Broken Dreams(186)

“Elaina… She’s gone. She’s gone.” He fell to his knees.

“Henry.” I rushed to him and knelt down in front of him, grabbing his face and looking him in the eyes. “I’m so sorry you lost her…the only person that could completely understand you.”

“I can’t even give her a proper burial. She deserves one. I was all she had.” He fell into my arms. Henry was in a million pieces, scattered before me. Putting him back together would prove to be the largest task ever. My mind was working at a feverish pace, trying to find a way to piece him back together. I wasn’t sure if I was the one for the job.

“You’re right. She absolutely does. But…listen.” I grabbed his face again. “Look at me.” His beautiful eyes met mine. “Once we find a place to settle down, we’ll have a proper memorial for her. Okay?” His tears were pooling in my hands. “We will honor her.”

“Her kids… They will never know her.”

“We will find them and tell them all about how amazing their mom was. They will know the truth about Sophie, how much she wanted to be there for them, how strong and resilient she was.”

“I have to get them for her.”

“We will. If it’s the last thing we do.” He nodded and wrapped his arms around me.

I don’t know how long I held him while he cried, but it seemed like hours. He needed it. As much as I hated to admit it, Sophie was the only one who truly understood Henry. And, goddammit, that hurt.





Chapter 32





C





laire woke up with the sun shining on her face. She rolled over, realizing that Nick wasn’t there. Immediately, she stood up, forgetting she was naked. Then she smiled, thinking about how Nick took her to places that no one ever had. She thought about their encounter the night before, and how amazing it was.

Then fear rushed over her. With amazing agility, she ran around all the blankets and supplies, putting her clothes on. She had to find him. Claire whipped open the bedroom door. “Nick! Nick! Where are you?” Her body prickled with panic. “Nick!” she screamed.



***



“It’s alright, Claire,” I yelled up the stairs. “He and Thomas went scavenging for gas.” She bolted down the stairs, pulling her shirt over her head.

“Gas?”

“Yeah, there are a few cars around so they went to get as much gas as they could.” Claire took a couple deep breaths, trying to calm down.

“How’s Henry?”

“A wreck doesn’t even begin to cover it. He’s still sleeping, and I didn’t want to disturb him yet. The sun was coming up before I could talk him into going to lie down…” My voice trailed off. “I haven’t even slept yet.”

“Do you think he’ll be okay?”

“Claire, he’ll never be okay. He cried himself to sleep like a child. I’m so worried about him. It kills me to see him like this. There are moments when he’s so strong and amazing, but then there are moments, like now, when he’s like a lost boy. His toughness is just a front to hide that scared little boy that resides inside of him.”

“He’s gone through some pretty awful shit.”

“Yeah.” I looked away from Claire. “I can’t wait to get my hands on that fucker. I’m going to torture the bastard. He’ll pay for what he did to Henry.” My body surged with hatred. Claire put her hand on my shoulder and lovingly rubbed it, smiling sadly.

“Well…shall we try to organize this atrocity?” She waved her arm at the disarray of boxes and bags. I was dreading it, but it had to be done. We knelt down on the floor and emptied everything, repacking it as orderly and as neat as we could.

There were a couple gunshots off in the distance. Claire and I both stood up and ran to the windows. We saw Nick and Thomas in a full sprint, running toward us. I opened the door, and they launched into the house. They were both bent over, trying to catch their breath.

“What happened?!” Claire grabbed Nick.

“Survivors…” He was breathless. Thomas reached around and locked the doors. “Shooting at us.”

“What’s going on? I heard gunshots.” Henry was running down the stairs while buttoning his jeans. Claire and I went to look out the grimy window.

“There are a couple…survivors down there. We were getting gas…and they shot at us.” I peeked out the window.

“Uh, guys. They’re here.” An older man was beating the shit out of Sophie’s truck with a huge wrench, screaming for us to come out. “And there’s one pointing a gun right at the door.”