I'm Just Sayin' If You Really Loved Me You Would Share Him -A Jamilams Fanfic

Chapter Fifty One

The door opened and Henry Laurens stepped out to greet his son. "John," he tried to smile at him, nodding at Alex and Thomas when it became apparent that a smile was going to be impossible. 

"Dad," John replied, his voice going croaky. Henry opened his arms, giving John the choice of a hug. John allowed him to wrap his arms around him, returning the embrace easily.

Henry pulled back after a minute, coughing gruffly. "Do you want to come in?" he asked. John nodded and Henry pulled the door open again.

He ushered the trio in and the oldest of the younger Laurens siblings came downstairs. "Hey Martha," John smiled at her weakly. She rushed down the rest of the stairs and into her older brother's arms. 

"Missed you," she mumbled into his shoulder. "Miss her." John's breath caught in his throat and he pulled back to cough. 

He nodded at his little sister. "So do I," he confirmed. She smiled regretfully. 

Henry clapped a hand down on John's shoulder and spoke. "I'm guessing you're not here just to mourn with us?" he asked. 

John steeled himself and shook his head. Much to his surprise, Henry nodded supportively. "Wish there was somewhere else we could go," he admitted. "There's too much here that reminds me of her." 

Alex watched John blink back tears as he nodded. "S'why I left," he choked out. Then he took a deep breath and calmed down. "I just came back here for some more clothes and to find out what's gonna happen next." 

Henry sent his son a small smile that he missed and pointed up the stairs. "You know where your room is. Once you've packed a bag or two you can come down and we'll talk about arrangements. I'd appreciate it if you could talk to Henry. Mary's really too young to understand what's going on, but this is hitting Henry hard," he told his eldest child. 

John nodded. "Of course I'll talk to him," he assured his father. Henry bowed his head thankfully.

John glanced back at Alex and Thomas and they followed him silently as he went up to his bedroom. Henry watched the three go, smiling a little when Alex and Thomas's hands joined. 

John turned to his partners. "Would you guys mind going to my room and wait on me while I go talk to Junior?" he asked. 

Alex smiled and touched his hand reassuringly. "Of course not. We'll be there if you need us," he promised. John smiled faintly before walking to his brother's room and knocking on the door. 

Alex and Thomas shut the door when Henry Jr's door opened and went to sit on the bed. 

John looked down at his little brother. "Hey Junior," he said gently. "Can I come in?" Junior (I'm calling him Junior to avoid confusion as to which Henry I'm talking about if they're in the same scenes and Henry Jr is a mouthful) opened his door a little wider and John stepped inside. 

"What can I do for you, John?" Henry (in separate scenes I'll just call him Henry because it feels awkward to call him Junior) asked politely, detached. John tutted and held out his arms, half expecting Junior (okay so I lied) to back away.

Instead, he choked out a sob and ran into his brother, sobbing into his chest. "Shh, it's okay, it's okay, let it out," John soothed.

Henry wailed, "It's not okay! She's gone and I want her to come back!" John held him tighter and rocked gently as his eleven year old brother cried.

"I know Hen, I do, I want her back too," he promised. "But we're going to be okay." Henry sniffed and looked up at his older brother miserably. 

"You don't know that," he pointed out.