I shrugged.
I focused my attention on the other two figures in the room, while patting dad on the back. Earnest was watching Mark, smiling in what I think must be relief. My heart thumped when I saw Henry. He looked at me blankly.
My own guilt rose. My throat felt choked, I breathed hard.
I kept glancing at him through the corner of my eyes, all the while as I flurried through Earnest’s greeting and Mark’s worries. Henry had taken his seat on the couch. His legs were parted at length with his shoulders, his hands clasped, clenched in the space between them. He refused to look at me. His gaze was fixed on the floor.
I don’t know why I felt like crying again.
I scanned him with my eyes for signs of visible injury, while the doctor rushed in to check up on me. I saw that his wrists were bandaged. I hoped his legs had been treated too. Did it hurt too much? Henry wasn’t used to this sort of pain. It worried me.
Once the doctor had left, dad was sensible enough to catch up on the tension between us. He left us alone and took Ernie out as well.
I coughed. Henry didn’t move.
“H-Hathaway. A-are you alright?”
I brushed a wrong nerve with my words. I knew it because when he looked up, Henry’s eyes were bloodshot. There was anger on his face – the kind that made my heart beat rapidly in a scarce emotion. Fear.
“Henry – “
“If I could, I would throttle the living daylights out of you, Anna Reeves.”
His voice was barely audible as he stood up and stepped closer to me. I swallowed in indignity, “N-Not a nice thing to say to someone who just got shot, baby.”
“Don’t fuck with me Anna.”
I bit my lip. To be honest, I don’t know where this fury of his was coming from. Up close, it was even more frightening, because Henry is a lot bigger than me. Had it been a usual unknown thug threatening me up close, I would have hit the shit out of them. But Hathaway being that way scared me.
“I don’t know why you’re so angry.” I said honestly. I swallowed. If this continued, I might burst into tears anytime. It could be the hormones, it could be the meds. I wasn’t sure if I was soon to get my periods, but I only wanted a lot of affection right now. From him.
Especially from him. It was selfish of me to think that way when he had just been abducted because of me, but I wanted him to be nice nevertheless. Why was he angry?
“You’re kidding me, right?” He asked. I looked back blankly.
“No. I don’t know why you’re mad at me. And I don’t know what to do about it either.”
“You could start by apologizing.”
“Okay. I’m sorry, Henry. I’m really, really sorry. I shouldn’t have left you alone in the car, I should have known better. I’m sorry that all of this crap happened hours after I told you about myself…I’m just. I’m sorry.”
I looked away. I repeatedly told myself to shut up and stop shivering. Don’t cry! You can get out of this with some ounce of dignity.
Henry didn’t make it any easier on me though.
“Anna… you can’t be serious.”
I looked up at him. Somehow, even after my heartfelt, sincere apology he looked angrier. I backed away, which is unlike me, but I was feeling vulnerable. Dressed in the hospital gown with my body not quite acting the way I wanted it to, the bloody look in his eyes made me more miserable.
I couldn’t hold it in. I don’t know what came over me. I picked up the pillow from behind my back and threw it at his face without a second thought. Then I burst out crying again.
Inside, I was cringing. I knew it was pathetic. I can’t help it.
“I said I’m sorry!” I lashed out, “Do you have to be so mean? What do you want me to do?”
Then I lost my temper because of my tears. I wasn’t going to cry! But the waterworks didn’t stop, so I clenched my fist and seethed instead, “I’m sorry you had to go through something so terrible. But I didn’t plan for it to happen, alright? I am who I am, I do what –“
I couldn’t complete my words.
Henry’s hand went behind my neck. He pulled me close to himself and brushed his mouth over my lips.
I blinked. Shut up.
What?
His kiss grew in intensity till he consumed my mouth. I shivered, my body responding automatically, my mind in a muddle. Wait… what? Were patients supposed to do this?
Could I do it here?
He let me go after leaving a hickey on my neck.
“You’ve got to be shitting me, Reeves,” he said. He wiped my tears with the back of his hands, but his expressions didn’t lose the ferocity in them. His thumb brushed my lips, his eyes stopped on my own.
“What?” I asked defiantly.
My heart sank. His anger didn’t seem to be fading, and because Henry has never been mad at me before, I was baffled and hurt. He might be right. I am pampered. But I deserve to know what’s bugging him, right?
He sighed. He was angry, I know it, but this time he tried to close it off.
“Settle yourself,” he said in a low voice instead. Picking up the pillows from the ground, he put them behind my back again. I pressed my lips. I began to feel guilty about throwing them at him. I also got annoyed at my gutless feelings. What the fuck is wrong with me?
You’re in love, my mind whispered, hopelessly in love. And people turn stupid in love. I was turning stupid.
“How’s your shoulder? Does it hurt?”
I shrugged, “No.”
“Anna.”
“Hm.”
“You can’t be this clueless about how I feel.”
I didn’t speak. If he was going to be an ass, so be it. I’m not responding. If I cry again, I’ll hate myself forever.
“Anna… stop ignoring me damnit!”
“Hathaway, I’ve apologized. If you’re going to talk in riddles, I’m begging you to leave. I don’t want to keep going back and forth like this.”
“You’re being an asshole Reeves.”
“You’re being just as cruel Henry.”
I don’t know how long that minute lasted. Our eyes matched. I couldn’t read him like I could his father. I didn’t know what this moment was between us. But it hurt like hell. The bullet that had pierced through my heart could pierce through me a thousand times again. It would still not manage to hurt me as much.
Hathaway took his leave. I shrugged, looked away. Till the door had slammed on me, I held back my courage, and my pride. Then, I let it all go. I cried till my insides felt like they would fall out.
If love and all the shit that came with it was so nonsensical, so damned painful, I wanted out. I so wanted out.
I didn’t see Henry the coming week.
At first I struggled. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror without bursting into tears. Then, anger overcame pain. Then came indignity. And then, pure sadness.
I missed him.
He didn’t call, he didn’t text. Dad didn’t mention him, Earnest stopped coming over and I couldn’t wrap my head around what was going on. This is why I hated feeling too deeply, being so overly attached to anyone. People leave! What had Earnest Hathaway said after telling me his dramatic story? My boy would never get over you if you leave, Anna.
Who had left whom now?
The bloody thing was I didn’t even know why.
Maybe I did. Maybe I even understand. It would be difficult for him to be with me after what he had gone through. It would be difficult to come to terms with someone like me. We didn’t have a future even if we did have feelings. Maybe Mark was right all along. I am difficult to love.
But I deserve a clean break up if nothing.
I deserve to be told to my face that we don’t mean anything to each other anymore. At least then I can tell myself that moving on is my only alternative. There is no hope for us.
To make matters worse, pictures from the wedding day of Matthews had been published in almost all newspapers. Henry and I were kissing in it, so speculatio
ns were flying all around – we were dating, we were marrying – Rdesigns and Hathaway Constructions’s heirs were coming together. What an odd combination. Yada yada.
Had I known one kiss would cause so much damage, I would have kept it in my pants.
Now, even to the world, we were betrothed. Fiancés. God I hated that word.
It reminded me of the not too long before moment when Henry had asked me to marry him.
I missed his touch. I missed his voice, the caress of his hands, his deep blue eyes. I missed looking at him and being awed.
Nothing happened in the entire week. Mark was very attentive to me during this time. It made me feel guilty, because I’ve never been a burden to him. But now, I felt like one. I didn’t even have an outlet for my stress anymore. Thanks to the wound on my shoulder, I couldn’t train.
It was the shittiest situation I could be in.
Toni called, he was out for what he said was a duty call, Kelly and Shinoda called as well. They wanted to be there for me but something prevented them. I don’t remember what. I was glad none of them could make it. I didn’t tell them I was shot. They heard I was sick. I didn’t tell them I had broken up either. Nobody needed to know.
When the miserable week was almost over and Sunday morning had arrived, I had had enough. I took a bucket of chicken, twelve cans of beer, opened up Netflix and decided I would blow my mind and binge-watch videos till I can’t think of Henry anymore.
Then I cried my eyes out again. I’m turning into a wuss. And all because of Henry Fucking Hathaway.
Chapter 22
Henry
Last week was a storm of emotions.
I was fuming most of the times, waiting for this hard-headed, self righteous, downright annoying chick to call me. Was it that hard to understand my feelings? I get why I’m the first man she has dated. She’s so clueless it’s almost selfish.
While fuming, I’m also preparing to propose.
There is not much that I won’t do for Anna. She sort of sealed the deal on my feelings when she took a bullet for me. I mean, it made me so bloody angry I could have throttled her. But it also made my heart as steady as anyone’s can be – I knew I wanted her for the rest of my life when I was at the hospital, looking after her for the twenty four hours she hadn’t woken up.
The nerve this woman had. She thought she could ask me if I’m alright after getting shot and scaring me out of my wits?
She even dared to apologize for getting me abducted! Not for taking the bullet, but for supposedly landing me into trouble.
I’m still mad, seven days gone.
Doesn’t matter that I want to spend the rest of my life with her. My reaction might be intense, but I want to be right by her side every time she’s pulling off something dangerous like this. I know that I’m looking for a lifetime of anxiety if we tie the knot. But if we don’t I’m going to die of anxiety anyway. It’s better to know than to lie wondering. If Anna is a challenge, I’m prepared.
I figured she’s the one for me three weeks into dating. All my hesitation is gone after seeing how reckless she actually is.
But that still doesn’t forgive the fact that she hasn’t called me yet.
It is also pissing me off that Mark and Earnest keep hanging out at my office like it’s no big deal. I think Mark has long ago figured out that Anna and I are not engaged and I definitely hadn’t proposed to her when I first met him with my dad. He doesn’t ask a lot of questions, which I respect. He’s a decent man when not being swayed by my father’s overzealousness. I think Mark and Ernie only cared about the status of our relationship as long as theirs was tumultuous. Now that theirs is getting sorted, they pretty much leave us alone to figure out our futures.
It’s rare for parents to do that, so I’m glad they’re so much into each other.
But the problem is, they come to my office every day. They tease me about Anna and Mark reports to me about her condition daily, then gets a kick out of how distressed she is that I haven’t called. They’re enjoying the whole thing – Anna doesn’t have a clue I’m preparing to propose to her officially, and because she’s mad at me she couldn’t have one either. Mark and Ernie are annoying as always, giving me ridiculous proposal ideas and practically preparing for a wedding.
Mark sometimes makes me so uncomfortable when he smiles at me from ear to ear and gushes, “Anna made such a good choice! I didn’t expect it! You’re so normal, Henry, you make me proud.”
I’m not sure how to respond to that.
My mother, Emily Hathaway is probably the most tolerable of all the people around me right now. Even Peter is annoying because he can’t stop beaming. When he isn’t beaming, he’s possessive. Which I understand. We’ve been best friends forever. He needs time to adjust to the fact that I’ve fallen hard for someone. I’m moving on.
It might have been a mistake to tell mom first that I planned on proposing to Anna. Dad overheard the conversation, he told it to Mark, they hung out at the office and announced it to Pete. Now everyone in my life knew, except for my girlfriend. She probably thought we had broken up.
Mom was also enthusiastic about us, even though she and Anna don’t really get along. Mom’s the sweetest and the most generous person out there, which makes Anna very uncomfortable. She knows that mom is a psychologist which is why she says to me, “Emily’s so nice… I just keep thinking she’ll figure out something terrible about me and hate me for being with you. I don’t want us to meet a lot, Hathaway. For real.”
It is true though. Anna is right. Mom has given me subtle hints over the past two weeks that I should think about it more. “I find Anna lovely Henry, but she has problems. I know it when I see her,” mom says.
Who doesn’t have problems, mom?
Mom has never been someone who interferes with my life. When she saw that I wasn’t going to think it over, she simply helped me pick out a ring and wished me luck. The whole week went by pretty quickly amongst all of this. But the thought of Anna lingered. It was painful, but above all it put me in a state of constant anger.
Truth be told, I was waiting for Reeves to text me first. This time, there was no escape. I wanted her to come around, realize that what she had done was traumatizing for me. Who gave her the right to think that I couldn’t die on her, but she could take a bullet for me? When did we come to that consensus?
What had she said before taking the shot?
“Like hell I’ll let you die on me, Hathaway. Like hell.”
It still pisses me off.
The only reason I haven’t proposed yet is because Anna hasn’t made a move. I’m not going to resolve things between us this time. It’s not fair. Even though I’m sitting in my office grumbling on a Sunday, I’m not going to text her.
I prepared a case against the hotel management whose waiter had spiked my drink. While reading through the files, I could barely concentrate. I deliberated again – should I just call first and get mad at her instead?
No. NO!
Anna is right. I’m a wuss. If she can hold out for so long, if she doesn’t care about me enough, I definitely should not be the one turning back. But… what more an expression of care can someone show? She had taken a bullet for me. And I haven’t even been by her side during the time of her recovery.
I would have been. But it’s difficult. The entire time I was with her when she was unconscious, the thought that she was hurting because of me hadn’t left. I could barely speak when she had woken up. My throat had nearly choked, and seeing how she was so ignorant of my feelings had made it unbearable. I’m not masochistic. She has her father by her side, but me? I can’t even complain that it hurt.
In the middle of my conversation with myself, I heard a knock at the door of my office.
“Come in,” I called out. Was Pete back? I put the papers away and turned around in my chair. I froze.
Anna stood in front of me, looking like a devil straight out from hell. If devils roamed about looking that messed up, that is.
“Anna,” I whispered.
She was dressed in pajamas, literally. She had bed hair, she obviously did not have a bath and her face looked like she hadn’t bothered to wash it in months. Her eyes were bloodshot.
My endurance broke when I looked into them.
I ran to her anyway, she met me halfway through. My arms wrapped around her body while my heart thrashed against my chest. Something deep twisted inside me as she fit perfectly in my arms after so long again. My fingers brushed through strands of her unruly hair. I breathed.
She pressed herself into me harder. For a while, we didn’t speak. After what seemed like ages, she whispered, “I missed you.”
Me too, sweetheart. Me too.
I hugged her tighter and kissed the top of her head. She kissed my lips.
“I’m not breaking up, Henry. I don’t want to.”
I smiled. Her insistence is familiar, as is her scent, her defiant eyes and her indignant face. I can hear her heart beat with mine. I love the comfort of being around her. I lifted her up, smiling into her lips.
“I love you,” I whispered.
“I love you too.”
“Anna…”
“I know. I’m sorry for jumping in front of that gun. I should have saved us both instead, Henry.”
She knows. Finally. She knows.
She wrapped her legs around my hips. I supported her bottom, my mouth settling over hers in urgency. She kissed me with the passion of a someone deprived, I lost my breath and pushed my tongue through her own.
I had missed her touch.
Her hands wound around my neck. Goosebumps ran through the skin of my spine till I couldn’t control my urge. Grabbing her hips, I ground her against my sex, my bottom ready to tear through the fabric of my jeans and through the flimsy material of her shorts. Anna moaned into my mouth, her head falling back in pleasure. My hand reached to her back, under the loose top she was wearing. I drew circles along the bumps of her spine. I grew harder once I found out that she wasn’t wearing a bra.
My Thug Bride Page 15
