Hello! How are you today? Few reviews on my last chapter and rather rough with Emma! (lol) Poor her! This one is about Henry, Regina and Alex… Enjoy it!
Chapter 5
It had been at least two minutes since he was stand up at this door without daring to knock. When he had seen Regina in the evening of his arrival, he had had to fight against his desire to throw himself on her to embrace her.
Always behind the door he had a backlash when it opened abruptly.
- You are late, the manager underlined.
- Exc… excuse me.
- Well, come in and take a seat.
Henry sat, ill-at-ease. He stared at the woman. She looked like her mother physically speaking, but something was different… she seemed happy and spread. This observation saddened him… she was happy without him. Still lost into his thoughts and staring the brunette he heard vaguely somebody called him.
- Henry? Henry!?
- Huh… what?
- Your mother has never told you that it was badly polished to stare at people as you have just made it? Regina asked him.
- So… sorry!
She rolled her eyes and opened the file about the young boy
- Seen that you arrived rather late yesterday, I had no leisure to complete your file. We are thus going to make that now.
- …
- First of all I need to know your last name. Apparently you didn't want to give it to the policemen, nor even to the judge. Do you want to give it to me?
- Mills
- Excuse me?
- My name is Henry Mills!
- All right I see that Mister wants to continue to play the wise guy. You could have to be a little more creative instead of taking the name that is registered on my office's door.
She stared the young boy but he didn't react.
- Then… ok for Mills!
- …
- You are not a chatterbox in what I see.
The truth was that Henry made superhuman efforts to hold back the tears which he felt reached in the corner of eyes. To see her mother handled him as any kid of this center was a real torture.
Suddenly the woman got up and came to settle down in front of him.
- Look Henry, she says with a soft voice, I don't know what urged you to make what you made, but I want you to know that here nobody will judge you. We are not your enemies. We are there to help you to build yourself if you give us the chance.
The teenager didn't look at her, finding his feet much more interesting, this is when he felt her.
She put her index under his chin to raise his face. This simple gesture of tenderness was too much for Henry. He stared her mother and tears passed by silently.
It was not the first time where Regina saw this kind of scene, but strangely she felt more affected by the sadness in the look of Henry than she had never been since she took care of this center. She was not able to refrain from embracing him while trying to comfort him of best that she could. They stayed in this position a few minutes until the teenager manages to find an appearance of peace. When Regina took a step back to return behind her desk, Henry felt very alone.
After a few seconds of silence, the manager talked the young boy.
- I don't want to hurry you, but if you want me to help you I need to know your story, she says looking at him tenderly as her mother made it.
What could he tell her? She had no souvenir of him or of the enchanted forest. He only could be evasive.
- Well, I believe it's over for today if you don't decide to be more talkative. I am going to give you a copy of the regulation of this establishment. There is nothing of very complicated. As regards the high school, you are going to have to take a small exam so that we know what your level is. Follow the instructions during your stay here and you'll see that your six months will end before you realize it. Well … that's it! You can join the others.
But contrary to all expectations the teenager made no movement to leave and remained pushed well in his chair, the look was staring to the ground.
- I was angry, he whispered.
- I beg your pardon?
He raised the head and looked at her mother.
- I was angry; this is why I smashed everything with my bat. That had to go out!
His glare was cold and intense. Regina would have liked him to go on but as the boy remained dumb, she ventured to question him.
- Can you tell me why or with whom you were so angry?
- Against my mothers!
- Your… your mothers? Oh ok! It is because few people annoy you to the school because of … of… so… the fact that you have two moms instead of having a father and a mother that you is mad at them? Because you have the impression to be out the normality fixed by the society and because the others look at you differently?
Henry tilted the head on the side and roared. Not because of the words of the manager but more by imagining his two mothers in the way Regina was imagining them. The savior and the evil queen in couple… wow!
- Did I say something funny? The brunette asked.
- It's just that… in fact I have two mothers but not in the sense that you thought. I have a biological mother and a foster mother.
- Oh… I see! And your father?
- Dead!
- Sorry… And… and why are you mad at them?
- Because they are silly! The boy says.
- It's not an acceptable argument. You know, we, the adults we are all a little bit stupid, it seems to come with our instructions for use, she joked.
Henry answered her joke by a wide smile.
- For how many days are you in running away? Regina asked.
- Few days.
- A particular reason to choose Boston as hangout.
- My moms quarreled and my foster mother left. I managed to find her track here.
- Then, you know where she is?
Henry shook his head.
- If you gave me her name I could maybe contact her so that she can come to see you. Or, you can also give me the address and phone number of your other mother. She must have been worried to death.
- …
- Hem… I see that I took it too far, she says in smiling. But don't hold it against me to have given it a try. It is definitively over for today, you can go out.
Henry got up and went to the door.
- Can you make me a service and ask to Alexandra to come to see me?
In front of the skeptical air of the boy, Regina knew that he didn't know about who she was speaking.
- We called Alex because she hates Alexandra, and it would seem that she has taken you under her wing according to the rumors, she says with a wink. Ah yes, last little thing before you go out, here everybody calls me Regina even if I am the manager of this center, feel you comfortable to do it. It is much less formal and so much nicer.
It's mom that I would like to call you, the young boy thought by closing the door of the office.
Later, Alexandra sat instead of Henry in front of Regina.
- So… what does your majesty want? The teenager joked.
- It seems that you made friend with our last boarder … Henry?
- Maybe… why?
- This boy intrigues me. I don't have the impression him to be in his right place here.
- Well… we are two!
- Give me a service and try to learn a little more on him.
- What? You want me to become an informer!? Bad dig up Gina! It is not my style and you know it.
- The big words! I just want to learn a little more. I feel that he hides us quite a lot of things and I want to know what.
- But why this interest? All those who are here hide things, me the first one, and then why to interest you to him in particular?
- Is it a small touch of jealousy? Regina says by smiling.
- Yeah… huh… I mean not at all…
Actually she was totally right. Regina had become for Alexandra a real friend, almost a mother and to see somebody coming to take her place was not a good thing, even if it was Henry and even if she liked him.
- Look Alex, you know that you have a huge place in my heart and nobody will come to take it to you, I promise!
She looked at the girl with so much tenderness that this one felt an immense relief.
- So, you agree? The manager asked.
- Maybe… only if you swear that you won't use the information against him.
- You know me better than that Alex! You are going eventually hurt me! That will stay between you and me, promises.
- And what I win in all this?
- I found strange that you didn't ask for it yet. And if I managed to reduce at the most your stay here.
In these words the face of the teenager darkened. A remission was the worst awards for her, because it meant going back at her home. Find an alcoholic mother and a stepfather in wandering hands. When she looked at Regina the latter could see the fear that its proposal had aroused.
She got up from her desk, knelt down before the girl and taken the hands between hers.
- Hey Alex! It's ok. I am sorry to have you to propose this deal. I spoke before thinking. I don't want either that you return to this… it… I don't even know how called that. Look, I work on your case to try to find a foster family at the end of your stay here, OK …
- …
- Alexandra… look at me! I promise you that you won't back to live there, even if it means me to take you at my home, Regina says, the effect has been immediate, an immense smile appeared on the teenager's face.
- You… You'd take me with you? She asked, eyes close to tears.
- You are an adorable young girl, who just needs to be surrounded with people who love you. Then yes, if ever at the end of your stay I didn't manage to find you a foster family, I shall make a request for you to come to live at my home until I find you one.
- Deal?
- Deal! But you know, if you tend to find me hard here, I let you imagine the whole multiplied by ten.
- I'll sign anyway ! The young girl answered with a smile.
Both looked a few minutes silently, each smiling to the other one.
- And thus for our small business, you agree or not?
- You didn't still tell me what that would bring back to me …
- You aren't fuddled! Bring me some information and we talk again of it, OK?
- OK!
On this Alex got up and got ready to get back to her room. But before making it, she by-passed desk and embraced Regina. This one had no choice to answer at this sudden assault and surrounded the arms around the girl.
- Thanks Gina, she whispered in the manager's ear.
To be continued...