Sarah would hold Henrik's hand and stare out the window. After losing her children, a sadness fell over the house. Willow and Sammy seemed to notice. Though Henrik was never visibly as sad as his fiancé. He always remained strong for her, fetching anything she asked, which was on rare occasion.
She began to hate how her body worked. How it failed to support life like it did many times before. Sarah held her belly, almost wanting to tear through her skin and inspect her womb herself. She wondered if birthing many children was the cause of this newfound infertility, or if it was just by luck. No matter her thought, she rarely thought about anything but the denied future of her miscarried children.
Sarah could barely think straight, especially when her twins asked to see their siblings back in Glendale. At first, she knew it was a bad idea. If Oliver was there, she feared what he might do to them. Henrik volunteered to take them. Sarah noticed how a flicker of anger appeared in his eyes. It made her more weary.
She never doubted Henrik's capability of protecting his children, not for one second. What she didn't want happening is that things would break out and Henrik would seriously harm Oliver, leaving her other children without a father. That was the only thought that kept her hesitant. Just the effect Oliver's death would have on her other children, and the fact that she didn't doubt that once Henrik laid eyes on him, it would be a bloodbath.
You have to promise me you'll just drop them off. Sarah practically pleaded to Henrik. He seemed confused, though nodded, abiding by her wishes.
She let them return back to Glendale with Henrik. He told her that he'd simply visit his family so he wasn't too far away.
In case something happens, I'll be there.
Before Henrik left, he offered for Sarah to come with. He wanted her to meet his family, but she declined.
I need time to think. Henrik didn't question her. He was never nasty with his silences, instead, he was understanding and quietly floated away, always promising to come back when she needed him most.
That was one of the many things she adored about him. His never ending service to her, though it drove her into a guilty fit whenever she believed she was taking things away from him with her neediness.
When they returned, Henrik gave her the rundown on what happened. He simply dropped them off, staying a couple minutes. No car was in the driveway, and two older children were home. Sarah notified him after he came back that those were oldest, Emma and Alex. Then, when he knew they were safe, he drove off and visited his family.
Sarah knew he was hesitant to say something. Before she could ask, Henrik handed her one of their phones. There were pictures of the house. It was a complete mess, though she could tell that it was trying to be kept clean. Beer bottles of freshly drank booze were on the floor, torn open packets of unknown drugs all across the table.
Did they bring anything else back? Sarah looked up at Henrik, to which he shook his head.
Just that and some Go-Gurts that Sam already ate. Sarah nodded, still staring down at the photos of the messy house. In a few of the shots, she could see her other children. One was pointing, motioning for Willow to take a picture of what squalor they were living in.
Sarah squeezed the phone, handing it back to Henrik. She was staring at the floor, suddenly realizing all the mistakes she made without fully thinking about them. The fall was coming back around, and the leaves reminded her of what she lost, which triggered her entire life to shift. Though, Sarah knew she could never get her lost children back. It was when she was with Henrik did she get the call they found their bodies in a different state, mutilated to almost unrecognition . She cried in Henrik's arms when she heard the news of her toddlers being killed across state-lines.
It was her wake-up call. A reminder of what she left behind.
This rather new loss of her unborn children was another reminder. It spoke to her in a belittling way, but she knew this hateful in-voice was right. Sarah couldn't make copies and her children weren't expendable. Plans began to form in her mind, and she was determined to follow through on her promise of returning to get them out of hell. Only, she began to wonder if she had the power to do it.
The Grean family, ever since she left, seemed to spit on the corpse of her mother and on her broken heart. If Sarah came back to swoop up the children that were a part of their blood, she was sure they'd lock them away from her. It drove tears to her eyes, and she began to think about the fact that she only was able to get Willow and Sammy because Oliver found out.
That story, told in Willow's shaky voice from her vivid memory was enough to make her knees buckle. Each word that was spoken was like a punch in the gut. Sarah started to realize that she was failing as a mother. What she tried to protect ended up getting attacked in the end.
But it was Henrik who encouraged her to return and to keep and trying to save them. It was him who hugged her after his children went to bed after opening up about how they became homeless for 2 days. It was him that continuous told her to keep trying, that, eventually, success would come her way. If she stopped now, she'd get nothing for her little efforts.
Sarah thought long and hard about her children she left behind, trying to devise a plan to come in and save them. But no matter how hard she thought, nothing was coming to mind. Sarah didn't have the money for a lawyer and she felt like the leech she was made to be if she asked Henrik for the money.
So she sat there, on the edge of her side of the bed, staring out the window. It was dark, the skyline still a blue from the light pollution. Sarah fiddled with her ring, huffing gently. The ring that Henrik presented her with in his quiet proposal shortly after they bought the house together. Their wedding would be in a few months, which would be when Sarah would meet the rest of his family.
The family that occupied the many frames he had on a shelf in the foyer were the faces that she was about to see in person. Sarah would stare at it, noticing the manor on the hill that was in the background of the outside family photos. Henrik wasn't kidding, his family was huge. He told her that he was one of three adopted boys, with the other three being named Carlisle and James, all three unrelated. Henrik would chuckle when he stared at some of the photos. Sarah noticed that the three youngest boys all looked alike. She asked if they were triplets, but Henrik shook his head and laughed.
Henrik's large family, albeit not made out of his blood, made a envious flip in Sarah's stomach. Perhaps it was the rich man and woman who came together and made 4 biological sons without a problem, and adopted 3 others and kept the house running. Even with so much differences, Henrik's adoptive parents made it work. She wondered one specific thought as she looked at the pictures Henrik had with him and his siblings. The one that caught her eye was a full family photo- arranged by ages and seemingly status- when the youngest was born; Henrik was 21.
Why couldn't I make it work...?
YOU ARE READING
The Grean Household
Romance"It was a mistake..." She told her mother, folding her hands into each other. "Marrying him..." Her mother said nothing, she simply sat there as her only daughter stood across from her, on the verge of collapsing from bruised ribs and cracked shins...
