Henry was taking the news rather well. I was scared that he was going to try and fight me off. Run for the door and never be seen or heard from again.
But he was sitting on my bed still. Understandably distraught but willing to talk things through. That's more than I could ever ask for.
“I need some time to think about all this,” Henry said.
“I understand. I'll give you all the time you need.”
Henry stood up and swayed from side to side. I grabbed his forearm to steady her. “I'm sorry, I still feel a little lightheaded.”
“Lay back down and I'll get you some orange juice.”
I could tell he wanted to go but his body wasn't allowing him. He plopped back down on the bed as I went to the kitchen.
I returned with a glass of orange juice to find Henry sound asleep on the bed again. I put the glass down on the wood floor next to the mattress. He was exhausted and so was I. But I couldn't assume to sleep next to him on the bed. I didn't want him to wake up and get scared.
I went back to the living room with a blanket and took a spot on the couch. It didn't take me long to fall to sleep.
–
I awoke as the sun was setting across the city. Shades of orange covered the walls of the apartment. I went to the bedroom to find the bed empty.
My heart dropped. Henry must've left while I was asleep. I didn't know what else to expect. He had said he needed some time to think.
I heard the toilet flush in the bathroom and my heart came back to life. He was still here.
Henry opened the bathroom door and stopped in his tracks when he saw me. “Sorry I didn't mean to wake you.”
“No, I actually had thought you'd gone.”
Henry took a cautious step towards me. “I thought about it. I really did. I guess sleeping on it helped. You need my help and I can't run away from that.”
I couldn't believe the words coming out her mouth. “So you'll stay with me?”
Henry took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “I agree that there's something special between us. I don't want to throw it all away once things get hard.”
“I don't want to throw it all away either. I know I can conquer this problem with you.” I went to embrace him in my arms.
He put her hands up to stop me. “We need to take things slow. I'm not ready to just dive right back into bed with you.”
“Of course.”
Henry rubbed his arms and looked around. “So how is this going to work? Do I need to be within five feet of you or something for you not to feel this hunger you were talking about?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I have no idea. I felt fine when you were sleeping in the other room so I think it's probably more than five feet.”
“And can I never leave you alone again?”
“Depends on the last time I had some blood. You could leave me right now and I'd be fine for a couple days. It's when I'm with you and forget about the hunger that's the problem. When you go, it all comes rushing back and I can't get out to feed.”
“That's what you call it? Feeding? Sounds like you're eating people.”
“Do you have better word?”
He thought for a moment. “No I don't.”
“So if I make you forget your hunger? How is this going to solve your problem?”
“To be honest, I'm not sure. But I know you're the key to all this. I'm hoping the more time I spend around you, the less the hunger can take over when you're gone. Like my body will just forget about it eventually.”
“I still feel like I'm going crazy but okay. Let's do it.”