Chapter Thirty

Ubi nos eamus hinc? - 'Where do we go from here?'

March 10th 1989

18.37pm

The storm continued to battle on outside, The windows shaking with the force of the wind, the tree branches breaking and bending as the once before beautiful scenery now in wreckage. Elizabeths eyes burned as she kept them open, determined not to blink and let her tears fall. Her rage twisted inside her, the lies, the deception the months of bring strung along began to haunt her mind; the trust obliterate within a single sentence. She wasn't able to shelter herself from this storm.

'Look at me' she almost commanded as she watched him hang his head in shame. He sniffled and slowly lifted his head to look at her. He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to keep the tears at bay, he locked his gaze onto hers; the dishonestly pouring from them as she looked at him. She broke her gaze from him and ran her tongue across her top teeth as she took a moment for herself. Her chest began to rise and fall at a more labile pace as the weight of his mistakes lay heavy on her.

'Elizabeth I thought I was doing the right thing, we were not even together and I didn't want to lose you before you were even mind. I was going to tell you I swear but we were so happy and I didn't want to ruin that and then -'

'Please stop talking' she whispered as the emotion clung to her throat walls. She gripped a hold of her own hand, squeezing her fingers as she processed the last five months of deception. She looked up at him, her facial expression bare, her eyes cold and deflated.

'I don't even know what to say' she whispered honestly

'You don't have to day anything, just listen' he moved around the kitchen and stood before her, he took her hands in his and held them tight 'Please just hear me out'. He begged. She slipped her hands from inside his and stepped way

'I've listened to you for months, listened to you lie to me constantly, telling me you didn't know, telling me all these lies. Just last month you promised me PROMISED me Henry that you would not let anything destroy us. You promised to protect us. YOU PROMISED TO NEVER HURT ME HENRY' her voice grew louder and the rate became quicker as the words tumbled uncontrollably from her mouth. She gripped onto the kitchen table chair tight in an attempt to control her rage and steady herself as the physical pain battled with her mental torment.

'I thought I was protecting us, I didn't mean to hurt you' his voice broke as his tears choked him up. He stood watching her, his own heart breaking as he watched his everything shatter into pieces. She closed her eyes hearing his words, cursing herself for not knowing better. Her body began to shake as her emotions took control of her

'I think you need to leave' she whispered as her heart sank, her rage dying as disappointment crept in.

'Elizabeth no, let's talk about this, we can get some food in and chat, talk this through' he tried to reason as his tears spilled. She couldn't look at him, she knew he was crying; the image of the man she loved breaking in front of her would push her over the edge, she knew that. She shook her head as he spoke to her

'I let my guard down, I let you in, I gave you my all and it wasn't enough. You don't respect me enough to tell me the truth, how can I trust anything you say Henry?' Her hands gripped the chair tighter as she inhaled deeply trying to push the pain away

'You can, Elizabeth I haven't lied to you about anything-'

'BUT YOU HAVE, RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING OF OUR RELATIONSHIP HENRY' she let go of the chair with force and it ricocheted off the table, the contact matching creating a harrowing sound, matching the blustering storm outside.

'You had that meeting before we were even in a relationship' she wasn't talking directly to him, her mind began to piece the information together

'You were lying to me the whole time I didn't say about my parents, you hypocrite. You made me feel like shit Henry and all that time YOU were lying to me!' She turned to face him

'Maureen knew, at Christmas she made a comment but I didn't pick it up, then just recently when that girl came to me you lied about it then as well. You've made me look like a fool Henry, was this all part of your plan? Just string me along for six months to get your fix with a Girl before you're deployed? Henry we talked about our future and all that time you knew. The first Time you told me you loved me you done so with the knowledge that you were STILL LYING TO ME' her breathing became rapid as all the pieces of the puzzle slotted into place; except she quickly realised there was no room for Henry in this puzzle anymore, he wasn't the missing piece.

'Elizabeth please calm down, take some deep breaths' his voice pitched with concern as she panicked before him

'leave please' she panted

'I am not leaving you in this state Elizabeth'

'GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT HENRY! JUST GO!' She screamed, her screams turning to sobs as she finished speaking

'Please Henry go' she whimpered before him as her tears ran down her face and the sobs ripped through the house. He watched as she crumbled to pieces and dropped to the chair beside her, her body shook violently as she cried.

'We're done Henry' she muffled.

'No, no please, Elizabeth we can work this out'

'No, we can't Henry, I'm so disappointed in you, I thought you were better than this' she pulled herself up and left him stood in her kitchen. She carried her heavy body to her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

Henry stood alone in the kitchen for a few moments before composing himself and gathering his things. He headed for the door and left her spare key on the side. He stepped out into the storm and thew his hood up on his coat ready to head home. The rain battled down against him, the wind blew his hood down and sent shivers down his spine, the damage the storm caused was visible as broken beaches lay across the paths, but the damage was nothing like what he had caused, these beaches could be picked up and removed, the path cleared and no one would know any different. But the damage he had caused was going to have a lasting impact; the kind that changed you for life.