Broken Dreams(149)

We sat in silence, staring off into space for what seemed like an eternity. Then I had a thought. “Henry?”

“Yeah…?” His voice was soft.

“What if what Kellan was saying was a complete lie? What if he was saying all that about your mother just to get to you? He knew he was turning. What if he was saying all of this just to get in one last jab?” He looked at me with a blank expression.

“You know… I think she has a point, Henry. It makes perfect sense.”

“I don’t know. What advantage would it give him?”

“This!” I stood up and gestured to the mess in the living room. “Henry, listen. What if he did it just to break you completely? What is one thing that they knew would tear you apart?” I could see him rolling it through his mind. “He knew that you have never been at peace about your mother. I don’t think you should accept what he was saying until you can get some proof.”

Henry laughed. “And how do you propose I do that?”

“Once this madness comes to an end, we’ll find out the truth. We’ll go over there and find out.”

Henry shook his head in disbelief. “Elaina, are you mental? Do you not see that this madness will not end?”

“It has to! There’s an end to everything. You will see. It will end, and we will find out the truth.” Then I mumbled, “If it’s the last thing I do.” Henry was giving my idea some thought.

Thomas, who we had forgotten about, walked in from the dining room. “When do you want some from me?” he asked.

Henry cleared his throat, trying to rid it of the sounds of sorrow. “Tomorrow morning okay with you?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, thanks. Alright then. Tomorrow morning.” I didn’t like the idea of traveling one bit. I was afraid I would lose them. Henry looked at his forearm. “Let’s cut these things out and rid ourselves of the past. It will give us some of the freedom we have been craving.”

I got up and grabbed the knife Henry used on Kellan. His blood had already dried on it. I took it to the sink, poured bottled water on it, and soaped it up with my mom’s favorite dish detergent.

The lemon verbena smell flooded me with memories of my many evenings sitting on the countertops, chatting with her about everything while she cleaned up the dinner dishes. Knowing I could never do that again, I came back out and handed the knife to Henry.

“Would you like to do the honors?” He tried to hand the knife back to me.

I stepped back. “Not unless you want me to barf in your face.” Everyone laughed, but I didn’t think it was that funny.

“Actually, we’ll use a smaller knife. This one is a little bit of an overkill.” He smirked. I decided to go upstairs while they did what they had to do.





Chapter 23





N





ick escorted Claire to his room. After he closed and locked the door, he motioned her toward the bed. She sat down while rubbing the duvet cover with the palms of her hands. She smirked when she realized it was a floral print.

“Are you into flowery décor, Nick?”

“Of course I am. Every man enjoys a pretty floral print on his blankets.” He winked at her. She knew sarcasm was a family trait. Nick sat down beside her on the bed. She nervously fiddled with her fingers.

“Listen,” Nick started. “Can we talk about what happened down there with the…?”

Claire interrupted him. “Wasn’t it awful?”

Nick looked confused. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize my kissing was so awful. I suppose I could work on that somehow.”

Claire slapped her hands over her mouth. “No! No, I mean Henry. What happened with Henry.”

“Oh.” Nick was embarrassed. He chuckled a little at both of them.

“Your kissing was…nice, actually.”

Nick smiled with relief. He leaned close to her to kiss her again, but she backed off. “What’s wrong?”

“I…umm…” She was trying to form her words so she didn’t hurt or offend him in any way. “I’m afraid.”

“I understand.” Nick got up and headed toward the door.

“Wait!” He stopped, but didn’t turn around. She got up and grabbed his hand. “I don’t want you to leave.” She directed him back to the bed. “I’m just saying that I’m afraid. Of everything. I’m afraid of loving and losing. I’m afraid of this world. I’m so afraid…” Claire’s voice cracked. She could feel she was on the verge of tears.

“Shhh…” Nick pulled her close and held her. “I’m afraid, too,” he whispered in her ear.