XVII
Henry shares his plan with Eleven. Well, at least the basics: the first thing he'll do is obtain forged documents for the two of them. Since enough time has passed, there should be hardly any problem in using his real name; however, he will pretend he's some distant heir to the original Creel family. As for Eleven, Henry reveals her birth name and surname, which he has found out by digging into the lab files a while ago: Jane Ives. And that's the one she finally adopts.
(It may not be the smartest move, but Henry feels this is something he owes to her—not to strip her of her identity).
The second thing he will do is temporarily rent a small apartment for the two of them.
The third is to buy—through an intermediary who keeps his name anonymous, so he can avoid as much paper trail as possible—the abandoned house that they are currently occupying. (And a car, which he is determined to learn to drive as soon as possible).
The fourth thing: to renovate the house.
The fifth thing: to move back in.
Lastly, once he has investigated properly, he plans to carefully invest their fortune so it generates steady income and they can continue living on it.
"It shouldn't take long," Henry assures her. "Six months at most, and we will be settled."
Eleven promises to be patient.
"In the meanwhile, we will buy textbooks and I will take it upon myself to teach you the basics. Hopefully you can attend school next year."
Eleven remembers Henry's story—the way that no one at school understood him.
"Is it… necessary?" she asks.
Henry nods.
"But… it… hurt you…"
He suppresses a sigh.
"Yes, but you and I are not the same person. And… I think interacting with children your age would be beneficial to you. You must learn to talk to others, to communicate, to…" manipulate, he thinks, "… negotiate."
Since he doesn't want to worry her too much, he doesn't mention the fact her not attending school would draw a lot of attention. At Eleven's unconvinced expression, Henry chuckles.
"Come on, I myself went to school until I was twelve. I assure you, even if it can be… uncomfortable at times, your life will not be in danger at any given point.
"And if someone dares to even look at you the wrong way," he says with a smile that could only be described as dangerous, "well, I'd like to see them try."