Chapter Song: "Let Her Go" by Passenger (Diogo Picarra Cover) - The best cover of this song, in my opinion!

"Well you see her when you fall asleep... But never to touch and never to keep... Because you loved her too much and you dived too deep..."

My hand landed on my cheek, feeling the warming spot where Henry just kissed me. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I wanted to and you're my wife," Henry responded. "Come on, Ally. Can't we just have a moment...together?"

"Do you think in you're in the right place to ask that?" I turned around and started down the remaining distance of the path. 

Before long, Henry's fingers laced through mine. I tried to pull away, but he refused to let go. I glared at him as a final warning, but the pleading in his vulnerable gaze was hard to overlook.

"I'm not," he said.  "But I'm trying here, Ally. Really."

A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips as he stealthily took a step forward, pulling me with him. Was he sincerely content by holding my hand?

Hand in hand, we walked through the rest of the field together.

After breakfast, all of us except for Rick's parents traveled to a carnival nearby. It was a small town so there wasn't anything too extravagant like Six Flags. Definitely no big rollercoasters, but even if there was, I had an excuse this time not to go on it.

As we maneuvered through the crowd, Henry glanced back at me.  He suddenly stopped and grabbed my hand, leading me closely behind him. With my family around, I didn't dare do anything to make them suspicious.

"The kids want to go on the mini-rollercoaster. Henry, did you want to join us?" Rick asked. 

Henry looked over at me as if he was asking for my permission. "No, that's okay. I'll stay here to keep Ally company."

I removed my hand from his and Henry's gaze darted to our severed hands.  "No, I'll be fine. Go on."

"It'll be uneven since there's four of them so I'll just stay back."

Henry waved for them to go on without him.  We watched as they entered the line from behind the fence.

"How are you feeling? Is it too hot?" Henry suddenly asked.

"No, I'm fine," I said. 

"Are you thirsty or hungry?"

"Really, Henry, I'm okay."

There was a pause in our conversation. The  silence between us more blatant than the sounds of children's screams and laughter around us.

"Let's go over there," Henry suggested.

"Where?"

Henry walked away on his own, and I, not wanting to lose him in the crowd, followed him. 

He stopped at a shooting game in the arcade area.  The goal of game was to shoot down all of the three moving targets which were represented by evil villains - a robber, a con artist, and a pirate.

"Would you like to play?" Henry asked me, and I shook my head.

"No, I'll just watch. I'm not very good at these games," I said, eyeing the fluffy unicorn. Henry quickly caught on and smiled with a determined confidence.

He handed the man in a sheriff costume a twenty dollar bill and in return, he received twelve wooden bullets.  Henry straightened his stance as he prepared himself to take aim.  His eyes barely narrowed as he pressed his lips together in concentration.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Before I could blink twice, all of the bad guys were down.  Henry had shot them all with one try. I was so impressed that I began clapping my hands like a seal.  When I noticed him looking at me, I cleared my throat and regained my composure.

"Which one would your girlfriend like?" The sheriff asked Henry.

"Actually, she's my wife," Henry told him with a proud declaration.

"She's one lucky lass," he said.  I smiled nervously.  Was I really lucky?

"We'll take the blue unicorn up there."

While we headed back to find the others, I kept finding myself stealing glances at Henry. Not because of him, but because of the stuffed animal in his arms.  It was so damn cute!  I remembered as a kid always wanting one of those things, but now as an adult, these things shouldn't hold any importance.

"I saw you looking at it," Henry spoke.

"No, I wasn't," I immediately challenged.

"Do you even know what I'm talking about?"

"Yes?"

"Ally, did you know? You're not a very good liar sometimes," he chuckled.  I wasn't a very good liar.

Alexis ran up to us when she noticed Henry and I.

"How was the ride?" I asked her.

"I almost died!" Alexis dramatically exclaimed.  "Kidding.  It was nothing compared to Six Flags." 

Her eyes landed on the stuffed animal Henry was holding and her face lit like a Christmas tree. "Oh my gosh! That unicorn is so cute! Uncle Henry, did you win that for Ally?"

"No, it's actually for you. I won it for you," Henry answered.  

Alexis' eyes widened as she gasped.  "Are you for real?"

"Of course I'm for real.  She's all yours," Henry said as he gave her the stuffed toy.

Alexis hugged the unicorn happily, swaying it back and forth. "Thank you, Uncle Henry."

When everyone was back together, we decided to go on the Ferris wheel next. Even though I wasn't the biggest fan of heights, I couldn't back out on this one.

The seat rocked forward when we stepped on, causing my heart to jump in my throat. The ride attendant made sure our seatbelt was secure before he locked us both in with the bar.  Now there was absolutely no way of getting off.

The wheel began to shift us backwards slowly. The sudden halt of the wheel for others to get on the next seat abrupt enough to make our cart oscillate.

"Are you okay, Ally?" Henry asked, noticing my faint panting.

"Yeah, yeah, fine," I barely managed to say. I kept my gaze to the other side, trying to distract myself with the beautiful scenery.

After a couple more exchanges, we were right at the top.  As it finally began to go full circle, I swiftly reached out for Henry's hand and squeezed it. 

"Say something," I mumble, closing my eyes shut.

"What?"

"Distract me."

Henry caught on to my trepidation and scrambled with mumbled words before coming up with something to say.  "Okay....The name.  Have you thought of any names for the baby?"

I swallowed. "No, not yet.  I don't know the sex yet. So until then."

"Umm.  Nancy told me you were craving kale lately.  Was that true?"

I nodded feverishly.  "A couple days ago, but no, I'm not craving for it anymore."

"What are you craving for now then?"

"With you around...I don't know."

Henry always clouded my thoughts when he was around me. It was an unconscious effect he'd always had on me up until now, and I will never get used to it.

Later in the evening, we joined Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester at a family bar. Everyone was worn out from spending the whole day at the carnival, and the bar was the perfect, relaxing way to end the night. We met many friends of the Sylvesters, mostly those who had farms nearby: the Masons, Smiths, and the Williams.  They were all very kind and welcomed us with a warm, southern nature.

After coming back from using the bathroom, I noticed almost all of my party was missing. Only Eve sat at the tables we occupied.  When I scanned the bar, everyone was there dancing the night away like there was no tomorrow. The dance floor was filled with people of all ages, from the young to the old.  Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester looked especially lively tonight as they grooved across the dance floor.

I was just about to return to the table when I caught sight of Henry dancing with Alexis. He held her hands, swaying them back and forth to the country music.  She spun around so effortlessly. They both looked so happy.  Seeing Alexis and Henry in permanent smiles and giggling freely together, it melted my heart. It made me wonder if Henry would actually make a good father.  I shook away the thought and continued over to the table.

"You're back," Eve said. "Why don't you go dance for a bit?"

"I don't know. You know I can't dance. Besides, I'm still exhausted."

"Right, of course.  I keep forgetting that you and Henry are expecting. It's a lot sooner than I expected, but I don't even care because I'm so excited for you two, and I know Henry will be an amazing father."

I glanced over to Henry and Alexis dancing again then back at Eve. "I hoped so too."

Eve's eyes narrowed with confusion.  "What do you mean you 'hoped so'?"

"Nothing. I just meant...Henry still has yet to learn more about children. Because I don't think he's been around any other kids except for Alexis and Eason.  I just worry a little bit as new parents."

"Don't worry about it, okay? It's a learning experience.  Even Rick is still learning new things everyday," Eve chuckled.  "Just be patient towards each other.  Talk out any issues you might have and above all, trust each other. Everything will be fine. Having children isn't easy, but-" she paused to steal a long glance at her daughter and son now both dancing with her husband, "being a mom is definitely one of the most wonderful experiences you'll ever have."

I always saw Eve as a mother figure to me.  She was wise, beautiful, and caring.  She had the perfect words to tell me whenever I was feeling down. 

My eyes casted down to my stomach, and I smiled, knowing that one day, everything will be okay as long as I had this baby.

"Why aren't you dancing, Auntie Ally?" Alexis said, catching me off guard.  When did she get here?

"I don't feel like dancing yet," I told her, sweetly. "How about you? Why'd you come back?"

"Uncle Henry kept looking your way so I thought I'll hand him over to you for a while."

I looked past her, finding a solo Henry clapping along with the crowd as others danced on the floor.

"Come on, he's waiting for you," she said, taking my hand.

I looked to Eve for help, but she only urged me to go even though she knew I was never the dancing type. I relented and followed as Alexis led me towards Henry who was still trying to act oblivious.

"Henry, here she is," Alexis said proudly.

"Thank you, Alexis," Henry said with a smile. She acknowledged with a nod and ran back to her mother.

Without saying a word to each other, Henry and I walked awkwardly together towards the dance floor which was now engulfed by swaying couples. The last time we danced, the atmosphere was way different. There was no one around but us. Barely any lighting. More intimate.  Could we ever go back to that?

My arms hesitantly wounded around Henry's shoulders.  My heart drummed against my ribcage when his hands found my waist as we both exchanged fleeting glances.

While we moved to the slow country song, I averted my gaze, afraid that if I stared into his mesmerizing eyes long enough, I'd inevitably fall back into him.

.....

"Please, Sue. Don't go," Papa begged with tears in his eyes. "I promise it won't happen again. I'm so sorry. Please."

"Get out of my way," my mom said through gritted teeth.

Papa stood in front of the door as my mother tried to tread past him.  She had a small suitcase in her hand and her purse in the other.  Eve, Chris, and I stood on the opposite side of the room sobbing as we observed the scene before us, pleading for our mother to stay with our cries.

As a last resort, we watched our Papa drop to his knees. "Please, honey.  It was a mistake. Please forgive me."

Mom didn't say anything. She didn't have anything to say. She always had something to say.  She ignored my father's plea, moving past him. He grabbed her legs, throwing away the last piece of his pride. 

"I didn't mean it," my father cried.  "I was wrong.  I deserve to be punished a million times for what I did. I'm so sorry. T-Think of the children. Of our children. They'll be motherless.  Please. I beg of you. We won't make it without you."

"Let me go, Trent. I've had enough of this life. Just let me be free now."

"No, please. No."

I needed to do something.  I needed to fix this or else I won't be able to see her ever again.  I needed to yell. I needed my voice to be heard. Anything.

"Momma, please don't go," I cried, as I ran over to Papa's side. He was still clinging on to her, but it was hopeless.  Her eyes were no longer her eyes.  They held so much darkness, so much pain.  She was no longer my mother.

"Alex, honey. I'm sorry. I have to go," she said, tears surfacing in her eyes.

"But why? Is it because of me? Are you leaving because of me? Did I do something bad?"

Papa freed my mother for a moment as she bent down to hold my face gently between her palms.

"No, it's not you. Don't ever think that. It's not your fault. It's all mommy's fault, okay? She took a couple heavy breaths. "I love you. So much. Goodbye."

Before Papa could stop her, she was already out the door, leaving all of us behind her.

"Momma!"

"Ally."

"Don't go! Please don't leave me!"

"Ally."

"Ally, honey, I'm so sorry. Momma's gone."

"No, Papa, tell her to come back," I cried out selfishly.  He only looked at me, his face completely broken.  His heart completely shattered...

"Ally, baby. It's only a dream."

I woke up to be greeted with darkness.  My pajamas were drenched in sweat and my heart pounded in my ears. I noticed Henry sitting beside me. Although it was dark, I could still make out those unforgettable eyes.

Immediately, I launched myself from the bed and threw my arms over Henry's shoulder, sobbing deliriously in his protective embrace.

Author's Note
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