˚* ੈ✩‧₊ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒕 ⋆ 𝒇𝒊𝒏

thirty-nine

she got home just before dark, sighing as she entered the warm house. her face was cold, her nose red as she sniffled. her chest was heavy and heaving from running so fast, heaving each breath she took. "mother!" autumn calls out, taking off her coat and leaving it on a hook. she walked into the dining room, finding her mother with her head on the table. autumn chuckled, thinking she had suddenly just fallen asleep. "mother, wake up." she smiles, placing a hand on her mother's shoulder. she received no response. slightly shaking the woman, she began to worry. her mother was typically a light sleeper, just like her. "mommy?" she says, bending down to look at her face. as she moved her hair away, she noticed a bluish tint in the skin. she went colder than before. autumn backed away from the woman, wide eyed. "no..." she whispers to herself, throwing a hand over her mouth. quick as a whistle, autumn ran to the andrews home, knocking violently on the door. prissy answered, shocked by the girls obviously crazed actions. she was hyperventilating, tears pouring out of her eyes. "i-i ne-ed bill-billy." she managed to choke out. he wasn't home, and hadn't been since school let out. this threw autumn into more panic. soon, mr. andrews came to the door. "prissy, what in the world- ms. winters, are you alright?" he questioned, noticing the bewildered girl. she shook her head quickly, pointing to her house. "m-my moth-er..." she said out of breath. harmon's eyes widened, pushing both prissy and autumn aside as he made his way to the winters household. he told prissy to bring the girl inside and to mrs. andrews, who did just that. autumn sat inside the andrews home, a blanket draped around her shoulders. jane and prissy sat on either side of her, billy being nowhere in sight.

harmon had gone out and fetched someone to help with the situation at hand, leaving the girl alone with his daughters and her thoughts. autumn's body was cold, tense with fear and panic. who could have done such a thing? her mother's lifeless and limp body still lay in the chair, face down on the table. autumn could see it, despite the darkness falling upon the world. jane had left, fetching tea for the group. prissy kept her hands in her lap, not knowing how to comfort the girl. billy, still, had not returned home. "have you any idea where billy's gone?" autumn asked quietly, prissy picking her head up to look at her. she received nothing but a silent shake of the head. billy's absence was nerving, creating a thick worry in the air. it was almost dark, he's usually always home by now. jane walks in, a platter filled with a china tea-set. the teapot was beautiful. large and round, the spout curving up out of its body as though it were a flower growing from the ground. the handle was large, curved into a half-heart shape. on each side of the pot, yellow and purple flowers were painted in design. purple, yellow, purple, yellow it went. a green vine connected each one, traveling all around the object. the teacups were similar, except only having one color of flower. one yellow, two purple. the creamer and sugar bowl were a plain white, the only design being on the ball on the lid of the bowl. a yellow flower, once again. on the side of the platter were small cakes and cookies, and tea bags along with slices of lemon for the tea. jane placed the set down on the coffee table in front of the girls, asking autumn how she liked her tea. she shook her head. "may i just have a lemon slice in hot water, please?" she asked, earning a smile and slight nod from jane. the girl poured steaming water from the tea pot, the water streaming down into the yellow teacup. once half filled, jane plopped a lemon slice into the cup, handing it to autumn who takes it gratefully. she sips on the drink, the warm water warming her up. "autumn?" billy's voice called out. she hadn't heard him enter the home. he saw her distraught face, immediately rushing to her. "what happened? what's wrong?" he rushed, kneeling in front of autumn and holding her free hand. jane and prissy watch the two, prissy scoffing. this earned billy's attention, who then asked what was going on once again. "perhaps if you had been here when she stood at our front porch bawling, you would know." jane says, pouring water into the second cup and setting a bag of chamomile tea to steep. billy's eyes harden, becoming angry with his sister but remaining calm for autumn. "when i got home, i found my mother with her head on the table. i-i thought she was sleeping, so i shook her..." autumn says clearly, but not wanting to finish. her eyes brimmed with tears. billy's hands were cold as ice, his gun was still slung over his shoulder. he hadn't put it down since the fox was reported. his hands and shoes were covered in a dust, along with little grains of some material. "where were you?" she asked. billy didn't answer, nor did he look at her. his eyes stared straight at her hands. of course, she knew that he had been out hunting with jeffrey and kyle, but the chalky white substance was a mystery to her. "i was out, i'm sorry. i should've come straight home from school, i should've been here for you." he said sadly, trying to warm up his hands with hers. autumn softly smiled at the boy, placing a hand on his cheek.

the image of her mother lying dead haunted her the entire night, despite being wrapped into billy's arms. he was warm, his chest slowly rising and falling as her head rested upon it. she felt safer in his arms.