Finding Her Joy

Telling Autumn

*A/N- Alright, everyone! Who's ready to maybe cry today? I know I am! I was specifically asked for this one, so hopefully, it meets your expectations niallhoranisleng. Happy reading! Enjoy!

(MIA POV)
The morning after our parents left, Reecey and I spent hours trying to come up with a way to tell Autumn. My mum left a note on the fridge saying she would be gone all day. Something about needing time alone and then she was going to her sister's house.

I made Reece and I toast for breakfast, and we sat on the sofa to eat it. He was still so sore from the night before that he couldn't move too much and I had to feed him. His eye was dark purple and swollen underneath, and he had a smaller bruise on his nose. I checked the marks on his torso, and they were almost as dark as his eye. Thinking about it still makes me livid.

"Should we blunt about it?" He asked in between bites. "I don't think think there's a way to sugarcoat it, honestly." His eyes were so sad and broken.

I didn't want to talk about my own struggle with the whole thing because their situation was so much worse. They were basically left with no one, and at least I still had my mum. Did I still have her?

"You know, even if we tried to sugarcoat it, she would be angry. Your sister is very much about being told the facts as they are. Not made pretty and neat." I sighed and started to eat my own food since Reecey was finished.

"This is going to break her, isn't it?" He asked, making fists with his hands. "I shouldn't have to do this alone." He whispered.

"You won't." I said firmly, grabbing his hand. "I'll be with you the whole time. As long as you need." I tried to give him a reassuring smile.

He winced as he turned to me and pulled me in for a hug. "Promise me you'll never leave." He said, still holding me tight.

I didn't know what to say. Of course, I wanted to be there for him, but could I really promise forever? Even if I didn't think I would be, I still had to tell him yes. Didn't I? "I'm not going anywhere." As I said that, he relaxed into me.

We waited until noon to go get Autumn from her friends house. She deserved a few more hours of happiness before we blew up her world. I wonder if she appreciated it or not, but I'm not going to ask her now. I've brought up enough painful memories for her, so it just wouldn't be fair.

Instead of taking them back to their house, we walked back to mine. Stopping along the way to grab some snacks for the movie night, we had planned to make us all feel better.

The whole way back to my house, Autumn kept asking Reece about his face and why he was holding his stomach. He told her that we went to the park last night, and he'd gotten in a fight with some other boy over one of the swings. She knew he was lying, but he wouldn't budge.

She looked over at me, and I just shrugged my shoulders. If he didn't want her knowing the truth about it, then I wasn't going to tell her. Autumn was irritated about it but decided to drop it.

When we reached the house, it was still empty. My mum left a message on the machine saying that she would be spending the rest of the weekend at my aunts house. We put all the snacks away in the kitchen and sat on the sofa together. Autumn in the middle of Reece and I, and he had his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

I nudged his arm and signaled that it was time to tell her. He frowned but knew I was right. "Hey, Aut... there's something you need to know." He said unsure of himself. I rubbed his arm to let him know he would be okay.

Autumn fixed her glasses and looked over at him. "Why must everything you say sound so serious?" She rolled her eyes and turned to me. Once she saw my sad expression, she changed her tone. Now she was worried, "What's going on? Big brother?"

Reece wasn't able to speak anymore. He looked over at me for help. I cleared my throat, "When Reecey went home yesterday, something bad happened."

She brought her hand to her mouth and gasped, "Is that why you look like this? Did father do this to you?" She was getting angry at the thought of her brother being hit by a man over twice his size and age.

I was going to break the news to her and try to get her mind off their father's abusive behavior, but Reece jumped in and yelled, "Mum left! She's gone, and she's not coming back!" He wanted to be honest with her, but he didn't want to be so aggressive with it. So when he yelled at her, he freaked out and immediately started to apologize. "I'm so sorry! We were going to be gentle with the news! Oh, God. Aut, I'm so sorry!" He reached for her, but she pulled away quickly.

"...she's gone? What do you mean? I saw her yesterday. We're going birthday party shopping on Monday. She can't be gone. We have so much to do. You're wrong. Maybe she just went out for an evening. She has to be home!" She got up and frantically started to head for the door.

"Autumn! Stop!" Reece called, and she froze in her tracks. "I watched her leave." His voice cracked, and he stood to walk over to her. "She's gone." Autumn wouldn't turn around, but we both knew she was crying. Her almost inaudible sniffling and her shaking body told us just how hurt she was. She wrapped her arms around herself and dropped to her knees. Reece leaned down behind her. He knew better than to look at her face while she cried. "I'm all alone," she said so soft that we could barely understand her. "He's going to come after both of us now." Her hands fell to rest on her knees. I could see tears falling on the backs of her hands.

Reece wrapped his arms around her and held her as right as she would let him. "No, he won't. I'll protect you. He won't ever hurt you like her." He whispered to her and reached an arm out to me. I went over and joined them on the floor.

"You're never alone. We'll always be here for you." I said, picking up her face and wiping away her tears. She buried her face in my chest to hide how upset she was. Autumn was never a hugger, so when she threw her arms around me, Reecey and I stared at each other in shock.

I mouthed, "What do I do?" Reece just looked at me and shrugged his shoulders.

If she needed me for comfort, then that's what I was going to do. I held her the same way I had Reecey the night before. Wrapping her up in my arms and stroking her hair until she settled.

Reece sat next to us and rubbed her back so she knew he was still there. I'll never know why she chose me over him, but I'm not sure it matters. She was practically my little sister, too, so maybe she saw me as her big sister in some way.

Autumn ended up falling asleep on me from all the emotions that had been rushing through her. Reece and I went to move her on the couch, but she tightened her grip on me.

That's the night we built our first blanket fort. We were stuck on the floor, but we didn't have to be uncomfortable. They sort of became a safe space for us, and any time one of us was having a hard time, we would build one. Filling it with pillows, blankets, all our favorite snacks, and putting on comfort movies.

When we were inside, the world couldn't hurt us. We were together and safe, and that's all we really wanted.

Or at least, it used to be what we wanted...

*A/N- Hey, did I catch you at a bad time? You should totally go follow my Instagram now that I'm posting again. It'll be a bunch of stuff about me and stuff about Charlotte, too. It'll be a good way to find out what chapter you guys want next instead of waiting to find out in the comments or just publishing what I feel. Follow me, and I'll follow you back. 😘

@baby.angel18

-Corin