Connected by the Tide (26 page)

“What’s going on?”

“I want my mom to come to the wedding, but Coen won’t allow it. He was pissed when I said she was coming.”

“I’m not following. Why wouldn’t he want your mom to be there?”

She shook her head. “That’s another long story. He doesn’t like her and says she’ll just ruin the day, cause more trouble, or make things worse in some way. He refused to let her come. When I said she was, he flipped out and just stormed out, saying he would come back when I came to my senses.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Talk to him again when he’s calm.”

“And if he doesn’t calm down?”

“Give him what he wants.”

“I don’t know what advice I can give. I really don’t understand the situation.”

“He’s just being protective.”

That still didn’t make sense to Henry. Sydney never talked about her family
, so he didn’t understand what was so horrible about her mom. But he knew Coen was a good guy. He wouldn’t throw a tantrum like that unless it was important. “Can I get you anything?”

“No,” she said with sniff. “I just want to go to sleep and forget about it.”

“Okay.”

“Thanks for letting me come over.”

“Of course.”

She closed her eyes and cuddled with the pillow, her cries disappearing. Henry sat there and didn’t move, waiting for her to fall asleep. It seemed
like having him near her calmed her enough for her to close her eyes and drift off.

Henry grabbed an extra pillow and blanket and moved to the floor. He stared at the ceiling for a long time until his phone vibrated next to him. He looked at the screen.

Can you check on Sydney for me?

It was Coen.
Henry texted back.
She’s at my place

She okay?

She’s upset but she’s fine

Thanks

Yeah. Where R U?

My old place.
I’m sleeping on the couch.

You’re
gonna work it out, right?

Don’t ever question my love for her. I’m just pissed at her stupidity right now.

I’ll stay out of it.

Consider yourself lucky
.

I’ll make sure she goes to school tomorrow.

Thanks

Night

Henry put the phone down and set his alarm. He was thinking about Ren, hoping she was okay. He pulled out his phone and texted her.

I just wanted you to know how much I love you. I know you’re awake.

He hoped the message would hit her in the right place. It was the same one she had sent him. He hated sleeping without her. It was like not having air. His phone lit up.

I love you
, too.

He breathed a sigh of relief then fell asleep.

34

Sydney didn’t want to go to school the next morning, but Henry made her. He followed her to school and waited for her to walk to class so she wouldn’t just drive off when he was gone.

He went to class and barely made it before the period started.

Ren looked at him when he sat down in his chair.

“I missed you last night,” he said out loud, not caring t
hat other people could hear him.

“I missed you
, too.”

He grabbed her hand
and kissed it, then turned to the front of the room. Henry didn’t care about the lesson they were doing. He was certain he would if he wasn’t so distracted by Ren. The time ticked by so slowly, and he urged the clock to go faster.

When the class was finally over, he left the classroom and waited for her.

“Baby, I’m so sorry. You know I would never hurt you on purpose.”

“
It’s okay, Henry. It—it just hurt.”

“I know,” he said quietly.

“I just feel like you don’t love me the way you love her.”

He stared at her. “You’re right. I don’t.”

Her eyes widened.

“I love you more, baby. There’s no comparison.”

“But you’ve never written a poem like that about me.”

“You know why people write poems? Because they are sad and depressed,
would rather express their feelings on paper than go out and be happy. I’m more than happy with you, Ren. I don’t want to be alone so I can write my feelings. I would rather be with you.”

She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry I got upset.”

“It’s okay. I understood why you felt that way. I would have come after you, but I knew you wanted your space.”

She nodded.

“Wanna get some lunch?”

“Yeah
, sure.”

“Okay.” He grabbed her face and kissed her, massaging her lips with his own. His body burst in flames as soon as he touched her. “You taste better every time I kiss you.”

“I got a new Chapstick.”

“Oh. Maybe that’s what it is.”

She chuckled. “You like it?”

“I like anything that touches you.”

They turned toward the cafeteria and walked down the walkway, hand in hand.

“My brother talked to my mom.”

“Oh. He did?”

She didn’t seem that surprised or interested, but Henry assumed s
he was still upset about their fight. “Yeah. He says he’s going to try to forgive her.”

“That’s progress, right?”

“Yeah. I’m glad my brother did it. I think he’s really come back to what he used to be.”

“I’m glad.”

“So what do you want to do tonight?”

“Sex.”

“Sex?”

“Yeah.”

“You should be more specific.”

“I think you understand my meaning exactly.”

He smiled. “I might. How’s your brother?”

“He’s good. He’s back at school.”

“Anyone bother him?”

“It doesn’t seem like it.”

“That’s good.”

They walked into the cafeteria then got their food. Henry paid for it like he always did.

“Henry, I can pay for my food.”

“Like I already said, my girlfriend doesn’t pay for anything.”

She sighed but didn’t press the argument.

They walked to the table where they always sat. Everyone was there but Coen. His seat was vacant. Sydney poked the fruit in her cup, totally depressed over his absence.

“How are you feeling?” Henry asked.

“Miserable,” Sydney said. “Thanks for letting me sleep with you last night.”

“Yeah,” Henry said.

Ren flinched beside him. “She slept with you?” She glared at Henry, an inferno of anger and hurt in her eyes.
Her lips were pressed tight together, like she was ready to shout. Her hands curled into fists on the table. Henry had never seen her so upset. It looked like she might slap him across the face. The pain in her eyes was what he noticed the most. It was like her heart had shattered into pieces, damaged beyond repair. “So when I was at home, crying myself to sleep, you were sleeping with
her
?” Ren stood up and pushed her food away. “Fuck you, Henry.”

Derek dropped his fork on the table, where it clattered loudly. Nancy leaned back, her eyes wide with fright. Sydney had fear in her eyes, unsure what she did wrong.

Henry stood up. “Baby, it’s not like it seems.”

She slapped him hard across the face. “The one thi
ng I asked you to do was not lie to me. That was it.” Tears streamed down her face. She grabbed her bag and stormed off.

After Henry recovered from the shock
, he chased after her. “Ren!”

Ren burst through the doors then walked down the sidewalk.

Henry sprinted after her and grabbed her by the arm. “Renee, it’s not like how it seems.”

“Fuck you,” she said as she pushed him.

“I didn’t sleep with her! I slept on the floor, thinking about you. She stayed on my bed, fully clothed. Nothing happened.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I forgot about it. All I was thinking about today was you.”

“I can’t do this anymore. I’m tired of being second best, Henry. You told me I deserve something better
, and I’m taking your advice.”

He grabbed her arm. “Baby, you aren’t second best. I love you with my whole heart. There’s no room for anyone else!”

She jerked her arm away. “Don’t lie to me. First the poem, and now this. I’m done with you.”

Henry felt his heart break. “Renee, listen to me. She and Coen got in a fight. She needed somewhere to stay. What was I supposed to say? No?”

“Yes! You were supposed to say no. I don’t care if you spend time with her, talk to her, but that crossed a line, Henry. It’s obvious you’re still in love with her.”

“No
, I’m not! I wouldn’t lie to you about that.”

“It didn’t seem that way in the poem.”

“I wrote that two fucking years ago! Two years, Renee! I don’t feel that way anymore. I wouldn’t have made love to you if someone else was in my heart. I wouldn’t have risked my life to protect your brother if I wasn’t madly in love with you. I wouldn’t have met your family if I didn’t want to marry you. I wouldn’t have opened up to you about all my personal baggage, something I never even told Sydney, if you weren’t the love of my life.”

Tears streamed down her face
, and she shook her head slightly. “We’re over, Henry.”

“What? No, we aren’t. This is a fight. Couples fight. They don’t just break up.”

“This isn’t a fight,” she said through her tears. “This is a breakup. We’re done.”

Tears dripped
from his eyes when he saw the resignation in her face. She was broken beyond repair. He’d pushed her too far this time. His chest heaved with painful breaths. “Baby, I’m not lying. I don’t love Sydney. I love you, just you.” He grabbed her face and held her close. “Please believe me. Please. I can’t live without you. Don’t do this to me.”

She cried harder. “I’m sorry.”

“I’ll do anything.” Tears dripped from his chin and landed on her lips. “Please don’t leave me. I’ll do anything. I’ll never see Sydney again if you want. Whatever you want, I’ll do. Please, baby.”

She pulled his hands away. “No.”

He sobbed, not caring if anyone saw him. “Please don’t do this to me.  You’re making a mistake. You can trust me, Renee.”

“No, I can’t.” S
he wiped her tears away. “I can’t do this anymore. You love Sydney. You always have. I’ll always be the girl you settled for.”

“Nothing could be further from the truth.”

She stepped away and crossed her arms over her chest. Tears fell down her face, making her cheeks shine in the light of the sun. Henry felt his whole world freeze over in solid ice, killing everything he loved and adored. She was the light of his life, the sun that gave life to everything it touched. She was the one, the greatest love he had ever known, the first woman he had ever made love to, the first person he had ever loved with his whole heart.

“Goodbye, Henry.” She turned away and left him standing alone.

Henry felt his body shake as he became weak in the knees. The pain was so much. It was unbearable, uncontrollable. His lungs felt too small, like he couldn’t breathe fast enough. His eyes continued to drip with tears, falling down his face and making drops on the concrete. All the stability he felt was shattered and broken. He’d lost his dad, his mom, and his brother all over again. She was his family, the missing link to his happiness, and now she was gone, leaving him in complete darkness. Henry fell to his knees, not having a reason to go on.

35

He was totally numb. He
lay on his bed, listening to the sounds of the house. Mitch had a girl over, and his headboard collided against his bedroom wall. He heard the coffee pot brew in the kitchen. The refrigerator opened and closed many times, squealing when the hinges moved.

A part
y happened at some point. Music played loudly in the house, the bass thumping against his ears. Glass cracked against the ground as something was knocked over and broken. A girl moaned as she got fucked down the hall. Henry didn’t move. Time had no meaning or relevance. He wasn’t sure where he was or what he was doing.

He didn’t go to school for the rest of the week. He wondered if Ren did. Against his control, he called Ren and left her voicemails, crying into every message he left for her. He banged on her front door
, but she never answered. He vaguely remembered Perry barking in the background.

Now he was in his room again, unsure how he
’d gotten there. Two empty bottles of whiskey were on his nightstand. He couldn’t remember when he drank them. His phone went off, but if it didn’t have Ren’s name on it, then he didn’t answer it. There was no one he wanted to talk to.

Someone pounded on his bedroom window, but h
e still didn’t move. The latch moved, and it slid open. He shielded his eyes from the light as he looked up.

“Henry?”
It was Nancy.

“What?”

She climbed through the window then fell on his bed. Derek dropped in a moment later.

Henry didn’t move.

“Henry, what’s going on?” Nancy asked.

“I was sleeping.”

Derek eyed him, seeing the booze everywhere and the depression on his face. “It doesn’t look like you were sleeping.”

“Why haven’t you been at school?” Nancy said.

“I didn’t feel like going,” he snapped.

“Did you and Ren break
up?”

Just her name made his heart convulse in pain. Unable to speak, he just nodded.

“Oh, Henry.” She wrapped her arms around him and held him close. “It’s okay.”

“No
, it isn’t.”

She rubbed his back. “I’m so sorry. Sydney has been so worried about you.”

He said nothing.

“She’s going to call off the wedding.”

That caught his attention. “What?”

“When she realizes what happened, she’ll reschedule it. You know her, Henry. She can’t do that when you’re this miserable.”

He sighed. “So she knows we broke up?”

“No. We’ve all been trying to figure
that out. No one could track either of you down. When Coen went to her place, she didn’t answer. When we asked Andre, he said he hadn’t talked to his sister in a while.”

“Just tell her we’re fine.”

“What?”

“Just do it. I keep ruining her wedding day
, and I’m sick of it. Let’s just get it over with.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. When is it again?”

“In a few days.”

“That’s too late to cancel.”

“So you want me just to lie to her?”

“Yeah.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Tell her we got into a fight but we’re fine. I can keep up the charade for a few days.”

She rubbed his back. “I’m so sorry, Henry.”

He rested his face in his hands. “Can you leave now?”

“We aren’t leaving you, Henry.”

“Get the fuck out,” he snapped.

Her hand stilled.

“Go,” he pressed.

Derek grabbed her arm. “Let’s give him space, Nancy.”

She looked like she might cry. “Okay,” she whispered.

Derek closed the window and fixed the blinds. “Sorry about that.”

“Whatever,” Henry said.

Derek took Nancy’s hand then guided her out of the bedroom. He shut the door and left Henry in darkness again. He
lay down and drank some more. Being drunk helped the pain somewhat. Now he understood why his brother drank his problems away.

His phone started ringi
ng on the nightstand. He sat still, hoping it was Ren. It never was. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but he knew it had been several days. She wasn’t coming back to him. She was gone.

The phone rang again
, but he ignored it.

There was a loud bang against the window.

“Leave me the fuck alone!” Henry yelled.

“Open the fucking door, asshole!” It was Bryce.

“Go fuck yourself.”

Bryce walked to the house then banged on the front door until someone opened it. He walked through
the house then pushed the bedroom door open. “What the hell is going on?”
              Henry didn’t look at him.

“You haven’t called me in four days. Are you moving or what?”

“No.”

Bryce came
farther into the room and saw the bottles on the nightstand. His voice dropped. “What’s going on?”

Henry turned on his side. “Get the hell out of my room.”

Bryce grabbed the bottles then threw them in the garbage. “So when I get over my addiction, you start one?”

“Piss off.”

“What the hell happened?”

Henry blinked back the tears. “She left me.”

Bryce bowed his head then sighed. He came closer to Henry and sat on the bed beside him. “I’m sorry, man. What happened?”

“She thinks I’m in love with Sydney.”

“Oh.”

“Right now, I feel the exact opposite for her. I fucking hate her.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Yes
, I do.”

“What happened?”

“Sydney slept over here because she and her fiancé got into a fight. She took the bed and I stayed on the floor.”

“You didn’t fool around?”

“Fuck no. Ren doesn’t believe me. She thinks I’m in love with Sydney.”

“She’s in love with you. You might be able to get her back.”

“She doesn’t want me.”

“The reason why I went back to
Mom was because she asked me to. She did it for you.”

Henry finally looked at him. “What are you talking about?”

“She called me the next day, and we met up. She asked me to do it. Somehow, she convinced me. She said she needed to put our family back together so she could make you whole.”

Now Henry felt worse. “I lost the greatest thing that ever happened to me.”

“Try to get her back.”

“I tried everything. She won’t even talk to me.”

“Well, you can’t stay buried in here forever.”

Henry sighed. “I can’t go to school.”

“Because of Ren?”

“It’s too hard.”

Bryce patted him on the back. “Maybe if you see her something will happen.”

“No, it won’t. But I have to go school and pretend everything is okay anyway.”

“Why?”
              “Sydney is getting married this weekend.”

“So?”

“If she knows what happened, she’ll call it off since I’m so upset. I don’t want her to do that.”

“You two have the oddest relationship.”

“I know.”

“Then let’s get you back on your feet. I hate to be a dick right now, but you need to shower.”

“I don’t even know what day it is.”

“Wednesday.”

“Wow.”

“
Yeah. I’ll start the shower.”

Bryce took him out for a meal a
nd tried to get his mind off Ren. Nothing worked, but Henry appreciated the help anyway. His mind was floating out of his body, no longer part of him. The pain was too much. He wanted to drink an entire bottle on Nyquil just so he wouldn’t be awake to deal with this pain.

Bryce took him home and slept on the floor.

“What are you doing?” Henry asked.

“I’m too tired to drive home.”

“I’ll be fine,” he snapped.

“I
gotta make sure you go to school tomorrow.”

“I can manage.”

“And so you won’t drink anything.”

“You’re one to talk.”

Bryce said nothing, becoming silent.

Henry stared at the ceiling until he closed his eyes and
fell asleep.

The next morning, he drove to school and felt his heart
shatter when he saw Ren’s car. He wished he didn’t have a class with her. If he saw her face, he would start crying. He waited until the very last moment before he had to walk into their classroom. He moved to the back corner, sitting as far away from her as possible. She took the seat in the opposite corner. He didn’t look at her because he wouldn’t let himself. But he didn’t concentrate, either. He just turned in his assignments, accepting his late credit instead of getting a zero, then wrote down the new homework. When the period ended, he remained in his seat until Ren was gone. Then he got up and advanced to the cafeteria.

Before he
moved inside, he took a deep breath and forced himself to pretend that he was okay. He walked through the doors and took his seat.

“Are you okay?” Sydney said immediately. “I’ve been trying to call you for days.”

“I’m fine,” he said with a smile. “I had to get a new phone before Ren dropped it in the toilet.” He rolled his eyes. “She’s beautiful, but dumb.”

Nan
cy and Derek didn’t react to his words, going along with it.

“So everything is okay between you two?”

“Yeah, of course,” he said. “She and I got into a fight, but we worked it out, having tons of make-up sex afterward.”

Sydney stared at him
, watching his expression.

“That double date we had was so much
fun,” Nancy said. “I didn’t know Ren was so good at air hockey.”

Sydney looked at her. “You went on a double date?”

“Yeah,” Derek said. “We went to the movies then the arcade because we’re poor.”

Sydney seemed to buy this
, because she relaxed. “Oh, okay.”

Coen kissed her. “I told you were worrying over nothing.”

“I guess so,” she said.

“So, we got everything ready for the wedding?” Henry asked.

“I think so,” Sydney said. “But I’m still stressed out. I feel like I’m forgetting something.”

“You got everything,” Nancy said. “I made sure of it.”

“Is your mom coming?” Henry asked.

Coen looked away, obviously annoyed by the question.

“Yes, she is,” Sydney said.

Henry dropped the subject. “So do I need to practice anything? I just walk you down the aisle, right?”

“I was gonna ask if you could do something else,” Sydney said.

“What?” Henry asked. “I’ll do anything.”

“Could you just check on everything during the day? Make sure everyone has everything and is in the right place?”

“I can do that,” he said with a nod.

Sydney sighed. “I need to get to class.”

“Me
, too,” Coen said. “Let’s go, baby.”

They grabbed their stuff and left.

As soon as they were gone, Henry felt the darkness descend. His smile dropped, and his heart felt hollow and empty. He wanted to get this wedding over with so he could let himself fall apart.

“You were convincing,” Nancy said.

“You think?” Henry asked.

Derek looked at him. “You should consider acting.”

“I can’t keep this up for long. I’m coming clean as soon as the wedding is over.”

“What are you going to say when Sydney realizes Ren isn’t at the wedding?”

“I’ll tell her she got food poisoning or something.”

Nancy nodded. “Okay.”

Henry slumped in his chair. “I’m gonna go to class.”

“Maybe you should make an excuse
for why you won’t be around for a few days,” Nancy said. “The less you see Sydney, the more convincing you’ll be.”

“Good point. Tell her I have a
final, to work, and write an article for the paper.”

“Okay,” she said. “We’re here for you if you need us.”

“No one can help me,” he said sadly.

He walked to the library so he could find a dark corner where he could disappear. When he walked inside, he saw Ren sitting at a table, talking to Dane. He felt his heart fall. Why would she be talking to him?

Against his will, he walked to her table. “Why are you talking to him?” he snapped.

She flinched when she saw him. She opened her
mouth, but nothing came out.

“You can’t trust me
, but you talk to this asshole?”