Mercy

Chapter 7

Oh, my lord, this has been the CRAZIEST last 6 months of my life.  Moving 5000 miles is not for the faint of heart.  It took over 2 months to get our belongings, 2 months to get our car (seriously it took so long I had to go and buy one because renting a car was too expensive), ended up going to visit family for the Thanksgiving holiday, and my daughter has been sick since October and just had surgery on Friday.    BUT, I should be carving out time to update on a much more regular basis.  This twice a year crap is for the birds!  

On that note, if you're still here, I love and appreciate you for sticking on through!  Please give me a comment or vote so I know I'm not just talking to myself!  <3

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"Henry? You still with me?" She looked up over her shoulder at his face. He stood there in silence, his hand still resting on her shoulder. "What can I say? I really know how to bring a party to a screeching halt?" She joked light heartedly, trying to get any sort of response out of him. She turned around, looking into his eyes, searching them in an attempt to read his thoughts. "Henry?"

"I,just, wow," he stammered, trying to find the right words to say. "I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to say here. I'm sorry doesn't exactly seem good enough, but I don't know what else to say. Are you okay?" His eyes full of sorrow, looking her up and up. "I feel like such a pretentious asshole. I shouldn't have just showed up here. I had no idea. I can stay at a hotel and be out of your hair by tomorrow," he said as he looked down and started to pull away.

"Stop,"she grabbed his hand, his eyes refocused on hers. "I should have told you, but it's just, a lot for most people to handle. I didn't want your sympathy, I just wanted to enjoy my time with you while I was visiting. Honestly, I never expected anything more than a nice dinner or two, and then you'd be in London and life would go on, and well, I'd be here with my routine and it would be normal. I'm sorry,"she smiled meekly.

"You thought I was just going to forget you?"

"Well,honestly, can you blame me? What are you mister movie star supposed to do with a girl from Texas that has two kids and more emotional baggage than you can shake a stick at? I assume most people would run for the hills," she shrugged. She walked away and moved to sit down on the couch. "I'm just surprised you'd want to put up with it, you really must be a glutton for punishment," she patted the seat next to her.

"Hardly,"he scoffed as he sat down in the spot, resting his arm gently on the back of the couch. A quiet lull came over the room.

"You know," she turned to him, "If I had to be surprised by something,I'm glad it was you," she said lacing her fingers with his.

"Likewise,"he mused and kissed the top of her head.

Snuggling closer, she closed her eyes and inhaled the smooth scent of his cologne. The deep breath caused her to yawn as she reached for the TV controller and turned Netflix while passing the remote to Henry. "So, should I search for one of your movies?" She smirked,yawning again.

"How about we just stick to something else," he laughed and heard her yawn again. "Are you sure you want to actually watch something?" He looked over at Elizabeth who already had her eyes closed. "And,you're already asleep," he whispered as he grabbed the blanket that was neatly folded over the back of the couch. He scooted over so her head was in his lap as he unfolded the blanket and gently cover her up. He propped his arm up on the arm rest and leaned his head on his hand. "Guess it's just me," he sighed as he too started to yawn. He moved his other arm to rest along Elizabeth's side as she readjusted herself in her sleep. He looked at her sleeping face and smiled down at her.

He hadn't planned on being there. The trip was completely spur of the moment. As soon as he had learned her work address, he found himself calling his brother and asking for her home address. As the call ended, he was already putting his credit card information through to purchase his flight. But now, she had spilled her baggage out in front of him, and he wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't help but glance over his shoulder and the shelf behind him. He sighed, a heaviness taking over his chest. She had said she didn't want his sympathy, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for her, for her family, for their loss. Not only having to go it on your own, but having to do so not out of choice, but because of forces outside of ones own control. With the television glowing in the background, even though he was happy to see her again, as he nodded off to sleep, he couldn't help but feel like showing up had been a mistake.