"You should go and check on him, our session is not over, I can't have him hurting himself in that room especially not on my hands." Nora is specific in her therapy and she hates when she was the reason for her patient's suffering. Alex sighed leaning his head to his side watching the door of Henry's room still close and he feared on what was on the other side.

"I still can see him since I found him in the room, bleeding, all over the floor. I was so terrified of losing him but I was so clueless on what should I do. I forgot all the steps that we learned, all the practical, all the training that I can actually do in my sleep. Something about Henry had made me weak, make me feel so stupid for not be able to see it." Nora could see how it affects Alex deeply and he was so in love with him.

"I can't believe it." She said and Alex shot her a confused look, "What?" He asked and Nora smiled, "That the guy I met in high school was actually falling in love and in a relationship." Alex shook his head in disbelief and tried to nudge Nora by her shoulder and she giggled. "Shut up." He smiles and Nora laughs.

"Wasn't it there was this guy who told me that he is done with guys or girls and just want to live a life free of relationship drama and shit?" Nora could see the smirk on Alex's face knowing how much he remembered that night, it was two years ago, Alex was drunk after all the tequila shot he had after he broke up with his old boyfriend, finding out him cheating with other people, a girl no less.

"Henry is different." He starts and Nora had her hand under her jaw resting her elbow on the couch listening to him. "There's something about Henry that made me loves him more than anyone I'd ever love. He's always in the shadow, never wanted or needed an attention. He lives his life not wanting anyone to know he even exist. His life, is always enough for him, never wanted or needed more. He takes what was given and never questioned anything else."

Alex turned his head to the side to meet Nora's gaze, "That is why I wanted him to have everything that he never had in this life. Love, family, and someone to protect him. From the world and from himself." His voice breaks thinking about Henry while he stares into Nora's face. She sighed leaning her head against his shoulder and stroke his arm to soothe him.

"Henry needs you. You better go and check on him now." Nora pushed him and he sighed again. Nora grabbed her bag and told him that she will see them both soon and left. He nodded waving her goodbye before he sat up and headed to Henry's room.

He didn't knock and his hand grabbed the door knob and twist it opened. "Hen?" He called as soon as he entered and he saw Henry on his bed lying on his side with his back facing Alex. He hugged his knees close to his chest and he didn't say anything after Alex entered. Alex closed the door behind him and went straight to Henry on the bed.

He wrapped his arm around Henry's waist and Henry finally shifts his body to face Alex on the bed. His eyes are red and his nose are blotched red too after crying excessively. He could see Henry's face is wet an his lips are trembling in fear. "Oh Hen." Alex pulls him towards his chest and he wrapped his arm around Henry's body feeling the shivers running through him.

"I don't want to do this anymore Alex. Please make the pain stop." Henry begs and Alex hushed him softly rubbing his back with his palm. "I can't baby. If only I knew how." Alex replied pulling Henry closer to his chest. His arm wrapped tightly around him as he kissed him on his forehead and Henry looked up to meet Alex's eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He repeats and Alex stroke his cheek with his finger staring onto his crying face. "It's not your fault Henry, why are you apologizing?" Henry pressed his lips feeling Alex's palm over his cheek. "I was disgusted by myself over the years and all the years I see him, the memory just keep hurting more and more." Alex pulls away from Henry and propped himself up on his elbow to face him.

"What do you mean by all the years you see him? Did you see him after what he did?" Henry sat up to meet Alex's gaze and he felt worst than earlier. "He is my brother's friend. They were high school mates. He is always there until he went to college and sometimes when he came home on vacation with Phillip." Alex turned to face Henry on the bed and crossed his legs, "How old was he?" Henry gulped his throat before he answers.

"Sixteen." Alex can't take this, he could feel his heart is exploding as Henry stares at him. "What happened Henry? What happened after? Did anyone knows about this?" Alex was already stood from his bed and starts pacing around feeling the disgusts rising up in his throat.

Henry shook his head wrapping his arm around his body feeling the tightening in his stomach grew. His urged to cut himself grew along with his fear of Alex looking at him like he had two heads doesn't helps with what he feels right now. "I c-can't tell a soul. They won't believe me. No one did." Henry continued and Alex could see him teared up more and more. "What about your parents? Your dad? You are closed to him."

Henry sat his legs over the edge of the bed feeling like he might throw up thinking about Jack over and over within the matter of hours. "They are always away on business, they are never home. Even when they are home, I couldn't tell them, I don't know how." Henry's voice breaks as he hugs his body tighter.

"Henry there must be someone that knows. You were just a child! He deserves to be in prison for what he did to you. Your silenced is not gonna put him away." Alex could feel the anger flooding his own mind that he fails to see Henry was practically trembling.

"I-I c-can't- I - was a-afraid." Henry stutters feeling the tightness in his throat grew. He could feel himself struggling to breathe as he draws more breaths inside his lungs. "What did he do? Henry tell me what he did to you?" Alex asked and kneeled right in front of him with his hand gripped tight on both Henry's upper arm. His eyes are practically begging for Henry to tell him but he isn't sure that he is ready to hear it yet.

"He starts with touches. He never goes beyond that. Only touch. He loves it when I resist. But touch became kisses and it becomes more. But when I told him that I don't want him to touch me anymore, he threatened me. He told me that if I tell anyone about him including Phillip, he will hurt me. When I was fourteen, after my dad died, I told Bea. He got angry. Bea didn't believe me. She said I was making it up so she won't date him. I tried to stop her." Henry's face practically soaked right now from all the tears and his eyes are swollen red.

"What did he do Henry?" Alex asks keeping his hand over Henry's arm and he knows how strong his gripped were as he kept his eyes straight into Henry's on his bed. Henry couldn't look up to meet his eyes when he said the word.

"H-He raped me." Henry finally says and he could see Alex's mouth falls open and his tears dropped on his cheek. Henry could feel his throat getting tighter and it's getting hotter in this room for him with Alex's gaze is burning holes on his face. He could feel Alex dropped his hand from his gripped and remained kneeling on the floor right by Henry's knees.

Henry cries made him harder to breathe, he gripped his shirt right on his chest as he sobs further. Alex couldn't process what Henry just told him. All this time he knows him, he thought that his trauma was practically losing his family and his own home but never this. Never in his life would he thought that Henry was sexually molested as a child that no one in his life would noticed. That they failed to protect him when he was too vulnerable to protect himself.

That person who were supposed to protect him and supports him fails to do it and instead, Henry was the one who suffers all of his life by being the object of someone's pleasure.

Alex could see how Henry hard Henry tried to suppress his own feeling and the courage he found to finally tell Alex the truth and he knows it by how hard Henry is sobbing right now. "I'm so sorry baby." Alex finally said that made Henry looked up to his face and sobs further. Alex grabbed his neck and pulled him to his hugs and Henry was shock by his gesture but eventually cried on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry for what happened to you. I wish I could take it away. I'm so sorry." Alex whispered and Henry wrapped his arm tighter around Alex's neck and nods. "You are enough. You're all I need. I don't need them, I don't need anything just you Alex." Henry said after they both pulled away from their hugs. Alex wiped Henry's tears with his fingers and rested his thumbs over Henry's lips.

"There is nothing that would make me changed my feelings about you Henry." Alex says and Henry lowered his gaze too the ground between them. "I can't change what I am Alex, I can't promise you that I would. I would never be able to stop hurting myself because of him. I would never think that I was good enough for you Alex and I'm sorry." Alex was about to protest him and said something else but Henry kept his finger over Alex's lips stopping him.

"But I can promise you that I would love you till my last breath. That I would be loyal till the end and there is no one I would love more than you Alex. You are my life, my breath and my strength. You might not be able to save me then but you had save my life more than I ever deserved. You are enough." Henry says and Alex couldn't stop his tears from falling.

Henry wiped the tears that fell on Alex's face and he cupped Alex cheek in his palm. He leaned forward to kiss him on his lips. Their kisses were soft and yearning, almost like they waited for years to have their way back to each other. 

Just what they needed, only each other. 

.

"I think I know what I need." Henry says in Alex's hugs in bed. Alex's arms twirling around Henry's body and their legs tangled with each other on bed. The sun just sets and their eyes are practically swollen from earlier. None of them are ready to go out from the room just yet.

"What is it hun?" Alex asks and Henry looked up. "I need to go back. To London." Henry says and it made Alex's shocked and he turned to look at Henry beside him. "What? Why? Why would you go back to that hell hole?" Alex asks and Henry sighed. "I need closure."

"I need to close my pasts and make my peace with it. I need to make sure that I left everything behind and never looked back." Alex stares at his pale face and worried overcome him. "What if you got hurt? What if he is there?" Henry shrugs, shaking his head, "All I know is that, I need to face my own fear to be able to live my life in peace. I don't want to live like this anymore. Always in fear, always thinking I wasn't good enough for anyone."

Alex sighed tracing his fingers over Henry's face, "I understand. But I'm not letting you go alone. I'm coming with you." He said and Henry retorted, "No, Alex I can't let you do that. You have work and-" Henry was interrupted by Alex crashed his lips over his and he was stunned to even think about protesting his idea. So instead he just let Alex kissed him further.

"Fine, you can come." Henry finally obeys when Alex was on top of him. He let him trails his kisses down to Henry's neck and towards his exposed chest. Somehow Alex managed to get his button undone and he had his lips over Henry's broad chest. "That's more I like it." He whispered and leaned to kiss Henry's back on his lips with a smile wide on his face. 

A/N: 2023 has been a rough year for me. Recovering from the sickness back in 2022 and dealing with all the struggles I had this years and it wasn't easy. Another year of me living, keep on breathing although I know how hard it is to just keep holding on to life when it just keep pressing you down. My life has been nothing but a same wheels I had over the years and I was hoping that next year would make a different. New place, new friends, new books. 

I was ready to give up. I was ready to let go but somehow Alex and Henry had made it different. They made it better for me. I couldn't thank you guys enough for all the emotions and the nicest thing that you guys had said and I am proud of this family. Someone told me that the family that I have created is better than the family I came from, I intend to keep it that way. 

Happy New Year. 

Thank you, Love you always and forever. 

Leen.