Twenty Seven

I was staying at Henry's house for a while since we hadn't really spent much time together after our conversation the other day. Henry was reluctant for me to stay there because he doesn't trust his dad, but I managed to persuade him. Honestly, all I wanted was to be around him.

Henry pulled me closer to him in his bed as we lay there, trying to fall asleep.

"You okay?" Henry asked.

"Yeah, I just can't sleep," I said.

"Are you cold?" Henry asked.

I nodded.

Henry pulled me even closer. I could feel his warm breath on the back of my neck. He turned me around and our noses were almost touching.

"Is that better?" Henry asked.

I nodded and we looked into each other's eyes, we were basically hugging but lying down, and our faces were incredibly close together.

"Maybe if you think about something other than sleeping you'll fall asleep," Henry suggested. "I hope we're in the same homegroup this year."

"Same, I hope we're with some of the others too," I said. "Our year is kind of small so I guess there's a good chance."

"Things are just so different now," Henry said in awe. "But a good different."

"Definitely," I agreed.

We had small talk for a while and I eventually drifted off to sleep.

I woke up in Henry's bed, but he wasn't there. I heard noises in the kitchen so I assumed it was Henry. I got up, out of bed and headed for the bathroom to take a shower.

I turned on the water and waited for it to heat up as I took off all my clothes.

I stepped in and enjoyed the warmth of the water, which was amazing since mornings could get pretty cold towards the end of Summer. I did all the usual things that you do in the shower, I washed my hair and body, shaved and brushed my teeth.

"Henry, is that you in the shower?" Butch asked from behind the bathroom door.

"No, it's Primrose!" I Called back.

As soon as I said that I regretted it because the door opened. I couldn't see much because the shower was fogged up, but I could tell that Butch had opened the door stepped into the bathroom, and closed and locked the door. 

"Did you want something?" I asked.

Butch shrugged.

"Do you mind giving me a few minutes?" I asked.

"No," Butch said, opening the shower door.

"What are you doing?" I asked, holding my hands over my body, scrambling to cover myself up and stepping backward until my back touched the wall.

Butch removed his belt, followed by his shirt and then his pants, then he was standing there in just his underwear. I stepped forward to turn the shower off and get out, but after Butch had removed his last article of clothing, his underwear, he stepped into the shower, blocking me from the tap and taking away any chance of me getting out.

Memories came rushing back, the feeling of strong, large hands on my body, the feeling of being trapped and the way I felt when I was held against my will and forced upon. 

I started to panic, tears began to pour out of my eyes and I started to breathe extremely heavily.

"W-where's Henry?" I asked.

"He'll be here soon," Butch said. "Once I've had some fun."

I ran forward, attempting to push him, but he was too strong and was holding onto the wall to support himself. There was no chance of escape.

Butch put his hands on my waist as he pushed me against the wall and pressed himself against me. I went into a state of panic, and instead of crying my mind went to other places. I breathed heavily and loudly, my head hit the top of the shower cubicle multiple times and I saw black dots appearing in front of me. I felt myself being pushed hard up against the wall in a rhythm, my head hitting the roof of the shower every time I was pushed up. The black dots got bigger and bigger until black was all that I could see.

Henry's P.O.V.

I finished walking my bulldog, Joey. I assumed Prim would be fine on her own. My dad was doing a night shift and usually wasn't home until mid-morning. I didn't want to wake her up but I knew that she would be okay on her own.

I let Joey off the lead and he ran behind the house to go and play and I went inside. The shower was running. I shrugged, accepting that fact that my dad must have gotten home early and went into my room to see if Prim had woken up. 

She wasn't there.

"Prim?" I called.

I didn't get a reply. I walked back into the corridor, facing the bathroom.

I saw Butch pushing himself into Primrose and then breathing a sigh of relief as he dropped her small and unconscious body to the floor, a satisfied smile on his face.

Intense anger ran through me, the most intense anger and hatred I had ever felt. No words could describe the adrenaline rush I had as I charged towards my dad and pushed him against the wall. I punched him multiple times and he pushed me to the floor before he walked out laughing.

I screamed, not able to find words for the way I was feeling. I held Prim's wet body as I kneeled down on the floor. I sobbed and kissed her multiple times.

I held her as I ran down to the phone and called 911. They promised to come as quick as possible.

"Called the cops on me, did you?" My dad asked me.

I ignored him, not wanting to speak to or see that vile man again. 

When the ambulance came, I showed them where Prim was. They put a hospital gown on her and put a stethoscope to her heart and did a few tests.

"I'm Doctor Stevens," said one of the Doctors, introducing himself.

"And I'm Doctor Randy," said the other. 

"Physically she's fine, except for a bit of trauma and shock. No bones broken, no permanent or serious damage. She should be waking up fairly soon," said Dr Stevens. "Can I ask what happened?"

"He raped her," I accused, pointing to my dad.

"That is a very serious accusation to make," Doctor Randy said.

"It's bullshit," spat my dad.

"Would you like to repeat those claims?" Dr Stevens asked curiously.

"Yes, Butch Bowers raped Primrose Winston," I said firmly. 

"We'll send a cop over tonight to deal with the situation properly. As for Primrose, keep her on a bed, make sure she's warm and dry. She'll be fine," Dr Stevens said as they prepared to leave.

When they were gone, I lifted Primrose out of the bathroom and into my bedroom onto my bed. I took off the hospital gown and I put her in one of my hoodies, some sweatpants, and a pair of socks. I put my blankets over her and sat next to her for a while. I decided to quickly go to the store to get her favorite drink, orange juice, for when she woke up. I knew we didn't have any.

As I stepped down the stairs of the front porch I heard someone call my name.

"Henry," they whispered. 

The voice didn't sound male or female nor juvenile or elderly. I looked around and no one was there.

"Henry," they whispered again.

I turned around, scanning the area around me for the second time. I saw a red balloon attached to the mailbox, which definitely wasn't there when I looked no more than thirty seconds ago.

I walked over to it and it looked like there was something big jammed into the mailbox. I pulled it out, and it was a red box tied up with a shiny red ribbon. I pulled the ribbon and opened the box.

It was my fucking knife, the knife that I lost at the beginning of Summer. But who the fuck found it? How did they know that it was mine? One of my friends might have found it but they wouldn't give it back to me this way.

Then I remembered that red balloon, it was that mother fucking clown. It must have known my destiny because as I stood there with that knife in my hand I knew what I had to do with it.

I had to avenge Primrose.

Keeping a firm grip on the knife, I went back inside to where Butch was watching football. He always had the TV turned up really loud and this time was no different, so he didn't hear me come in. 

I stood behind him, ready to open the knife into his neck.

I counted down in my head, three, two, one.

I switched the knife and then quickly pulled my hand away and dropped the knife to the floor. My dad went to pull it out of his neck but he was too late. His arm fell and drooped lifelessly. Blood trickled down from his neck and his head bobbed back and hit the back of the couch. He was dead. I had to dispose of his body.

Luckily, he had the fire going, so I dragged his lifeless body off of the armchair and threw him in. I had no desire to see a body burn, not even someone I hated as much as I hated him. I ran back upstairs to be with Prim.

"Henry!" She cried as I walked into the room, she was awake. 

She looked pale. Her wet blonde hair was pushed back and I admired her beauty in this natural state. 

"Prim," I said quietly as I sat down next to her and hugged her.

She pulled me down and hugged me even tighter.

"D-do you remember anything?" I asked.

Prim looked down. "Yeah."

"Do you need anything?" I asked.

"No," she said. "Where is he?"

"Gone," I told her.

"Gone where?" She asked.

"I killed him," I said.

"What?" She questioned in shock.

"After what he did to you, I needed to kill him. It was just something I had to do," Henry said. "But please don't tell anyone, it's our secret."

"Of course I won't," Prim agreed. "But you didn't have to do that. What if you get caught when they come looking for him or something?"

"They won't. He'll just be another missing person. And there's no way that they can prove it was me," I said. "I thought it all through."

Primrose's P.O.V.

I couldn't really find the words to say to Henry about what he did to Butch. So I just smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek, which seemed to have been a good idea.

"Can I go home?" I asked.

"Are you sure?" Henry asked.

"I think I need to be alone for a few days," I said.

"What about Cole?" Henry asked.

"He'll be gone most of the time," I said. "And I know how to hide from him and avoid him."

"No," Henry demanded.

"Why not?" I demanded. "You aren't the boss of me."

"It's not safe," Henry insisted.

As Henry grabbed my wrist and pulled me back, I flinched and he quickly let go.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Don't be," I said, taking his hand in mine. "Henry, don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do, it's him I don't trust," Henry said.

"Well, then you can trust me to keep myself safe. I'm gonna to walk back home now," I told him. "Are these your sweats?"

"Yeah, just bring them back whenever, or never," Henry said with a smirk.

I put my other hand on his hand so I was holding his hand with both of mine. I bought his hand to my heart so that he could feel it beating and I looked into his eyes.

"I'm alive," I said.

It was a simple gesture, but I knew it meant everything to him. 

I felt so much love in my heart and everything inside me was telling me to pull him closer and put my lips on his. I kissed his hand and headed out of the house.

My walk back was dreadful since I was alone and stuck with only my mind to keep me company. I was at a breaking point. This thing with Butch had just about pushed me over the edge. I thought of jumping off the cliff into the cold, deep lake but pushed the thought out of my mind straight away. I opened my front door and walked inside.

Cole was gone, thank god. I decided to get my mind off things by watching TV and eating my feelings.

I was safe, for now.