Love Always Find Its Way

The Premiere

"Are you okay?" Alice turned her attention to Henry, who was sitting beside her, in the back seat of the car that was taking them to the Promethean Premiere. She was nervous and  she hadn't been able to eat anything all day.  The palms of her hands were cold and she felt the tension built up in her shoulders, but she decided not to tell Henry about it, just looked at the red velvet dress, which was recovered thanks to a good dry cleaning.

"Yes. Just a little anxious," she said with a weak smile.

It would be the first time that they would appear in public as a couple and she did not know what the repercussions would be.  Charlie and Leah advised her to ignore anything negative that came out in the media.  Leslie swore that she would cut down on any malicious comments, along with other fanpages she was part of.  She laughed when her friend said she would create an army for her, if necessary.

The truth was that Alice was afraid that Henry would get carried away by the pressure of the media and decided to end it all, as he once tried.  Why did she have to fall so passionately in love with this man?  Now, the very thought of seeing him leave her life get her in panic.

Fortunately, Henry was busy most of the way to the Premiere location, talking on the phone with Charlie and others.  It gave her some relief.  But, it didn't take long, she noticed the increase in traffic and knew they were just meters from the Premiere venue.

"Ready?"  Henry's voice and confident smile were not enough for Alice to feel the same way, but even so, she nodded and accepted the hand he offered her when he was outside of the vehicle.

As Alice got out of the car, she was unable to see almost anything.  A shower of flashes and distorted voices got mixed with the noise of the cameras of the photographers who tried to take the best photo of Henry Cavill and his companion.

Henry held her hand tightly, as if to say 'I'm here', but without losing focus on the journalists, who bombarded him with questions about the film and the woman next to him.  He, always polite, answered questions about the film without haste.  When asked about Alice, he simply walked away with a smile and a wave.

Alice felt that her heart would come out of her mouth at any moment.  She tried to stay calm and smile, as Henry had asked her to do, but it was difficult to smile when you were almost having a heart attack.  Oh, how she wanted to be with Charlie and Leah backstage.

"How long have you and Henry been together?"

"Are you his lover or just Henry's friend?

"Is this just an affair or something more serious?"

Suddenly, the questions started to be asked directly at Alice and she didn't know what to do.  She tried to call for Henry, but the noise around them prevented him from hearing her.  The lack of something in her stomach and the vortex of lights around her started to make Alice dizzy.  She tried to call Henry a few more times, to no avail.  The journalists' voices grew more distant, a cold sweat broke out on her body and, a few moments later, Alice felt her body failing in front of all the English media.

§§§

"It looks like she's coming back."  She said an unknown voice.

"Alice? Alice, honey, are you listening to me?"

Alice slowly opened her eyes and found Henry's concerned look staring at her.  She tried to open her mouth to respond, but felt her lips and her throat dried, so she just nodded, as she sat on the stretcher on which she was lying.

"You scared the hell out of me, my love," Henry said, hugging her and kissing her hair.

It was then that Alice realized where she was and what had just happened.  She was in an ambulance and passed out at the Premiere where several people worked hard to make sure everything was perfect.  Feeling bad and embarrassed, Alice could not control herself and started to cry.

"I'm sorry, Henry."

Henry stared at her without understanding.  "Alice, it wasn't your fault. These things happen."

"But I ruined the Premiere. I ruined the night for everyone. Especially for you"

She saw a smile appear on Henry's face, even with the vision blurred by tears.

"My sweet Alice. I don't care about that. I just want to make sure you're okay. When I felt your hand drop from mine and I saw you fell to the floor, my heart stopped for a few seconds."  Henry held and kissed Alice's hands.

Alice's crying increased even more.  Why did he have to be so kind?

"But I couldn't handle the pressure, Henry. What if it's always like that? What future can we have?"

"Don't think about it now. But we will have a future," Henry assured her, kissing her on the lips.

Henry's kiss brought a little peace to Alice's heart.

"We're here, Mr. Cavill."  The nurse, who was sitting in the corner of the ambulance, told them as soon as they arrived at a hospital.

"Henry, there's no need for all this," Alice protested.

"Maybe not, but I want to make sure you're all right," Henry replied, then got up.

"I didn't eat anything all day. And nervousness didn't help either. That was it!"  She tried to debate with him, but she knew he wouldn't change his mind.

"Maybe, but we're already here, so it doesn't hurt to check."  Henry gave Alice a light kiss on the forehead before leaving the ambulance, thus giving the paramedics room to remove her.

From the aesthetics and little movement of people in the place, Alice realized that it was a private clinic.

Henry walked beside her, while she was pushed by the paramedics.  Minutes later she was in a spacious and comfortable room, where there was an extra bed for the patient's companion, an apparently comfortable beige armchair and a TV fixed to the wall.  The smell of a sterile environment made Alice feel even more sick.

A knock on the door caught her and Henry's attention and, seconds later, a middle-aged man entered the room.

"Good evening. I'm Dr. McClaine and I will be doing some tests on you, Miss Sinclair."  The man of short stature and a little overweight, showed a friendly smile.  He greeted Henry and then approached Alice, starting with the usual tests, like taking blood pressure and checking her heartbeat.  A nurse joined him minutes later to collect a blood sample.

"Well, apparently everything's fine with Miss Sinclair, but I'm going to ask for priority on her blood test results. It could be a simple anemia, but I want to make sure."  Dr. McClaine explained to her and Henry and left shortly thereafter.

Alice saw Henry come over and sit on the edge of her bed.

"I said it was nothing," she said.

"We are still not sure about that"

"It looks like you want it to be something," Alice teased him, laughing along with him shortly thereafter.

"Of course not. I just don't want to get another shock like this."

Alice watched him.  He no longer wore the light suit he wore before, nor the tie.  The sleeves of the white shirt were rolled up to the elbows, leaving the strong forearms exposed.  His disheveled hair and the first buttons of his shirt open made him more attractive than ever.

"Alice, I know we met not long ago, but what I feel for you I never felt before," Henry said taking Alice's hand and looking at her.

Returning the intensity of Henry's gaze, Alice knew that her feelings towards him were the same and before the tiredness of the day took hold of her, she decided to admit that it was no longer just passion what she felt for him.

"Henry?"

"Yes my dear?"

"I love you."

Henry watched her to fall asleep and her breathing to get slow.  Running a hand through Alice's hair, he whispers;  "I love you too, my sweet Alice."