THE LAST LEAVES OF AUTUMN - (TNN - PROM NIGHT- AUTUMN/REECE/MIA)

CHAPTER SEVEN - GREATEST FEAR

Mia was falling apart. She'd had to resort to blatantly threatening Reece, to stop him from telling Autumn the truth. She'd called him a failure and asked him to imagine his sister, left alone with their father while Reece rotted in prison. The more Mia twisted the knife, the deeper their trauma bond buried itself inside both of their hearts. Sometimes Reece looked at her with pure hatred, but it wouldn't be long before he sought comfort in her body.

Roger was pleased with her work but he still hadn't shown any intentions of actually helping her. His words were clearly empty but Mia still found it difficult to stand up to him. Instead she buried her head in the sand, clinging to various memories of Roger being fatherly towards her or acting like he cared. That stage of their relationship was clearly over and now she didn't understand what phase it had subsequently shifted into.

As she got ready for bed, she thought again of Autumn. The younger girl had completely lost her spark and Mia knew that it was all her fault. She climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling, now thinking of Reece and wondering what he was doing. Was he lying awake, worrying and trying to sooth his aching heart? The beautiful heart that she'd broken.

Reece was awake but he wasn't lying in bed. He was sat at the dining table, once again too scared to move. The shame he felt was overwhelming, he was almost twenty but he may as well have been a little boy. He jumped when he heard the kitchen door handle turning and as he looked up, he saw Autumn. She didn't notice him initially but when she turned around with her glass of water, she spotted him. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she stared at him, almost challenging him to try and talk to her.

Since prom night, Autumn hadn't uttered a single word to her big brother. When he'd tried to speak to her she'd ignored him completely and walked away, refusing to engage. He just couldn't help himself and as she started to walk away he blurted out "Autumn, please talk to me." She stopped suddenly and turned back to glare at him. "If you want to talk to me, why don't you come into the lounge with me?" She smirked as she watched Reece realise just how evil her comment had been. For a few moments she allowed him to stew before continuing "I have no desire to speak to you ever again. As far as I'm concerned, I no longer have a brother."

As Reece looked into her eyes he realised that she truly meant it. All he wanted to do was cry as he finally accepted the fact that Autumn simply didn't love him anymore. Even if he told her the truth now, she'd never trust him again because he was still a liar and a failure. "Please Aut, I'm sorry, it was just a prank. You know how much you mean to me, you're the only reason I'm still here." His voice came out as barely more than a desperate whisper but he knew that she'd heard him.

"A prank?" She replied, just as quietly. "You were the only person that I ever truly believed in. I relied on you Reece and I looked up to you. You chose to betray and humiliate me and now you expect me to forgive you? You broke my heart. I will never forgive you and you are nothing to me. Leave me alone." Her outburst shocked them both and as she hurried out of the kitchen, Reece heard as one solitary sob escaped from her mouth.

For so many years, the only thing that had kept Reece going was his love for his sister. The way that she'd trusted him had filled his heart with pride, as well as giving him a reason to carry on. Autumn had always been his light at the end of the tunnel.

Now, she didn't trust him.
She didn't like him.
She didn't love him.

His greatest fear had finally come true.

He'd failed his sister and destroyed their relationship, leaving himself trapped and living like a ghost within his own home. Reece's fight was finally over and he knew now that he'd lost.