Chapter 4 1/2 Letting Go
So this is for the Twisted Relationships Challenge. It is an offshoot of my story A Good Life. You don't have to read the story to understand it only read the background.
Background: Henry was killed during the war by a mysterious Everafter rumored to be Mirror's right hand man. Sabrina left to NYC for police training, and at the end of her stay was found to be missing.
She was asleep in the arm chair before a dying fire, an old picture of Henry in her arms. She'd been going through Henry's old stuff. Mr. Clay had taken Relda and the girls to the train station to drop off Puck who was going to find Sabrina. Jake was moping in his room.
The days had gotten to her and she simply couldn't keep her eyes open.
Veronica was walking through Relda's old garden. She felt a great sadness inside her, but didn't quite know why.
She felt a pair of arms encircle her, familiar arms. They were warm and comforting.
She felt a sigh escape her as, tears began to fill her eyes, "Henry"
"I loved you."
Veronica turned and saw him. Henry's face was bruised and bloody, and his eyes were accusatory.
"Then you lost her. How could you just let her go?" His arms were no longer warm, but cold and hard.
He dropped her and backed away angrily, slowly fading, "You betrayed me! You betrayed the girls!"
Veronica startled awake, with the dream fresh in her mind. She started to sob angrily. "It's not my fault. You left me!", she screamed. She through the photo across the room, "Do you hear me Henry, it's not my fault!"
Veronica took one of his old journals and began to rip out the pages, throwing then into the fire, "You left me to take care of them, you were never coming back! It was you who abandoned and betrayed us! Not me!"
Veronica dropped to her knees and cried, "Why! Why did he have to die?
Again she felt familiar arms around her, but these weren't Henry, "Niki you need to let go of him!"
She relaxed into him sobbing and he rocked her.
They stayed like that until she could finally breath, "I can't do this anymore Jake, I can't. He still insists on ruling my life even from death!"
Jake smiled sweetly at her and chuckled, "I can't imagine anyone controlling you Niki, not even my stubborn hotheaded brother."
She tried to wipe the tears away as she laughed with him, "He tried to. I know that he loved us and just wanted to protect us, but he was so blind sometimes."
"I know, but I think it's time to let go of your pain and anger, Niki. We should finish what you started here."
She nodded OK and dragged the box containing Henry's belongings closer to the fire grate. Veronica reached in and removed a bundle of their old love-letters. "Did this work for you after...?"
His face fell into a sad reminiscent smile, "After Brier? Yeah, a little bit. Back then, nothing made me feel better. Even getting revenge didn't do it, that just made me even more angry. But when I finally let go, well then I could actually begin to be happy."
She bowed her head fingering the edge of an old envelope. "Should I say something?"
" It might help, or it could just make you look crazy person talking to a dead guy," He grinned.
"OK," she slowly slid the packet of letters into the now crackling fire, "Um...Henry, I loved you but I have to move on now. It's not my fault about Sabrina. I know that now. And I know that it's not my fault that you died. I shared the best years of my life with you, and I will never forget them, but now it's my turn to have more best years with other people. Goodbye," one last tear trickled down her face.
He pulled her into hug and placed a kiss on the top of her head, "I'm proud of you Niki, now come on lets celebrate!"
The two sat on the top of a hill overlooking the town. They traded a bucket of ice-cream while they talked.
For the first time Veronica felt like she could talk about her relationship with Henry. "You know even before we were taken by Oz, our marriage was on the rocks. We'd been seeing a councilor, which didn't help much,but we wanted to stay try, at least for the girls. I'd though maybe, just maybe the news about the baby would patch things up, but I never go the chance. I loved him, so much! But he had so much fear and anger and prejudice. He couldn't forgive the Everafters. I think he supposed that if they never existed, then maybe his dad wouldn't have died. I couldn't condone how he just cut that family off. Then a few days before the abduction, he found out about my involvement in the Everafter community. He was so angry, he said he thought we should take a break for a while. Then after we woke up from the spell, it was worse, he didn't talk about it, but I think if he'd servived the war, we would have ended."
Jake looked at her, smiling, "The lucky guy never even realized how good he had it. Do you remember the old days, high-school?"
Veronica frowned, "Of course! what about them?"
"I had a really big crush on you, and then it broke my watching you see Henry and Goldie swoon over each-other. My point is that he has never known what he has in you."
"Wa-wa-wait a moment here! You had a crush on me?" Her eyes were big as satellite dishes.
"Of course, I though you knew! I mean, that incident in the cafeteria!"
"No! I didn't know! But know that I do, I wonder, is it too late? For us I mean."
Jake kissed her gently on the lips and smiled, "I think it's just on time."