Immortal Beloved: Chapter Seventeen
Henry stopped, tugging on her hand and drawing her closer. “Why do you think we’ll end up hating one another?”
“Isn’t that what you said happened with you and Christina? That you both got territorial over your hunting grounds? And that she got jealous of your biting other women?”
“Vicki,” he began on a sigh.
“It won’t bother you to have me bite some young stud?” she asked, an eyebrow raised, a smirk forming and her tone teasing - and yet not.
“Do you want me to hate you?”
“Of course not, why would you think that?”
“It sounds like you’re just waiting for it to happen.”
Vicki sighed and shook her head, detangling herself from his grasp on her hand. “Henry can we go? I just want to …go.”
“Vicki--”
“Please?”
Clenching his jaw, Henry pondered the dichotomy of wanting to have her all over again and wanting to wring her lovely neck. “Will you come home with me?” he asked, trying to keep his tone calm and gentle, not at all pushy. He wanted to just haul her over his shoulder and make her bend to his will, but he knew that would just drive her away get him nowhere. She’d resort to classic Vicki: take one step forward and three steps back. If he had it his way, there would only be stepping forward.
Biting her bottom lip, she looked reluctant and unsure. It hurt him, and he tried hard to school his features to remain passive. It was time to switch tactics. “Vicki, we talked about this already. Until you’re stronger, I’d prefer you were with me. You can’t stay at Helena’s forever.”
Vicki sighed dejectedly, “Yeah, I know.”
“It’s not so bad is it? Staying with me?” he asked, trying to hide the hurt he felt at her willingness to just leave him after their tryst. The irony, however, was not lost on him. How many times had he done that very same thing?
She shook her head and started walking, hands shoved in her pockets, head down. Closing his eyes for a brief minute, Henry felt all sexual desire leave him. It was difficult to want someone that clearly didn’t want you. It was like a stake through his heart, her rejection of him. Forcing himself forward, he fell into step beside her and silently the pair made their way back to Dr. Sagara’s.
********
“Should I call her too?” Vicki asked later when she and Henry returned to his apartment, her things tucked under both their arms.
“How about tomorrow, hmm? The note will suffice for now,” Henry replied, making his way to the bedroom and dropping her things there.
Vicki followed, her feet shuffling behind him. “She was nice to do that for me. Should I get a thank you card or something? I’m not good at this sort of thing.”
Henry sighed and ran a hand through his locks. Turning to her, he smiled, even if it was fake and even if she could probably tell it was. “Vicki, it’s okay. She doesn’t expect anything in return. She’s not like that.”
“I guess I’m just not used to that sort of kindness. Everyone always wants something from you or expects something, even when they say they don’t.”
“I don’t expect anything from you,” he whispered, tentatively reaching out and gently sliding his fingers down her arm. Grabbing her hand, he looked up at her. “I just want you to be happy.”
She met his gaze for half a second before averting her eyes. “I’m uh; I’m going to take a bath. I’m feeling a little…”
“Sore?” he prompted quietly.
“Something like that yeah,” she drawled and headed for the bathroom.
Watching her retreat, and not just physically, was killing him. Before she’d practiced hunting they’d made progress. Then they made love and now…now she couldn’t seem to get away from him fast enough. For him it was a glorious experience that he wanted a repeat of, only slower the next time. Vicki on the other hand…
Plopping down on his bed, he rubbed his hand over his face and pondered his next move. He hated this; it was like walking on eggshells. What was the right thing to say and what was the wrong thing to say - was there even a right thing to say at this point?
The sound of the bath running had Henry staring at the door, wishing he could join her and knowing he couldn’t. Just as he was about to start the fantasy of sharing a bath with Vicki, the phone ringing jarred him out of his thoughts.
Reaching into his pocket, he dug it out. “Hello?”
“She’s back with you I see.”
“Hi Helena. Yes, she is. She’s here. Physically anyway.”
Silence.
“Go ahead,” he said almost bitterly, “Tell me what a fool I am.”
“I think you already know.”
“How do I fix it?” he asked on a whisper.
“Time. A lot of patience and time.”
“You said ‘time’ twice.”
“Because it’s going to take a lot of it.”
“What are the right things to say?”
“In regards to…?”
Henry sighed, “In regards to getting her to open up to me.”
“Oh, Henry…”
“Don’t say it like that. Don’t say it like you pity me.”
“I feel for you. I’ve been where you are and it’s rough. I’ve also been where Vicki is…well, not exactly, but in that precarious frame of mind she’s in. It’s not easy and it’s not fun--”
“I know all that, Helena. What do I do? What do I say?”
“You’ll know what to say when the time is right.”
“That doesn’t help me! Give me something!”
“I can’t help you, Henry. This isn’t my fight. Just be patient, give her time and give her space. That’s all you can do right now. When she needs you, she’ll let you know.”
“And what do I do when I need her?” he whispered hoarsely.
“That, I don’t have an answer for.”
“Great, thanks,” he said bitterly.
“I may be old and I may be somewhat wise, but I don’t have all the answers Henry,” she chuckled into the phone causing Henry to at least smile.
“I’m sorry, you’re right. I should have…waited.”
“You’re impulsive. A bit like her. This time, your impulsiveness will have to give way to some thinking beforehand.”
“Slow and steady wins the race?”
“Exactly, Henry, exactly.”
“Thanks Helena.”
“Good night Henry.”
He didn’t know how long he sat on the bed just thinking and waiting. He felt suddenly that he’d been waiting his whole life for something, something he couldn’t name, something he wasn’t sure even existed. And then Vicki Nelson showed up in a place where she shouldn’t have been and his whole world changed in an instant. She stepped into his life and turned everything upside down and sideways. Now, sitting here in the dark, listening to the tub drain in the distance, feeling a deep chasm between them despite their having made love, Henry realized that the thing he’d been waiting for was her. He hadn’t pondered what was missing for a long time and it was because she was there, right there, filling him up with love and desire and - and she didn’t want him.
The door burst open and she stood there in her robe, smiling. “How cool is it to be able to go under water and not have to hold your breath?”
And, just like that, despite how crazy she drove him, how much she pushed him away, she still had the power to make him laugh.