. “Are you guys good with food?”
“For now. I found a bunch of stuff at that store.”
“Okay.” Henry was looking down at his bandaged hand. “How’s it feeling?”
“Better,” he mumbled.
“Let’s take a peek at it one more time.”
She gingerly unwrapped his hand. She examined it, and he hissed
a few times. Addie sighed. “It’s not healed yet. It will, though, in due time, as long as you keep it wrapped and you don’t do anything else to it. Alright?” He nodded, as she rewrapped it.
“Thank you. I’m sorry I screwed it up for everyone.”
“It’s just time for y’all move on. Thank you for taking part in bringing my daughter home, no matter how ungrateful she acts.” Henry softly smiled. “Come here.” Henry stood up, and she held him tight. “You take care of yourself and that beautiful Elaina. Make sure you get to some place safe before Claire has that baby.”
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I will.”
“I want you to put forth an effort to quitting your drinking soon, as well.”
“I will.” She cupped her hands around his face and smiled. She kissed each cheek, then let him go. Henry felt a little overwhelmed with the motherly love that Addie was showing him.
***
Henry came into the living room. He watched the busy work happening before him. Every time Nick walked by, his eyes threw daggers. I really wished I understood what happened, but I didn’t want to ask. Henry helped carry the rest of the supplies out to the truck.
“Keys?” He held his hand out to me.
“I don’t think so. I watched you drink a little too much. I’ll drive until you…well, until I’m too tired.” I wanted to say “until you sober up”, but it could take months for that to happen.
Everything was packed up and we were ready to roll. Addie hugged every one of us. Then Rosa held her hand out to Henry, offering up an apology. He accepted. Justin thanked him and, of course, Shay just walked past him. Julianna ran up to Henry. He kneeled down to meet her.
“Thank you, Mr. Henry.”
“You are very welcome, my little love.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.
He stood up with her hanging on to him. He held onto her, then set her down. “I have a job for you.” Her dark brown, watery eyes grew bright.
Broken Dreams Page 64