Anomalously Black

Chapter 12

"Adeline?"

I look up to the source of the voice in front of me and to my surprise stands someone who I never thought I'd see again. Henry A bends down on one knee in front of me. He takes a large coat off of his shoulders to reveal the white uniform of the asylum. He wraps the coat around my shoulders as I stare at him in shock. "What are you doing out here? You must be freezing," he whispers.

Taking my arms, he helps me up. "Come on, let's get you out of the rain." When I realize that he's going to take me back to my brothers or the asylum, I begin to struggle. I shake my head rapidly and pull against his hold. Henry A looks back at me.

"Come, Adeline. I'm not taking you to the asylum...or your brothers." At that I stop struggling, only staring at him. He sighs and smiles at me slightly. "I'll take you to my wife. She can help you more than I ever could."

I nod, allowing Henry A to take me to his car. I don't know why but I feel like I can trust him. I know that he wouldn't try to hurt me. At least, I hope he wouldn't. He puts me into the passenger seat of his car, clicking the seat belt over me into place. Once he's in the drivers seat, he starts the car and we pull off. As I sit with Henry A in the car part of me wonders how he found me. Or why he even came to look for me in the first place. The man glances at me for a second, then goes back to watching the road. Almost as if reading my mind, he begins to speak.

"I got a call from Dr.Sullivan. He told me that you ran away from your brothers. He told me that you had a manic episode and decided to act up, but," he pauses for a brief moment. His grip on the steering wheel tightens.

"But I knew better. You didn't have a manic episode. Did you?" He looks over at me and I shake my head. A small sigh comes from the man. "I thought so." We continue driving in silence. Soon enough, we end up in a small but nice looking neighborhood. All the houses look the same with big lawns and fresh cut grass. It looks boring here. We pull up in front of a white one-story home and Henry A parks the car. He puts his hand on my shoulder and I flinch away. He doesn't seem to mind though as he speaks to me.

"Adeline, you can stay with me and my wife. We can help warm you up, give you food, and take care of you for awhile. But I don't know how long this may last...Dr. Sullivan doesn't know that I found you, and I don't intend on him finding out. But I can't guarantee that everything will stay peaceful forever."

I stare at my lap as I listen to his words. My hands curls painfully as they slowly bleed from the cuts I formed earlier when hitting myself and the ground. They are dry and cracked. I exhale and look up into Henry A's eyes. He has a bit of stubble growing in and he doesn't look at stressed as he did back in the asylum. His eyes are soft and caring. I nod and he smiles brightly. After letting me out of the car we walk together towards his home. Before he even has a chance of opening the door, a woman bursts through, engulfing him in a tight hug. When she pulls away, tears leak out of her green eyes. "You idiot, you scared me."

Henry A tucks a lock of curly brown hair behind the woman's ear. He gives her a short but sweet kiss and afterwards they glance into each other's eyes. It's just like back at home but this time, I don't feel as left out. The woman quickly takes notice of me and smiles gently. I try my best to smile back, but nothing comes and I stare at her indifferently.

"You must be the Adeline that I've heard so much about. It's nice to meet you," she says sweetly. I nod my head and she ushers me and Henry A inside. The inside of the house is small and fairly plain. The walls are a baby blue, the living room has a small coffee table in the middle with a red leather couch sitting behind it. There is a flat screen tv resting on the wall but nothing plays on it. Pictures of Henry A, the woman, and many other people decorate the wall and the coffee table. While Henry A talks to his wife I look around, taking notice of the pictures. They look so happy and peaceful. I walk towards the coffee table and on it, is a picture of a small girl. The girl has short brown hair with green eyes similar to Henry A's wife. She smiles brightly at the camera in a puffy blue dress while holding a fairly large white dog. The woman notices me staring at the picture and her smile fades away. She bends down next to me and stares at the picture longingly.