Date: Mon, 25 Jan 2016 15:39:17 -0600
From: Keito Nakagawa <keito.nakagawa@gmail.com>
Subject: Aiden and Henry - Chapter 7

My days were quiet after that night.

Despite my best efforts to ignore the nagging feeling that something was
going on behind my back, I could never quite get my head completely into my
rounds. My regular patients that returned for their follow ups noted this
and asked if I was having troubles. A simple smile or a small nod thanking
them for noticing usually satisfied them, but didn't allow them to press
for any more information.

At home, Henry had gotten busy with work again, projects were firing on all
cylinders, and in exchange I was left alone most nights. Of course, I never
told Henry about my feeling, nor of my fleeting hope that he would someday
soon make good on his words.

Instead, at night I would sit by myself propped up against the headboard
with my laptop on the small folding desk I invested in and had never had to
use until recently. I had papers sprawled around me, drawings from labs,
and copies of manuals that I had sampled information from. I would work
until I fell asleep, or cried myself to sleep out of sheer loneliness. In
the morning, the evidence of my sadness would have dried and Henry would
have moved my desk and neatly stacked my papers on the bedstand beside me.

Some long and painful days passed and I still found myself alone at night,
waiting to see if just once the door would open early and I'd hear him walk
into the room. It never happened.

The few times that Henry would arrive him early, I put on my best smiled
and pretend that he was just my boyfriend as usual, that I just had
"forgotten" to talk to, or that he had just come back from a vacation and
we were going to catch up. It worked well, he took the time to spend with
me, and I could tell he still loved me so deeply... but even in spite of
knowing that, my body couldn't relax.

The one warm day that I was home, Jason paid a visit. He was of course,
going on about how he would never find a boyfriend as perfect as Aiden,
meanwhile his phone constantly showed new messages from at least 1 of the
three boys he was courting. I laughed at his jokes, the ones that only he
could tell me, and somehow the day felt better. Maybe it was just that I
wasn't alone anymore...  "Hey Aiden, do you wanna go for a swim? It's the
one day that its actually decent outside...?"

I nodded and loaned him one of my swimsuits. The backyard pool was a little
chilly, but still manageable and as I stepped in, the cold washed against
my legs and I shivered, instinctively grabbing my shoulders, trying to
cover myself.

"How is it?" I turned around and nearly laughed as my swimsuit looked a
little tight on him.

"Its cold... are you... okay in that?" I shivered back to him.

"It's fine, I just... wont need to tie it." He grinned before jumping in,
splashing all the water over me.

I sat on the stairs after racing with Jason for a few laps. He proceeded to
see exactly how long he could hold his breath before coming to the
realization that he was "too old for this". (He scored a dismal 6 seconds)

The pool's water seeped into my skin, the smell of chlorine that I had
become so accustomed to when I was younger came back to me and how much I
wished things could be like they were. I remembered when I was younger that
I would spend time floating on my back, my entire body exposed to the sun,
tanning slightly. Feeling a bit of that youthful surge again, I pushed
myself off the stairs and floated lifelessly on the crystal blue
waters. The waters muffled all the sounds that entered my ears and I smiled
with my eyes closed, feeling the warmth on my stomach contrast with the
coolness in my arms and legs.

It was so peaceful...

Some amount of time passed, and somewhere after opening my eyes, I realized
that there was a third source of ripples in the water. Just as I was to
look around, I felt a strong pair of arms encircle me and lift my head out
of the water. Henry cradled me in his arms and I smiled as he looked into
my eyes.

"Well hello there, the lifeguard's on duty..." He grinned before leaning in
and kissing me.

The whole of my body lit on fire, his touch, the feel of his strong arms
around me, everything sent my brain scrambling and I fell so deep into his
kiss. My skin tingled as it teased the edge of the sun and the waters.

"I love you Aiden..." He whispered as we parted and he let my weak legs
find their bearings on the pool floor.

"You're so corny" I replied, before hugging him, listening to the beat of
his heart, the one that I hadn't been able to hear for so long. It had been
months now, since he said those words, and maybe letting go of them now was
the key to my salvation. I couldn't live waiting for it to happen... why
hadn't I enjoyed my time in the present?

Naturally, when we got out of the pool, I was wrinkly from being in for so
long, but when I turned to offer the towel to Jason, he was clearly pruned
and three shades of jealous. He gave me a seething sort of hiss before
grinning mischievously and quickly darting inside to change back.

We had dinner together, the three of us, and Jason's phone. A small course
of baked casserole with some sides we just threw together graced our table
and in no time at all it was all gone. The night was warm for once, filled
with the company of my boyfriend and my best friend. Henry had brought out
some blankets for the after-dinner time we usually had. He insisted that I
throw on the small white sweater I had laying outside, saying that my hands
felt cold. I cradled my head against the crook of my arm and laid against
him while he and Jason talked about some politics that I didn't follow.

When I finally awoke, I was alone on the couch, and the two of them were in
the kitchen, trying to haphazardly make dessert. Noticing that I was awake,
Henry frowned at me, mouthing for me to come help him. Somehow we managed
to save and re-proportion the gooey mess they had made into workable
batter. Of course, we ended up with two cakes instead of one, but Jason was
more than happy to take the excess home.

---

I lived differently from then on, my enjoyed the time Henry spent at home,
I didn't wait any longer for him to propose, and in fact, the thought had
left me. My studies were progressing and soon I would go on my externships.

Henry was now managing his projects non-stop, the company was growing and
he was taking on more and more responsibilities. Every few nights we would
have to go out to some formal party, where he would proudly introduce me as
his doctor boyfriend, and I had to correct him that I still had a year to
go. His response? "It's all the same... you're basically threre."

Time passed even faster during the blur of parties and exams that came one
right after the other.  Henry had managed to have his home office joined
with his office in the downtown building, and worked from home two days out
of the week. He would cuddle with me until I had to go, or until some
pressing matter called him to a video conference. I would stay under the
covers as long as I could, clad only in my boxers. Henry loved feeling my
body against his, he said that I comforted him, and Im fairly sure that I
woke up one time to the feeling of him smelling my hair.

Just as we were charging full speed ahead, a brick wall appeared.

I waited for him to come home promptly at 7:45PM as he always did on Friday
nights. I was wearing the slightly loose fitting white sweater he loved, my
long pajama pants hung across my hips. He told me that he loved seeing me
like that, the cute sleepy me that would say the dopey things despite being
medically trained. Except, this time, he didn't come home at 7:45, he
didn't come home at 8:45, he didn't come home at 9:45.... 10:45... 11...

The next day, his side of the bed was empty... and I panicked. "H-Henry!?"
I called into the house, hoping desperately to hear him.

I called the office to find no one answering his office phone, his cell
phone went straight to voicemail, and Elise was no longer answering her
phone either.

Jumping into the car, I feared the worst, that somewhere along the way to
the office I would find signs of wreckage of his car, the sight of his
lifeless body somewhere on the road, surrounded by ambulances that would do
little more than pronounce him dead.  I knew these fears were completely
unfounded, that there was such a little chance of them happening, but
still...

When I arrived at the office, I rode the elevator to the floor to find it
crawling with men who were inspecting every angle of the office. Elise had
been confined to her office, with restricted access to any form of
communication. After convincing one of the officers holding her captive to
let her out, she quickly ushered me to the office copy room, a place too
banal for those outside to come inspecting.

"Aiden, it's bad..."

"What happened? What is all this? Where is Henry?"

"He was taken away by the officers last night, we were held here while they
invested claims that we had been in on some insider trading deals."

"I-Insider trading? Elise...?"

"It's all fake! Theres no way Henry would do such a thing!" I calmed her
down before asking where Henry was. I got the address of the station, and
after a visit to the restroom, Elise had regained her usual composure. She
assured me that she would take care of things here, I drove to the police
station and winced as I felt the pit of my stomach fall when I stepped into
the office to the sound of office desks being slammed upon. The front
receptionist pointed me to the direction of the officer managing Henry's
case. He was apologetic, but unable to help me. The order came from high up
to "investigate thoroughly".

"Go home Aiden... don't stay here, I'll be out soon okay?" Henry smiled as
he held my hands through the bars. It all seemed like something out of a
movie, and I could hardly believe that I was here. He looked so weathered,
his eyes were a little dull, the small habit of blinking profusely when he
was sleep deprived manifested and my heart ached for him.

"Henry... what happened?"

"Someone called in a tip that my company was participating in some shady
investments... but I swear to you, its not true!" He whispered urgently to
me, trying to usher me away.

"HEY!" I felt a huge hand roughly grab my butt and I yelped slightly,
turning around to a rather large man being reined in by an officer who
shoved him into the cell opposite Henry.

"Your boyfriend joining you? How about he join me instead?" He asked
gruffly, to which the officer promptly told him to shut up.

"Sorry..." the officer apologized, explaining that the inmate was only here
on a transfer layover and would be leaving for the state penitentiary when
the transport was finished with its gas refill and check.

"Go home Aiden... go, please. I'll be fine, but you cant stay here... I
promise I'll be home soon okay?"  He said, squeezing my hands. He kissed me
again, the soft warmth his lips gave me disappeared the minute the cold
bars touched my cheek and I felt the weight in my chest grow.

Begrudgingly I walked to my car and drove home. Elise had called and left a
message on my phone that the officers would be paying a visit to the house
when I returned. True to their word they were waiting there for me to open
the door, complete with warrant. It was a "courtesy" they called it that
they didn't bust the door in.

I stayed outside the house, standing on the lawn while they raided the
house that had held my most private moments and destroyed what small sense
of security I had left. I felt as if everything in the house had become a
piece of evidence. My heart didn't doubt Henry for a moment, I had seen the
look in his eyes when he told me it wasn't true, and Henry had no reason to
lie to me. My head though...  feared that the things in the house I had
become accustomed to may have been bought with illegal funds. With a gulp
and a small affirmation, I quashed those thoughts and waited for the
officers to finish combing.

"My my... what has little Henry gotten himself into?" I jerked out of my
trance.

"Lan..don..."

"It appears that Henry's gotten in trouble... " He teased, the smile on his
face, the nonchalant way he walked around the lawn and I knew...

"It was you..."

"What? Me?" He pretended to be offended.

"You did this... you did it. Why?" I felt the tears coming to my eyes, but
my rage was the top priority right now. I grabbed him and stopped. What
could I do..? Hit him? Plead with him...?

"I told you... I'd take back what is rightfully mine... didn't I?" He said,
releasing himself from my grasp.

"You... you went too far..."

"Did I? Everything Henry has built.... Everything he has accomplished was
because both him and his father stomped us into the ground, stifling
us... all of this was because of that... but you know whats funny Aiden?"
He encircled me, I felt his eyes studying me.

"Landon please.."

"No, you know what is funny Aiden? I don't even care about him having all
this... none of it... I am willing to give it all up, give it all back to
him.... "

"Then do it... give it back to him... this.. it just isn't fair..."

"What about life is fair!?" His voice grew, and he clasped my arms,
squeezing painfully.

"L-Lan-"

"I told you... I was willing to give it all up, everything, all of this, I
could give it back to him... but all I want... is you..." He relaxed his
grip and I my body slumped slightly.

"You're sick..."

"Maybe... maybe I am, but you know, I have waited so long for this...... so
I'm going to enjoy it... until you decide to come to me... I will watch
Henry's legacy fall and be turned upside down... but as you're watching it,
just know that you can stop it at any time.... Just come to me... leave him
and never come back.... It really is...... for his own good." Landon walked
away, leaving me standing there, completely stunned.

After another hour or so of searching, the officers left, and thanked me
for me cooperation. There was nothing left untouched by them, the office
had been tossed and the house itself was a mess. All I could do was start
to pick up the pieces of our lives. I put back all the pieces of furniture
and re-straightened the pictures, cleaned the areas of dust that were now
exposed, cleaned the dishes left from breakfast that I had left, removed
the small scuff marks their shoes had left, and cleaned the floor of the
office.  After the third wipe with the mop my entire body refused to go
on. No matter how hard I tried to clean the floor, my tears stained the
wooden tiles and I gave up. I cried openly, loudly, screaming almost. In
the vastness of the house I huddled against the small corner of Henry's
study, crying into my knees as I weighed my options, each of the more
painful than the last.

Waiting to see if Henry would beat the charges, going with Landon, trying
to find a way to resolve them, knowing Landon would never allow it.

No matter what I chose, I could lose Henry. There was no happy ending
here... all those things I had dreamed.. gone.

I cried until my lungs gave up and I felt my body crying for air,

What could I do?

What should I do?

What do I do?

What do I do?!

"What do I do?"

---

Author: Hello everyone! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to write another
chapter. To those of you who are still with me, I appreciate it so much! As
always, I love hearing from you all and if you have any suggestions or
comments, please feel free to let me know at Keito.Nakagawa@gmail.com.

P.S. Please remember that Nifty is a great place where authors, (even new
ones like me) can come share their stories!  Please remember to support
them if you can at http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html Thank you!


Thanks so much to those of you who have already sent me some great comments!