Henry was a broken man.
I pulled back from him some, then grabbed his face, like he always did mine when I needed comfort. I wanted to bring comfort to him. I wanted to get him through his pain and make him feel worthy.
“Henry,” I whispered. I didn’t know what to say to him so I just kissed his salty tears. “I love you so much, Henry Daniels. I love you whole, and I love you broken.”
“I love you more.” He softly smiled at me through his despair, and I couldn’t do anything but return it back to him.
“Well, I don’t know about that. It’s not a contest.” My attitude was making a comeback. He sighed, with a chuckle mixed in. I didn’t want to make him go back out to talk to everyone until he was ready. It would humiliate him for them to see him so upset. We sat in silence, and had a few more drinks while he did his best to collect himself.
“Well, we should probably go back out there and figure this out.”
“Yeah, probably.” I kissed him but, this time, more passionately. I wanted him right then, but I knew we would get interrupted.
“Mmm…” A soft groan radiated from his chest, and then he pulled away. “Hold that thought, love. Later, I’m taking you and fucking you senseless. Deal?” He winked at me and stood up.
“Sounds like a good deal to me.” He took my hand and the bottle of whiskey, and led me out to the living room.
***
I felt so close to him after he shared his true emotions with me. Claire looked at us, and I could see she was happy for us. I immediately felt guilty about Marc so I let go of Henry’s hand.
Claire asked, “How are you feeling?”
“Much better. I promise I won’t do that to you again.” She hugged me and kissed my cheek. She looked happy for me. For us. But I still felt guilty.
“Have a seat, love.” Henry directed me toward the couch, turned around, and set the whiskey down on the table. He pulled up a chair from the dining room table. He set it down backward, straddling it and crossing his arms on the back.
“We’re going to break into two groups.” Everyone started their protesting again. Henry raised his voice. “This is non-negotiable.” The newfound silence was heavy. “I will lead one group, Sophie will lead the other. My group will consist of Nick and Claire. Sophie’s will be Elaina and Nate.”
My jaw slammed to the floor. My anger was about to erupt like a volcano. After what we had just shared, he was forcing me to be with her? That was one of those moments I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. “Are you shitting me, Henry? Really? You’re fucking joking, right? You want me to be separated from you?”
“I said this is non-negotiable.” His voice was calm, but he was glaring at me. It was like he was a different person than when we spoke in the bedroom.
“But I want to go with you! I want to fight with you!”
He stood up and slammed his fist on the table. “Damn it! I said this was not up for discussion!” He grabbed the whiskey bottle and took another swig.
I stood up and got in his face. “Why? I want to know why right now!” Everyone was silent and looked a little nervous, but I blocked them out. I didn’t give two shits what they thought. It was like Henry and I were the only two in the room.
“Why do you have to be so defiant all the bloody time?! Why can’t you just do what you are asked for once, without a fucking argument?!” I couldn’t believe what I had just heard.
“Let me just back up for one moment. Ah, yes, I don’t recall you asking me what I wanted! And if you remember, just a few minutes ago, you wanted me to be the true Elaina, not some sappy, crying, whiny girl! So, here I am, doing exactly what you fucking asked me to do!” My fists were clenched at my sides. I was considering decking him.
“It’s not always about what you want!” He barked at me. I felt someone’s hand on my shoulder. I whipped around, arm cocked and ready to throw a punch. It was Sophie.
“What the fuck do you want?” I growled at her.
“He wants you separated from him in case something happens to him. He knows you wouldn’t be able to handle having to give him a true death. That’s why he’s not pairing you up with anyone you love,” she whispered. It made sense when she explained it, but I hated that she was right.
I felt like a fool and sagged a little. Why couldn’t he have just said that in the first place? Why did he have to be all combative, and not the Henry that I knew? I grabbed her hand off my shoulder and stormed past him. I ran down the hall and slammed the bedroom door, locking it before anyone could see me cry…again.