Fractured Hearts (Shattered Lives, Book Three) (19 page)

About a week had passed, but Nick was still upset with Elaina. They walked past one another several times without a word spoken between them. She noticed he had gotten closer to Josie and when they were together, both of them glared at Elaina. So she suspected he told Josie about their minor disagreement.

The cross was finished. It came out beautiful with all the hand-painted flowers, flourishes, and lettering. Quinn was a true artist and Elaina appreciated her help on the project. She knew Henry would be pleased.

Henry and Gunther kept disappearing for what seemed like hours at a time. Elaina tried to follow them several times, but they knew and would catch her every time.

Deciding to grab the cross from the art room, Elaina went to the cafeteria to wait for Henry to be finished with whatever he was doing with Gunther.

The rest of the crew was in there, including Ben’s group. Lauren seemed to be looking better, but she still looked uncomfortable in her pregnant state. Josie and Thomas were sitting one table away from them, pretending to thumb through a selection of books from the library; Nick was teaching Kate more chords on the guitar; Cora worked with Silas on his writing; and Quinn was playing with Callie. Considering their circumstances, everyone seemed to be in a good mood.

Being so preoccupied, no one noticed Elaina carrying a three foot cross. She set it on the table and sat in a chair, tracing the flourishes with her fingertips. As she waited for Henry, she bounced a knee and fidgeted.

When he and Gunther finally walked through the door, they were laughing and carrying on like old chums. Elaina was happy it was that versus behaving like megalomaniacs.

“Hey, love!” I said rather loudly as Gunther and I walked into the cafeteria.

Elaina stood as I made my way to her. My gaze fell upon a cross on the table, my jaw hanging open. I picked it up and ran my fingers over each letter of Sophie’s name. The colors were beautiful and bright. The patterns were unspeakably glorious.

“Did you make this?” I whispered.

“Quinn did all of the fancy stuff, but yes, I did.”

“This is…brilliant,” I murmured. I swallowed hard, trying to choke back what was brewing in the back of my throat. “I… I… I don’t even know what to say.”

Placing her hand on my shoulder, Elaina reassured, “You don’t have to say anything.”

My vision blurred from the tears forming. Covering my mouth with the back of my hand, I tried to stifle the cries pushing forward. “I need a minute,” I croaked.

“Take your time, lover,” she whispered. She reached up and brushed her knuckles over my stubble. I took the cross and hurried out of the cafeteria.

Elaina watched Henry walk down the hall, then head out the side door. Rushing footsteps came up from behind her. “Did he like it?” Quinn asked.

“I think so. He took it and said he needed a minute. He was crying.”

“Oh no. I was hoping it would make him happy, not sad.”

“Me, too. Maybe it was a mistake. I think I’m going to go apologize to him.”

Elaina jogged off down the hall to the door and opened it, looking around for Henry. She didn’t see him or hear him, so she decided to try behind the school first.

Luck was on her side. He was sitting on the graveled back parking lot, leaning against the brick wall. He had the cross laying on his chest, hugging it. It was arduous to witness.

The need to get away from everyone and spend a moment thinking about Sophie overwhelmed me. Escaping the situation was the only option. I pushed through the side door and looked in every direction before deciding to hide behind the building. Hard and heavy in my left hand, I carried what was left of my emotions. I looked around the area, making sure the coast was clear before I dropped my ass in the parking lot and leaned against the wall.

I held the cross between my knees. “Goddamn…,” I whispered, a distant chuckle echoing in my head. My hands pushed through my hair and I ducked my head, fighting everything surfacing.

I tried to shut the demons down while trying not to cry, but all the visuals from the day Sophie died came forward. More tears spilled over. Then the exasperation rattled me straight to the core.

A growl tore from my throat, rushing past the tears. I wanted to beat down someone. I wanted to fuck shit up…

I wanted to drink.

I stared at the beautiful gift. Something selfless…something heartfelt. When I became weary from the heavy emotions, the demons ebbed, along with the anger.

“Do you see this?” I whispered as my eyes tracked to the clouds. “This is why I love her, Sophie. This is the
real
Elaina.” I pulled the cross taut into my body, hugging it.

“Henry?” Elaina called out. I glanced up at her as she jogged toward me. “Oh, Henry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to upset you.” I wiped my face with the back of my hand. “Can I sit?”

“Yes,” I choked out.

“Please, accept my apology.”

“There’s no reason to apologize. I’m not upset with you. This is…” I held the cross out in front of me again, my fingers flitting over the flourishes. Once again, sadness draped over me like a heavy cloth. “It’s just brilliant. This is the most amazing gift anyone has ever given me. Thank you.”

“I promised you that once we settled somewhere, we would have a memorial for Sophie. Well, you called this place home. So I thought it was fitting to make something in her honor. Do you like it?”

“Elaina, I love it. It’s just hard. I miss her so fucking much. She was the only one who truly understood me.” As soon as those words escaped my lips, I knew they would cut Elaina straight through to her soul, but she could never fully understand me because she wasn’t like me. “I have been trying to set her aside in my mind because every time I think about her, I want to drink myself numb. I do right now, in fact,” I muttered with anger and shame.

“Henry, I’m sorry.” Elaina reached for the cross, griping it tight and trying to take it from me. “I’ll get rid of it. I don’t want to drum up those feelings for you. That’s the last thing I want to happen.”

“No. Please. I need to face this…sober and with you by my side. Will you help me? You’re the only one who can.” Elaina nodded. I pulled the cross close. “Let’s go put it the ground somewhere so I have a place to go when I need to talk to her.”

We stood and walked toward the woods to the beautiful oak tree left untouched, kind of like a beacon. I jammed the pointed end into the ground, adjusting it so it was straight. Standing back, I admired the beauty of it.

Elaina took my hand and interlaced her fingers with mine. I gave it a good solid squeeze, then wrapped my arms around her. I needed her and she came through for me, holding me while I wept.

For the first time without a bottle to my lips, I faced my feelings about Sophie’s death.

Hushing me while stroking my hair, she repeatedly told me how brave I was, and how proud she was of me for putting the bottle down.

We sat, leaning against the trunk of the oak. As she pulled me into her body, I turned around and looked into her eyes. Then she pushed the hair off my forehead. “You’re in need. They’re graying and so…sullen.” I nodded. “Come on. Let’s get you inside.”

“I need to give Quinn a proper thank you for helping you do this.”

“After you’ve had your fix.” With appreciation for her taking care of me, I nodded again.

I loved her so bloody much.

Leaning against the wall, I reveled in my high. My eyes were closed, my face was relaxed, and my breathing was slow and deep. Elaina sat close by, watching me.

“How are you doing?” she asked just above a whisper.

Cracking open my eyes, the words came out soft and breathy, “Brilliant. Thank you for everything.”

“That sparkle is back,” she said. Then she smirked. “They are full of lust and, sitting so close to you, I can feel it.”

Without hesitation, I pounced on Elaina. My kisses were rough and my hands greedily roamed her body that I loved so much.

In a hurried fashion, I pulled off our clothes, tossing them across the room. My lips roamed over her body, nipping her skin and making her shudder. I tortured her while concentrating on her breasts.

She sighed with pleasure, making me groan. “Please, Henry… I need you in me.” She reached down to try to guide me into her, but I held myself just outside of her already dripping, aching body.

She couldn’t overpower me. In wild passion, I kissed her and almost felt like I was in some other place—clouds, space, another galaxy. But, without a doubt, I was lucid.

Elaina grabbed my face and made me look at her. “Henry?”

“I’m going to fuck you so hard, Elaina. So…fucking…hard,” I growled. She smiled and settled back, allowing me to dominate her.

I sent her reeling into ecstasy, pounding her. She fisted my hair and raked her nails down my back, digging them into my ass. She met every deep thrust with a flurry of moans and throaty groans, screaming my name a few times for good measure. All our feral sexual sounds spun through the room, reverberating off the walls. I came with a shout, feeling like the head was going to blow off my cock. Insane.

We stayed in bed for a while, trying to put ourselves back together. She played with my untamed waves and I stared into her eyes. Her fingers traced the edges of my face, making me smirk every now and again.

“What?” she asked.

“You.”

“What about me?”

“You’re bloody amazing. You have dealt with so much with me, and you still haven’t given up.”

“I almost have a couple times.”

“I know. But you are still here with me, taking care of me, even though there have been many moments when I didn’t deserve it.”

“Henry, don’t say that. You deserve to be loved and cherished.”

“But I have really–”

“Shh.” Elaina placed her finger over my lips. “No more bad talk. Let’s talk about our ceremony.”

I smiled. “Nope. It’s a surprise.”

“You know I’m not a fan of surprises.”

“But I think you’ll like this one.”

“But–”

“Shh, bird.” I put my finger on her lips. She gave me a look of disdain, which made me laugh. “Let’s get dressed. I want to give Quinn a proper thank you for Sophie’s cross.” Elaina stuck out her lip and I nipped it. “Come on. I’ll give you more later. Lots more hard fucking. Sound good?”