Captivation

22: Sometimes

Sometimes (adverb): occasionally, rather than all the time

“Where are we going?” I ask after we’ve been walking for twenty minutes.

“Just, shh.” Henry says. I see that he’s shaken up, whether it’s from his grandfather disowning him, or how he assaulted his grandfather, or how his grandfather assaulted me, I can’t tell.

And I do ‘shh.’ I stay quiet and let Henry take me to wherever he plans on going. We pass through a field and up a few small hills, until we enter a wooded area as night is falling.

Henry walks away from me now, he’s looking at all the bases of the trees, searching for something. I watch him for a few minutes and then I speak up.

“What are you looking for?” I ask.

Henry doesn’t answer me. I wait, and I wait some more, and then finally I turn away from him. My cheek still hurts and I am tired of waiting around.

“There used to be this tree here that I would come to climb when I was younger and felt as I do now.” He says as I take my first step away from him.

I turn back around and watch him search.

“It’s probably too tall to climb now…” He says.

“Probably.” I agree.

Henry looks sad, really, truly, sad. I have no idea what to do about it. I stand off to the side awkwardly as he continues to look for the tree. When his searching becomes almost obsessive I stop him.

“Let’s go back.” I say.

“I have to find it,” He tells me, and I know that he wants to find it to have something to ease whatever pain he’s feeling. But I already know that even if he finds the tree, in all reality, it’s just a tree, and it won’t help him much.

“We can come back and look together tomorrow.” I tell him.

Henry turns and looks at me.

We both turn and look as a voice calls for Henry in the distance.

“Alina knew I used to come here.” He says looking back at me, as another voice calls again, closer.

“Alina is smart.” I tell him.

Henry walks closer to me. He wraps his arms around me and I am closer to him now than I had ever been with Andrew. “Could I kiss you?” He asks, his voice sounding pained.

I bite my lip and shake my head. “No, I’m not your crutch.”

Henry stares at me for a moment longer. “What if you wouldn’t be my crutch, just my downfall?”

I pretend to consider this, “Maybe then.”

“What if then is now?” He asks.

“Oh, but it’s not.” I tell him.

Henry smiles and wraps his arms around me tighter. It’s more emotional than a hug, but essentially, that’s all it is.

I hear a couple of feet snap twigs very close to us, and then a voice I can identify as Peter’s call out, “I found them.”

Henry doesn’t let me go, nor does he look up.

I hear his mother say something and I look over and see both her and Alina walking toward us, now within seeing distance.

“You’re mother is here.” I tell him.

“Your cheek is still red.” He says.

“Your pride’s still hurt.” I say.