Mia had been slightly confused earlier when Autumn had mentioned Kyle. She'd quickly realised that Roger had misunderstood and assumed that Autumn had a crush on the older brother, Kenny. Either way, it didn't matter, neither boy would be taking her anywhere. It was Kenny who would infuriate Reece, he was far too old for Autumn.
It was six fifty and Mia and Reece were just walking back through the gates of the Knight residence. Kenny was waiting at the top of the stone steps, Roger had told him to arrive early but not to knock on the door until seven sharp. As soon as Reece spotted him his whole demeanour changed. He let go of Mia's hand and immediately stormed towards the waiting man. The moment he reached him he shoved him backwards. "What the hell are you doing here?" Mia had never heard Reece sound so angry and for a moment, she felt frightened. "I'm here to take Autumn to prom, what are you doing?" Kenny was stuttering with fear and before he could continue, Reece had grabbed the front of his shirt. "That note. Most beautiful girl in school. You like school girls do you?" Reece was practically frothing at the mouth as he threw Kenny down the hard stone steps. Mia gasped as she heard Kenny's head bounce off the ground. The now injured man raised his head slightly and asked "what note?" Reece didn't even hear him as he grabbed him by his hair and dragged him back to the top of the stairs, before repeating his earlier action. "SICK PERVERT" he was running back down towards Kenny for a third time and his eyes were on fire. Mia rushed towards him and grabbed his arm, before looking over at Kenny and shouting "get out of here, RUN NOW."
As Reece watched Kenny run through the gate he noticed that he was clutching his arm. There was blood running down his face and suddenly, Reece realised what he'd just done. He took several deep breaths before looking down and into Mia's eyes. She placed her hand on his chest and quietly said "we can't tell anyone about that Reece. You could get into so much trouble." He nodded before catching her hand in his and leading her back up the stone steps. As the front door came into view, he noticed that a bouquet of flowers had been placed on the ground. Once he was close enough he picked them up and immediately realised that they were dead. "What the hell?" Just as he spoke, Mia knocked on the door.
Autumn and Reece's eyes met as soon as she opened the door. As her gaze drifted downwards, she spotted the decaying flowers that her brother was holding and she stopped smiling. Reece couldn't speak. He willed himself to say something, to tell her the truth. Was the truth worse than her believing that he'd played a cruel prank on her? Brothers prank their sisters all the time, she didn't need to know that she'd been targeted by a pervert.
When Autumn looked back up and into his eyes, something inside Reece died. He watched as she backed away from him and he realised that her trust in him was gone. He couldn't do this "no Autumn, please" he went to chase after her but Mia held him back. He looked down at her, confused. She was smirking at him and as she started to speak his heart began to pound. "Leave her Reecey. You two need to learn to stand on your own two feet, this could be a good thing. She doesn't need to know the truth. You'd be in so much trouble, if I told anyone what I saw tonight." Her eyes were glistening and as Reece looked down at the girl that he'd known for years, he didn't even recognise her.
Autumn was lying face down on her bed, sobbing into her pillow. How could Reece do this to her? Her Big Brother had always been her one constant in life and she'd always believed that he would never, ever hurt her. This wasn't just about Kyle, or prom, she'd just lost the only thing that had given her hope. She suddenly realised how alone she truly was and she vowed never to open her heart to anyone for the rest of her life. People were evil, her own Father had always treated her like dirt and now her Brother had betrayed her. Every time Reece had held her, comforted her, encouraged her, it all flashed through her mind as she tried desperately to catch her breath.
The hopeful, resilient and sweet girl that she had been died that night. As she ripped up the pictures of her and her brother, an entirely new girl took her place. She could feel her heart growing colder and her defences slamming down around her.
Little did she know, two other people died right alongside her that evening.
Three hearts were aching.
Autumn as everyone knew her, was gone.
If only she'd known then that one day, Winter would save her.
❄️
YOU ARE READING
THE LAST LEAVES OF AUTUMN - (TNN - PROM NIGHT- AUTUMN/REECE/MIA)
Fanfic**WORK IN PROGRESS** What really happened before, during and after prom night? How did Roger's treatment and manipulations affect Autumn, Reece and Mia?
