Henry's body felt nothing but pain as his consciousness swam to the surface. He could feel the imminence of death coming on; he knew it well enough now to know it was coming. Everything hurt and he was sure there was no way to stop it now. Closing his eyes tight, he longed for it to happen quickly so he could be past this unimaginable pain.
"Mom! Wake up, Mom!"
The sound of Abe's voice and the sound of his crying drew Henry to the present moment. He opened his eyes and all he could see was the blue sky above him; he couldn't move his head to look around and take in anything else. All he could see was that beautiful sky, tantalizing above him. And then he could remember…..
It should have been the perfect day. The sun was shining, the air cool but the sun warm; the first leaves on the trees beginning to fall. He'd suggested that he, Abigail and Abe all have a nice picnic. It should have been perfect…..would have been too. If not for the drunk driver that had swerved into their lane, forcing the car off of the road. They had slid down the hill before crashing hard into the ground. That's when everything went black around him.
"Mom…..please. Please wake up!" Abe's voice was nearly hysterical now. He sounded distant and panic was ringing throughout Henry's heart. Abe was okay; if he was awake and moving about he was okay. But what about Abigail? Henry had clearly been ejected from the car; otherwise he wouldn't have been able to see the sky. He longed to move toward the sound of Abe's cries, the same cries that had spurned him to motion for 12 years now. But he was completely paralyzed; it wouldn't be long now.
"Abe!" It took all of Henry's strength to call out his name. Something heavy felt pressing on Henry's chest, making it hard to breathe; he couldn't see his injuries but he knew they must have been extensive. He could taste blood and knew he must be hemorrhaging.
"Dad!" Abe's voice trembled but sounded slightly hopeful. Henry could hear the sound of leaves crunching, getting closer and closer until he saw Abe's face in the blue sky above.
"Dad…..." Abe gasped as he dropped next to Henry in the grass. His eyes were roaming over Henry's body, no doubt taking stock of how badly he was hurt. His eyes widened in horror; he knew Henry was going to die. He put his hand to his mouth and started to cry in earnest.
"Abe…..it's okay" Henry said as calmly as he could manage even though he was panicking himself. "Look at me, Abe"
Abe reluctantly opened his tear filled eyes. "You're bleeding everywhere, Dad. I…I …..can see your insides" he said. His face was white as a sheet and Henry was sure for a moment that he was going to faint. But, little trooper that he was, he held on. Being the son of a doctor and a nurse, Abe had seen more than a child's fair share of blood. But this was beyond; Henry hated that Abe had to see him this way.
"Just look at my face" Henry told him. "Take my hand" Abe moved his hand into Henry's and he regretted that he couldn't feel it.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Henry asked Abe gently. He knew his time was limited but he wanted to figure out Abe and Abigail's state before he let go.
"No…..just a little sore but I'm fine" Abe said. His face had several scratches but he looked over all well. "I climbed out the window when the car crashed." His lip trembled; he was being strong as he could for Henry's sake. He was sure that Henry was going to die and he hated that he was putting him through so much pain.
"Mom wont wake up" Abe said, alarm in his tone.
"Is she breathing?" Henry asked, afraid of the answer.
"Yeah…..I tried to get her out of the car but she won't wake up" Abe said.
"Is she bleeding?" Henry asked.
"No…..just looks asleep" Abe answered.
Henry gave Abe as much as a smile as he could muster. "She'll be fine, then. Must have just hit her head." It was a relief to Henry, knowing that most likely, Abigail would be okay. His breathing was growing raged and watery, his vision beginning to blackened at the edges inward. Every heart beat was weak and felt like knife to the chest; death was very near. His worry about his family's safety was replaced by another worry; his death. He was going to die here, right in front of Abe. There was no avoiding it now. Worry churned inside him; Abe was too young, much too young. He didn't know Henry's secret and Henry wanted to keep it that way. He didn't want to burden him with the knowledge of Henry's secret until he was grown. It was such a burden to bear but Henry could see there was no avoiding it now.
"Abe…..listen" Henry said carefully. Each word cost him a terrible amount of energy. "I need you to go to your mother. Go sit with her until she wakes up. Okay?"
"But what about you Dad?" Abe asked worriedly. "I need to get help. You're really hurt"
"I'm beyond being helped, Abe" Henry said. "My injuries are too bad"
"No…..don't say that" Abe said. Tears began to run freely down his face. "You can't die!"
Henry had waited too long; he could feel that he didn't have enough time for an explanation. "I'm…going….to….die" Henry told him. "But…..I'll…..come back….I…..promise"
Henry couldn't see anymore; everything was black. His breath stopped in his lungs as he could feel his life slipping away. He wanted to comfort Abe; tell him he couldn't die and that he would wake up and be right back here soon. But he didn't have time. The last memory of this life as he slipped away was the sound of Abe's hysterical cries fading away.
….
A twenty minuet drive had never felt so incredibly long. With his hair still wet and his heart racing, Henry held on to the door of the cab like a lifeline. He knew that Abe was out there alone; he could only imagine what he must be thinking. Not only the trauma of being in accident but now he had to contend with the horror of having his dad disappear from right in front of him. The poor kid had to he traumatized.
Henry was lucky; he'd managed to get out of the water and into some clothes without being seen on this beautiful day where everyone seemed to want to be outside. As soon as he had clothes flung onto him, he raced to get a cab. He had to get to the scene of the accident as soon as he could.
It couldn't have been more than 45 minutes but it felt like an eternity when Henry finally got out of the cab at the embankment where their car had fallen. Henry ran down the grassy hill to where the car was sitting, his heart hammering in his chest. He was instantly relieved to see Abigail sitting on the ground; she looked pale and shaken, but otherwise okay. Abe, on the other hand, was another story.
"Henry!" Abigail's face lit up when she saw him. Rushing over as fast as she could, she threw her arms around him in a warm hug. Henry let himself melt into the hug, soaking up her warmth and softness. There was nothing that made him feel more alive after a death than being with her.
"I'm so glad you're alright" Henry whispered in her ear, running and along her smooth gold locks.
"I'm fine" Abigail said, pulling back to look at him. There were tears in her eyes. "Abe's very upset."
Henry looked over to where Abe was sitting on a rock, head held in his hands and hanging down. Henry's heart clenched for him. "What did you tell him?" he asked.
"Nothing…..he won't speak" Abigail said worriedly. "What happened?"
"I didn't have time to tell him" Henry said regretfully. "I died right in front of him"
"Oh, Henry…"Abigail said, her voice full of concern.
"It couldn't be helped" Henry said. "We have to tell him now"
Abigail nodded somberly, resigned. "I wish we could have waited"
"Me too" Henry said. He took Abigail's hand for strength as he walked toward Abe.
Abe seemed lost in his own world, staring down unnoticing. Henry approached him as quietly as he could manage. He knew that no matter what he did, for Abe it was going to be like seeing a ghost.
"Abraham…." Henry said quietly. The effect on Abe was instantaneous.
Abe's head shot up to look at Henry; when his eyes connected with Henry's his face paled and turned into a mask of fear. He jumped up from up the rock he was sitting on, stumbling backwards into a tree.
"Abe, I know this is very frightening" Henry started. He tried to walk toward Abe but Abe ran away, moving close to Abigail. His eyes were wide; he was afraid. Henry's stomach felt sick; Abe was afraid of him.
"Who are you?" Abe asked, his voice trembling fearfully.
Henry should have expected as much but it didn't stop it from hurting. "I'm your father, Abe" he said, feeling emotion spilling out of him.
"No you're not!" Abe said in a panic. "I saw my dad die…who are you? You can't be him!"
"Abraham, that is your dad" Abigail tried to move in before things got too out of hand.
It was no use; the closer they got the further Abe moved away. "No its not!" he said. "I saw you…your guts were hanging out and everything! There's no way you could live after that! And then you died…and disappeared!" Abe was so panicked now that he looked green, tears in his red eyes again. "What are you? A ghost? A monster?"
Henry felt sick to his stomach; this was going so much worse than he imagined. It was only natural for Abe to be jumping to the worse possibly conclusions. What could any normal person imagine when you saw a person die and come back to life?
"No…..I'm none of those things" Henry tried to explain. "I'm just a man, a man like I've always been. I just can't die"
"But you did! You stopped breathing, your heart stopped beating!" Abe said frantically.
"I know, I know" Henry tried to explain. "I can die, but when I die I come back. I don't stay dead"
"You've died before?" Abe asked, his voice shrill, rising to tones only dogs could hear.
"Yes" Henry said guilty. He'd kept the truth from Abe to spare him pain but he now wondered if he did him more harm than good.
Abe turned on Abigail. "Did you know this?" he asked her. Betrayal was heavy in his voice and he could see her close to tears.
"Yes, sweetheart" Abigail admitted. "I did"
Abe glanced between the two of them, hurt and anger on his face. A moment later, he turned around and took off back up the hill, leaving Abigail and Henry completely defeated.
….
It was one of the longest days Henry had had in his long life. After a death, he wanted nothing more than to left alone and sulk or, more often than not, spend time in Abigail's arms reminding himself of just how alive he was. Spending the time after a death frantically worrying about Abe was pushing his nerves to the end of their limits. They'd managed to catch up to Abe and convince him to get in a cab and go home. Henry really thought that Abigail and Abe should have gone to the hospital, just as a precaution but Abigail assured him she was alright. Abe was so hysterical that it was unlikely that taking him anywhere in public would be a good idea.
Abe had spent the day locked in his room; no amount of coaxing could get him to open the door to Henry. Henry was completely consumed with worry; he needed Abe to talk to him. How could he possibly fix this if he couldn't talk to him?
"We should have told him, long ago!" Henry lamented, pacing the living room.
"He's just a boy, we did the right thing" Abigail insisted, worrying as she watched Henry pace. "He wouldn't have been able to handle this as a child. He's too young now; he would have done better if he was older."
"But he thinks he can't trust us now! He thinks we lied to him!" Henry said. His heart was breaking. All he'd ever wanted to do was protect him.
"We did lie to him" Abigail said softly, coming to stand behind him, wrapping her arms around him. "But we did it for his own good. He won't stay angry forever. This is just a horrible shock to him. Give him some time and he will come to terms with it. Imagine what a shock this must be; he's only 12"
Henry nodded grimly. "I know, I know…..I just feel horrible" he said. He pictured it a million times in his head, how he would tell Abe about his immortality. It seemed stupid now but he had never pictured having to tell Abe his secret because he had died. It had thankfully been a long time since he'd had a death and he'd grown complacent. Every thought he'd ever given on how he would tell Abe he was immortal had been when Abe was an adult and through a very well thought out conversation. He'd never planned it this way and his heart ached for the pain that Abe was already suffering because of Henry's secret.
…..
That night Henry dreamt of Abe. He didn't know how he even managed to sleep at all, so consumed with worry that he was. Abe had stayed locked in his room all evening; after several hours Henry had even stopped trying to coax him to open the door. Though he wanted desperately to talk to him about what had happened, Henry also wanted to give him some measure of control. Abe must surely feel his life was careening out of control and Henry wanted to at least give him the freedom to be alone if that's what he really felt he needed. Abigail assured him that eventually Abe would want to talk and they just had to wait for him to come to them.
Exhausted by the accident and the emotional turmoil of the day, Henry and Abigail had collapsed into bed with hardly a word to each other, but arms securely around each other. Despite everything else that had happened, Henry had died today and with that came its own very heavy burden. He fell asleep in minuets and dreamed Abe was a baby again. In his dreams he could hear Abe crying but no matter where he went, he couldn't find Abe. The crying got louder and more distressed but Henry never could find him. Henry woke up distressed and anxious, ear open for the sound of cries like he hadn't had to listen for in years.
But there was not the sound of cry to be heard; only silence ringing out through the house. Rolling over and feeling around in the dark, Henry found Abigail's side of the bed empty. Assuming she had just gotten up for the restroom or some water, he tried to go back to sleep. After he had laid in bed worrying for what felt like an eternity without Abigail's return, Henry found himself walking toward the only place he knew that Abigail could be at such a late hour of this horrible night.
The soft glow of light was spilling from Abe's room and into the hallway and Henry could hear the muffled sound of voices. Getting closer to Abe's door, he could hear words clearer. Feeling guilty for prying but knowing that he couldn't resist, Henry looked through the crack of the door.
Abe was sitting up in the middle of the bed, Abigail sitting on the edge by him. "It's very serious business" Abigail was explaining to Abe. "Your dad didn't tell you about it because he wanted to spare you from keep his secret. It can be a very difficult thing to keep to yourself and he wanted to keep you from that."
Abe put his heads in his hands, overwhelmed; Henry's heart went out to him. "But I don't get it!" he said in frustration. "This just can't be true…it just can't be true! You really believe Dad can live forever?"
"I know he can because I've seen it" Abigail said, her voice calm but filled with fatigue, the fatigue of keeping Henry's secret. "He has died before and came back to me. He always comes back to me. That is the great thing, Abe. He'll never leave you; he'll be with you forever."
When Abe looked up, his eyes were glassy and filled with fear. "But I'm scared…he's….he's not the same" he admitted.
As Abe and Abigail embraced, Henry stood in the darkness of the hallway, alone and aching. Henry knew that there was truth to what Abigail had been telling him all day; the news was going to be hard on Abe and he wasn't going to accept it all instantly. But that didn't stop it from hurting; he never wanted Abe to be afraid of him. How could he possibly explain to Abe that he was no different than he'd ever been?
"I know it's hard to believe, Abe" Abigail was saying as Abe pulled back from their hug. "but your dad is still exactly the same person. And he still loves you more than anything"
Henry couldn't stand it anymore; honestly he felt guilty eavesdropping too. Henry knocked on the door before announcing himself. "Abe? Can I come in?"
There was a long pause; Henry was sure that Abe would tell him to go away. "Yeah…..I guess" Abe finally said tiredly.
When Henry came into the room, Abe was rubbing his eyes hurriedly with the back of his hand, trying to look neutral and unconcerned; Henry pretended not to notice the evidence of tears left behind. Henry sat down on the edge of the bed next to Abe on the opposite side of Abigail. Abe looked wary as Henry sat down and he tried not to let it get to him.
"Abe…..I know this has been a terrible shock to you" Henry said, carefully speaking because he had absolutely no idea what to say. "I am very sorry we had to keep this from you this long. And I assure you this is not how I wanted you to find out"
Abe looked at him like he was an alien. "I still don't know how you can die and come back…people just don't do that" he said in disbelief.
"I don't understand it either" Henry admitted. "I have no idea why this has happened to me. But I assure you that I am not a monster or an alien or anything strange like that. I'm just an ordinary man"
Abe looked skeptical but Henry considered it progress; at least he wasn't petrified. "How old are you really?" he finally asked.
Henry took a deep breath; he hoped that the outrageous answer didn't set him off again. "I am 178. I was born in 1779" Henry finally admitted.
Abe's brow furrowed, deep in thought. "Like during the Revolutionary War?" he asked. He was struggling to wrap his mind around how unbelievable this all was.
"Yes" Henry agreed. He studied Abe's reaction but he was hard to read.
"Does it hurt?" Abe asked after an infuriating long pause.
"Yes, it does. It still always hurts" Henry told him. The pain, the fear of death…..it was all the same as if he really did die and didn't come back.
Abe was watching him curiously. "What does it look like?" he asked, looking at Henry's stomach. "Do you have a scar?"
It was natural for Abe to assume that the horrible injury that had killed him earlier would leave a scar. Henry lifted his shirt for Abe to see that there wasn't a mark at all left from the terrible wound. "It doesn't leave any marks once I wake up" Henry told him. "The first time I died, it left a scar but nothing after that."
Abe's eyes became wide and alarmed again; Henry instantly regretted his choice of words. He said 'the first time I died' as if was a common place occurrence. While he didn't see death as something that he ever got used to, he wasn't used to talking about it and doing so now was making him careless. "How….how did it happen the first time?" Abe asked. He was doing a good job of holding it in but Henry could still see he was on the verge of panic.
"I was shot" Henry said honestly. He was sure that it was hardly the answer that Abe had wanted but there was no good answer to that question. He could only hope that Abe didn't pry for any more details about Henry's death; the knowledge that he was shot for defending a slave might be enough of a shock to send him over the edge again.
"Can I see it?" Abe asked. His tone held equal measures of curiosity and disbelief and Henry only hoped that more answers would ease Abe's unrest over the matter.
"Sure" Henry said with a nod. He lifted up his shirt to reveal the scar that had marked him and had, for some reason he wished he knew, made him an immortal. Abe stared at it for a long stretch with the slightly morbid curiosity of a child who had been around plenty of gore. His mouth hung open slightly in disbelief; he reached a hand out and touched it and Henry could see the change on Abe's face.
It was obvious in the way Abe's eyes grew round as saucers and he grew even paler. His hand shot back away from Henry as if it had been shocked. Even though he had seen Henry die and come back, there had still been some element of disbelief left to him. Now, the pieces had finally snapped into place in his mind and he truly believed it. The knowledge was too much to bear.
"I…..can't do this!" Abe said, his voice breathless and panicked as he got off of the bed and ran out of the room.
Henry groaned; this was going to be so much harder than he had thought it would be.
"Henry, go follow him" Abigail urged him, rousing him from his troubled thoughts.
By the time that Henry made his way into the hallway and in the direction Abe had fled, Abe had reached the bathroom. Henry grabbed Abe's arm just in time to keep from locking himself in the bathroom.
"Abe, stop. We have to talk about this" Henry nearly begged him.
Abe struggled against the hold Henry had on him. "Let me go!" he said in frustration, his face red and irritated.
"No, Abe; we need to talk about this. I want to make this okay" Henry said. His heart was breaking as he watched Abe fight him and finally break free of his grasp.
"You can't make this okay!" Abe said yelled, his fists balled in fury, hurt in his voice. "You lied to me! And about something so important! How can I ever trust you again?"
Henry was so shocked, so hurt by the words that when Abe slipped into the bathroom and locked the door behind him, Henry didn't even make a move to stop him.
…..
In the weeks that followed Henry's death, things with Abe only got worse, not better. Abe had always been a happy, carefree, easy going child but now he was as far removed from that version of himself as he could be. He was quiet and reserved; as soon as he came home from school he went to his room, only to come out for dinner. During meals he picked at his food and didn't speak; he didn't even go out with his friends like he used to. He would speak to Abigail when she spoke to him first but he absolutely refused to speak to Henry; he wouldn't even look at him. The spark of joy and happiness that always filed his eyes was completely gone. Every time Henry looked at him he felt crushing guilt; he had killed Abe's spirit.
He didn't know what to do. Henry had always feared the day this would happen, the day Abe would know the truth. It was the one thing that had given him pause when considering adopting Abe. He'd fallen in love with him the minuet he'd seen him; they were both impossible things. Abe had been in a baby alive in a concentration camp and he was an immortal man; their impossibility drew them together. But he'd worried about how his secret would affect Abe. Up until this point, it had affected Abe very little other than that they'd had to move a few times. But now that Abe knew the full truth, it had turned his life inside out. He couldn't handle the secret; he was walking around in silent pain, refusing to talk about it. And he had lost all trust in Henry. Abigail still insisted that Abe just needed time to adjust but then again Abe wasn't ignoring her and Henry couldn't take comfort in her words.
Henry wasn't sure how the situation could possibly get any worse when suddenly it did. Henry's whole world came screeching to a halt when Abigail had called him sobbing from the hospital one day. She was so upset that Henry could barely make out the terrible words.
Abe had been riding his bike when he'd been struck by a truck. His injuries were extensive and he was about to go into surgery. Henry felt like he could lie down and fade away into his grief; instead he did the opposite and raced to the hospital as quickly as he could.
Abe was being prepped for surgery by the time that Henry got there. His quick pace turned to a run; he had to get to Abe before they took him away. When he got out of the elevator on the correct floor, Henry could hear the sound of Abe's strangled voice instantly.
It was the same cry that had always made him do anything that he possibly could to protect the little boy he'd never deserved. It was the voice that could make him cry and laugh and feel more than he'd ever thought possible. And it was calling for him.
"No….I can't!" Abe was calling through a heavy crying voice. Henry was almost there when he heard Abe's voice. "I need Dad…where is he?"
Life could be impossibly cruel; the past few weeks he had lost so many moments with Abe that he couldn't get back. He'd wanted so desperately for Abe to talk to him again and now he wanted to but at what cost? The doctor had said that Abe had several broken bones and heavy internal bleeding; Henry couldn't fathom the thought that it was too late.
Henry threw back the curtain to the bed Abe was in and his heart wrenched. His head was immobilized and mostly hidden from Henry's view; blood splattered Abe's clothes in so many spots that Henry couldn't tell where they had come from. Bruises and swelling covered his arms, face and neck and his exposed chest had deep, obvious gashes from the road. Abigail was holding Abe's hand as she stood by the bed but it was obvious by Abe's lack of movement that his hand or arm or both was broken. The strangled, gasping cry broke Henry's heart the most.
"I'm here, Abe" Henry said as he burst through the curtain. He rushed over to the side of the bed opposite where Abigail was.
"See, Abe. I told you your dad would be here" Abigail said. Her words were reassuring but Henry could tell in her red, tear filled eyes she thought that he might not make it before Abe would have to go into surgery.
"Dad!" Abe said. He struggled as if trying to move but he couldn't. Henry took Abe's other hand and craned his head over Abe's so that he could see him without moving his potentially injured neck.
"I'm here, Abe. I'm right here" Henry said, relief washed over him in a bittersweet way.
"I'm sorry, Dad. I'm so sorry" Abe said, tears running down from the corners of his eyes and off of his face.
Nothing had ever quiet broken Henry's heart like this. Abe was lying here in such a battered state, sobbing and yet apologizing? "Sorry for what, Abe? You've done nothing wrong at all" Henry told him truthfully.
"But I did" Abe said tearfully, streaks of tears on his dirtied face. "I didn't believe you when you told me your secret and I got mad at you"
"Hey" Henry said, giving Abe's hand a squeeze. "I am not mad at you. I never was. I know that was very difficult for you to understand and handle. I was never mad at you. I love you, Abe. I only wanted to help you through it."
"I believe you now…..I do!" Abe said with vehement certainty. Henry could only imagine how he had been mentally torturing himself over the guilt of not being able to tell Henry he forgave him. It was one way Henry wished Abe wasn't so much like him.
"I'm glad" Henry said forcing a comforting smile on his face despite the tears in his eyes. "I've missed you these past few weeks."
" I was afraid I wouldn't get to tell you" Abe said. He dissolved into tears for several minutes before he gasped out, "I'm going to die…..and I won't wake up!"
It was one of the worst things Henry could imagine hearing your child say. Henry didn't even want to entertain the possibility. In a horrible moment, Henry saw his life with Abe flash before his eyes; birthdays and holidays and a million priceless every day moments, the joy and the happiness that Abe had brought to his life. He could not lose him now.
"You are not going to die" Henry said firm conviction even though he was silently praying to anything of power in the universe. "You are going to be fine. You're just going to sleep while they fix you up and then you'll wake up. You'll get better and you'll grow up to be an old, old man….just like me"
Henry could see that Abe was still worried but Henry had his full attention. "You know, I know it bothered you that your mother and I didn't tell you about my secret until now. But you know…..I didn't want to tell you when you were just a kid. And now you're not just a little kid."
"I'm not?" Abe asked. Despite the sincerity of Henry's words, at the moment Abe looked so small that Henry wished he could just scoop him up in his arms like he had when he was a baby.
"No" Henry said tearfully and quickly, knowing his time was running short, "You are growing up; becoming a man. And I need you. You know my secret now and I need your help"
The effect on Abe was exactly what Henry hoped it might be. His crying stopped and he tried to put on a brave face. "I'll make sure I wake up…I'll be here for you Dad" he said bravely.
Abe had stopped crying but Henry's tears were just now falling freely. "That's my boy….."Henry said through an aching throat.
…
Henry had died dozens of terrible deaths, been tortured in ways he never wanted to imagine again and faced countless heartbreaks in his life. But none of those things remotely prepared him for the pain of wondering if your child was going to die. It was unbelievably painful, especially as a physician, having to sit by and wait while Abe was in surgery; he felt powerless because he was powerless. He and Abigail sat in the waiting room, staring at the wall in silence, hands held tightly as they weathered their own tortured thoughts. Henry thought about how he almost didn't adopt Abe; Abigail had pushed him to do so. He'd not wanted to burden a child with his secret. And while he still thought it was a harsh weight to put on Abe, all he could think now was that he was thankful. The last 12 years of his life had been the best of his long life. He had a wife and son whom he loved and who loved him back. Both of them now knew his secret and accepted him all the same.
When the doctor came to retrieve them in the middle of the night, looking tired but happy, Henry's hopes raised. Abe was alright; the surgery had gone well. When the doctor told them they could go see him in recovery, they practically ran down the hallway.
Abigail immediately rushed into the room, weeping happy tears as she sat down on the edge of Abe's bed. Henry paused at the door for a moment, taking him in. He looked small in the middle of the bed, bandages covering half of his visible skin; he looked both terrible and beautiful at the same time.
By the time that Henry came to sit on the edge of the bed, Abe was stirring. "W-what?" Abe asked, stuttering and looking around the room as he came awake. His eyelids were heavy under the weight of the drugs.
"You're in the hospital, Abe" Abigail said, smiling even though she was still crying. "You had an accident but you're okay now. Do you remember what happened?"
Abe thought for a long moment before he replied. "I….I got hit…on my…..bike" he said finally. "Oh…and Dad is really old but it's okay….he just wakes up again. His scar looks awful though….."
Abigail and Henry laughed at Abe's drug addled train of thought; if anyone heard him at least they could blame it on that. Henry's chest was bursting with unimaginable happiness; not only was Abe okay, but he was coming to a place of acceptance with Henry's secret.
"You are right…..on all accounts" Henry agreed with a laugh.
Abe held up his bandaged hands and wrists weakly. "Does this mean I don't have to practice piano for a while?" he asked, giving Henry a small grin.
Despite everything, Abe was still himself; and Henry couldn't be happier. It was going to be a long road of acceptance and potential pain for Abe, knowing Henry's secret, but he was willing to try. "I think you're off the hook for a while" Henry said.