The Madness Of Love | The Secret History

XI

I'm skipping the part where Bunny comes to Henry's apartment. This part starts when during the night they heard loud banging at the door. Enjoy x

I went to bed early that night, around eleven; at twelve I was awakened by a loud persistent banging at the front door. I lay in bed and listened to it for a minute, then got up to see who it was.

In the dark hallway I met Henry and Lilith, both in their bathrobes and holding Henry's kerosene lanterns.

When Henry saw me, he put a finger to his lips, indicating that I should stay quiet. We stood in the hall, listening. We stood there for a long time, it seemed, long after the banging stopped and we heard footsteps crunching away. Henry looked over at me, and we were quiet for a bit longer.

"It's all right now." he said at last, and he turned away abruptly, lamplight bobbing crazily around him as he walked back to his room.

I glanced at Lilith. She didn't look as much confused as I did, just shrugged her shoulders and went back to the living room. I waited a moment or two longer in the dark alone, and then went back to my own room and to bed.

--------------------

The next day, around three in the afternoon, I was ironing a shirt in the kitchen when there was another knock at the door. I went into the hall and found Lilith and Henry already standing there.

"Does that sound like Bunny to you?" Henry asked quietly.
"No" I said. This knock was fairly light; Bunny always beat on the door as if to bash it in.

Lilith shook her head. "It's Francis" she said softly.
"Go around to the side window and see if you can see who it is." Henry told me, not paying any attention to Lilith. It seemed like he was back to ignoring her.

I decided not to pry into their affair, or whatever was happening, and went to the front room and advanced cautiously to the side. The far windows were at an odd angle and all I could see was the shoulder of a black coat, with a silk scarf blown out in the wind behind it.

"I can't really see, but it might be Francis" I said. Lilith scoffed.
"Oh, you can let him in, I suppose" said Henry, and he turned and went back towards his part of the house. Lilith, seemingly offended, went to the kitchen.

I went to the front room and opened the door. Francis was looking back over his shoulder, wondering, I suppose, if he should leave.

"Hi" I said. He turned around and saw me. "Hello!" he said. His face seemed to have got much thinner and sharper since I'd seen him last.

"I thought no one was home. How are you feeling?" "Fine." "You look pretty bad to me." "You don't look too good yourself" I said, laughing.
"I drank too much last night and gave myself a stomachache. I want to see this tremendous head wound of yours. Are you going to have a scar?"

I led him to the kitchen where Lilith was sitting, and shoved aside the ironing board so he could sit down.
"Where's Henry?" Francis asked, not even saying 'hi' to Lilith.
"In the back."
Francis began to unwind his scarf. "I'll just run say hello to him and I'll be right back." he said briskly and slid away.

Lilith scoffed again. "See who I have to live with?" she said to me. It sounded like a rhetorical question, so I didn't answer.

I put on water for tea when, several minutes later, there were footsteps and Francis emerged in the kitchen, edging his way around the ironing board to gather his gloves and scarf.

"Sorry to run." he said. "I've got to unpack and start cleaning my apartment. That cousin of mine tore it to pieces. I don't think he took out the garbage once the whole time he was there. Let me see your head wound."

I pulled back the hair on my forehead and showed him the place. I'd had the stitches out long ago and it was nearly gone.

He leaned forward to peer at it through his pince-nez. "Goodness, I must be blind, I can't see a thing. When do classes start? Wednesday?"
"Thursday, I think." "See you then" he said and, still not glancing at Lilith, he was gone.

After he left, Lilith stared at the door for a long time. Then, without saying a word, she went to the living room and poured herself a drink.

I put my shirt on a hanger and then went into the bedroom and started to pack my things. Maybe Henry would drive me to school with my suitcases later on. I was just about finished when Henry called me from the back of the apartment. "Richard." "Yes?" "Would you come here for a moment please?"

I went back to his room. Henry was sitting on the edge of his fold-out bed, his sleeves rolled up to the elbows.
"Will you do a favor for me?" he asked. "Sure."
He took a deep breath and pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "Will you call Bunny and ask him if he'd like to come over for a few minutes?"

I was so surprised that I didn't say anything for half a second. Then I said: "Sure. Fine. I'll be glad to."
He closed his eyes and rubbed his temple with his fingertips. Then he blinked at me. "Thank you" he said. "If you want to take some of your things back to school this afternoon, I think she could drive you."

I got his drift. "Sure" I said. I finished packing and went to the living room to find Lilith. She laid on the sofa smoking a cigarette.
"Lilith?" I asked carefully. "What" she said sternly. "Could you drive me back to Hampden?" She put out her cigarette and looked at me. "Sure"

I've never seen her car before that, but I can't say I was surprised. She drove a black '67 Chevy Impala. I thought it fit her perfectly.

"Will you go back to Henry's?" I asked her after we arrived at Hampden. She rubbed her temple and shrugged. "I don't know." She got quiet. "I have to go. Bye, Richie." And drove away before I could say anything.

I put my suitcases in my dorm and only then called Bunny from the payphone downstairs.

I'd love it if you'd give some feedback x