Henry. Just. Henry.

Chapter 37|A Kiss Gone Wrong

Cedric appeared within the aura and sucked in a heavy breath. "Geez! Every time I use that device to get here I have to hold my breath, it ain’t fun!”

“Hi Cedric.” Henry said.

The ghost blinked a few, registering Henry and Ezra before him… not Fallon as he thought.

“Hi Ezra… Henry.” He said.

Henry stepped up, eyebrows pressed so close it could be a unibrow, and fiddled with his fingers.

“Cedric…” He said his name, but what after? What could he say that he didn’t yesterday to fix this? He already apologized like he’d die without forgiveness.

He breathed. The best things to say are always from the heart.

“I love you Cedric. I love you so much. You’re my only sibling and it feels fucking amazing… beautiful… surreal… to have you in my life even as a ghost. I want to hold your hand, train with you, walk with you, hug you. Everything you said I want to do with you too. I can’t take back those words, I already said them, but fuck… I regret them so much. I hate myself right now.”

Henry looked at him, eyes on eyes, except his were tearing up. “I don’t want you to hate me, or never talk to me again. You’re too precious and a permanent fixture in my life for that to happen. So, please Cedric, I’m so so sorry. Please forgive me.”

A tear slipped past his cheek, and he whipped his eyes, sniffling.

Cedric pouted like a child who’s lost their mother and wants to cry. He knew he and Henry would grow close eventually, but to hear his brother say all those things, and mean every iota of his words made him want to cry, laugh and smile at the same time.

He loved and adored his brother since birth, and for eighteen years, all he wanted was for his brother to love him. And he does, so much in fact.

Cedric floated to Henry’s eye level, well almost, he was taller after all, and pushed his hand through his chest.

“Hey, that’s cold, what are you-“

“I forgive you. After you said all that, I just wanted you to feel something, even if it’s the chill of my ghostly touch. I love you too Henry, always have and I never will stop. Siblings fight, it happens.”

“Never thought my first argument with my sibling would be as a ghost though.”

Cedric laughed, then looked at Ezra, smiling. “Take care of him.”

“I definitely will.”

✧✧✧

It was time to end this avoidance game with Fallon, and thanks to Cedric, Henry received some good insight on how to approach him. Hostility and dominance never worked with Fallon.

If Henry wanted to untie the knot of confusion, he couldn’t angrily pull at every intricate loop, he had to examine the knot and be strategic in his effort to unravel it. One tug at a time.

Yesterday’s argument was still fresh, so Henry gave it a couple minutes before he scoured the city for Fallon in a calm –not angry- manner.

He checked his wristwatch he got for his birthday and it was half-past twelve. This was the first time he even got to wear his watch since then.

He sighed. What a year these past few weeks had been. Henry ran home to escape the drama of Rion Kingdom, but he felt like he was the drama, for everywhere he went, it wasn’t far behind.

Shaking his head of tiring thoughts, he, Ezra and Cedric checked the last place Fallon could be; under the herkit tree in the prairies.

Thanks to Cedric’s suggestion, Henry found him staring at the clouds daydreaming. He wasn’t going to let him escape this time, it was now or never. However, he was going to follow Cedric’s advice.