The Next Reminder

Chapter XVI || The Burke House.

*Henry's POV*

I sigh of relief as I finally stand in front of the house, thanking the Lord for letting me escape. I casually walk up to the door, although nothing is casual. My body hurts. Walking up to the door, I knock on it. I hear shuffling inside, and then Clay answers. My legs barely hold me up anymore, and I fall right into Clay's arms. He looks down at me, concern in his face as he puts a hand under my legs to carry me somewhere. I am not completely sure where, as I am losing consciousness as we speak.

"Carlton, go open the door to my bedroom, will you? My hands are occupied." Clay tells Carlton, and he must look flabbergasted.

"Is that Henry? What the hell happened to him?"Carlton asks, his voice getting farther away. Clay follows him, heading into his own bedroom to set me down on the comfortable mattress.

Clay sighs, "I don't know..I guess we'll ask when he comes back to full consciousness, because he's not asleep right now." I can feel a warm hand go to my neck, Clay must be checking my pulse, I think.

*Clay's POV*

His pulse is just fine, I think, nodding in approval. My hands hover over his chest, thinking about the remnant scars all over his abdomen. With Carlton's help, we pull off his flannel. When it's completely off, I gasp. "This must be fresh.. look at that." Carlton says, comparing it to his own experience.?

I get curious and untuck his shirt, hoping he was completely asleep by now. "It looks like this has stopped spreading, though..." I wonder why. I sit on the bed beside Henry, looking at him with a sad expression. "You can go for now, son. Go do whatever you teenage boys do." I say, and he grins mischievously, leaving the room and shutting the door. Henry and I are alone now, and my hand hovers over his own hand, my eyes watering. You were never mine, I speak, but I know he can't hear me. Now, I'm sure Carlton, John, and Jessica are listening from the other side, but right now I couldn't care less.

"You know..." John opens the door, fixing his glasses, holding a book. "Right person, wrong time?" I raise an eyebrow, confused. "You and Henry both love eachother deep down, you two know that, even if you don't want to admit it. Maybe if we were a few decades into the future, you two could have worked out. But here, we're stuck in a homophobic and racist society, where serial killers seem to be ruthless. Henry loves you, the way he looks at you is a dead giveaway."

John speaks, closing his book, I look down at Henry, and he takes a breath to continue, "And you're just a walking pride flag. So maybe, in a few decades, it could work, but then again, you're the Police Chief, and he is one of the few accused people behind the Freddy's disappearances. You know how distraught and disappointed society would be?"

I swallow, looking at John with hurt in my eyes, "Deep shit, I know," his hand glides up to his heart, his voice dark. "But nonetheless, that's just my opinion!" He says, his voice lightening as he walks out the door.

I hold Henry's hand in my hand, hopelessly trying to get him to wake.

"Please don't leave me..." I plead, and Henry opens his eyes, I sigh of relief, his beautiful deep purple eyes searching mine.

"Clay.." he says, smiling, "What happened..?"

"No, you tell me what happened before you came here." I say, helping him sit up. He rests his head on the backboard of my bed, looking at me with tired eyes.

He sighs, calling his memory back to him, "I went back to my old house, and I stayed there for the night. In the morning, I was going through some of my old photo albums, and William got into my home. He was with Elizabeth, which is how, I'm assuming, he got into my home." Henry's breath shakes, "They tried to take me, and I fought back as hard as I could. I threw books, photo albums, but Elizabeth got her hands on one and knocked me out... they took me back to Freddy's, and William injected me with remnant again." Henry looked as if he was about to sob, so I put a hand on his shoulder, whispering softly to comfort him.

"So what happened then?" I ask, still curious, "How did you get out?"

"Well, William untied me from the chair after I woke up from my remnant dream, and I may have..seduced him..." Henry looks down, ashamed, "It was hard to do when his rotten flesh was so close to my face." He chuckles, but quickly stops when he realizes I'm not doing the same. "On the bright side, I had him in the perfect position to kick him in the balls!" He grins, and that's when I start laughing.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Henry..." I push the hair out of his face, getting dangerously close to his face.

"If the remnant worked I wouldn't have died, but then again, maybe I would've turned into a..." Henry realizes I am close, but he makes no movement to pull away. "...furry." I see his face turn a dark red as we make eye contact. I grin, putting a hand on the back of his neck. "...Fuck it." Henry says, putting his lips on mine. It only lasts for a second, but the sudden romantic touch after years feels amazing. Henry pulls away from me, his face burning red. He smiles, hopping off of the bed to regain his composure. "That was nice, Clay..." He looks back at me, his hand rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

I get up, sighing, "I guess it's about time I make supper?" I ask, and Henry shrugs, flopping back onto the bed. "I know the mattress is comfy. It's my own bed." I comment, shutting the door.