ECHOES OF FORBIDDEN LOVE | (ongoing and undergoing editing)

✤Chapter Fourteen✤

❁Kayla❁

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I was so preoccupied with fixing my own mistake that I hadn't even realized Henry had been out of the house all day. It wasn't until he stormed in, slamming the door aggressively behind him, that I finally noticed him for the first time.

"I didn't even know he was gone," I thought.

I got up from the couch in the living room and followed him into the kitchen. There, I found him grabbing a bottle of beer from the fridge. He opened the cap effortlessly and sat down at the breakfast table.

By the way he moved and acted, I could tell something was weighing heavily on his mind.

"Are you okay?" I asked, sitting down across from him.

He looked at me for a brief moment, as if deciding whether to share what was bothering him.

"I saw Dad today," he finally said. "We met and talked."

The instant those words left his mouth, my mood shifted to match his.

"What... what did you two talk about?" I asked, my heart rate quickening.

"He just wanted to talk about stuff, you know..." His response was vague, like he didn't want to fully dive into what they discussed.

I didn't want to push him. If he wanted to tell me more, he would, but he had a right to keep it to himself.

We sat there in an awkward silence that stretched on, and eventually, I couldn't take it anymore. I decided to break the tension...it was becoming unbearable.

"I'm going back to New York next week."

His head snapped up, eyes wide, as if he hadn't expected me to leave so soon.

"Next week is in three days, Kay!" he snapped, frustration clear in his voice.

"I know," I replied, trying to keep calm, "but I have to go back for work. I need you to understand that returning to my normal life will help me. It's the only way I can start getting over all of this."

"Kayla, keeping yourself busy with work won't help you heal, and it definitely won't make you forget that Dad's trying to get back into our lives...and he's not giving up." His words hit me hard, echoing the truth I'd been pushing aside since I woke up this morning.

He was right. Work wouldn't make me forget or heal, but at least it would give me something to hold onto...something that felt worth my time and energy.

"Henry, why are you reacting like this? It's not like I'm staying here forever. You've got your own life to get back to, too."

"I know that, Kay, but I hoped we'd stick together until we figured out what he really wants. You know Kate's still a minor, and I'm scared he'll take her away. What if she doesn't want to stay here with Brandon, and... and what if I..." His words trailed off as he sighed in frustration.

In that moment, I realized how selfish I had been. I hadn't considered their well-being or how I was dumping all this responsibility on him, forcing him to make decisions that could alter his life.

"Henry, I'm sorry, you're right," I said, standing up and walking toward him. He was pacing the room, visibly stressed and frustrated. "I'm sorry," I whispered as I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug.

He looked like, out of the four of us, he was the one struggling the most to process everything because we were all cowardly dumping these big decisions on him.

When he finally hugged me back, his body started trembling with sobs. It was the first time I'd seen him cry since Mom died, since Dad left. Even though it broke my heart, I knew this was what he needed, so I held him tight, rubbing his back.