The Assassin ✓

Chapter Twenty Four

Vanessa fought for her freedom to speak, but could not win this fight.

She was surprised. She was shocked, really. She listened to the exchange between her son and her lover, and could not believe her ears.

First of all, what kind of a forgiveness was Henry talking about? Was he expecting Tom would love him with all his might after knowing him for a few days? That was wrong. That did not seem like her Tom. Her darling Tom .. who apologised and walked away. She was still in shock.

But then again, how could he do it? Her darling Tom! To lie to his mother and his father! Her darling Tom.. he'd do anything to save his mother. It was all for her, wasn't it? Just her..

"Tom," she whispered, unable to make a sound. She gathered her strength.

"Tom!" She spoke louder, but he had left the room. She jumped up, but Henry grabbed her wrist.

"Vanessa, don't," he said quietly.

"What don't?! That's my son!"

"He is confused. And you can't let him think that what he did was good."

Vanessa blinked, looking down at Henry, still on the ground, unable to comprehend his words. Somehow, she found her voice.

"What is it then, that he should be thinking? He was saving me!" She tried pulling her hand out of his grip, but he held it firmly, with no intentions to letting her go.

"No one is allowed to murder half of their family to save the other half." He said firmly.

"Family?" Vanessa finally freed her hand. "I am his family, Henry. No matter what you say, you are not his family. You are nothing to him. This is why he brought you here." She spoke through her gritted teeth, while her hands were shaking.

"You have to calm down," Henry was still abnormally calm, as he put his palms on her shoulders, as if to hold her and also keep her in place. "Calm down. He will do the same. Let's go home, he'll probably be there."

"He might not be," Vanessa growled.

"We'll find him," he said nonchalantly.

Vanessa stepped back from his touch. "Henry, what the fuck? This is not you. You'd be running after him!" She exclaimed. "Look past your ego, for fucks sake! That is your son! Your son!" Now the shakiness had expanded from her hands to her whole body. "Are you even listening to yourself?!"

"Yes. And I am sure of my words." Henry's face was almost clean of expression. He seemed just out of it.

"Fuck," Vanessa muttered, hiding her face in her hands. "Fuck, fuck, fuck.."

"Stop swearing," Henry casually said.

"Shut up!" She yelled in his face.

Suddenly, her mouth was squeezed shut. Before she could bite his hand, like she intended, Henry leaned into her ear.

"It's not safe here."

Vanessa immediately calmed down, suddenly remembering that they were still on enemy soil. She gulped back her tears and nodded towards Henry. He took the hand off her mouth and she slowly and quietly picked up the gun from the floor.

They heard footsteps in the distance.

Henry quickly glanced across the room and they saw a window. They ran to it.

"Damnit," Henry whispered. It was two stories high. It was not a very high jump, but it will probably be unpleasant.

Without much thinking, Vanessa glanced at Henry.

"We jump," she exhaled and grabbed his hand. They both climbed out on the ledge and then, without much thinking, jumped down.

Henry landed on his feet and, even if he was in pain, he showed none of it. Whereas Vanessa got up, winced in pain, greeled and fell back down.

"My leg," she whispered.

"Can you run?" Henry was already down on his knees, next to her. Seemed they both could mobilise themselves when it came to that, pushing everything and anything aside.

"Not on my own. Give me your hand," she said. Henry did so and Vanessa got up, still gritting her teeth. Henry slid his hand around her waist, she leaned into him and they both moved away as fast as Vanessa could.

* * *

What do you do when your life has no meaning?

What do you do when it disappears? When it's just emptiness and nothing else?

There were no tears. Just a pool of blood by her feet.

Vanessa was sitting by the spot where the grass was not as green anymore. She could not feel the pain in her leg anymore. It turned out to be sprained and not broken. But she could not care less right now.

In her head echoed the conversation she had with Henry just moments ago. It replayed over and over and she felt like losing her mind once again.

She told him she wanted to find her son. She told him she loved him and has never been more proud. She told him turn the car around. He didn't. He took her home. She did not let him to carry her to the house, she got there herself, wincing in pain. It was that moment, when she started to cry, because the pain in both her heart and her leg added to it. She was exhausted. She felt she could fall down and fall asleep right there. But she also knew that if she would be weak, she'd lose Tom. So she made her way to her house.

"Vanessa, calm down," Henry had told her. He told her to stop being so dramatic, that Tom will tink about his mistakes and come home. She could not grasp how he was not getting it, but she said nothing. She waited for him to go to sleep, to go look for her son. She could also not understand what happened to him. That was not the Henry she knew, the Henry she spent the night with just a few nights again. The Henry she would follow up until the edge of the earth, where she would jump, if he asked.

Was he in shock? Was he just so out of it, that he could not see the bigger picture? Was it something that he will snap out of? Was this whole ordeal anything that any of them will ever snap out of?

Henry then sat on the bed and put his hand around her waist. She started crying again.

And then she got up, trying to ignore the pain, as she stood on both of her feet, feeling it gave her strength, even if it hurt like hell.

And she was the bravest she's ever been.

"Henry," she said, her voice sounding quiet, but strong. "Leave."

She said it just once. He said nothing, he was unmoving .. and then he got up and left.

Just like that.

And now she was sitting in her backyard, back where Blair died, looking at the stars and thinking about her son. She went back, after she sent Henry away. She drove around, but could not find him. She talked to strangers on the streets, no one had seen him. And in the end, she didn't even have Henry. She made him leave because of Tom ... and the worst part was, he left. He actually left. Was his pride so big that he could not overcome it? Was it even love?

She sat there, looking at the darkness in front of her, feeling the hole in her grow. She was alone, and she had no one to blame for that, not even herself. Everything was just falling apart.

"Tom.." she whispered and suddenly gasped for air. She filled her chest with it and felt tears running down her face.

"Tom.." she muttered again and started to cry.

She had no idea how long she sat there, but it was still dark when her cries slowed down. She lied down in the grass and felt herself slipping away, wishing that Tom was alright and would be there when she opened her eyes.