“Let yourself go, lover,” I said in his ear. Just as I instructed, he exploded into me.
“Fuck!” he shouted. He hissed, and then growled in pain. I wrapped my arms around him, and held on for dear life. He began to cry into my shoulder.
“Lover...”
“I hate asking you. I hate needing. I fucking hate it all! The only thing that makes me feel good is being with you. And even then, at times, my body betrays me.” I hushed him. “I can’t escape the pain. It will harass me until the very end.” I didn’t know what to do for him, except to sit there and hold him.
Then out of nowhere, he shoved me off of him.
“Henry!”
“Just go.”
“No!”
“Elaina, leave me alone. Please, go.” He grabbed his clothes and dressed quickly. His eyes were graying. I sat there looking at him, stunned. He tossed my clothes at me. “I said, go!” he raged. He grabbed the bottle and sucked down a good amount while he paced. He had made a decision, and he wasn’t going to tell me what it was.
As the sun rose higher, I saw the reflection of light where he was sitting before. His Sig. Then it dawned on me. “No, because if I walk back inside the house, you are going to kill yourself. I can’t let you do that. I won’t let you do that!”
“Elaina, go now!” he screamed at me and threw the bottle at the barn wall, causing it to shatter. I didn’t want to walk away from him, but he was getting explosive, and that Henry scared the hell out of me.
I dressed hastily and practically jumped from the second floor as I went down the ladder. Through the windows, I saw everyone was milling around as I ran up to the house.
“Nick!” I yelled as I blew through the front door. “Nick, I need your help.”
“What’s wrong?” He came running out of the kitchen.
“It’s Henry.”
“Where is he?”
“The barn. Be careful. He has a gun.”
“Okay.” He looked confused for a minute, but then looked at Claire. She nodded.
“I need to get his pack.” I rummaged through our belongings. Nick ran out the back door. My whole body was shaking. “I need his pack. I have to find his pack!”
“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.