Chapter Text
“I have booked your flight ticket. Pez is going to meet you at the rendezvous spot the minute you get there.” Beatrice says sadly, her voice still panicked as she rushed to help her brother gather up his things rather quickly. They had no time to screw around. Time was tickling rather ominously, as Henry himself felt the heavyweight rising in his chest. He knew if they took longer than he anticipated, Henry’s plan would have foiled.
“Thank you Bea.” Henry grabs his stuff in a panic, only bringing a very small bag over his shoulder, as there was no way he could take half the stuff he owned. There was just no time. We need to go now.” They took each other's hands, heading out the back door of Bea’s home and engulfing her in his arms. They stayed like that for a brief moment, hearing his burner phone buzzing in his pocket. “Take care of David for me please. I’ll write to you when I'm safe.”
Just as Henry was about to escape, he heard a loud banging on the front door down the hallway. “I love you Hen.” Bea whispered, tears falling down her cheeks.
“I love you more Bea.” Henry feels his own tears well up in his eyes, clutching onto his bag and escaping out the back, as he could hear the loud shouts from the person who haunted his every day life. As he ran for his life down the road, he flagged down the nearest taxi and gave directions to the rendezvous spot where Pez would be awaiting him there. It took a good fifteen minutes, as Henry tapped his fingers on top of his knees, feeling the fear rising inside of him. He hoped and prayed his sister would be okay, and that nobody would bother her while he was gone. Henry felt guilty. Guilty he caused his own loved ones to go through his own mess, and his own mistakes.
By the time he reached his destination, Pez had greeted him into another tight hug. His best friend since uni, who had always been by his side through everything, just like his sister. “Come on man, let's get you to the airport.”
They drove in silence. Henry knew his best friend had a lot to say, but he stayed quiet. He knew deep down Pez was devastated beyond belief, and didn’t want to see Henry go into hiding like this because of his trauma. “I told Bea I'd write to her when I was safe. I'll do the same for you, just under a different name.” Henry told him.
“I just hate that this is happening.” Was all Pez said, as his voice had cracked. Henry's heart continued to sink in his chest the whole way to Heathrow.
By the time they got there, they stepped out of the car Pez engulfed Henry into a hug and had no desire to let go. He had no idea when they would see each other again, but Henry had hoped so much that it wouldn’t be forever. “You take care of yourself, and please write to us when you can. I love you Henry.”
Henry almost burst into sobs. He fucking hated this. All of this was on him, but if this was going to keep him safe from danger, he had to do it. Putting the hoodie up over his head to hide his sandy blonde hair, he grabbed the fake glasses out of his bag and pushed them up over his face. “I love you so much Pez.” With one more hug goodbye, Pez handed him his airplane ticket with a sad smile.
“I hope you like Texas.” He explained, “It’s huge and safe. He won't ever find you there.” Pez explained, as Henry nodded. “I also have this for you, to help you start off.”
Henry gasped at the wad of cash Pez pushed into his hand. “I cannot accept this, Pez.”
“You can, and you will.”
“Pez…” Henry’s voice cracked again.
“None of that. I know you have some money with you as well, but this will help extra. You will take it, now go.” He nudged him forward, sniffing very nonchalantly.
Knowing that it was time, he held his bag over his shoulder again and rushed inside the airport without another goodbye. Hurrying through the less crowded airport at 2am in the morning, he was so thankful there was a commercial flight to Texas this damn late in the night. Just as he was about to get through security, he heard shouting from at the end of the corridor, and seeing him arguing with a TSA agent. Henry’s heart thudded inside his chest, cursing under his breath for this line to move faster. His plane would be boarding any minute, and he needed to get the fuck out of dodge.
“I’m looking for this man, I'm an officer. He's attempting to flee the country.” Henry shuddered at the way he spoke, hating himself for falling in love with a man like that. Once he got through security and started sprinting to his gate, he could hear the shouts of his ex and the tsa agent still going strong.
Soon enough, he was on his plane. Sitting in his seat towards the back, and glancing out the window. Shutting his eyes for the first time in what felt like forever, Henry knew his journey was far from over. Once Henry found his safe haven, he wouldn’t have to worry about Noah ever again.
11 HOURS LATER
“ Welcome to Austin! We do hope you enjoyed your flight with us today, and hope you join us again real soon!”
The flight attendant’s voice rang through Henry’s ears as he jolted awake, feeling the person beside him grabbing their own belongings. Even after some sleep on his flight, Henry still felt fucking exhausted. It had been months since he got a full night of rest, but he was so hopeful he would get one soon.
Austin’s airport wasn’t very big. It wasn’t like the one in Heathrow, but it was easy to navigate through. Henry had looked at multiple maps, trying to decide where he should settle too. He thought Austin would have small towns around that area somewhere. Once his eyes settled on the town name of Marble Falls, he knew that's the direction he will head. There had to be something out there for Henry.
Catching a MEARS bus, which was nothing Henry ever heard of, Marble Falls was the first stop the bus was heading so it wouldn’t be a long drive. Nestled into one of the bus seats, Henry glanced outside the window, admiring the clear blue skies Texas had to offer. He expected it to be extremely hot in the middle of autumn, but to his surprise the seventies were not so terrible. Henry watched the cars go by, reading many signs of restaurants and things he had never heard of or seen in London. This definitely would be new territory for him, and it was out of the ordinary. Adjusting from the British lifestyle to this would be so interesting.
The bus ride felt entirely too long, but when it stopped at the bus station Henry felt free for once in his life. Nobody was following him anymore, and now he can find a place to call home.
As the bus pulled away, Henry quickly felt like a lost kid in the candy store. He didn’t know what was around, besides the folded map he picked up at the airport. He had no one to contract here, and not a single friend to help him out. Henry was on his own, and it was time to be a man and face the reality of his life now. Henry noticed a young woman on her cell phone with a bright smile on her face, as she had a book open upside down on her lap. Henry noticed the cover, grinning like a mad man.
“Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books.” Henry spoke up a tad awkwardly, as the woman looked up from her phone.
“Fellow Austen fan huh?” The lady grinned, seeming very friendly.
“Oh you have no idea..” Henry chucked softly, fiddling with his fingers as he didn’t know what else to say. He hated being so fucking awkward around everyone he came across. “Any good things to do around here?” He decided to ask.
“Oh tons.” The lady closed her book, and placed it on the chair next to her. “So many good restaurants out on the lake to go try if you haven’t. My favorite is Luna’s out on the west side of Lake LBJ. Owner has specials every Thursday, great people, good food. I pretty much know everyone who works there!”
Luna’s. Guess Henry will start there, and see where he could go after that. “Is it far from here?”
“About twenty minutes, you got a car here?”
Henry fiddled with his hands again. He considered just walking there on foot, but that would take even longer, and he could potentially get lost. The woman's smile dropped a little at the reaction Henry gave her, and that's when she stood up from her chair and gathered her things. “My bus doesn’t arrive for another two hours, I got here early because I’m a time freak. Going to visit some family out of town for the weekend” She chuckled, holding her purse across her shoulder. “I'll take you to Luna’s, do you know anyone there?”
“Maybe..” Henry lied, “You seriously don’t have to go out of your way to do that for me.”
“Nonsense! I'd love to help a fellow Austen fan out, especially when they are being so incredibly sweet.” She blushed, as Henry hated giving her the wrong impression. “My name is Nora by the way.”
“Henry.”
“Nice to meet you Henry.”
Nora was very sweet. She had dark curls that framed her face perfectly, and cheekbones for days. She had a lot to talk about the whole twenty minutes to Luna’s and Henry was actually very grateful for someone who was thus kind to him. “When we get there, I'll introduce you to Rafael, he's the owner. If you are looking for a job, I can put a good word in for you.”
Henry couldn’t believe how nice this woman was. “You don’t have to do that, really. I should be okay for now, I’m trying to find a place to live first.”
Nora got quiet after Henry had mentioned that he had nowhere to live. He mentally kicked himself for ruining the mood and making everything around him depressing as always. “Well, we got one story houses around the lake you could look into, as well as neighborhoods that are looking to rent out. I can talk to some of my friends in the area that could have a spare bedroom.”
“That won't be necessary.. but thank you anyway Nora.
“If you change your mind, give me a call. I’ll write down my number for you when we get there. Should be in about another five minutes.” Nora smiled small.
Luna’s was an outdoor restaurant that sat on the edge of lake LBJ, where boats could literally dock outside the restaurant and walk straight up to the backside. It was a very cool idea, and the place seemed to be pretty quiet. “It’s usually more packed in here around nighttime, come on I told you i'd introduce you to Raf.” Nora dragged Henry by his forearm, and inside as soft music filled his ears when he entered inside. They had a good playlist going as Henry had known some of the songs.
“Nora!” Another voice had spoken up, as Henry watched a smaller, bouncier woman rush from behind the counter and into her arms. “I thought you went to visit your family?” She looked at her with a curious smile, after placing a fat kiss on her cheek. Interesting.
“I got to the bus station early, and that's when I met Henry.” Nora turned towards Henry, smiling. “June, this is Henry. He came all this way from London.”
“London?” The other girl, June, spoke up.
“Yeah, long story.” Henry chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he didn’t really want to get into his life story right now. Especially when both of these girls are still strangers to him. “Nice to meet you June.”
“Shit. I do have to go! Make sure Henry here meets Raf, I was gonna try and get him a job if Henry wants it.” Nora looked down at her watch, giving June a big hug goodbye and turning back towards Henry. “Seriously, call if you need anything. I'll be back when the weekend is over. June, take care of this one, yeah?” Nora squeezed Henry’s forearm reassuringly, and left without another word. Henry made a mental note to properly thank her when she got back from visiting her family.
He turned back towards June, who had a menu in hand. “Hungry? Come sit and I'll get you something. Raf should be back soon.” She smiled, leading him to a table right by an open window where he could look out on the water. It was absolutely beautiful. He watched as boats sped on by, water skiers, and parasilers as well. This was definitely a popular vacation town by the looks of it. Henry hoped it would die down during the off seasons. Which was about three months away until November rolled around.
June walked off to do other things as Henry just sat there and stared out the window. He tried to keep the bad memories from resurfacing inside his head, trying to enjoy the new life he would make here now. There was nothing to cause fear or worry here. Henry was so close to being safe, and it was only a matter of time until he could let his loved ones know that he was. As he sat there, he could feel someone’s eyes on him. Glancing over at the bar, Henry noticed a bottle shuffling as it had been moved, shaking off the thought. Reading the menu, the food looked absolutely delicious. It was all sorts of Texas food Henry had never had in his life, but knew it was probably very good. He was also extremely hungry, so anything looked good.
Hearing the sounds of bottles move behind the bar again, he looked up quicker, noticing a small flash of brown hair hiding behind the bar. “Crap.. did you see me?” A tiny voice spoke out, making Henry smile.
“Caught you.”
A young girl popped out from behind the bar, as she looked about seven years old. She wore a bright pink rainbow shirt, her hair curling down over her shoulders, and the biggest brown eyes Henry had ever seen. “I'm not very good at this hide and seek game…”
“I thought you did great.” Henry told her, trying to be friendly. “Though, I don’t think you should be hiding behind a bar.”
“But it's the best spot!” She giggled, rushing over to sit in the chair opposite of Henry, kicking her feet back and forth under the table. “You gonna order something? I personally think the cheeseburger and French fries are the best, I get them constantly.” She snatched Henry’s menu, pointing down at the photo of the burger.
“Hmm, looks great, might have to take your advice.”
“Do you want a drink? June should’ve brought you some water or something!” The young girl jumped back up, rushing over to the bar to try and grab one of the plastic glasses.
“I’ll be okay, thank you though. That’s very kind.” Henry kept on smiling at how adorable she was.
“Nonsense! I practically work here.” Her little voice carried throughout the restaurant as there really wasn’t anyone else around to complain. Henry watched as she managed to pour him a glass of water and placed it on the table in front of him.
“Are you June’s?”
“No…. She’s my aunt. My papa is the general manager here.” She explained, watching as she rushed back to the bar to try and grab something else that her little hands couldn’t reach.
“Here let me help.” Henry stood, walking over to give her hand as she tried shooing him off. “Is your dad around here?”
“He was running an errand with Raf. Should be back soon.” She huffed, as she couldn’t reach the other glass that was further across the bar top. Henry reached to grab it for her, as she thanked him and poured another glass of water.
Just as Henry turned around to head back to his table, he gasped when he collided right into the chest of someone else, almost knocking each other over. “Bloody hell.” Henry gasped quietly, almost regretting his choice of words around the young girl.
“What are you two doing behind the bar?” The voice of the man Henry smacked into spoke up, as Henry felt his chest tightened when he looked up at his face.
Why.. hello there.