4. Heavy
She finds him slumped against the barber's chair, staring sightlessly ahead of him. His razor, usually clenched possessively in his fingers, hangs loosely in his limp grasp.
"Mr. T?" she says softly, afraid of disturbing him.
He does not respond.
"Love?" She raises her voice until it's almost a shout. Still she gets nothing from him.
Cautiously, she enters the room. At times like these he's unpredictable; she doesn't know if he'll spring into life and threaten her with a razor for disturbing him.
She's by his side now, and after a moment's hesitation, drops to her knees beside him.
"Mr. Todd?" She lowers her voice once again, accompanying it with a tentative hand on his arm. "Look at me, dear."
Slowly, dark eyes find dark eyes. Nellie's widen at the desperately lost expression in his. The turmoil threatens to spill over. She knows he's on the brink of insanity.
Without a word, she pulls his head to her breast, cradles it. He remains stiff, but he doesn't pull away. Progress? She hopes so.
Her heart bleeds for him. She knows only too well what it is like for a heavy burden to become too much. She's carried one of her own for fifteen years. One that he must never find out about. Lucy.
He's cracking with the pressure of his revenge. But if he lets her, she'll gladly share his heavy load.