The Silent Fighter

Lawyers

Months pass, Autumn gets quieter each day. She's in the seventh grade now, Connor broke up with her. It didn't affect her much because she didn't really feel much for him anyways. She listens to her music most of the time, when she's not doing that, she's playing her guitar. She thinks about how many people write songs, maybe she could do it too. Starting to get better and better at playing each day, she tries to right her first song. It's about her life and everything that's happened. Autumn thinks long and hard about what she is going to do next. Listening to Amber and Susana downstairs she thinks, 'Susana has Mom, she doesn't need me to look after her and make sure she's safe. She also has John to help her though anything, and Andrew. She'll be fine if I leave. I've made up my mind.'

The next Wednesday, she goes back to Michael's and Katrina's. When she arrives, she sees Jennika watching TV and Sammy rolling around on the floor, he can't walk yet because he's only seven months. Then, she spots her dad working outside on the tractor and heads out the door.

"Dad?" Autumn comes over.

"Hey Kiddo! How's it going?" Michael asks. 

"Good, hey Dad, you know how we were talking about me coming to live here with you?" Michael stops what he's doing and looks up, "well, let's do it. I want to live here." 

"Alright, kid, but this is for sure what you want?"

"Yes," she assures him confidently. 

"Alright, let's get to it." He hops off the tractor and calls a lawyer, which apparently, he has had for awhile waiting for Autumn to say she wanted this. The lawyer asked to speak with Autumn.

"Autumn, is this you?" The woman on the phone asks. 

"Yes, this is Autumn."

"Tell me, why is it you want to live with your father," Autumn hesitates at first, then she tells her everything. They talk for about fifteen minutes, then she hands the phone back to Michael. They talk for about another hour, Autumn gets butterflies in her stomach. Michael finally hangs up the phone, Autumn lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding. 

"Okay listen, kid, I'm gonna go down to her office with Katrina in about an hour, can you watch Jennika and Sam?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Autumn replies. She thinks about calling her mother and telling her what she's doing, but doesn't in fear that Amber would yell at her, so she kept her mouth shut. 

Katrina and Michael leave, Samuel fell asleep on the floor after rolling around and Jennika is still watching Sponge Bob. Autumn smiles and sits down on a chair and scrolls through her phone. She thinks about all her friends she has at school and thinks how huge of a decision this is. Then, she thinks about Everly. Everly is her best friend. How is she going to leave her? How will she tell her? 

Nightfall comes, Katrina and Michael finally are still with the lawyer. Autumn checks the clock, it's 8:30 pm. A small squeak coming from the living room startles her, then it turns to a small whimper, then that turns into a soft cry, Samuel is awake. Autumn tiptoes over to him and scoops him up. Wrapping him in her arms, she comforts him by rocking him back and fourth. He opens his blue eyes and looks up into Autumn's blue eyes and just stares at her, then he begins to cry again. 

"Shh, Sammy, it's okay," she whispers to him while bouncing him. His cry continues to grow louder. "Sammy, it's okay, I got you. Maybe you're hungry, I'll make your bottle." Autumn makes her way into the kitchen, holding Samuel in one hand, making the bottle in the other. As Autumn does this, Sam stops crying and turns to just a small whimper. He watches her make his bottle and watches her shake it, it's almost as if he knows what she's doing. "Okay, Sammy, there you go, all better now," she feeds him the bottle and makes her way to the blue rocking chair and plops down with him in her arms.