Waiting for Wells

I dug my nail further into my legs as I stared at the cold snow slowly falling onto my feet sticking out from under the porch. My cheeks burned with tears as they froze falling to the ground, the whole scene a blur. He will be home soon, I whispered to myself as I swayed back and forth trying to see him jumping through the snow. He loved the snow, but his pure white, slick coat made it so hard to see him. When his first winter came, he had sat in the window for hours, just watching it fall, then when he felt it, he ran around for hours it seemed. I had felt so alive that day watching him, I think I even got dressed that day to go out with him, yes, I got dressed, and went outside and followed him around, the sun shining down on us, and I even laughed when he rolled in it, and Henry showed up and joined us. I even laid in the snow with him like a kid and let the snow get in my hair. We finally went into the house and Henry sat on the couch laughing with Wells while I changed and we talked about how good the day was. When Henry left he kissed my forehead and said he was proud of me. Wells and I sat together until it was dark outside the still smiling together. Was that only last year? 

I have no idea how long I sat outside, I barely noticed how cold it was, I just wanted Wells to come back home. He had been gone, well I'm not sure how long, but too long. Soon there was a pair of headlights coming down the drive. It obscured my view so I squinted harder and watched the snow in front of me. Halfway down the drive the car shut off suddenly and I heard muffled noises. Then Henry was standing in front of my view of the snow. I looked up at his face and was confused with the anger I saw. He grabbed my hands and tried to pull me up, I tried to shake him off and screeched brokenly, 

“I can't see,” I pushed against him harder as he picked me up, “Henry! I can't see him let me go!!!” As he walked up the porch I cried over his mumbling and screamed as he opened the door. “Please, please, please let me go!” He shifted his weight and I heard the lock on the door turn, then he set me down on the couch. 

“If you move from that couch,” I faintly heard as I looked up at him, he stood over me and rubbed his head, his voice cracking, “just sit there!” I curled into a ball and sobbed, my head throbbing and my throat closing. His footsteps came back and I felt piled blankets on me,

“Please, he might be back any moment, please, please,” Henry sat next to me and gently grabbed my head and started braiding my hair back, “ please, I need him to come home.” I heard a sob from him he pulled me into his arms, 

“Lola, I can't do that,” he squeezed me tighter, “please let me help you.” Slowly I drew back and clenched my fists, “I should have never let him out.” I whispered and sank into the couch. Henry drew in a quick breath and stood up, and looked up, my mom called me yesterday after she couldn't get a hold of you and asked me to check on you after my shift. I looked away from him as he walked back and forth in front of the couch, 

“Why didn't you answer the phone, Lola, please, how long have you been sitting on the porch like that?” I whipped my eyes and looked at him and coldly stated, 

“I. Don't. Know. Okay.” He grabbed the coffee table behind him as he lowered his lumbering body onto the floor of the small space in front of where I sat on the couch. I realized he still had his work clothes on and his usually neat brown hair was all over. His eyes looked tired as he looked at his hand, 

“Do you know you are only in shorts and a shirt,” he looked up at me, “Lola, you are soaking wet, you can die like that, I rushed over hear as soon as I could because I was afraid of this,” biting his lip his eyes fell again, “I don't think your okay to live alone like this anymore.” Unclenching my jaw I opened my mouth to object, but held up his hand and continued, “Lola, you have gone to far, you need help, we can't let you go on like this, you know my mom can help you, that's what she does,” tears started streaming down his face, “ I can help you, I want to help you, just let us love you, please.” Getting on his knees he faintly smiled and whispered, “It's what Wells would have wanted. I looked at the small blue collar on my wrist and nodded my head slowly. Henry breathed what seemed like a huge weight off his chest and moved back next to me on the couch next to me and placed his large warm hand over mine, “ You need to go take a long hot shower, and I will pack.”

An hour later I put on the cloths Henry had set out on my bed and found he had already packed up my room, I sighed and reached for a pillow and laid down, as I shut my eyes I heard the door creak open slightly, the same sound it made when Wells enter the room in the middle of the night, and then heard the lights switch off and the door close again. The heating system had been turned back on and Henry was listening to soft music on the radio while he made noise around the house. I quietly got off the bed and cracked open the door again before getting under the covers and listening to the rustle of dishes and random sobs. He was a mess I sighed, he must be missing Wells.