Falling for Autumn

by Topham Wood, Heather

  Finally, he admitted, “I never met anyone’s parents before. I wasn’t sure how to act.”

  I sensed his sincerity by the embarrassment I heard in his voice. Confident and sexy Blake was brought to his knees by the thought of winning over my parents. It was adorable.

  We hadn’t gotten to the point of exchanging romantic histories, but I assumed he had left behind a trail of girlfriends nursing broken hearts. Blake knew about Hunter in the vaguest of terms. His understanding was I dated a dick who spread rumors about me. It was a half-truth, but close enough to understand why I’d been reluctant to get close to another man after Hunter deserted me.

  “Were you ever in a serious relationship?” I colored as I realized how leading my question must sound. “Not to label us that way. I only mean meeting the parents is a normal step when you’ve been dating someone for a while.”

  “No. The longest I’ve ever dated someone was about a month.”

  I eyed him carefully. “But I assumed you were burned by someone. The way we met…”

  “It was a bad night for me and I was caught by surprise when I saw you. I hope you haven’t thought this entire time I liked you because you looked like an ex.”

  Blake was only twenty-one, but I wondered how his lack of committed relationships boded for us. I didn’t want to be another woman in a long line. I liked him a lot and it hurt to think of his interest waning after only a few more weeks.

  He reached across the table and took my hand. I watched his thumb trace careless circles around my knuckles. “Autumn, I’ve kept things casual because I’ve never wanted anything more from someone. You make me want more. And if I hold back from you, it’s only because I’m afraid of you seeing every mistake I’ve made in my life and finding out you no longer want to be with me.”

  “You’re so hard on yourself. You keep telling me what a bad guy you are, but I feel like the only one who believes that is you.” I lowered my voice. “You’ve never been disrespectful to me and it gives me an idea about how you treat the women in your life. I left myself completely vulnerable with you when we shared a bed, but you never took advantage of that. Your mom and sister obviously drive you crazy, but you put up with their antics because you’re a good guy. The whole school worships you—and believe me it’s not only because of football. It’s because you’re down to earth and don’t believe you’re better than us peons who can’t catch a football.”

  “I do actually believe that,” he deadpanned.

  “And your self-depreciating sense of humor is appealing.”

  “Well, if I never need to have my ego stroked, I’m calling you.” He looked over at the counter and said, “I think our food’s going to be ready in a sec. I’m going to use the bathroom and then I’ll pick it up. I’m starved.” He stood up and pecked my cheek. “Try not to miss me.”

  “It will be hard, but I’ll manage.”

  He left and jogged across the linoleum to head to the men’s room on the other side of the building. Relaxing into my chair, I smiled as I recalled our conversation. He had admitted wanting more from me and I was willing to give it to him. He made me laugh and the best thing he did was make me forget. With Blake, I was able to look forward to the future. Blake wasn’t a diversion—he was opening up my eyes to the possibility of not letting one person define my future.

  “Autumn?”

  One word, one voice, and I was vaporized on the spot. My chest ached from how hard my heart started pounding. Although I didn’t want to acknowledge the voice, my head swiveled toward the sound. Hunter was standing before me and had the decency to look shocked to his core over my reappearance in Newpine. The last time I’d seen him was on my final day of high school. The next day, my mom had pulled me out after I told her about the boys grabbing me in the stairwell. I hadn’t resisted her decision but regretted it later on. It was giving Hunter, Faye, and the football players another win—because they were powerful enough to run me out of school for good.

  Hunter’s shock and awe lifted from his expression as two of his friends banged into his shoulders from behind. I recognized the men as former teammates of Hunter—Sam and Daniel Nichols, who were cousins. They were Hunter’s lackeys and were partially responsible for spreading the lies about my promiscuity. At first, Hunter resisted believing what everyone said about me. Eventually, he came to embrace the lies and started adding his own to the mix. The rumors were his way of salvaging his pride. He had to put distance between us. If he turned me into a slut, it somehow granted him immunity to my actions. He could say our relationship was meaningless and he was in it for sex alone. If only the student body had known how far-fetched Hunter’s claims truly had been.

  Hunter hadn’t changed a bit in the year and a half since I last laid eyes on him. No scars marred his perfect face despite the ugliness living inside of him. His flaxen hair fell in front of his forehead and he pushed it out of the way as he gaped in my direction. He had always been thin and tall, but his arms looked more defined since I last saw him. His friends were carbon copies of Hunter, all dressed in athletic T-shirts and baggy jeans. Sam’s brown eyes were wary while Daniel sneered at me with open hostility.

  “Oh shit, Whorey Dorey is back in town,” Daniel chuckled.

  The boys were idiots and I had wasted way too much time mourning the loss of people like them in my life. Why had it mattered so much what the popular kids of Newpine High School thought about me? They were completely insignificant. If I could go back to high school as a freshman, I would have a do-over. I’d never aspire to be one of the elite. Because I would know that to be at the top of the high school food chain, you had to devour everyone below you.

  “Fuck off, Daniel.”

  Daniel found my remark unnaturally funny and clutched his sides as he let loose a loud and obnoxious laugh. “Damn, babe, if I knew you were back in town, you could’ve gotten me off. My dick hasn’t been the same since you left.”

  Hunter’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t come to my defense. Not that it was expected. Hunter was weak and selfish. When my world was coming apart at the seams, he didn’t bother to put himself in my position for a split second. Hunter only wanted what he felt was rightfully his. He demanded sex because he didn’t want to be considered the cuckolded boyfriend.

  “Let’s go. Isn’t this shit getting old?” Sam demanded of his cousin. It gave me hope that at least one of the apes had evolved.

  “What’s going on?”

  I hadn’t sensed Blake’s approach and neither had the three men. I could see each of them sizing him up, wondering if they could take him on. Blake gave me a concerned look, pulling his eyebrows together, likely picking up the tension emanating from me. I felt as if I had landed in a surreal dream where my life at college was colliding with my high school existence.

  Daniel slithered over to Blake before patting him heartily on the back. Blake looked at him with disdain as Daniel spoke. “Is Autumn your girl? No judgment here, dude. We’ve all been there, done that.”

  Blake pushed Dan’s arm away roughly, making him stumble backwards. “I’d watch what you say next. Because unless I hear an apology to Autumn, your teeth will end up on the floor.”

  Finally, Hunter snapped out of his stupor and rose up to face Blake. They were almost the same height, but Blake was constructed from solid muscle. Hunter would never win in a one on one fight with Blake, but Hunter had his ass clown friends as backup.

  “I’m not sure what you know about Autumn, but I’ve known her for a long time. I was her boyfriend and the bitch fucked around on me the entire time we were together…”

  Blake poked the center of Hunter’s chest with his pointer finger. “If you’re her ex, then you definitely deserve at least a punch in the face.”

  After grabbing my purse, I jumped out of the chair. I addressed Blake while turning my back to Hunter and his friends. “I want to go. They’re looking for a fight and I don’t want to give it to them.”

  Hunter barked out a humorless laugh. �
�That’s funny coming from you, Autumn. Like you’re better than us.” I spun to face him and was chilled by the hardness in his eyes. There was a brief pause, a second when I was able to recognize that Hunter wasn’t a fool. He still could find my weaknesses and I knew he was about to exploit them. “You’re the one who was fucking a teacher.”

  He shocked me into silent submission. I should’ve expected the blow, but hearing it voiced aloud again stole away the confidence I built up since leaving for college. I had showed him my hand and Hunter would keep playing until he had won it all.

  He looked over my head at Blake and demanded, “Did she tell you about her teacher, our school’s football coach? She was letting him fuck her six ways from Sunday.” Hunter snarled in my direction, “And the cunt did it all to get a better math grade.”

  Hunter’s fury returned me to the night he had accosted me. He had demanded the truth, wanting to know if I hadn’t only fooled around with other guys, but if I had slept with Mr. Bridges. I had told him no, told him I never wanted anybody but him to touch me. But it wasn’t good enough. He wanted to take what wasn’t his because he had the warped idea I owed it to him. In reality, even if any of the lies were truth, he had no right to demand I spread my legs for him. Instead of spreading my legs, I kicked him in the balls and told him to stay the hell away from me. I had hoped he would’ve manned up, but his reaction only cemented my resolve to cut him out of my life.

  Daniel was gleeful over Hunter’s verbal smackdown. Daniel was vicious and we had never gotten along, even back when I was Hunter’s girlfriend. When I was accused of sleeping with Mr. Bridges, he had been triumphant. “Fucked him and then she got the poor schmuck sent to jail over it,” Dan added.

  Blake quickly moved me out of the line of fire by putting his hands on my hips and setting me down behind him. Before the men could react, his fist went flying toward Hunter. Hunter didn’t have time to block the blow and Blake’s knuckles bashed into Hunter’s cheek. Hunter’s head snapped to the side and he didn’t react immediately. I gasped as I watched Sam and Daniel dive toward Blake in order to protect their friend.

  The employees and other patrons starting yelling at them to break it up, but by the cold rage on Blake’s face I knew he was too far gone to walk away. He shoved at Sam and Daniel, knocking them both into an unoccupied table. The restaurant area was emptying out as people scrambled to get away from the fight.

  Hunter barreled toward Blake and was able to get in a gut punch. Blake hunched over and Hunter took advantage of the split second when his guard was down to connect his fist with Blake’s mouth. His lower lip split open, blood gushing out and dribbling down his neck.

  “Blake! Stop it!”

  Blake ignored my pleas and retaliated by throwing out a series of wild punches. He had no control as his fists went after Hunter, Sam, and Daniel. He was outnumbered, but his unpredictable movements were making the men unsure how to defend themselves. He was pummeling their faces and chests one at a time. While one of the men recovered from the hits, he moved on to the next. Daniel was able to land one more punishing hit over Blake’s eye, but it still didn’t stop his recourse.

  Several men rushed over trying to break up the fight, but Blake was an unstoppable force. A few of the men tried to hold him back, but he carelessly tossed them aside as he lunged for Hunter.

  “We called the cops!” a female employee yelled from behind the restaurant counter. Hunter and Blake ignored the warnings, but the mention of police seemed to spook Daniel and Sam. They tried to pull Hunter away from the fight, but he refused. He was too occupied with pushing men out of the way to continue exchanging blows with Blake. Daniel and Sam gave up and took off running out of the bowling alley.

  Blake parted the sea of people before him and reached Hunter again. I cringed as I watched his fist pull back and collide with Hunter’s nose. Hunter lost his balance and landed on the floor. I could see the blood flowing freely as he cradled his nose between his fingers.

  I could see it at that moment—the beast inside that Blake kept caged. He was savage in the way he pounded the three men, as if they were nothing more than an inconvenience to him. There was a fierce intensity as he fought and his body jerked as his breathing grew ragged. I wasn’t scared of him, but scared for him. How could he pull back and be able to walk away without killing Hunter?

  I sprinted over to Blake and his body jerked when I grabbed him. “We need to go now!” He ignored me as he glared down at Hunter. I dug my fingernails into his forearm. “The cops are on their way. We need to leave before you get arrested.”

  “You broke my nose!” Hunter grunted. His eyes narrowed as he examined me. “Always quick to play the victim card, Autumn. He’ll see it one day, he’ll find out you’re a liar and a whore.”

  “Don’t you look at her,” Blake growled at Hunter. “Never even say her name again, unless you want another ass kicking.”

  Forcefully, I yanked Blake in the direction of the door. I heard sirens in the distance and took off in a run toward Blake’s car. I pushed him toward the passenger door and held out my hands. “Give me your keys,” I commanded. He handed them over and I ran to the driver’s side. As soon as we were both inside, I started the car and peeled out of the parking lot. As I drove away from the bowling alley, I noticed two police cars approaching from the other side of the road. I let up on the gas in hopes of not drawing their attention.

  My palms stung as I kept a death grip on the steering wheel. I didn’t loosen my hold until we were at least a mile away and it didn’t look like the police or anyone else was tailing us. Daring a glance in Blake’s direction, I noticed he was searching through the glove compartment. He found a pile of fast food restaurant napkins and began to use them to mop up the blood on his face. The interior of the car was cast in shadows and it was difficult to tell how bad the damage was to his face.

  “What the hell were you thinking?”

  “What?”

  “Why would you pick a fight with three guys? You’re lucky they didn’t beat you to death.”

  Blake scoffed. “Like that was going to happen.”

  “Blake, they were trying to rile you up. It’s the kind of thing Hunter and his friends get off on.”

  Blake pulled the napkins away from his lips. A small white cotton square remained stuck to the top corner of his mouth. “What did you expect me to do? Sit there while he calls you a slut? Maybe shake his hand and say nice to meet you?”

  “No, but Hunter is a head case and some things that happened to his family was what helped shape him into the misogynistic asshole you saw today.”

  “Please tell me you’re not defending them. Most people have shitty parents. It doesn’t mean he gets a free pass to be a dick because of it.” He placed another napkin into the building pile of saturated tissues in his lap.

  I breathed in and noticed the tinge of iron in the air. “I’m going to drive you to the hospital. You probably need stitches.”

  “I’m fine,” he insisted. “Head wounds just bleed like crazy.”

  “Just what you need, another head injury. Like you don’t get knocked around enough on the field.” I noticed a convenience store ahead and pulled in. “If you won’t go to the emergency room, I’m going to at least grab some ice to put on your face. I’d take you to my house, but my parents would freak.”

  He nodded and I put the car in park before heading inside the store. As I roamed the aisles, I tried to concentrate on taking care of Blake’s injuries. I didn’t want to think about Hunter’s words or what they may mean to Blake. Because Hunter was forcing me to have a conversation with Blake I planned to put off for a long time. I couldn’t have Hunter’s words echoing around in Blake’s head. He may decide to look more into my past and I needed to give him my side of the story before that happened.

  I found a small first aid kit among the shelves and also purchased several frozen packages of vegetables. Frowning, I reentered the car and scanned Blake’s injured face. He had wiped away
a lot of the blood, and I could see the swelling on the left side of his face. The gash wasn’t as large as I suspected and I hoped it wouldn’t leave a scar. My hand reached over to him and removed the pieces of tissue from his mouth. I handed him the frozen vegetables and he held them over his left eye. I began collecting the tissues and placed them in the plastic bag that had held the items I bought.

  “I’m sorry if you’re pissed. But I’m not sorry for hitting them.” His nostrils flared. “If that’s the kind of stuff they pulled to make you leave school, then they got off easy.”

  Removing the tissues, he stared at me, likely trying to gauge my feelings. His eyes were luminous and my temper cooled as time passed. He was only trying to defend me and hadn’t realized what an exercise in futility it was. Hunter and his friends were a perfect example of herd mentality and would never have an original thought. If the consensus was I’d slept with Mr. Bridges for a better math grade then nothing could change their minds.

  I covered my hand with his and guided the frozen package back to his eye. “I’m not pissed at you. I’m pissed at them for ruining our date and messing up your perfect face.”

  The corners of his lips upturned in the faintest of smiles. “They’ll look a lot worse tomorrow.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Okay, tough guy. I’m going to clean your cut now. I don’t think we can do much for your busted lip, but once you take the veggies off your eye, put them over the lip.” I tore open the alcohol wipe and he winced as I glided it over the cut next to his eye. “It doesn’t look deep. They must have grazed you with a watch or something.”

  “What did you ever see in that guy?”

  “Well…” I shifted in the seat awkwardly. “Hunter isn’t the same guy and I’m not the same girl. We had a lot more in common when I was in high school.”

  “What could you possibly have in common with him?”

  “I don’t know. At one time, my priorities were cheering, being popular, and dating a hot guy. Once high school was done, I wanted to leave Newpine for good and do something incredible with my life. It wasn’t until I lost it all that I was able to get my head out of my ass and see how freaking shallow I’d become.”