Where the Skies are Blue

Chapter Forty-Nine:

Coming down the stairs that morning, my head pounds violently. Cursing me for drinking so much yesterday.

Then I think about Ender and smile to myself. The butterflies are dancing in my stomach as I think about his hands on my skin. His lips on mine.

I'm pathetic.

I need some coffee asap. When I move into the kitchen, I see Henry. His head bent slightly. Then I notice his eyes, and immediately I know something is wrong. His usual brown eyes are a deep color red, like he's just finished crying. He looks tired. Defeated. His arms are slack by his side.

Then I notice Katherine, who looks like she doesn't have a care in the world as she grabs her car keys off the counter.

My heart thuds. My stomach sinks. Did she tell him? What did she do? She fucking did something. I'm immediately full of rage. Seeing Henry this way shatters something in me.

My eyes narrow at Katherine as she gives me a smug smile. "What the fuck did you say to him?" I snarl at her.

Henry realizes I'm here, and his head snaps up.

I block Katherine, getting in her face. "What the hell did you do?"

Katherine stands straighter, trying to intimidate me. "You don't know what's going on, so why don't you get out of my face, baby?" She asks calmly, though in her eyes I see she's about to snap.

"I know you. I know you did something. What the fuck did you do?" My voice rises, and I shove her.

She raises her hand at me. I try not to flinch away. Henry is quickly between us, stopping Katherine from striking me. "Don't ever get in my face, you little bitch. I'll knock you on your ass so fast." Katherine screeches at me.

"Fuck you." I spit back at her.

"Stop! Stop right now." Henry yells at us both. He walks over to me and wraps his arms around me, pulling me away from Katherine. He turns to Katherine. "Just go to your appointment, I'll talk to Auden."

Katherine smirks. "I'm sure you will, since you two are so damn close. In fact, she's almost eighteen. You can have the younger, hotter version of me, Henry."

Henry's eyes widen, and in one swift stride, he brings himself closer to Katherine, his voice lowering. "Kat, you need to leave before you say another thing you'll regret." His jaw is tight.

She scoffs before angrily leaving the house, slamming the door on her way out. Once we hear her car pull away, Henry runs a hand down his face. His back leans against the wall behind him.

"Whatever she did, we can figure it out," I say quickly, with desperation. I don't want him to leave us. I don't want to never see him again. I've grown to care about him so much. My bottom lip trembles. "What did she say to you?"

He gives me the look of a broken man. His hand rubs roughly along his jaw. "Last night I saw some messages on your mother's phone, and I confronted her about it this morning."

I feel sick. He knows. He found out about George. He knows, and he found out in the worst way, and I've known for months now and kept it from him. My face pales. I feel horrible for not telling him.

"Auden, what's going on?" He asks me, taking me by surprise. "I feel like I'm completely in the dark. I thought I knew your mother, and now it's like she's this completely different person." He sighs. "I'm not...sorry, I'm not trying to get you to talk about her or anything; I'm just so confused. I thought things were good. I thought you two were happy. I thought..." He rakes his fingers through his hair, then pulls on the ends. "I thought I made her happy. And the way she just talked to you, was she seriously going to hit you? I mean, what the hell?"

I nervously fold my arms across my chest. "Henry, that's how Katherine is. She uses people. She sucks the life out of everyone until there's nothing left. Our life in Arizona was horrible. She has never been a mother to me. It's all been an act for her, the whole perfect housewife, going to tennis bullshit since we moved here. It's all bullshit." My eyes well with tears. "I'm sorry, Henry. I wanted to tell you the truth about everything. I wanted to tell you about George, but I was scared."

His eyes widen. "So, you knew about George?"

I nod, my eyes fall to the floor with shame. "I caught them together at the New Year's Eve party."

"Jesus Christ." He exhales a shaky breath. "I need to go for a drive." He then says and heads back into the kitchen to search for his keys.

"Please, I'm so sorry, Henry. I never intended for us to hurt you—"

He clutches his keys in one hand before approaching me. "Auden, it's not your fault." It shocks me how devastated he looks. It makes it hard for me to look into his eyes. "I'll order us food tonight for dinner. I just need to clear my head." He touches my shoulder gingerly before moving out of the house, shutting the door behind him.

I move over to the staircase and fall back onto the last step, my head going into my hands. Once again, she's ruined everything.