Finding Her Joy

Call The Number

*A/N- Here we go with Autumn, but do you think we're ready for Reecey's perspective? That's gonna be a tough one. What do you think is going to happen when Mia tells everyone how it all went down? Wait... where the hell did Peter go? Happy reading! Enjoy!

(AUTUMN POV)
Charlotte was screaming for me. Seeing Mia there on the floor brought me back to my days at the hospital. It brought me back to my final patient.

That poor child... I still can't sleep when I think about it...

Mia was just losing so much... and then my father was cold on the floor. Thomas... poor Thomas. I wonder if I could have saved him. My hands could have been quick enough. They could have...

If only I'd been in the room to try.

I had to try with Mia. I couldn't let someone else die. I couldn't let her leave me, too. I would never say it to her face, but I needed her. She was some of the only family I had left. Charlotte needed her. Reece needed her.

We all did.

We all do.

"Autumn! Get over here, please!" Charlotte screamed.

She'd been calling out to me, but I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice.

Fight or flight, Autumn? Fight or fli... Fight. I have to save her.

"Charlotte, give me your jumper, now." It was like riding a bike. "Call the emergency services. Tell them we have a gunshot victim, and they need to get here immediately."

Charlotte was frantically taking off her jumper and pulling her phone out. She was hyperventilating. "Okay, let's dial - oh no! What's the- what's- number- what's the number?"

"Charlotte!" I screamed.

She stopped in her tracks, "What?"

"Make the call!"

I'd finally snapped her back to reality so she could dial. I applied pressure as firmly as I could. The feeling of the blood on my hands... the adrenaline I could feel coursing through my veins... my mind was racing with all the medical knowledge I had learned. All the things I could've done to save them. Their life was in my hands.

My hands...

My violent, aggressive, parent attacking hands. Why was it me? Why did I have the power to let someone live or die? Everyone died or got hurt by my hands.

It shouldn't have been my choice... I didn't want it. I didn't want it!

"Amelia! Wake up!" I was screaming at her. I needed to know she was going to make it. She had to wake up. She just had to.

"Autumn, what are you doing?" Charlotte came over and sat next to me. She took hold of Mia's hand and brushed her hair from her eyes. "You're going to hurt her!"

I kept trying to wake her, but it wasn't working. She needed someone closer to her to do it. Someone further inside her heart, and that reached through the many corners of her mind.

"Charlotte?" I asked, trying to hide how terrified I was.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?"

"I need you to try and wake her up. She won't answer me, but maybe she'll do it for you."

She was hesitant, but I just kept pushing. If we wanted to know if Mia was still alive and functioning, then she needed to open her eyes.

She started calling out to her, trying to nudge her gently to get her eyes open. Mia was breathing and stirring after some time under Charlotte's touch.

Charlotte kept calling out to her. The longer she did, the more she started to get upset. She'd been trying to hold it all in, but it finally hit her.

It hit even harder when Mia was able to open her eyes.

"Oh my God! Amelia!"

"... Hello, Sweetheart..."

"Yes, keep your eyes on me. Autumn's going to fix you. I promise."

I promise, too.

Mia looked exhausted. She wasn't going to last much longer without extra care.

Reece was watching everything that was going on. He looked miserable. His face was all distorted. His body was almost black in some spots with bruises. He had to limp back into the room, but he stood in the doorway to show the paramedics where to go. His face went from concern to slight relief when they'd finally shown up.

The men all rushed in and took over. They were fumbling around the room, attempting to save her.

They were doing it wrong.

Every time I tried to explain it to them, they would brush me off and keep working. Charlotte just wanted to sit there and hold Mia's hand. She knew to stay out of their way, but when she tried to talk to Mia, they pushed her away. That's when I started to get furious.

I grabbed one of the men by their collar and pulled him up to his feet.

"Did you just put your hands on her?" My eyes were dark. My face was as terrifying as I could possibly make it, and my grip was so tight that he couldn't escape. Even with how hard he was trying.

"N- no! It- it was an accident! I didn't - " The other men watched through the corners of their eyes. They were too afraid to look up.

I moved my hand to his jaw and tightened my grip on his face. He was so afraid I thought he might wet himself.

I spoke in a low tone, "I suggest you apologize and keep your hands to yourself. Otherwise, I'm going to make you... look like him," I pointed over to the body of my father.

He was the one I had been avoiding this whole time. I couldn't bear to see it. Seeing him so lifeless made it all real. With him gone, we were finally free from his clutches. Myself, Reece, Mia... we could all do whatever we wanted without the fear of repercussions from him.

He was gone. We were going to be okay now.

Mia had kept her promise, and it was my turn to keep mine.

"You're all acting like fools. Get out of my way unless you're helping," I let go of the man and went back to Mia. "I've spent too long trying to keep other people alive for you to come in here and kill her."

One of them tried to stop me, "Ma'am you don't know what you're doing. You have no-"

"That badge on your uniform," I gestured towards it, "That's my last name of there. I used to work there, too. You should know that since you're the one who brought it and practically killed my last patient."

They all went silent. I didn't have any other problems after that. We got her stable and moved. I let Charlotte go with the paramedics, but I followed close behind them in my car with Reece.

Reece had decided not to get treatment yet. He wanted to wait, so all the focus was on Mia. I fixed him up as well as I could, but he would still need stitches and scans.

But, all we needed was for Mia to be alright. She'd done so much for us and was so close to getting everything she ever wanted.

We were going to be damn sure that happened. Whatever it took.