My Henry

Untitled Part 2

Henry watched Alex slam around the bedroom of the Brownstone, a perpetual bad mood that has gone on all week, since he arrived home drunk after his office party.

"What is going on with you?," Henry snaps " You have been weird and distant for weeks, I thoughts it was the case, I though it was the hours or the nerves but there is something more. Talk to me Alex, what is going on with you?"

"I..I don't know, Alex sighs, frustrated at not being able to express his feelings. " I feel like I am stagnating, stuck on a preordained path of my own making .I know I have had singular focus , but now H, I don't know, it's like is this all there is? Is this all I am? I feel trapped by my life."

Henry stills.

"No, no, Alex hastens, not you and me, not us, not ever us, its just, he pauses releasing a long held breath, Have I had all the experiences I'm going to have? I'm 26 & I've been on this path since I was 16,this road that lays straight ahead.

I just feel stuck, like I'm spinning my wheels.

Its like I've tasted all the things I'm going to taste, and seen all the things I'm going to see, and fucked all the people I will ever fuck!"

At this, the blood drains from Henry's face, Alex can see the pain move across his features and clamp down behind a wall, he swallows, rocking back on his heel like he's been slapped.

He can see the thought 'I am not enough' pass through the shadows behind Henry's eyes.

"No, No, H fuck that is not.. I didn't mean to say that" Alex reaches to take Henry into his arms but he flinches away, holding out his hand to stop Alex's approach.

"I see," Henry starts, his voice cold, quiet and filled with pain, "I think it may be best ,if you find somewhere else to sleep tonight, We clearly need some time apart and you clearly need some time to think Alex about what you actually want."

"No Hen, that is not what I meant, please just..."

"You Need to Leave."

Alex doesn't move, his feet rooted to the spot.

"Alex GET OUT"! Henry screams pushing his physically out the room, slamming the door.

"H.. Please..", Alex hears the click as the door is locked behind him.

FUCK! he breathes out as he slides down the door frame grasping his head and pulling at his hair.

Alex can hear the sobbing start somewhere behind the heavy timber door, the pain behind it evident.

Oh fuck what have I done? With one fucking sentence he managed to break THE most important thing in his life, he never meant Henry, his frustration, the feeling of stagnation that was never about Henry, never Henry.

Fuck what has he done?

Alex stays wedged in the door frame over night, unable to move away from the door, move from Henry, laying in the broken pieces of the best thing in his world.

They have argued before but not like this, he never meant to insinuate that Henry wasn't enough, that he wanted others. Alex can see the moment playing in his head where Henry's heart broke. Where he heard "You are not enough".

The wedding invitation is pinned to the fridge by a small pride flag magnet.

Gold leaf and embossed paper, the 3 day extravaganza, the marriage of Guilford Ambersmith–Fife, 13th Earl of Westbrook, Henry's cousin, the one Catherine had described as having grown into an 'absolute dickhead' to Sophie Haver-Smythe Jones, a rich vacuous entitled bore.

Alex muses just how many hyphens can a couple have?

They had been working out how to avoid this shit show for weeks.

Who the hell host a 3 day wedding FFS?

Cocktails , Brunches, Dinner under the stars and a Polo match after the ceremony but before the reception.

3 days of aristocracy, vapid conversations in strangled vowels and being asked 'Do you ski?'

There was also a no phone policy, just in-case someone leaked photos with out the expressed permission of the new couple, but there will be an on staff photographer for your selfie needs, so there is that. What the actual hell?

They both wanted to fake their own deaths!

However both Bea and Catherine will both be there so that's something.

The bedroom door opens and Alex, unceremoniously falls into the room. He slept, if you can call it that, wedged into the door frame.

Henry stands over him looking down, cold and distant, the untouchable mask of Prince Henry of Wales. He is dressed in black wide legged trousers and a soft deep blue knit. His face is pale, eyes swollen and pink rimmed, with his suit case in hand.

He addresses Alex coolly and measured "I'm going to Guilfords wedding, you wont be able to contact me for three days. We need space, I need space" and with that Henry steps over him, walks in long smooth strides down the hallway and is gone, the front door closing with a quiet, deafening click.

June appeared 12 hours later, finding Alex still wedged in the door frame, her face a combination of fury, bewilderment and sadness.

'Oh Alex what did you do?' She whispers into his hair as she folds him into an embrace. Her touch breaks Alex out of his stupefied state.

'I broke us'...I never meant for him to think he wasn't enough.. that I wanted ...oh god he's gone, Alex starts sobbing uncontrollably into her chest.

A buzzing from his pocket pulls Alex back to the present, a Buzz feed alert. 'Solo HRH Price Henry arrives in London for the society wedding of the year' accompanied by a photo of Henry being bundled into a black SUV.