Part 38
"Please."
"No."
"Please. I'm fine as long as I'm with her."
"No."
"Please."
"I said no Henry! End of discussion."
Alex was sitting at his home office when Henry approached him with this questions of him wanting to spend his days at Nora's bakery shop. He was bored out of his mind having to stay almost a week in Alex's loft alone.
Nora stopped by occasionally but she couldn't stay for long since she had to reopen her store soon. Alex managed to find few extra worker for her since Henry and Emily is no longer able to work and she was grateful enough.
"I'm bored out of my wits Alex. I can help her reopened her store. You can stay and watched me there, or Cash." Henry offered but Alex kept his gaze at the laptop right in front of him typing angrily into the keypad ignoring Henry's plead.
"Alex!" Henry slammed the laptop shut to gain his attention which annoys him most since no one is allowed to do that without thinking of getting themselves killed. But Henry is never afraid of him, in fact, Henry had him wrapped around his fingers obeying his every command like a dog.
"Do that again, or you'll lose fingers." Alex threatened before turning his laptop back on but Henry twirled his wheeling chair around so he would face the other way. Alex groaned in frustration but soon forgotten when Henry straddled him on his lap right over the office chair.
"Please darling. I'm dying right here." Henry says grabbing Alex by his neck before planting kisses over his lips.
"I can see that." Alex smiled letting Henry kisses him further to persuade him to agree with his plan.
"Please. I'll do anything." Henry offered which Alex pulls back staring at him. "Anything?" He asks and Henry contemplates. But soon he softly nodded at him pressing his lips into a thin line.
"Tell me about your past. I want to know everything." Alex asks and that smile faded from Henry's lips.
"Forget it." He says pushing himself off from straddling Alex but he pulled him back over his lap. "Fine! You wanna see her so much. Let's go then." Alex says returning those smiles on his face. Henry jumped in happiness before Alex's laptop chimed interrupting them both.
Alex turned his chair around and starts tapping on the keypad reading the email scowling at the screen. "What?" Henry asks noticed the frown formed on Alex's face.
"Huh, nothing. Just work thing." Alex denied shutting the laptop off before he pulled Henry by his hand, "Let's go to Nora's." He says with smiles on his face.
.
"Hi you guys!" Nora chirped happily when she sees both Henry and Alex entered her rather busy store before Henry grabbed the extra apron and tied it around his waist. "What are you doing?" Alex asks grabbing Henry by his elbow.
"Helping." He says pulling his arms away from Alex before he joins Nora and the new girl behind the counter. "Henry I didn't bring you here to work, I brought you here so you could see her and then we can go." Alex told him trying to get him away from behind the counter but Nora pushed him by his chest to prevent him from entering behind the counter.
"Relax. Take a beat. Go and sit down there and I'll bring you some coffee and croissants." Nora offered pushing Alex further but his gaze still fixed on Henry smiling behind the counter fixing the drinks order for one of the customers.
"Boss you're alright?" Cash asks when he noticed Alex is focusing on his phone frowning for few hours now. The store had finally quiet down and Henry and Nora is at the back making new batch of pastries, chatting with each other.
"Huh- yeah! It was work thing." Alex says shoving the phone back into his pocket. "What work thing?" Cash asks but Alex glared back at him. "Nothing." He says sipping into his second mocha that Henry had him try.
"Let's get lunch." Alex offered causing Cash to stood abruptly following him, confused. "Should I get Henry?" He asks and Alex saw Henry is busy at the back of the store covered in flour over his cheek that made him smile.
"Nah- they're fine for a bit. Damien is here." Alex says grabbing his coat when he saw the look on Cash's face. "What?" Alex asks handed Cash his coat.
"Alex, Damien's dead." Cash corrected him.
He could see Alex's face dropped when he realized he had been calling his current driver his former driver's name. "Gosh- yeah. Slipped through me." Alex says rubbing the back of his neck. "Are you sure you're alright?" Cash asks him which Alex dismissed his worry entirely with the flick of his wrist.
"Alex? Where are you going?" Henry asks when he saw him putting on his coat as Cash followed. "I'm getting lunch for us. Be right back." Alex says before kissing Henry on his lips. He smiled at his gestured became more fluid nowadays that Alex never hides his affection towards anyone.
"Okay. Be safe." Henry says with a smile before he watched Alex disappear out from the store.
The bell chimed few moments later turning Henry around to greet the customers. He was surprised to see it was rather an old guy probably late in his seventies wearing a checkered coats with a grey Bakerboy's hat on his head.
The old guy smiled when he was greeted with Henry's warmest welcomed into the store noticed the empty room filled with the smell of fresh baked and coffee grounds.
"Hello there." He extended his palm out for Henry and he hesitated at first but he didn't want to seem rude by not shaking the gentleman's hand. But the truth is, he was rather surprised by the man's accent hinting they were from the same country.
"Hi, welcome sir. How may I help you?" Henry shook his hand before glimpse of his past appeared in his mind. There were flashes of faces starting with youthful look from a woman, blonde hair, radiant smile and hazel green eyes. Her smile changes from soft to wide breaking to a laughter smile with her head falls back. It was only hers that Henry could see, from her young self to her older self inside this old guy's mind.
It was fast but it was enough for Henry to feel the love they had for each other. But deep within those warm loves, there were pain, suffering and loneliness that he felt when he touched the guy's hand.
Henry pulled back immediately when the images starting to hurt him in between his eyes. He almost stumbled on his own feet but the old guy was close enough to hold him steady. "Easy there lad, won't want to hurt your pretty face now won't we?" He claimed.
"Just- a little trip there." He denies his worries after he steadied himself on the ground feeling embarrassed by himself.
"What can I get ya?" Henry asks headed back behind the counters to take the old guy's order.
"You're not from around here aren't ya?" The old guy stepped closer towards the counter facing Henry.
"Uhh- yeah." Henry stroked behind his neck with his head hung low. He didn't want to exposed himself much to the old guy but something about him felt warm and comforting.
"I'm from Leicester myself before I moved to the States and met the love of my life here." He starts reminiscing the time he had with his wife. Henry smiled when he starts telling how he met his wife back in Brooklyn in front of movie theatre and it felt like fate.
"Don't mind him. He loves to tell our stories to strangers."
A small crisp of air brushes behind Henry's neck when he saw her. The same face that he saw in the old guy's memories, blonde hair like the golden sun as he described her.
Henry gasped softly when he realized the loneliness he felt in this guy was actually because she passed.
"He's not taking care of himself lately. It worries me." She whispered again standing right next to him while he kept on his stories.
"I was upset when the store was closed and I thought I would never had the chance to taste it again." The guy continued bringing Henry's attention back into the conversation. He mentioned he was here earlier this week for the first time which is why he never seen Henry before because he was in recovery.
"I'm sorry- taste what?" He asks and the guy pointed at the pie in a glass dome by the corner.
"It tastes just like how my wife made it and I have been buying it ever since." The guy mentioned and Henry saw the look in his eyes breaking his heart deeply.
"He needs to stop eating the pie and start eating something healthy." The blonde woman spoke again tugging Henrys heart deep into his stomach. Even though she's dead, she had been looking out for him despite her no longer being there.
"Maybe something else then for today? We have something else you can try." Henry tried but the guy was adamant on buying the pie only. So he smiled, grabbing a slice from behind the counter and placed it in a container before he wrapped it in a paper brown bag for him.
"My wife would be so angry if she knew how much I spent on eating those pie." Henry watched as the lady glared at him hinting she knew exactly how much without his knowing.
"On the house sir." Henry declined his crumpled dollar money that he tried to straighten in his trembling wrinkled hands. Henry felt it was necessary thing to do considered how much this guy was surviving to live.
"I can pay- my son, he sent me money each months." He told Henry but Henry shook his head at him with a smile on his face. He noticed the look on his wife's face when he mentioned his son at him.
"It wasn't him. It was me. We lost our boy in the war. He keep forgetting about it. But don't remind him. It'll break his heart knowing he lost us both. I don't want him to hurt himself."
Henry could feel the pain grew in his chest but he tried his best not to show him. "You keep it sir. It's on me. It's the least that I could do. You reminded me of someone." Henry told him and the look on his face lighted up when he heard him. He wasn't lying when he said so. Somehow the old guy reminded him a lot of his grandfather back in Scotland.
"Bless you my boy. I'm William." He handed his hand again for Henry after he finished packing up the pie for him.
"Henry." He smiled softly shaking his hand hesitantly before another flashes of memories hits him. It was them, holding their son lovingly in their arms with flashes of smiles and laughter causing Henry to sway again.
"You're alright there son? You looked rather pale." William asks as Henry starts to feel like he's going to faint but he held on the counter with a fake smile on his face.
"I'm fine. Just a little headache." Henry partially lied. He won't deny the splitting headache he had right now from talking to William's wife.
"Breathe darling. It's not good talking to the dead." She signed stepping away from her husband side. Henry puffed his breath longly with his eyes closed when he felt a comforting palm over his shoulder.
"You okay?" Nora asks besides him and Henry shook his head at her.
"Sorry sir, I need to make sure he's alright. Got everything you need?" She ask and William nodded his head with his hand clutching on the pie Henry had wrapped up for him. "Thank you so much. Both of you." William told them keeping his gaze towards Henry clinging on the counter before he walked away.
"Sir." Henry stopped him from leaving and he turned around facing him again.
"Rosy won't like it if you keep continue on eating those pie. She wanted you to take better care of yourself." Henry says finally and Nora could see the older gentleman gasped clutching on the paper brown bag close to his chest.
"You can- she'd told you that?" Tears began to fill his eyes as he stared at the brown bag in his hand.
"She misses you greatly and it hurts her she can't tell you that anymore." Henry clutched on his chest holding on to Nora's shoulder for balance.
"Henry stopped. You're hurting." Nora whispered quietly but Henry shakes his head at her. "This is what I'm supposed to do Nora. My purpose. My gift." Henry shakes still clinging on Nora trying to keep himself from falling.
"Thank you. It's all I need." William says stepping towards the door taking one last glanced at Henry by the counter. As soon as the door shuts closed, Henry could feel the tugged feeling wrapped around his chest finally disappears causing him to fell on the floor on his knees.
"Henry!" Nora caught his body from hitting the ground but Henry slides himself to lean against the wall beside him.
"I'm okay. I'm okay. Just give me a second." Henry told her leaning his head on the wall trying to hide the shiver running through his fingers.
"I can't give you a second, Alex might be coming back soon. He will ask why on earth are you on the freaking floor." Nora told him.
"I just need a second Nora. I promise." Henry told her which she sighed before she ran towards the lower cabinet to grab Henry a bottle of water.
"Here. Drink this." She handed him the opened cap towards Henry's lips before Henry took a swift gulp to quench his thirst. "Thank you." Henry says sitting up straight with his back pressed against the wall. They were lucky the rest of the staff is no longer at the store for lunch break since Henry is mending the counter while Nora continued on baking her batches of croissant.
"Let's sit over the table." She hinted helping Henry up from the floor by his elbow. Henry stumbled hitting his shoulder on the wall next to him causing him to wince in pain.
"Jeez, you okay? Is it your broken shoulder?" Nora asks but Henry shakes his head at her. Nora exhaled her breath longly helping Henry towards the round table near to the counter. Henry slumped down on the chair tiredly burying his fingers into his blonde hair when he heard the chair screeched in front of him.
"Why would you allow yourself to get hurt like that?" Nora asks curiously.
"My dad told me that my gift has a reason behind it. That it was meant to help people. That my heart is in the right place soon enough." He told her massaging his neck from the strained muscles.
"Hmm." Nora hummed lowering her gaze down on her fingers rested on the table. "Can you help June?" She asks lowly and Henry noticed the longing stare from her. Before Henry could answer her, the door barged opened and Alex came in cheery carrying bags of take outs in his hand. "Lunch is here!" He yelled with Cash followed behind.
.
"Hen?" Alex noticed when Henry barely touches his food and staring blankly instead. He doesn't even noticed when Alex called him until Nora nudges his elbow on the table.
"Huh?" He finally lifted his gaze from the plate when he realized they are staring at him. "You're not eating. Something wrong?" Alex asks him but Henry could only sighs rubbing his palm over his pale face.
"Yeah." He cleared his throat pushing the plate away with Alex shaking his head off at him. He was accustomed by his small appetite and his declined for food and he knew never to press him further for answers.
"Right, I need to get to the office, come on, I'll take you home." Alex told him but Henry frowned. "I'm not leaving. I'm staying till we close up." Henry declined causing Alex to groan in frustration.
"Hen now is not the time for you to be stubborn." Alex says grabbing his coat from the corner followed by Cash.
"You go then." Henry denies Alex's request and grabbed his apron tying it over his waist again.
"Hen-" Nora tried but Henry cuts her off too mid sentence.
"No! I'm staying here. If I'm not safe here it means you're not safe either. He can't take me risking you with it." Henry explained and Nora sighed turning her gaze back to Alex.
"He's right." Alex turned his head sharply at her with a crooked eyebrow.
"Fuck no! Henry! Let's go!" He ordered him with his voice sharp but Henry sighed rolling his eyes at him.
"Alex, maybe I'll stay here. I'll keep an eye on him." Cash offered but Alex couldn't keep his eyes off of Henry standing behind the counter.
"Fine." Alex says but before he left the store, he marched right towards Henry pulling him by his neck and crashed their lips together. Henry was stunned by his gestured when he felt Alex's lips were locking into his.
"A single scratch and I'm chaining you up in bed. You hear me?" Alex whispered staring at Henry's swollen parted lips swallowing his throat dryly. He nodded silently before Alex pressed another kiss on his lips and left leaving both Cash and Nora pressing their lips in a thin line hiding their happy expressions.
"Shut up." Henry told them but they both snickered a laugh at each other. "Cash are you sure Alex would be alright without you?" He asks out of sudden and Cash was currently helping Nora clearing up the lunches causing him stopped abruptly when he heard Henry questions.
"Yeah. He can take care of himself." Cash signed noticed Henry's fall silent after his reply.
"Alex is surrounded by his people at the office. No one would ever dare to touch him." Nora could see how Henry still hesitated but their thoughts are interrupted when a customer stepped in breaking their conversation mid way.
.
Alex could feel his heart is stammering in his heart when he left Henry back at the store but he had no choice but to go back at work. The emails he had been received since yesterday has been puzzling him. He had no idea how on earth the guy he met months ago in Birmingham suddenly showed up in his email.
A meeting, with him, personally. It scares Alex most considering that months ago, he chased him away from finding his brother. The clairvoyant that Alex had desperately looking for but somehow forgotten his reason on finding him. He would admit that Henry had somehow filled the amount of time he had from obsessing over finding his sister.
As soon as he stepped out from the elevator, all his men already stood by the hallway waiting for him.
"Talk." His voice low almost a growl when he walked along the hallway and one of his loyal man walked behind him closer than any of them.
"A guy walked in. Said you were expecting him. We tried stopping him but he handed us this." The guy handed a piece of paper that has a name written on it. Alex stopped mid hallway unfolded the paper and read the hand writing scribbled on the plain paper.
Henry Fox
Alex clenched his jaw tight at the word he had long forgotten considered presumably missing for months now.
"Why the hell would he gave you this?" He asks but the guy shrugged.
"Beats me. All I know is that name means something to you." Alex won't deny the truth hidden in those words. This guy was important in finding June and he had abandoned his mission in finding him since he felt useless chasing a ghost his entire life. But somehow the ghost reappeared and somehow, Alex felt new hope in finding his sister if he ever found this guy.
He opened the door of his office wide finding a man with blonde hair that kind of reminds him of Henry sitting in his rather expensive suit.
"Leave us." Alex told the rest of his men to stay outside causing them to shot their gaze at him. "Boss." He called in disbelief knowing leaving Alex with one guy won't make any difference because he can practically take care of himself.
"I said leave." Alex seethed before he pushed the door closed leaving his men stunned behind before he turned to face the guy sitting on the chair by his desk.
"Phillip am I right?" He asks and the guy twirled around with his leg crossed and a smirked formed on his face.
"Glad you'd remember." He says bluntly.
"What the fuck you're doing here in my office?" Alex asks pulling out his coat and hanged it on the hanger by the corner before taking his seat at his desk.
Phillip still had that smirked hooked on his lips when he twirled his seat back to face Alex across the desk.
"How was the search for your sister going?" He asks pulling Alex's gaze back at him.
"My sister has nothing to do with you. Tell me what you want." He asks sternly keeping his gaze forward at the blue eyed man sitting in front of him.
He scoffed, shaking his head softly before he uncrossed his legs and switched for the other leg.
"How much do you know about your house guest Mr Claremont-Diaz? Or should I call you Alex instead?" He starts causing Alex to frown.
"Earned your rights." He replied but Phillip smirked continues.
"You see I have been looking for my missing brother, the so called 'Clairvoyant' as you say it. It dawned on me, why the fuck would it be so hard for me to look for him cause I am that resourceful to find someone. You would understand that, you practically have your men searched for your sister your whole life." He smirked bringing his perfectly manicured finger over his top lip.
Alex stared at him waiting patiently for him to continue with the same glare in his eyes.
"Then it hits me. Someone must have been hiding him. Keeping him safe, from all the possibilities in the world." He could see the look on Alex's face dropped when he starts rambling in his words.
"What's your point?" He asks clueless.
Phillip sighed unfolding his crossed leg on the floor before he stood up staring at Alex behind the desk. He leaned forward with his arms stretched, towering himself over Alex feeling high himself still keeping that smirk on his face.
"For someone so powerful, how can you be so fucking dumb?" He whispered but Alex wasn't amused by the fact his words is practically a death wish on his behalf and Alex was ready to reach for his gun underneath his desk.
"I'd be careful on my words if I wanna walked out of here alive." Alex turned to smirk at the blonde guy towering before him.
But Phillip wasn't threatened by his words or his gaze and instead, he straightened himself up before he turned to grab his coat draped over the chair he sat on earlier.
"Oh by the way." He turned abruptly facing Alex on the desk again.
"Do you even know what my brother looks like? I mean- you have been searching for him you ought to know what he looks like right?" He asks shoving his hand inside his coat pocket before he pulled out a small piece of paper.
He stared at the paper in his hand before Alex watched him slammed it down on his desk. "People can be non predictive, manipulative liar. Don't say I didn't warn ya." Phillip slides the paper closer to Alex on his desk. He smiled profoundly excited when he shoved the paper on Alex's desk right before he left his office.
Alex watched as he closed the door shut before his eyes landed on the piece of paper on his desk. He reached out grabbing the paper when he realized it was actually a photo crumpled over the edges.
He flipped the photo to see a group of three people when he realized their faces looks rather familiar. The photo contained two men shared the same highlight blonde hair looked not more than twenty years old with a red haired girl right in the middle with her arms hooked around their neck.
He realized Phillip on the right end when he recognized the one on the left was none other than Henry himself. He frowned flipping the photo around to see a small cursive handwriting at the end,
Phillip, Beatrice, and Henry Fox
2009
The sudden realization hits Alex right in the core when he realized Henry Fox was none other than Henry himself. His Henry.
He could feel tears building up in his eyes before he pulled out his drawer next to him and starts rummaging through the items when he found it, crumpled and faded.
He eyed the photo he found back in Broadmoor when he tried to locate Henry Fox. The photo is years older than the one Phillip gave him but it was almost the same. He can see it now. The story of Henry being locked away for a decade had similarities with the guy he tried to find. His sister might have dye her hair differently when she grew up in her rebellion stage but she still had that familiar smile on her face similar to Henry.
He could feel rage building inside of him when he realized how much Henry hide this from him. The one person he trusted the most in the world had actually lied his biggest secrets from Alex knowing how much he needed to find him in helping finding his sister.
Everything makes sense now. Everyone hiding the fact that Henry is the person he was looking for months perhaps years. He could feel the burning fire rising in his chest with his palm closed on his fist when he decides to get out of the office to see the one person that can actually explained this better than anybody else. He had to go and see Shan.
.
"Are we going to grab him?" Charles asks as Phillip stared out the window of the car staring at Henry serving customers with that smile on his face. He felt sudden jealousy over the simple life he had built remembering how much he had destroyed his. His parents are dead because of trying to find some answers for him, the reason for him being born this way and Phillip had never forgiven Henry for it.
His sister killed herself for not being able to live in that house anymore knowing the guilt eating her up and hearing Henry having nightmares every night and the constant fear living around him. He wont deny how much he was afraid of Henry at the time. Which is the reason why he had him locked up in Broadmoor in the first place.
"We'll grab him later. I wanna make sure he's alone when we did." He replied before signing the driver to drove them off.
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