The Next Reminder

Chapter XIV || The Photo Album

*Henry's POV*

There's now a stack of photo albums on the floor of my bedroom, and I have only gone through two. Most of the albums contain pictures of me from my high school years, or me and William in our college's marching band. Electronic devices always weren't allowed in the stage, but I really couldn't help myself. I took pictures of almost everything. I flip the page, and there was a photo of William falling flat on his face right on the marching band field. It was raining that night, and he lost his footing. The photo was courtesy to my mother, and I still thank her for that photo. I can't help but cackle when I come across it. Too bad I stopped taking pictures after everything happened, but then again, there was nothing I wanted to take pictures of. My family abandoned me, and I lost my happiness.

The door clicks, swinging open. I don't look up as if my head was stuck looking down. Someone walks over to me, pushing the photo album out of my lap using a cane, and that's what grabs my attention. "I was waiting for you to be alone." A British accent comes through, and I get up, looking at the person who broke into my house, Elizabeth right behind him.

"What's going on..?" I ask, backing up as I grab a thick, hardcover book for protection. Elizabeth comes out from behind her father, holding a bag.

"You'll see," she says, holding the bag up, as if she was trying to put my head inside. I smack her with the photo album, and she falls back, clutching the broken parts of her face in her hand. She tried to come at me again, but I swung once more, and she fell to the floor, damaging the metal on her arms and legs this time. She moans in pain, "No..."

"What are you doing, girl? Get up!" William says as I hold the book over my head, smacking him with it as well. Already fragile enough, he looses his footing and falls onto the floor, but Elizabeth is already getting up. I chuck the album at her, photos spilling out onto the floor. She hits another one of my bookshelves behind her, books falling onto the floor. I grab another album, threatening them both.

"Tell me why you're here, now! I wont hesitate to knock you out and call the police." Elizabeth looks up at me, as if daggers shoot from her eyes.

William interrupts her before she can speak, "Are you going to call your little police boyfriend, Henry? Is he going to hold you in his arms, kiss you and tell you it's okay?" He laughs, and I narrow my eyes.

"For your information, he's not my 'little police boyfriend', and you have no room in my romantic life, but you're like madly obsessed and in love with me, so I guess none of my boundaries matter to you, considering you're also a murderer." I put a hand on my hip, looking down at him, a disappointed look on my face. "I trusted you, Elizabeth. You betrayed your father and seeked out another one to actually love you. Are you sure this is what you want?" Elizabeth looks at me, a hurt look on her face. You can see the metal underneath her skin now, making her 10x more terrifying than she ever was. She hesitates, and I continue speaking, "Being a servant for the rest of your life? What were you—five or six when your father's own creation took your life? It's been 10 years, you're still a kid, dear."

Elizabeth's eyes water, and she sighs. "You're right. I don't want anything to do with him." She gets up snatching William's cane off the floor. She reaches out, pointing to the album. I hesitate, but I give it to her. William has a terrified look on his face, begging his daughter to give him some mercy. With a mean look on her face, she turns back to me, chucking the album at my head, knocking me out cold.

*.•*.•*

"Please don't leave me..." Clay shakes me awake as I look up into his hazel eyes.

"What...happened?" I ask, looking up at everyone in the room with me. Clay, Carlton, Jessica, and Micheal.

Micheal looks around, the back of his head facing my direction. "More like what happened here..? Why are there papers and pictures scattered everywhere?" Micheal picks a photo up of me and William in the stands of a football game, holding up our instruments to the camera.

I sit up, holding my head. "William came by...and Elizabeth betrayed me. She took William's side, knocking me out with one of these photo albums. I used them to my defense, and it worked until Elizabeth used my own weapon against me."

"Are you alright now? I mean, these things are heavy." Carlton asks, taking a photo album off the shelf.

Clay puts a hand on my back, and the other under my legs. "Let's get him out of here, alright?"