Distract me

They had gone to bed. Henry, on his side, was in his first not so deep sleep but it was obvious he was gently dozing off to better places. Elizabeth, on the other hand, had her arms tucked underneath her head and was staring inquisitively at the ceiling, focussing so intently as if it would bring her much needed answers. She hadn't heard any pages being turned for the last five minutes or so and now she heard how Henry's breathing became heavier. She turned her head slightly, so she could look at him. Seeing him, peacefully asleep, with his reading glasses still perched on his small nose and his book casually resting on his chest, made her snort a little and smile at the sight of him. She never meant to wake him up; Henry stirred slightly and she went back to her original position in the bed and the ceiling. She would take care of his book and she would take off his glasses later when he would be fast asleep.

Henry had told her before that he had resigned and she was happy that he had made this decision. That he himself had made this decision. His resignation had been a relief, for him, but for her as well. This was what he wanted and she supported him in whatever he chose to do. Their past had taught them that much. However, she couldn't bring herself to tell him what was on her mind. Things with Ali had settled down for now and Elizabeth was happy her youngest daughter was back home for a while. It gave her much needed peace of mind. And yet, on that ceiling, she kept seeing the same word over and over. RUN.

Elizabeth tried to settle into a more comfortable position; she pulled her arms from underneath her head and rested them on her chest just underneath the covers. She sighed heavily. She closed her eyes, but she failed to turn her mind off of things. She sighed again. It was enough to pull Henry out of his slumber. He was a bit surprised that he had fallen asleep and that she hadn't woken him up. He closed his mouth, closed the book that wasn't that interesting after all and put it on his bedside table along with his glasses. Then he turned towards her. He rested his head on his left arm while his right one snuck to her hands that were still resting on her chest. It got her attention and she turned her head to see the questioning look on his face.

'What's on your mind, babe?'

'I can't sleep,' she sighed frustrated.

'Hey, Ali's home, she's safe.' Henry enquired.

'I know,' she sighed again. 'I know, Henry. It's just…,' she turned to the ceiling once more.

Henry moved his hand from her chest to her cheek and turned her face towards him again.

'Babe, tell me what's on your mind,' Henry ordered her softly.

'I can't. I can't tell you. ' Elizabeth's words shook Henry.

'I want to, I just can't. Not now, anyways.'

'Okay,' Henry replied, worry obviously written on his face.

Elizabeth had turned towards Henry completely by now. She looked him straight in the eye. 'I'm sorry. I have to clear some things out for myself first. I need to be hundred percent sure myself before I spring this on you.'

Henry nodded and moved his hand towards her shoulder and upper arm. Rubbing circles on her skin seemed to calm her and put her in a state of mind that would get her to sleep. 'Whenever you're ready, I'll listen.'

'Thank you,' she pronounced in the faintest of whispers. She moved closer to Henry, tenderly kissed his lips before moving her head to rest on his chest where she could hear the beating of his heart. It always calmed her.

'Are you ready to go to sleep?' Henry wondered.

'I don't know,' she meant what she said, 'there's so many things going through my head right now. And I can't seem to turn it off.' She had started drawing a lazy pattern across his chest.

'Anything I can do to help?' Henry wanted to know.

'Distract me,' she ordered him.

'Okay, any kind of distractions you prefer?'

'Tell me a story.' She loved listening to his soothing voice while she was cuddled up in bed with him. 'Take my mind off of things.'

Henry was the one to look at the ceiling now. Finding the first words for his story. He swallowed. Put his hands on her lower back and began.

After having sneakily followed the most beautiful girl I had ever seen around for months, I finally had the courage to ask her out when I ran into her at Joe's Coffee.

Elizabeth sighed, not a heavy sigh but rather a sigh of content. This was her favourite story.

To my massive surprise, this girl that I had never talked to before, agreed to go out with me. A complete stranger, that's what I was to her. I, on the other hand, had found out what she studied, which bench she went to for reading, how she drank her coffee at Joe's. Burgers and bowling, that's what she had suggested while sipping her coffee. Burgers and bowling. I liked her already.

Elizabeth smiled at the memory.

I must have seemed like a complete douchebag. I was so nervous, I couldn't eat. All I could do was look at her and be mesmerized with her. She, however, ate her entire plate and she even kept stealing some of my French Fries until my plate was completely empty as well. She was like nothing I had ever seen before. And from that moment I knew she was everything to me. On top of that, she even managed to empty an ice cream sundae without the wink of an eye. God, this girl could eat. And bowl. She beat me. And she would beat me every single time after that.

Henry lifted his head to see if she had dozed off already. But she quickly lifted her head to look up at him, the exciting look on her face gesturing him to continue.

I leapt. When I was walking her back to her dorm, I leapt. I snuck my fingers alongside her hand and she took my hand. Just like that, she locked her fingers with mine. Hands entwined, we walked. I honestly had never been happier. The small talk had made room for comfortable silence. This girl was … She was like a book, and I had just read the first page. She stopped and turned to look at me. Ever so slowly she came closer until our lips touched. Her lips were the softest lips I had ever tasted. The sweetest lips I had ever tasted. And when it ended, I wanted to taste them again.

Henry put a kiss to the top of her head as he snaked his arm underneath her to pull her even closer to him.

I walked her to her doorstep and kissed her. That kiss was even better than the first one we'd shared. And I knew I could never get tired of her. I knew that. Kissing her goodbye was the hardest thing because I really didn't want to say goodbye. Little did I know, she didn't want to say goodbye either. She opened the door to her dorm and grabbed my hand and to my surprise she pulled me inside.

Henry laughed as he reminisced.

'Don't get the wrong idea,' she'd said. She told me about her troubles catching any sleep as memories of loved ones haunted her in her dreams. She'd rather stay awake. We talked for hours and I was getting awfully tired. But I wanted to hear everything there was to know about her. She kept talking. She was unstoppable. In the confinement of her room, she told me everything I needed to know about her and her past. Everything else was left for me to discover. And I was ready to explore. The hours passed by and she noticed my attention was fading and she asked if I wanted to lie with her. Simple as that.

Elizabeth, her voice hoarse from listening to Henry finally spoke, 'That was the best night's sleep I had in forever.'

'Remember what you asked me back then?' Henry asked her.

Elizabeth smiled and nodded.

'Spoon me again tonight?' she asked him while looking up at him sheepishly.

Henry softly kissed her lips before he gave her the go. She turned onto her other side and waited. Henry quickly moved closer towards her and put his arms around her. Elizabeth smiled. Content. She was where she wanted to be. Safe in his arms. No troubles. No running. Not yet, anyway. Elizabeth settled closer into him until she was as comfortable as she could possibly be. She took his hand and put it to her lips. She pressed a kiss to it and finally let it rest on her heart.

'Thank you, Henry'

'Anytime, babe, anytime.'