*Henry's POV*

As Natalie hung up on Cassandra, I felt my body slump on the couch. I look at the TV; nobody has found the bodies of Olivia and Megan. I felt my anger rise; I was going to strangle the stupid little... My thoughts were interrupted by Natalie; she grabbed my arm.

"Henry! Are you even listening?" Natalie asked if I had a guilty look on my face. I could feel my face flush in embarrassment. She took that as a 'no,' and she sighed.

"Jeez, Henry, you must listen more often, you can't zone out on me as often, all right? I understand that you're not taking this situation well, but you need to stay strong, okay?" Natalie reassured me, she patted my back, and I leaned into her touch.

"Darling, please, I know that you want me to stay calm, but I just want my sunshine back. My baby... What happened to her...?" I replied, Natalie grabbed my hand and made me lean against her, I felt a blush cover my cheeks. I felt my eyes start to close before Natalie stood up, and my head thumped onto the cushion of the couch. I groan as I sat up.

"Henry, you're not falling asleep on the couch again. Come on, you are going to BED." Natalie scolded me, grabbed my hand, and dragged me off the couch. I tried to reject this, but I unfortunately failed. I felt the rash of the carpet through my pants as I stared down at the floor. Natalie lifted me and set me down on the bed, and she crawled on the bed. She moved next to me, and I felt my eyes grow heavy, and I felt myself drifting off into sleep.

~~~~~ Time Skip~~~~~

When I woke up in the morning, Natalie wasn't next to me; I heard shuffling from the kitchen, as well as humming. I toss the bed sheets off me, and I stretch. I rub my eyes and get out of bed; I look at myself in the mirror. My brown hair was messy, my dark green eyes looked tired and lost, and my clothes ruffled up. I groan, and I walk out of the bedroom. Natalie was in the kitchen, making some picnic baskets, my brows furrowed in confusion. I walk up behind her, and I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her into a hug.

"Good morning, dear, what are you doing...? It's only..." I look over toward the clock, checking the time.

"9 in the morning? Why are you making a basket this early? Is something going on?" I asked Natalie as she put food into the picnic basket, such as watermelon, apples, dragon fruit, oranges, honeydew, and many more fruits. There were also a few bottles of water in the basket. She looked back at me.

"After you went to bed, I decided to text Cass, Gale, Ian, and Leah to go out and talk about the situation. I'm sorry I didn't wake you up, you looked like you were dead asleep. Like, you were drooling as well." Natalie snickered. I flushed red in embarrassment, and I grumbled into her shoulder. Natalie closed the picnic basket, turned toward me, and gently kissed my forehead. She walked back into the bedroom and closed the door behind her. I leaned back on the counter and sighed. I'm still not used to having this much affection. Natalie and I's relationship was a very quick one; we got married just at eight months. I didn't want to rush it, but I guess she had other plans. I ran a hand through my messy hair. It got caught in some snarls now and then, but it felt a little nice. I looked down at the floor; it was a little dusty, but not too much. Natalie was a clean freak; everything in the house was neat and clean, which is nice, but I feel bad for not helping with anything around the house. I go over to the basement door, open it, and grab a broom from its hanger. I start to sweep the floor, feeling the stress wash away just a tad bit. Natalie returned in overalls and a short-sleeved shirt, she looked at me and tried to grab the broom from my hands.

"Natalie, no, I want to help with something around the house, I can't let you just do everything around here. That would be unfair, and I would be a terrible husband, wouldn't I?" I ask as Natalie lets go of the broom and sighs. She walked over to a window and opened it, letting fresh air into our house. I felt the breeze push onto me; it felt nice since it was a hot summer day. I continued to sweep the kitchen floors. Natalie put a record in the record player, and soft jazz music started to play. I hum a little, mostly the trumpet part since I played trumpet in marching and jazz bands, and that was quite the experience. Natalie smiled, took the broom from my hands, and made it lean against the counter. Natalie grabbed my hand, pulled me into the living room, and swung me around. I hear Natalie giggle as I yelp from the sudden dizziness taking over me, being swung around at a fast pace. Once the record stopped, she set me down on the couch. I clutch my head, seeing and feeling the world spinning around me, it didn't feel the greatest at all.

"Sorry, Henry, I couldn't help myself... I know how you love jazz music since you were head over heels for it in high school..." Natalie spoke softly, she stepped forward to me and clutched both of my hands in hers. I sigh, roll my eyes, and lean into her touch. I didn't realize it, but I had leaned into her chest. Natalie's cheeks flushed as she looked down at me. I look up at her in confusion as to why she's blushing. I'm a little slow if I say so myself, but I can be smart if I choose to be. I start to lean back on the couch.

"What's wrong, Natalie...? Did something cause you to blush...?" I ask I'm not sure what I did wrong. I can feel her eyes burn into my curious eyes like I just said something stupid or absurd. I could feel Natalie sigh; her breath was cold and a bit shaky. I know I look stupid right now, like an imbecile, but that's just how I am. I love to tease Natalie and make a fool of myself; it's hilarious. I examine her for a moment, her body language and her expression look like she's holding back an action or words, which I simply dismiss, I could be wrong. Natalie, unfortunately, didn't respond, she just sat down next to me, grabbed a pillow, and hid her face in the pillow. I let out a low chuckle and start patting her back; I can't help but feel a little bit of sympathy, she's my wife after all.

"...I'm going to change the subject... Cass, Ian, Leah, and I decided that we could meet up at the hill nearest to our house at 2. So, I suggest you get ready soon; I don't think anyone wants to see you in your day-old clothes." Natalie spoke into the pillow; she glanced up at me for a moment before looking back down at the floor. I stand up while looking down at Natalie.

"Natalie, what's wrong? Did I do something that made you uncomfortable?" I ask in a stern tone. My back is toward her, but my head is tilted in her direction. Natalie didn't respond, and I sighed. If she wanted to be incompetent, that's fine. I go into our bedroom and toward our closet, I search through my side of the closet, searching for something decent to wear to a picnic that I never agreed to. I quickly found a pair of black shorts, a white shirt, and a black jacket, you never know when you might need a jacket these days, the weather is weird. I toss my chosen clothing onto the bed and go toward my dresser. I open it up to find all my neatly sorted undergarments, I grab what I need from in my dresser and close it. I sigh, taking off my hoodie and tossing it into my hamper. I continued to change as my thoughts drifted into my mind. Why did Natalie set up this meet-up in the first place? I get that we need to discuss this matter, but it just puts all of us in danger if that psycho of a lady finds us. She for sure remembers us; we were the high schoolers who stopped her in the first place, but I can't imagine what she'd do, something treacherous probably. Once I finish getting changed, I look at myself in the mirror, not shabby, but I could be better. I walk out of the bedroom to find an annoyed-looking Natalie at the door, I cock a brow, wondering what pissed her off this time.
"Henry. First off, you need to learn how not to say your thoughts out loud. Two, this meeting is because, yes, we need to talk about how this could be very bad to us parents and Yolen, and three, nothing bad will happen at this meet-up, got it?" Natalie snapped, well, I guess I need to shut up sometimes. I shrug, letting out a cold groan, I set a hand on her shoulder.

"Natalie, I can't help myself, you know?Sometimes letting you overhear what I'm talking about makes it all better," Isay. I'm not trying to flirt, but I don't blame her if she takes it that way.I'm no man for taking no opportunity to flirt; if I see one with Natalie, I'mtaking every shot I can.
"Just... Comb your hair and get your glasses on...We need to go..." Natalie mumbled; I felt myself smirk. Natalie walks off, and Iwalk to the bathroom. I grab my comb from the counter, and I comb my very messyhair, not giving two damn about how I look, I just must look "presentable," asNatalie says. I walk out of the bathroom, and I see Natalie shoved me out ofthe door, car keys in one of her hands. I sighed; this was going to be a longtrip.