Pages of Autumn

Chapter 16

I groaned to myself as I rolled out of bed, dreading this Tuesday morning already. My anxiety was through the roof with the thought of seeing Avery today. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst idea to find a different job.

I threw on my work clothes before French braiding my hair in front of the bathroom mirror.

I kissed Riley goodbye, jealousy creeping up on me as I watched him sleep peacefully.

Arriving at the coffee shop, I spotted Avery in the back. She sat on one of the chairs in the break room, her face in between her knees. 

Despite the disagreement we had, I wasn't a heartless monster. 

"Hey, you okay?" I placed my hand on her shoulder, receiving no movement in return. 

I shook her lightly, calling out her name. Still, with no response; I pulled the chair out. Her body fell limp, my stomach flipping. 

"No." My hand flew to my gaping mouth. I ran out of the break room, dropping my purse in the process. 

"Help, I need some help over here." My body panicked as I tried to keep my voice low, not wanting to disturb the customers. 

"What's the matter hun?" My manager, Chad, walking quickly down the hallway towards me. 

"I went to check on Avery and she isn't moving." My face became pale as I spoke. 

I followed Chad into the break room, trying to keep myself together. 

"Avery, honey." Chad put his hands on her knees, lifting up her head. 

The surface of her skin was purple, a foam-like substance hanging from her bottom lip. Noticing a bruise hovering over needle marks on her arm, I came to a terrifying conclusion. 

"Autumn, can you please dismiss the customers? I am going to have to call the authorities." Chad asked me this, his face red; full of apparent dismay. 

After dismissing the customers, letting them know there was a personal emergency, an ambulance and police arrived. 

"Excuse me, mam. May I ask you a couple of questions." A lady approached me in uniform, a notepad and pen along with her. 

"Yeah, no problem." My eyes drifting towards everything but her. 

"Let's take a seat." She sat down at one of the booths, myself getting settled across from her. 

"You are the first one to find Avery, correct?" She twiddled the pen between her fingers. 

"Correct." I bit my inner lip, staring out the window. 

"Can I get your full name, please?" She smiled in my direction.

"Autumn Hudgens." I picked at the skin around my nails from under the table. 

"How close was your relationship with Avery?" The officer asked me, as sweat began to form in my palms. 

"I just started working here last week. I hung out with Avery once." Keeping eye contact with the woman across the table was extremely hard; Knowing the next thing from my mouth would be a lie. 

"What did you guys do for fun? Did you notice anything strange? Like consuming alcohol or taking drugs?" She asked, continuing to mess with the pen in her hand. 

"No, not at all. I went to her house for a couple of hours last week after work. We watched a movie and I went home." I smiled, convincing myself it would hide the fib I just told. 

"And you both worked together the following day, correct?" I wish she would stop asking me questions. 

"Yes." I answered, my foot bouncing off the floor rapidly.

"How was her behavior that day?" Great, here we go again.

"She seemed upset about something. I asked her what was wrong and she freaked out on me." The more lies I told, the more of a mess I am creating. 

"Okay. Thank you so much for allowing me to talk to you. I suggest going home, we are going to investigate from here." She smiled, standing up. 

"It's not a problem." I shook her hand. Turning around, I let out a breath. 

I grabbed my purse, throwing my coat over my shoulders. I felt numb with every movement. Chad told me the shop would be closed for the next couple of days due to the incident. I shook his hand, letting him know I would be in contact; Entering the winter air. 

A whirlpool started in my head, the truth along with untruth spinning in circles. Realizing I made a huge mistake, my strides became larger- wanting nothing more than to be in Riley's arms. 

"Hey baby." Riley said as I entered the apartment. 

"You're home rather early. Is everything okay?" He said this, making his way towards me. 

I didn't form the words, not having the strength to do so. My knees buckled, falling to the floor in a heap of tears. 

"Love, what's the matter." Riley kneeled down, pulling me into his chest. 

"A-Avery." I stuttered, the pain in my chest snowballing. 

"What about Avery." He rubbed circles into my back, soothing me into a calmer state. 

"She's dead. And I'm the one that found her." I said between sniffles. 

"Fuck babe. Do you want to talk about it?" I nodded my head in response to his question- Shifting myself to move from the floor. 

Riley swiftly got up before me, placing his hand behind my back. 

"Why don't we sit in the kitchen love? Maybe drink some coffee?" He asked, wrapping his arms around me from behind. 

"I want a lot more than fucking coffee." Somehow, I mustered a laugh. 

"What? Are you referring to alcohol?" He chuckled, tickling my sides. 

"Yes. Damnit, stop tickling me." I waved his hands away, perching myself on the table. 

"Well, one of my close friends works at a bar. It's only a few blocks down- He also happens to be the manager. I can shoot him a text?" 

"That would be amazing." I sighed, swinging my feet back and forth. 

"Alright, give me one second." Riley answered, pulling out his phone. 

He must have texted a novel by the time he was done. It only took a couple of minutes for a ding to sound. 

"He said we would be able to hang out in the smoking room. No one usually goes in there and it's slow right now. I'll pay the man for whatever you want and we can relax. Sound good?" Riley said, planting a kiss on my forehead. 

"Sounds perfect." I flashed a small smile, hopping off the counter. 

I changed into a nicer set of clothing, as did Riley, and we began our small journey to the car; Freezing cold.