Connected by the Tide (23 page)

She didn’t say anything for a long time. He expected her to cry
, but she didn’t. She took a deep breath before she spoke. “I’ll call Jeremy and my dad, and then I’ll meet you there.”

“Baby, it’s going to be okay.”

“Yeah.” She hung up.

Henry dropped the phone in the seat then left the parking lot, heading to the hospital. Andre was in the emergency room, so he waited in the lobby until he was allowed to see him. The nurse said she would give a report when she knew more about his condition. That didn’t make Henry feel better. He just wanted to know if he was going to survive. But the nurse said there
were always complications below the surface, whatever the hell that meant.

Coen and Sydney came inside a moment later, Nancy and Derek
, too.

“What are you doing here?” Henry immediately asked.

“Isn’t Andre Ren’s brother?” Nancy asked.

“Yeah.”

“Then why wouldn’t we be here?”

That meant a lot to Henry
, but he was too upset to express that. They sat on either side of him and waited. Eventually, Ren came through the doors with Jeremy. She seemed calm and collected. Henry stood up and wrapped her in his arms, squeezing her tightly.

“How is he?” she asked as she pulled away.

“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “I’ve been waiting.”

She looked into his face. “Henry, what happened?”

Jeremy came over to him, waiting for him to elaborate.

Henry said the whole story, including Coen’s participation in the fight.

Ren blinked back her tears and controlled her emotions. “I can’t believe you did that. You could have been killed.”

“He’s your brother. Of course I wou
ldn’t stand by and let him be killed.”

She stared at him for a long
time, touching the dried blood on his face and his swollen eye. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Please don’t worry about me.”

Jeremy pulled him into a hug. “Thank you so much.”

Henry patted him on the back. “No gratitude is necessary.”

Ren pulled away and walked up to Coen. “Thank you so much,” she said as she hugged him. “Thank you, thank you.”

He hugg
ed her with one arm, letting the other remain by his side. “Henry’s family is my family.”

Jeremy shook his hand. “Thank you.”

Coen nodded. “You’re welcome.”

Henry looked around, realizing someone was missing. “Where’s your dad?”

Ren and Jeremy looked at one another.  “He isn’t coming,” she said.

An awkward silenc
e filled the group. Nancy glanced at Derek, giving him a confused expression. Coen didn’t say anything to Sydney, just wrapped his arm around her. Jeremy placed his hands in his pockets, looking at the floor.

Henry felt angry. That was unacceptable. Since Ren was already upset, he held his tongue, knowing an outburst would just make it worse.

They took a seat and waited for news. Henry placed his arm around Ren and held her close, trying to comfort her in the only way he knew how.

“Did the police catch them?” she asked.

He shook his head.

Jeremy looked at him.
“Description? Anything?”

“I couldn’t see any of their faces. They wore ski masks
, and it happened so fast.”

Jeremy looked away.

“I’m sorry,” Henry said.

“Don’t,” Jeremy said. “My brother is alive because of you.”

The doctor finally approached them. He looked at Henry. “Joseph Zeering?”

“That’s my father,” Ren said. “How is he?”

“Are you Andre’s sister?”

“Yes.”

“He has a concussion, but no internal brain damage. We stitched the wound in his lip and gave him some pain medication. He should be okay.”

Ren breathed a sigh of relief.

“He’ll stay here overnight so we can keep an eye on him.”

“Thank you so much,” Ren said.

He nodded.

“Can we see him?”

“Of course. Come with me. But just a few of you—family only.”

Ren grabbed Henry’s hand. “We’re family.”

“Okay,” he said.

Jeremy, Henry, and Ren followed him into the room while Henry’s friends stayed in the waiting
area.

When they
walked inside, Andre was lying in bed, his eyes closed. His hands were resting by his sides. His face was purple and blue, the swelling evident in his face. Ren came beside his bed and held his hand. Henry stepped back and gave her space. Jeremy moved to the chair on the other side and looked at his brother.

“At least he’ll be okay,” Ren said. “That could have been worse.”

Jeremy didn’t respond to her comment. “I want to know who did it.”

“Me
, too.”

“You think it was Dane?” he whispered.

She looked at him, her eyes wide. “Dane’s an asshole, but he wouldn’t do that.”

“Are you sure?”

“Well, no.”

Jeremy leaned back and rested his chin in his hand, lost in thought.

Henry sat beside Ren and rubbed her back, silently assuring her he was there.

“I can’t even imagine what would have happened if you weren’t there,” she whispered.

“Don’t think about it.”

“It’s hard not to.”

“Renee?”

She looked at him. “Are you awake, Andre?”

“I don’t know. I can’t tell.”

She chuckled quietly. “I think you are.”

“I can’t open my eyes.”

“Consider that a good thing,” Jeremy said. “Now you don’t have to see your ugly sister.”

Andre chuckled. “Am I in the hospital?”

“Yeah,” Jeremy answered.

“Am I going to be okay?”

“Unfortunately,” he teased. “I was hoping I would never have to play football with you again.”

“Shut the hell up,” Andre said with a laugh.

Henry was surprised by how calm they were. They made the horrific situatio
n not seem so horrible. Humor was the cure for all pain.

“You guys are all assholes,” Andre said, his eyes still closed.

“What were you expecting?” Renee said.

“Dad, don’t turn on me
, too.”

The room fell silent. Henry closed his eyes, knowing how painful this was going to be.

“Dad?”

“He isn’t here, Andre,” Ren said quietly.

“Oh. Is he on the way?”

Seconds trickled by.

Ren covered her face with her hands, trying not to cry.

Jeremy took the reins. “No.”

Andre lay still. “Oh.”

Renee couldn’t
look at him, keeping her face directed on the floor. Jeremy patted his brother’s hand, giving him the only assurance he could.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Henry said.

Andre tilted his head. “Henry?”

“It’s me.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah.
I’m good.”

“I’m glad nothing happened to you.”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks for saving my life.”

“No problem.”

“Did the police get them?”

Henry paused. “No.”

“At least we’re okay. I didn’t think I was going to survive that one.”

“I got your back, man.”

“If I didn’t say this before, I really like him, Renee. Keep him around.”

She grabbed his hand. “I will. Coen came to your rescue, too.”

“Coen?”

“Henry’s friend.”

“Is he okay?”

“Yeah. He’s fine.”

“Give him my thanks.”

“He’s here if you want to do it yourself.”

“Please. I would like that.”

Jeremy stood up. “I’ll be in the lobby.”

Henry a
nd Jeremy returned to the waiting room, and Henry got Sydney and Coen and brought them back to the room.

Coen and Sydney sat down where Jeremy had been sitting.

“Well, Andre, this is Coen. Coen, this is Andre,” Henry said.

Coen nodded. “It’s nice
to meet you. I wish this was on better terms.”

“Thanks for saving me, man. Most guys wouldn’t do anything.”

“Well, Henry and I aren’t like most guys.”

“And I’m grateful for that. I would open my eyes and look at you
, but I can’t.”

“You can look at me later.”

Andre took a deep breath and lay there. His eyes started to flutter.

“Don’t rush it,” Ren said.

“Stop acting like Mom,” he said. “Did you call her?”

“Not yet. I wanted to wait until I knew what your condition was.”

“Don’t tell her, okay?”

“Why?”

“Just don’t. I don’t want her to come out here.”

“Okay.”

His eyes continued to flutter until he finally got them open. “Thank God, I can see.” He looked at Ren, who started to get teary-eyed. “Don’t get all sappy on me. Buck up.”

She wiped her tears away. “Sorry.”

He looked at Henry. “You look like hell.”

“It’ll heal.”

“Wow. You took a beating, too.”

He shrugged. “Nothing time won’t fix.”

He turned and looked at Coen. His eyes widened. “Holy shit, you’re hot.”

Coen grinned then looked away, embarrassed.

Sydney laughed loudly, and then Ren started to chuckle.

“I apologi
ze on behalf of my brother,” Ren said, glaring at Andre.

“Sorry,” he said quickly. “I don’t normally say that to straight guys. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“It’s fine.” He pulled Sydney closer to him, making it clear he was straight. “This is my fiancé.”

“You’re straight—I get it,” he said with a laugh. He leaned back and looked at the ceiling. “Henry, I think you’re hot
, too.”

“Uh, thanks,” he said awkwardly.

“I just didn’t want you to think I thought you were ugly or something.”

“Thanks for the reassurance,” he said with a laugh.

“I don’t need to reassured,” Ren said as she touched his thigh.

They sat with Andre for a long time, talking about anything besides the incident. Now that his eyes were open, he felt calmer than he did before. Henry knew he would feel differently if he could see his face. It wasn’t brown like it should be, covered in splotches of red and purple.

Henry looked at the time. “Visiting hours are almost over. Are you staying, babe?”

Ren nodded. “I’m going to sleep here.”

“I don’t think they’ll let both of us stay. I can wait in the lobby.”

“No,” she said quickly. “Please go home and get some rest. You can go to my place if you want. Perry needs to be fed anyway.”

He kissed her on the forehead. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”

“Yeah.”

“I love you.”

“I love you
, too.” He stood up with Coen and Sydney. She grabbed his hand. “Thank you so much,” she said with eyes full of tears.

He kissed her on the forehead again. “You don’t need to thank me, baby.” He turned and walked out with his friends, leaving Renee with her brother.

They walked back into the lobby and met with Nancy, Derek, and Jeremy.

“Renee wants to stay with him tonight,” Henry explained. “I’ll be back in the morning.”

Jeremy nodded. “I’m going to wait here. Hopefully, Dad changes his mind.”

Henry knew that was hopeless. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

They left the lobby and went outside.

Henry turned to them. “I need your help.”

Coen cracked his knuckles. “Are we going to track down those fuckers? I’m in.”

“Me
, too,” Derek said.

“No,” Henry said. “I need you for something else—all of you.”

31

After researching for the next hour, he found the right house. His friends stood on the sidewalk and waited for him as he approached the front door. He stood on the doorstep for a long time, going over what he might say. He was more nervous than he had ever been.

The slight breeze didn’t cool the scorching temperature of his body. He thought the presence of his friends would help, but he was still frightened. He might make everything worse. Finally, he raised his hand and knocked on the door. A minute later, it opened.

“Can I help you?” The man was tall with blond hair and green eyes. He had extra weight around his stomach, but he looked like he was in good shape other than that. His mouth was set into a frown, like he was intimidated or annoyed. His arms were big, but contained the sag of old muscle after years of aging. When Henry looked at him, he didn’t see Ren. The only similarity they had were the eyes. His hair was blond, but not bright and glowing like hers was. She looked like she was as bright as the sun, hypnotic and alluring.

“Good evening, sir,” Henry said with a steady voice. “You don’t know me, but my name is Henry. I’m dating your daughter, Renee.”

His eyes widened. “My daughter has a boyfriend?”

“And I’m in love with her,” he continued
, like her father hadn’t spoken. “I’m going to come back to this door and ask for your permission to marry her as soon as I’m done with school because I want to spend the rest of my life with her. Therefore, it’s my job to take care of her. I’m starting a little early.”

Her father stared at him and crossed his arms over his chest, wondering why Henry was saying this.

“You son was the victim of a hate crime, one that almost killed him. If it weren’t for me and another friend, he would have died. He was beaten until he was unconscious. Only by a stroke of luck did he survive. I don’t care what your beliefs are about homosexuality, religion, politics—whatever. He’s your son. You should be there.”

He said nothing, staring him down.

“Sir, I lost my dad a year ago. He died of cancer. When I went to say goodbye, he was so delirious on medications and pain he couldn’t even listen. He didn’t recognize me. Andre still has you, and you still have him. Stop pushing him away just because he doesn’t meet the ridiculous standards you have set for him. Let’s face it—no one meets any standard.

“My girl is down there, holding his hand, depressed that her own father won’t come and support her and her brothers. She feels alone and scared, even if she will never admit it. Be a man, a father, and a friend, and go down there and be there for your family.”

He said nothing, but he flexed the muscles of his shoulders like he was angry.

“I realize I’m not giving the best first impression, but I don’t care. You shouldn’t be in this house, watching television
or doing whatever you’re doing. You don’t belong here.” Henry pointed behind him. “Those are his friends who came to the hospital to check on him. While they are supportive, they aren’t what he needs. I’m not what he needs. So this is what I propose. You pull your head out of your ass, get down there, and hold his fucking hand. I won’t say anything to Renee or Jeremy, that I came down here and said a word to you, so the decision is yours. I hope you make the right one.” He turned around and walked away. He stopped and looked at him one more time. “It was nice meeting you, sir.”

Henry went home and fed Perry, and tried to sleep in Ren’s bed, but he couldn’t. Without Ren lying beside him, he couldn’t even close his eyes. He stared at the ceiling and wondered how she was doing. He’d made an ass out of himself to her dad, but he didn’t care. If he’d talked some sense into him, it would be worth it. If he didn’t and her dad was angry, he knew Ren would still be with him. She wouldn’t leave him for trying to help her situation.

Eventually, he gave up and went outside and sat by the pool. Perry came beside him and sat down. The dog was just as tall as
he was when they sat side by side.

Henry scratched the dog behind the ears. “I’m glad you don’t hate me anymore.”

The dog licked his face.

“Yuck. Thanks for that.”

Perry’s tongue still hung from his mouth.

“I don’t know why Ren likes kissing you so much. You drool a lot.”

The dog rubbed his head against Henry’s arm, then lay down.

Henry scratched his belly then stared at the sky. The stars were bright. When he looked at them, he thought of Renee. He wanted to text her, but he didn’t want to wake her just in case she was asleep.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated in his pocket. When he looked at the screen, he saw the message from Ren.

I wanted to say how much I love you. I know you’re awake.

He smiled.
I love you too, baby
.

You’re going to get some serious loving from me when this is over.

I like where this is going.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

Okay, baby.

He put the phone back in his pocket then finally went to bed, able to sleep because he felt
connected to Ren in some way. She was thinking about him and he was thinking about her. That was enough.

He went to the hospital with his friends the next day. His phone kept ringing in his pocket, and every time he looked, his brother’s name was on the screen. Even though he was concerned with his brother’s safety, he ignored the call, knowing he had to take care of Ren right now. If Bryce was really desperate, he would call Mom. Henry turned off his phone and put it in his pocket.

“Thanks for everything, guys,” he said to his friends.

“You don’t need to thank us,” Sydney said. “We’re family.”

“I’m still very grateful.”

Derek patted him on the shoulder. “If I were there, I would have gone bat-shit crazy and killed all those guys.”

“I know,” Henry said with a smile.

Coen rolled his eyes. “You would probably just scream for help.”

“Hey, I know a few moves,” he said.

“I’m going to check in with Renee,” Henry said as he walked away, ignoring the argument between Coen and Derek. He came to the door and knocked.

“Come i
n,” Ren said.

When he walked in, she stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a big kiss.

Henry placed his hands on her waist and returned her affection, longing for her touch. Last night was the first night they didn’t have sex. He already missed it. “You doing okay?” he asked as he pulled away.

“I’m great,” she said as she smiled. “I want to introduce you to someone.”

“Who?”

She turned toward a man standing at the end of the bed. “This is my father, Joe
Zeering.”

A silent moment passed between Henry and her father. Nothing was sad, but Henry saw the gratitude in his eyes. Henry stuck out his hand and grabbed his. “It’s great to meet you, sir.”

He nodded. “And it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Henry pulled his hand away.

Her father was wearing slacks and a dress shirt, like he’d just gotten off work. He returned to his seat next to Jeremy and looked at Andre, who only had eyes for his dad.

“You need anything, S
on?” he asked.

“No, Dad. I’m good.”

“Okay.”

Henry sat next to Ren and held her hand. He didn’t look at her father, just
stared at Andre.

Andre finally looked at him. “You still look like hell.”

Henry laughed. “I should show you a mirror.”

“No. I always look hot.”

“Then I look hot, too.”

Ren leaned closer to
Henry, then kissed his cheek. “How does your face feel?”

“Swollen.”

“Maybe you should get it checked out.”

“I’ll be fine, baby. Don’t worry about me.”

“How can I not? I love you.”

“I know you do,” he said as he kissed her on the fo
rehead. When he pulled away, he met her father’s gaze then looked away. He was happy Ren was just affectionate with him as she normally was. It was clear she didn’t care what her father thought.

“Let’s go out to lunch,” Joe said.

“Now?”  Jeremy asked.

“When they let Andre go.”

“Really?” Jeremy asked.

“Why not?”

He shrugged. “We just haven’t gone out in a long time.”

“Well, that’ll
change.”

Henr
y was pleased that his ploy had worked, even though Ren had no idea he’d intervened. As long as she got her father back, he didn’t care if he got any recognition for it.

The nurse came in and removed Andre from all the machines and helped him get dressed. After all the papers were signed and he received his pain prescriptions, they left the hospital. Andre’s face was still bruised and scraped. It was impossible to hide. But he could walk
, and he was eager to move around.

“What do you kids want
?” Joe asked.

“Surf Taco!”
Andre said excitedly.

“I love that place,” Ren said.

“Then we’ll go there,” her father said.

They all piled into the car together and drove to the restaurant near the coast. They took their seats in a booth by the window and ordered their food from the waitress. Henry looked out the window and stared at the ocean in the distance. His arm was over Ren’s shoulder
, and she was talking excitedly with her brother. It was obvious how happy she was that Andre was okay.

“So, Dad, what have you been up to?” Ren asked. “We haven’t seen you in a while.”

He shrugged. “Just work.”

“Anything else?”

“Well, I started seeing this woman. I was hoping you would want to meet her.”

“Yeah
, of course,” she said. “We would all like to meet her.”

He seemed surprised. “Oh. That’s great. I’ll arrange something with her.”

“Cool,” she said. “What’s her name?”

“Karen.”

“Where did you meet her?”

“At work.”

Jeremy nudged his dad. “She cute?”

He smiled. “She’s off limits, S
on.”

Ren rolled her eyes. “Don’t be gross, Jeremy.”

“What? I like older women.”

“Does she have any kids?” Andre asked.

“She has a boy and a girl. They are around the same age as you.”

“Cool,” Renee said. “They should come
, too.”

“I’ll ask.”

Andre took a bite of his taco then looked at his dad. “So what happened?”

“What do you mean?
” Joe said without meeting his gaze.

“I didn’t think you were going to come.”

Everyone fell silent. Renee looked at her dad, waiting for him to speak.

“I realized I was wrong. You’re my son. I’ll always love you, kid.”

“Really?” Andre said.

“I’m sorry about the way I acted before. I was being—an ass.”

“Yeah, you were,” Renee snapped.

“Calm down, Renee,” Andre said.

“Sorry,” she said.

Joe sighed. “I’m sorry about everything. I made a mistake.”

“You don’t care that I’m gay?” Andre asked.

“I shouldn’t have made standards that couldn’t be met—for all of you.”

Henry smiled, glad he’d taken his words to heart.

“I would really like to make it up to you.”

“I would like that,” Andre said.

“And I’m sorry for what I said before—that you aren’t my son.”

Andre nodded. “It’s okay, Dad. I know it’s hard to have a gay kid. I get it.”

“That doesn’t make a difference. Don’t let anyone treat you poorly because of that—even me. I’m proud of you for standing up for what you believe in.”

Andre looked speechless. Tears bubbled under his eyes.

“You obviously have earned the love and friendship of everyone around you.” He
stared at Henry then looked away. “You’re doing something right.”

Renee smiled. “I love you, Dad.”

He smiled, his cheeks turning red. “I love you too, Sport.”

“He calls you Sport?” Henry asked, amused.

“Yeah, what did you expect?”

“Princess,
Cupcake, girly stuff.”

She laughed. “My dad has
always treated me like a fifth son.”

Her father smiled.
“When she was little I tried calling her darling, but she would pull her hair and stomp her feet in an angry tantrum. She wanted to be treated like her older brothers.” Her father laughed at the memory.

“You really were a tomboy,” Henry said with a laugh.

“Well, I’m a lady now.”

Andre and Jeremy both laughed.