WOUNDS ♚ henry bowers [it]

t w e n t y - t w o

There was enough evidence between Henry's scars and bruises, and my confession of how I've heard his dad fighting with him, that the police went straight to Butch's house. We didn't mention this morning to them though.

Henry and I rode in one of the police cars to his house, and when we got there Butch was also there. We stayed outside, watching as the police went in. They were in there for a good five minutes before they came out with Butch in handcuffs. As they were leading him to the car, he gave Henry a deadly glare, but didn't say any words. Butch knew better than that. And Henry returned the glare, and for the first time he didn't cower down toward his dad, but instead stood his ground.

Once Butch was in the police car, and they were long gone down the dirt road, I turned toward Henry. It was just the two of us now in the silence of the mid-summer day.

I engulfed him in a big hug, my arms wrapping around his torso. He didn't react at first, but then hugged me back tighter. "I know I don't say this a lot," Henry began, his face buried in my neck so it was slightly muffled. "But t-thank you, Taylor, and not just for this, for everything. For not ever turning away from me, for not running away when I told you I liked you, for not leaving me for what I did yesterday. I know I'm an asshole and I'm sorry for any shit I've ever put you through. It's just I've never... been in love, or felt it before, and this is all so foreign to me so I never know if what I'm doing is right or wrong. But what I do know is that when I'm with you, I feel right."

I couldn't help the tears that followed.

. . . . .

I was right about my mother. When we got back to my house later that day, after Henry packed a bag full of clothes and other stuff, she was passed out on the couch. A whiskey bottle was on the coffee table next to her, but one thing was different than normal. Her face was red with her mascara run down as if she had been crying.

I felt slightly bad seeing as though it was more than likely my fault why. I brushed it off and took Henry's hand and lead him to my room. He drops his bag by the foot of my bed then turns toward me with a smirk. His arms snake around my waist and he pulls me toward his body, his lips attaching to my neck. Henry kisses his way up til he connects our lips together, pushing me backwards until my back hit the wall. His hands found their way to my butt, giving it a squeeze.

When our lips parted, I gave out a small breathy laugh. "You're such a horndog."

Henry's smug smirk grew, "Don't act like you don't like it." I playfully roll my eyes at him, a smile evident on my face. He leaned back down to kiss the opposite side of my neck than what he was kissing earlier, but stopped mid-way at the sound of the phone ringing.

I turned my head toward the door and tried to move toward it, but Henry's strong grip held me in place against the wall. "Ignore it," he whispered before continuing to attack my skin with his tongue.

I put my hands against his chest and tried to push him away, with no avail. "Hen..." I pleaded, and he stopped immediately. Henry slowly backed away from me, his eyes staring into mine, cold and hard, but a playful glint was placed behind the facade.

"What did you just call me?" Henry's stone voice speaks.

I give him a sheepish smile, "Um... nothing." I let out quickly and slip from underneath one of his arms that was placed on the wall. I ran out of the room and jogged down the stairs, heading to the still ringing phone. I picked it up, answering. "Hello? This is Taylor speaking." I look over to see Henry lean against the wall next to me, rolling his head back so that it hit it with a thud. His eyes planted on me, with one leg crossed over the other and his arms folded against his chest.

"Taylor?" His shaky voice says over the phone. "It-it's Richie."

My whole body stiffens, and I knew Henry noticed this by the way his body stiffened too. He gave me a quizzical look, a hint of concern placed within them, wanting to know who was on the phone. I just shook my head at him telling him it was fine, but the look on his face told me he didn't believe me.

"Look," Richie starts. "I know you probably don't want to talk to me right now-" I scoffed, "but please just hear me out."

I looked off to the side angrily, tapping my foot on the floor. "I'm listening." Henry took a step forward, obviously trying to listen in on the conversation. As much as I didn't want him to (knowing he'd get mad if he found out it was Richie), there was no use in trying to fight him.

"You were right about earlier. About how best friends should support each other no matter what? You were right, I shouldn't have acted how I acted, and I am so sorry. And I'm sorry about calling you all those words yesterday, I didn't mean them. I was just so angry an-and... jealous, I think. Of Henry. When you said that you had been with him the past few days, instead of wanting to be with me, it triggered something in me."

I kept quiet at his words, silently telling Richie that I wasn't pleased enough. He wanted my forgiveness, well then he better start begging.

"Please forgive me, Tay. I just want my best friend back... Look, if you really do," Richie grinded his teeth together, "like Henry," huff, "then I'll even try to stop calling him names and shit, but I draw the line at hanging out with him and his goons!" Richie's voice gets a bit louder at the end, then adds on, "as long as he and his gang agrees to stop messing with me- no, all of us."

A small smile forms on my face at his words. "Okay, I forgive you."

"Really?!"

"Of course," I let out a small chuckle. "How could I not, you ass-face." I playfully tell him, and he laughs back.

"Shut up. So I'll see you tomorrow?" He asks with hope in his voice.

"Yeah." We said our goodbyes, then hung up. The smile that was once on my face was wiped off when I turned to see Henry's clenched jaw, his face annoyed. He didn't need to ask me if it was Richie on the phone, because he already knew it was. "Henry," I called, reaching out to grab his forearm. "Please don't get mad at him. He was only calling to tell me he was sorry." I knew by just using words, I wasn't going to be able to convince him fully.

"He-" Henry starts, but when one of hands starts roaming down his chest, going over his abs, and his breath hitches. "Just by-" now my hand was at his belt loops, playing with the hem of his jeans, "Oh, god," he turns me around and pushes me back so that I was against the wall, his body pinning me. "I know what you're doing, Taylor."

I give him a guilty, but smug smirk. "Is it working?" I already knew the answer by the way his growing hard on poked my lower region.

His lustful, dark eyes stare back at me. "Fuck, yeah."