A Wolf's Purpose

•Chapter 85• Henry

Henry carefully got closer to Jade – whose back was facing him. He was uncertain how close he could get to her. Ever since he entered the room there was some unspoken tension around them. He had not been kind to her – not even a little – he was not proud of what he did to her. Unknowing, stupid teenage boy trying to be something. Apologies would not do. He's not sure anything he does would ever help their situation. Henry sighed and nudged her arm very gently. Jade glanced at him over her shoulder. "Yes?" Wow, she did not look angry, but her glare meant something. And not something good. "Can we talk? I want to talk to you for a bit." She shot an uncertain look at Andrew but agreed to it nonetheless. Liz and Andrew both watched closely as the other two went into the hallway.
Jade folded her arms over each other but she did not look as hostile as before. Her gaze was a lot softer. "What did you want to talk about?" She questioned. Henry gave her an awkward smile. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I know I can't apologize and make everything I did to you disappear." He started, "I want to apologize, though. From the came calling, to me pushing you around. Everything. I don't have a reason, definitely not a good one, to why I did it. Just want you to know that I regret it. And if I could go back, I would. I would slap myself in the past if I could." Henry was overflown with genuine guilt. Jade could see it and she believed him.

"Andrew told me." She said to him. She knew Henry was trying to help her and her brothers. Still, she couldn't forget it. So much has happened between them. He bullied her. "Jade, I am so sorry." In a way, she could understand him. How could you act normal toward someone whose father almost killed your aunt? How does one do that? "I regret it. All of it." He repeated. He needed her to know how sorry he was. "I should say sorry too. For what I- well, what I almost did to Andrew. How I left him behind after that. He told me that you were a good brother to him. That you were there for him because he needed you. I'm sorry." Henry's lips formed a small grin. "Thank you."
They stood like this for a while, just looking at one another, and waiting for the other person to speak up. "We've not been very good people, have we?" Jade started shaking her head. "I haven't. You've kind of redeemed yourself. I'm still working on that part. I hurt a lot of people. Not just Annie." It made Henry smile to hear that she called him that. "So, we're okay? No fighting? No killing? No bullying?" To his surprise, he even earned a little smile along with her agreement. He only ever saw her smile at others. Never at him. He never thought she would, ever, and yet here they were. Henry held out his hand for her to take and she did.

"Oh, and I'm sorry Bill almost killed you," Jade said after letting go of his hand. Henry chuckled awkwardly. He suddenly felt a sting in his still-healing wound as he remembered what happened that day. Bill could have killed him. He left him to die. The least Jade could do was apologize to him for it. It was much like Henry's apology. She couldn't change what happened, her apology would not fix it, but it was something. "I'm still alive. It wasn't like you sent him out for that."
"No, I would have done it myself if I wanted to." Henry chuckled. It was hard for him to believe all the stories Liz and his brother told him when he was in the hospital. They thought he deserved to know what was happening. Liz insisted on it. She thought he should know who was behind the attack on his life. He almost died! When Liz told him everything, he was scared, of course, but also wanted to help.
He didn't have a good relationship with the triplets or Jade, but he wanted to help them. Their father was also against them. The boys saved Megan from a painful death that their father planned for her as a cruel revenge. Maybe that is why his guilt towards Jade only grew the more he thought about it. "Your dad's scary." He said awkwardly. Jade smiled a bit. "Tell me about it."

Ian embraced Leah in the doorway. She completely melted into his arms. She'd never done that before. It made him a little uncomfortable. His arms were loosely wrapped around her and patted her back. "Everyone okay?" Jayden – who appeared behind Leah – told him they were alright and gently removed Leah from Ian's grip. "Sorry. I didn't think anyone would show up." Jayden rubbed her arm in a comforting way. Casper walked in after him and locked the door as soon as they were all inside. "Louis is not with you?" Jerry questioned from the bed. Casper and Ian both scanned the room but didn't see her. "Jade's not with you either?"
"No. Was she supposed to be?" Ian quickly started shaking his head. He shot a quick glance at Casper who looked worried. "No, then she's safe with the other kid. Andrew. Louis is with Bill. He made some deal with him so we could get out." Ian told the boys. Jayden shot a slight glare at Casper who was looking worried. "A deal? With Dad?" Jerry said. "We don't know what they discussed. Something valuable otherwise he wouldn't have let us go."
The triplets looked at each other. Bill made a deal with Louis and let Casper and Ian go after that. That was part of the deal. "And we're going to bring you somewhere safer. Okay? We've got to stay here one more night, nothing to worry about, it's just to be sure that we're all safe in case we were followed." Megan quickly stepped forward, suddenly feeling brave. "Do you know anything about my parents?" The men seemed stunned by her sudden bravery. Leah was impressed and proud. Ian nodded his head after a few seconds. "They're okay. I spoke with a guy who's keeping an eye on them. Jade contacted them. Wanted to make sure they were okay. They're back at their house." He assured her. A huge wave of relief washed over her. Jack stood behind her and squeezed her gently.