They Can't Tell Us Anything |C. Kreider|

Chapter 10

Chris's POV

We walk into the room, taking in a deep breath. I see my own father, laying on his bed next to Autumn's with what looks to be 30 or 40 stitches on the side of his neck. I look over to Autumn's father, to see that he has a few bandages on his arms and hands.

My jaw drops as I walk toward my dad. It's worse than it looked to be from the doorway. Autumn walks over to her dad, quickly striking up a conversation. I immeadiately hug my father as soon as I get to his bedside. I feel tears welling up in my eyes, but I don't care.

If you've ever seen anyone with a lot of stitches in one place, which I have had experienced, it's hard to look at.

This was no easier, perhaps harder.

"Chris, please don't cry, I'm fine," my father says, trying to comfort me.

"Dad, I can't calm down, I had no clue what your condition was. The hospital literally released nothing." I choke out, voice hoarse. I'm crying into his shoulder, just as I had done as a child whenever I had gotten hurt. Seeing him like this broke something inside me.

I feel a hand rest itself on my back. Just by the way it moved to comfort me, I knew it was Autumn. I feel the bed sink next to me, telling me that she had sat down. I sit up to face her and my father.

"Chris, I understand that this is hard for you, believe me, I know. Please, don't feel bad for me. He got nothing, but this, " he says, pointing to the jagged line of stitches, "is nothing. It didn't get anywhere near my juggular. I'm perfectly fine, just gonna have a massive scar for the rest of my life but, eh, you do what you gotta do."

-

Autumn's POV

This is why I really love the whole Kreider family. They always manage to make light of everything using humor. I guess that's where Chris gets it. His dad, without fail, always makes a bad situation better.

Just like he had when I had to get my surgery.

I'm sitting with Chris, calming down in the only way I know to, which is by pressing my fingers along the sides of his spine.

This had been the only way to calm him down, that I have known of, since the time I lost my mother, which was close to 10 years ago. He had been the one crying a lot more because he had gotten very close to my mother, who acted like a second mother for a long time.

I had zoned out, looking out at the sunset through the window. He and his father were having a conversation about God-knows-what, when my phone begins to blare "Jesus of Suburbia" by Green Day.

I excuse myself into the hallway, answering the call.

"Hello?" I ask into my phone, unsure of who it is, as I hadn't looked at the caller ID. "Hey, Autumn, are you in Manhattan or still with Chris?" I hear a certain head coach speak into my phone.

"I'm still with Chris, AV. Whatcha need?" I ask, with a slight edge in my voice, which I couldn't exactly explain. "I wanted to know if you and Kreids are going to be back tomorrow for Game 7," he asks, confused.

"As far as I know, we are driving back tonight. It looks as if they're, he and his father, I mean, are saying their goodbyes now," I tell him.

"Is everyone alright?" AV asks, concerned. "Everyone is fine, just a few stitches here and there, but otherwise, completely fine," I reassure him.

"Good, I have to go to a meeting but please drive safely. Make sure you drive, I don't know what shape Chris is in, but he isn't in driving shape. Be careful," he tells me, quite fatherly if you ask me. I tell him that I will and we say our goodbyes and hangup.

Chris walks out of the room, asking who I was on the phone with.

"I was on the phone with AV, dummy. He asked how everything was and stuff and told me to drive home because he doesn't know what shape you're in," I say, giggling. Holy crap, did I just giggle?

Chris rolls his eyes, grabbing my hand and leading me toward the elevator.

We get down to the lobby, hands still laced together. We step out of the hospital and I see our regular shortcut back to the street that we always park on because of parking.

"Chrissssssssss, can we take the shortcut?" I ask him, dragging out his name and pulling him in the direction. He nods with a goofy smile on his face.

We are soon stopped by a lady that looks no older than we are.

"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything but I wanted to ask if I could take a few pictures of you two for a photography course over at my college," she asks, timidly.

"Of course, it's no problem," Chris tells her, "What do we need to do?"

"Just keep doing what you're doing right now, if anything, I'll ask you guys to do something," she says, very professionally. We both nod in understandment.

We continue walking down the side of an abandoned road, a shortcut we only we know, hearing a few camera snaps.

We make jokes with each other as we are walking. I feel a tap on my shoulder, seeing our 'photographer'.

"Thank you for letting me take pictures of you guys. You're very cute together, by the way." She says, gratefully. Normally, we would tell someone that we aren't together but neither of us said anything, except for a simple thank you. I don't know what that means.

"Can we see the pictures, if it's no trouble?" Chris asks her, squeezing my hand.

"Of course you can! It's the least I can do," she says, pressing a few buttons on her camera.

We scroll through the pictures she took. I'm personally amazed at how talented she is.

"You're very talented, have you thought about getting a job as a professional photographer?" I ask.

"Thank you! I'm currently working to complete my degree and then I'm going to apply as a wedding photographer," she tells me, beaming.

"Could you, possibly, send me this photo?" I say, pointing down to the screen on her camera.

"Of course!" she says, pressing another button on the screen. "Please put in your email, and it will be sent to you."

I type in my personal email address and hit 'SEND'.

I feel my phone buzz in my pocket. I thank her and we go our separate ways.

Then the question I have had in my mind for the past several hours is:

What are Chris and I?

A/N Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while since I had last updated, I had a huge case of writer's block. But the picture Autumn was talking about is at the side (or above if on mobile). I hope this works omg. I don't think it worked last time. But give me your feedback on the chapter and stuff. Byeeeeeeee