Closer (A Dark Romance, Book 1): The Closer Trilogy

by M. C. Vann

  This beautiful man was flawed.

  He was real … real in a sense that he was human after all.

  Fragile. Pitiful. Lonely.

  Henry was all of these things — elements that I never could imagine him having.

  The more I got to know Henry, the more I realized how much of a mystery he was.

  A dark, but beautiful mystery.

  “Did you want to stay … in my room tonight?” I asked, trying to sound natural. I think I pulled it off because Henry didn’t give me any sort of face.

  “If I may,” he said.

  I nodded.

  I shouldn’t be worried about sleeping in the same bed as Henry. Sure, he was a man, and he would be the first man I’d ever do this with. There was a first for everything. And I wouldn’t want to do it with any other man. Plus, I trusted Henry wholeheartedly. He had always been a gentleman. He would never push me to do anything I was uncomfortable with.

  After we had turned off the lights, Henry occupied the right side of the bed while I took the left. I consciously kept myself close to the edge as I slipped under the sheets, but also not too close.

  Just keep to the middle of your side and don’t move too much, I told myself.

  An awkward silence fell over the room as I stared blankly above me, the darkness swallowing my unsaid thoughts.

  “Ally?” Henry’s voice rang from beside me.

  “Yeah?” I replied, fiddling with the edge of the duvet. I heard him shifting on the bed closer to my side. Right as I felt him rest his head on my pillow, his arm draped on top of me, curling around my waist. My muscles tensed together. He snuggled closer to me, and in the darkness, I glanced over to his side of the bed.

  “Thank you,” he whispered tiredly.

  A smile crept onto my lips as I relaxed in his arms.

  The next morning, I woke up still locked in Henry’s arms. His light breathing fanned the back of my neck in a consistent pattern, suggesting he was still asleep. As carefully as I could, I wrapped my fingers around his arm on top of me and began to lift it up, but he suddenly held me tighter. I guessed he wasn’t asleep after all.

  “You’re finally awake,” he mumbled lazily behind me.

  “Morning,” I answered, slightly embarrassed.

  “Morning,” he replied, before leaving a gentle kiss on the back of my neck. The gesture was wonderfully unexpected. It sent an electric spark from the spot where he kissed me all the way down to my toes.

  I maneuvered underneath Henry’s arm to face him and I found myself smiling at the mere sight of him. His bed-hair was messy and covered his forehead, unlike his usual style where it was pushed back. Somehow, he still managed to look good, maybe even better.

  It was a good feeling having Henry holding me in bed with a pure smile on his face. The sight of waking up to see him so … normal. I could get used to this.

  I brought the back of my hand to his forehead and was relieved to know his temperature had dropped from yesterday.

  “Your fever has dropped,” I said. “How do you feel?”

  “Much better,” he replied with a pressed grin. “All thanks to you, Ally.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “It is,” he insisted. Seeing that I was still unconvinced, he lessened the distance between us by drawing me closer to him. “Being around you … makes me stronger.”

  Though I didn’t believe that, I still found amusement in his persistence.

  “I wish we could stay like this forever,” I sighed into his shirt. “Wouldn’t that be nice?”

  “Uh-hum.”

  “Who do you miss most?” I asked him.

  “What?”

  “Who do you miss the most right now?” I repeated my question, enthusiastic to hear his response.

  “You.”

  I rolled my eyes playfully at his always cheesy responses.

  “Come on,” I chuckled. “Answer the question.”

  “You first,” he challenged, and I chuckled again.

  “My dad,” I immediately said. “Okay, your turn.”

  While I waited for his response, I felt his chest rising higher at a quicker rate. Suddenly worried, I flattened my fingers across his chest where his heart was.

  “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” I assured him.

  “My sister,” he uttered.

  “Your sister? What happened to her, Henry?” As I looked up, his clenched jaw right above me blocked me from seeing his reaction.

  “I have to go,” Henry suddenly spoke. His arms loosening quickly from me as he rose to his feet. A rush of cold air quickly replaced the traces of his warmth.

  I sat up and crawled to the edge of the bed. “Work?”

  “Yes, I have a lot to catch up on now that I’m fully functional,” he explained. “I’ll be in the office the entire day today so don’t wait for me.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll text you later.”

  “Okay.”

  Henry stood there for a short moment as if he was fighting with himself to say something to me. Instead, he smiled at me while he brushed a piece of my hair behind my ear. He bent down slightly and pressed his lips to my forehead, then swiftly on my lips before he walked out of the room.

  After the door had closed, I threw myself back onto the bed and squealed into the pillow, unable to contain myself. Henry’s cologne was still heavy on the sheets, so I decided to lay there a little longer.

  But as soon as it was quiet again, Henry’s answer began to gnaw at me. It was fair that he would miss his sister, especially since she was gone. But it seemed as though he wasn’t over her death … like he was still holding onto her.

  For the rest of the morning, I stayed and talked with Nana. I couldn’t simply refuse her offer of breakfast and she promised to tell me stories of Henry as a child. How could I say no to that?

  After a few tales of little Henry, I knew I had to ask the question that had been bothering me. There was no natural way of bringing it up into the conversation so I flat out just said it. “Nana, can you tell me more about Henry’s sister?”

  The last time Nana and I talked about her, Henry interrupted us. She wanted to tell me something important and I had meant to continue the conversation.

  “There’s not much left to tell, dear,” she began. “After she died, the light in Henry’s face … his eyes … all seemed to disappear. He turned into a whole other person. I thought I’d never see him back here ever again. He was always at work. He locked himself away and kept to himself … Until he met you.”

  “Can you tell me … how she died?”

  “No, I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t,” Nana repeated. By the way her gaze quickly averted mine, I realized how uncomfortable she must be in telling the story. “You wouldn’t want to know.”

  But I had to know. Henry’s reaction this morning wasn’t something to take lightly. He was obviously not ready to talk about it, but I had to know why he reacted that way. I needed to know what made him so cold and closed off from others.

  Nana stood from the stool beside me and began to walk away.

  “Please, Nana,” I pleaded with her. She stopped in her tracks. “I need to know. I know how rude I must be sounding right now, but I can’t ask anyone else.”

  Nana’s small shoulders dropped for a second before she spun around to face me. She sighed, returning to her seat beside me. “Alright, only if you promise never to tell Henry that I told you.”

  “I promise.”

  “Penny …” She paused. “Penny was raped and murdered.”

  Oh! My heart sank. Hard. I couldn’t even swallow the reality of Nana’s words until she began explaining more about it. No, not even then.

  “Her death shocked us all, but Henry took it the hardest. Since he was her older brother, he felt responsible. He kept saying it was his fault she died, and he failed to protect her.”

  “Did they find the person who
did it?” I asked, afraid to know the answer.

  “I’m not sure,” she vaguely said. “Her death anniversary was this past Wednesday. It was pouring and I told him to wait until Thursday … but it was like talking to a brick wall. And that’s how Henry caught the fever. I told him not to stay out too long, but I could never control him. When it comes to Pen, he doesn’t listen to anyone.”

  Now it made more sense. Why he fell sick out of nowhere. Why he acted strange last night and made me promise him that I was never going to leave. Why he froze up when I asked him what happened to his sister. Pen went through the worst kind of death. She left this world so abruptly and horribly. I guess now I can understand why Henry acted the way he did.

  “Thank you, Nana, for telling me this.”

  Nana gave me a weak, remorseful grin. “Don’t mention it. Please don’t talk about Penny in from of Henry. He doesn’t like it.”

  “I won’t.”

  After I had left Henry’s house, I decided to go shopping. His birthday was coming up and I hated leaving things until the last minute. Ties and handkerchiefs as gifts were too common, I thought to myself as I wandered around the men’s section of Macy’s.

  Useless. The mall was a useless place to buy anything. None of the shirts. None of the shoes. Nothing was good enough for Henry.

  I sat in my car sulking that I couldn’t find a present until something caught my attention. My eyes darted to Henry’s mother’s bracelet, dangling elegantly from my wrist. I wanted to give him something just as important. And no, I wasn’t going to give him a bracelet. The gift had to be something Henry could use daily and think of me when using it.

  I stopped at the Tiffany & Co. store downtown. The luxurious items behind the glass were quite intimidating, and needless to say, so were the prices. It didn’t take me very long to track down my gift — a silver caduceus clip ballpoint pen, something my journalist father dreamed of having.

  I found it strange why my father would want a pen out of all things, but he was a writer. And he said writers have more strength than any man in the militia. I didn’t understand it when I was young, but now, here I was purchasing an expensive pen. The price wasn’t pretty, but since it was for Henry, it was worth it.

  After shopping, I stopped at one of my favorite places in Chicago. The relentless wind blew across the pier, but that didn’t stop me from walking to the end. It was absolutely gorgeous today. The cloudless sky. The endless horizon of the lake. It felt almost refreshing even though my hair was blowing in all sorts of directions.

  My phone buzzed in my purse.

  “Hello,” I answered.

  “You look beautiful,” Henry muttered slyly.

  I furrowed my brows in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

  “You’re wearing the dress.”

  How did he know I was wearing a dress? I turned around, trying to find him amongst the crowd of tourists and locals.

  “How do you know that?” I asked, searching for a familiar face among the many faces in the crowd.

  “I had arranged for it to be put in your closet,” he continued. “I had a feeling that the dress would be to your liking.”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m looking at you right now,” he hinted.

  I stopped in my tracks and did a full circle. He was still nowhere in sight.

  “I’m right here.” His voice came from behind me.

  I spun around to find him smiling at me, I couldn’t help but smile back. Henry hung up his phone and I did the same with mine before he took my hand and led me down the pier.

  “How did you know I was here?” I asked.

  He grinned cunningly. “I have my ways.”

  “I thought you had a lot of work to do today.”

  “My secretary took care of it for me. Are you hungry?”

  I nodded. I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast with Nana and all the shopping had stirred an appetite.

  “I knew you would be,” he said.

  After spending some time at the pier, Henry took me back to Aleena, the first restaurant he treated me to. This time around, everything was different. I didn’t feel nervous around Henry like the first time and for one, I was dressed for the occasion.

  Later in the evening, Henry and I went for a peaceful walk along the lakeside trail. I recognized this night was becoming similar to one of our first nights together. I’d never get bored of this, walking hand in hand, side by side. It felt like we were equals.

  Before long, we arrived at Buckingham Fountain. It was even more beautiful in the darkness with its lights and the endless spouting lines of water.

  “Do you remember the last time we were here, you told me to make a wish?” he asked.

  “How could I forget,” I said. The memory was still clear as day in my mind.

  “I would’ve never done such a childish thing if it wasn’t you, Ally. I didn’t believe in wishes and things like that. It was all … useless to me.”

  Not knowing how to respond, I remained silent.

  “Now I want to tell you that I found my wish. Do you want to know what it was?”

  “If you tell me, it won’t come true,” I childishly warned him.

  “Ally, don’t you understand,” he said, staring intensely into my eyes. “My wish ... It’s you.” Henry tenderly placed both of my hands in his. “You came into my life so unexpectedly. When we first bumped into each other at the tulip fields, I never imagined what you’d give to me. In such little time, you made me smile … you made me laugh ... You gave me happiness.”

  Before I knew it, Henry’s eyes began to water and I felt the familiar burning sensation in my own eyes.

  I listened as he continued. “I know I’m not the right man for you, but if you let me, I will work my hardest, proving to you that I am the only man for you.”

  Henry knelt down onto one knee and I watched it happen in slow motion.

  It was surreal. What was going on?! Why was he doing this?

  He held up a small, navy blue box in his right hand. There was no denying what was in there and as he opened it, my guess was confirmed. Secured between the white folds was a silver ring with an extravagant rock — it was breathtaking.

  “Ally, will you grant me my wish by marrying me?”

  Oh, God! What do I say?

  Should I say yes?

  No, you idiot! Don’t say that! I wasn’t ready to get married.

  Then should I say no?

  No, don’t say that either!

  Then what do I say?!

  “I ... I’m sorry, Henry,” I fumbled with my words. As soon as the words left my lips, in his eyes, I saw the cracks deepening in his pride. “It’s too soon.”

  Henry rose from the ground and desperately clung to my hands.

  “I know it may feel like it is too soon, but to me, you’re the one. I really feel we can make this work.”

  “I can’t do this,” I argued, keeping my voice steady. “I’m not ready to get married.”

  “It won’t be much of a change.”

  “Won’t be much of a change?” I repeated his words harshly. “It is a huge change. In my life and in yours, too. Think about what you’re asking me, Henry.”

  By his silence, I assumed he was rethinking his proposal.

  “Do you even love me?” I dared to ask.

  The question surprised him. Although it would be alarming for him to hesitate with his answer, I was actually relieved he was sincerely thinking about it. We had only been together a few weeks. I’d be more insecure if he has confirmed it right away.

  “Why else would I be proposing to you? Wasn’t it just this morning when you said you could lay in bed with me forever? What was that?” Henry asked. His voice rose with each question.

  I didn’t have an answer. Nor did I want to answer. The intensity in his eyes. The coldness of his words. Henry was angry with my response. And he had the right to be. Had I uncons
ciously led him on, led him to believe I wanted this — for him to propose?

  “Are you sure that’s your answer then?” he asked.

  “I’m sorry …” was all that came out.

  “If that’s how you feel ...”

  Henry didn’t even look back at me before turning around. He stormed off in the direction we came from without looking back, not even once. Just a few minutes ago we were perfectly fine. And now … I took a few deep breaths to absorb what just happened. I watched as Henry walked further away. The distance between us increased with each step he took.

  The idea of running after him formed in my mind. Yes, I should go after him. We needed to talk this through.

  But my feet refused to move. My heart yearned to comfort him, but a part of me warned me to stay away. It knew Henry. He wouldn’t want the person who had just rejected him to console him. It would make him feel worthless.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Henry had never pressured me to do anything before. So, when he acted this way so suddenly, when he asked me to marry him unexpectedly, it threw me off. I didn’t know what it was, but something in my gut warned me about it.

  Before entering the apartment, I mentally prepared myself to remain as nonchalant as possible, so Lily and Adam wouldn’t know what had happened. I couldn’t tell them.

  Lily would give me an endless lecture about why I had just thrown away a multi-millionaire.

  And Adam … well, he would be outright suspicious. His older brother instincts would kick in and I didn’t want to deal with that right now.

  As I walked in, I greeted them and had a small conversation before heading to take a shower. I went straight to bed right after but not before taking a long glance at my phone.

  He hadn’t called to apologize or to explain his strange behavior. He wasn’t going to give up on us … Was he? The thought agitated me. It agitated me a great deal that I could barely sleep a wink. I never thought he would take my rejection so hard. I wasn’t ready for marriage right now, but maybe in time, I will be. Why couldn’t Henry understand that?

  It was about two in the morning when I finally came to peace with my inability to fall asleep. When I got up to use the restroom, I spotted the Tiffany bag on my dresser. I had placed it there as soon as I walked in.