When Autumn came back, Theodore was waiting by her doorstep with a bunch of cheap flowers he had picked up after his shift at the supermarket. They were wrapped in clear cellophane and the material crinkled every time his fingers moved. The flowers didn't give off a particularly pleasant aroma, but they were yellow, and that was one of Autumn's favourite colours.
The car pulled up at the curb and Autumn stepped out. There was no sign of her mother, which made Theodore's chest tighten. To say he was disappointed was an understatement. He had hoped that maybe she would come along with her daughter and perhaps reconcile things with her husband.
Swallowing down the bitter taste that had formed in the back of his mouth, Theodore walked over to Autumn and handed her the flowers.
She smiled tenderly and leaned in. Her kiss was softer than her smile. It were as if she was afraid that gentleness was the only way to handle the situation. It made Theodore's jaw twitch.
"They're beautiful," she said when she leaned back. She pressed her nose into the flowers and quickly retreated with a cringe.
"They smell like shit," Theodore said.
"No, no, they're beautiful."
He hated the way she was treating this. This wasn't Autumn. She would never pretend that she loved the flowers. She would never pretend he was a delicate soul. She would never pretend that everything was okay.
"Want to come inside? My dad should be at work. We can order some food and watch a movie. Maybe kiss through all the boring bits?" There was a glimmer of mischief in her eyes and seeing that gave Theodore hope. The corners of his lips lifted into a half-smile.
"How about we order from that French place?"
The corners of his lips dipped straight back down. "You hate French food."
"Yeah, well, Mum and I ate at this French place and it wasn't so bad. So, I'm willing to give this place a shot. Besides, I know how much you love the food there. You always tell me about it whenever you go with Helen."
She was pretending to like something she didn't for his benefit.
Theodore hated all the pretending. This little game of make believe was getting exhausting and Autumn hadn't even been home for that long.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment and counted from three to one.
Three seconds
Two make
One girl smile.
When he opened his eyes, he was ready to play along. "Sounds perfect."
With plastered smiles, the two went inside and played a sneaky little game of make believe. They pretended their relationship was okay. They pretended they didn't need to talk things through. They pretended they weren't going to break up.
But as time went on, it became harder and harder to pretend.
***
A/N: Two quick little updates! First, Confessions About Colton is being published as an audiobook with Hachette! The release date is July 18, but I'll have more details of everything next month. Thank you for your endless support on that story. I'm so grateful to have these opportunities.
And secondly, I posted a new mystery on Tap! The app is free to download and it's powered by Wattpad. All you have to do is search up my username lovelylivvi or the title of the story which is 'Don't Look Up' and start reading. It's written entirely in text messages but it still has a bunch of suspense and plot twists. Hope you enjoy!
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