One Autumn Day

Chapter Six

Autumn finally wakes up. She looks at me and smiles. Then she looks at Johnny and flips out.
    "It's okay, Autumn. You're safe. He won't hurt you."
    She looked back at me with a frightened sparkle in her eye. She holds onto my hand as Johnny explains his situation to her.
    After he finished explaining she just laid there speechless.
After a long period of awkward silence Autumn said, "You're my brother?"
"Yes I am."
"This is just...wow. I didn't see that coming." She just stared at him blankly. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I don't know. I guess I was just afraid of how you may react."
I can see why he would be scared. It's never easy to tell someone that you're their brother or sister that they never knew. And it's definitely not easy to receive that news either.
"Autumn, I am so sorry. I should have told you," Johnny said with a sad look in his eye.
It was the same look that Autumn had in her eye, when she first told me about Chassen.
Autumn reached for his hand and said, "It's okay. I forgive you. But why tell me now?"
"Because Chassen is after you and in order to protect you, you need to know who I am."
Right after he said that, his phone began to ring. He grabbed his phone, from his pocket, and looked nervously at the caller ID on the screen.
Then he anxiously says, "I have to take this call. So I'm just going to step out into the hallway for a few minutes."
We both say, "Okay," as he walks out of the room.
A few minutes later Johnny comes back, "Hey, I have to leave. So, I will see you guys later."
He came over and gave Autumn a hug, shook my hand, and then left.
She then looks at me and says, "Well that was unexpected."
"I agree. You know what's not unexpected?"
"No."
I smiled as I kissed her cheek.
So after about thirty minutes the doctor comes in, gives me some paperwork and says, "Alright you are free to leave."
After I read over the papers we go home. When we get home I take her inside.
"Autumn, how about you sit on the couch and watch some tv while I make you something to eat."
"Okay."
So she starts watching tv as I head into the kitchen and clean up the mess from the other night. Then I make her some vegetable soup. After she finishes eating I clean the dishes.
Oh yeah I have to get a padlock. Do I even have one? I go check the pantry. Once I find the padlock I go put it on the drawer of knives. I can't let her do that again.
I then walk over to Autumn, kiss her forehead and sit down next to her on the couch. We sit there on the couch cuddling while she watches tv and I ponder about how to handle the Chassen issue. I will just have to file a restraining order against him.
"Hey Autumn. What would you do if I told you that I have a really big surprise planned for tonight? Especially since we are 20 years old."
She looked up at am and smiled, "I would tease you and say 'I'm listening.' Why?"
"Oh, I was just wondering."
That's it I'm doing it tonight. I don't want to wait any longer.
"Hey. I'm going to run to the store to get some groceries. Do you want to come or stay here? I am also going to file a restraining order against Chassen. So, I will need all of his information."
"How about I just come with you."
"Okay. That works for me. Do you want to change first?"
"Yeah. Just give me a minute. You go start the car."
"Okay."
I go outside and start the car. Then Autumn comes outside in a long sleeve shirt, which is great to cover up her scar on her arm, and black jeans.
She got in the car and said, "Alright let's go."
"Okay."
I smiled then backed down the driveway. She reaches her hand towards the radio and turns it on. As I start driving to the grocery store she gently and carefully slips her hand into mine and then smiles.
She holds onto my hand and sings along to songs until we get to the store. We go inside and buy everything I need to make dinner.
After I pay for the groceries we head over to the police station. Once we go inside I grab Autumn's hand and lead her to the nearest open desk. We greet the officer and then sit down in the chairs.
"Hello. How can I help you two?"
"Hi. We would like to file a restraining order on someone."
"Okay I will just need some information."
"Okay."
I look at Autumn and nod my head meaning, it's okay just answer her questions.
"So what's the name of the person?"
"Chassen Rossen"
"Date of birth?"
"October 13, 2000"
"Where was he born?"
"Austin, Texas"
"Alright now what are your names?"
"Autumn Johnson and Nathan Drake."
"Date of births?"
"August 4, 2002 and September 16, 2002."
"Where were the places of birth?"
"Both are Saint Louis, Missouri."
"Okay thank you. That is all. You now have a restraining order on Chassen Rossen. Have a wonderful day."
We leave the police station and I can tell that Autumn is relieved.
"I almost forgot, I have one more place I need to go to."
"Okay."
So I go run my last errand and Autumn stays in the car. After I finished getting what I need we go home. On the car ride home we sing along to songs and laugh a whole lot.
Finally we get to the house and I take her inside. I set everything down in the kitchen and turn around to see her standing behind me, biting her bottom lip. I just tell her she should go practice playing the piano while I make dinner. I didn't kiss her because it drives her crazy.As soon as I hear her playing the piano I begin to set up everything for her special surprise.
After about an hour I finish making dinner. So I set the table and then call her into the kitchen. She walks in and is immediately stunned. I walk over to where I want her to sit and I pull out her chair and gestured her to sit down. She slowly walks over to the chair and sits down.
Once I sit down she says, "What is going on?"
I smile and say, "I just wanted to give you a nice dinner."
"Okay."
I put some food on our plates. As we are eating I become more and more nervous. I wonder, does she feel the same way about me as I feel about her? Does she think we're moving too fast? Or has this whole thing been an illusion.
Alright, we are both finished eating it's time for the big surprise. Slowly, I rise to my feet and walk over to her.
She looks at me and says, "What are you doing? What is going on?"
I look at her and sincerely say, "Just give me a second. Trust me there is no reason to be worried."
She just looks at me and is speechless.
"Do me a favor and sit down," I had to resituate myself to where I was standing by her side, "facing me."
She does as I ask and I take a deep breath. I grab her hand and slowly get down on one knee.
Then I say, "Autumn, I love you so much and you mean the world to me. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't see you at that bus stop. I have come to realize that you are not like any other person, I have met. Now I could go on and on and on about what you mean to me, which you already know, or I could simply say; Autumn, will you marry me?"
I take out the ring and take a deep breath and wait to be rejected.
She smiles and says, "Nathan it would be my pleasure."
Wait what is this? Is this a sick joke or did the love of my life just tell me she wants to marry me?
I put the ring on her finger as she wraps her arms around me. I kiss her passionately as I think to myself, "Nope. This is definitely not an illusion. I am engaged to the best person in the whole galaxy. God, I am so lucky."
We are still hugging as the kiss ends.
I slowly let go of her as I say, "Well I guess there is no better time than now to ask; can I have this dance?"
That is when the music begins to play.
She smiles and says, "I don't know how to dance."
"I will teach you."
"Than how can I refuse?"
"You can't."
She laughs as I lead her through the dance steps. Then I start the music over and we dance. We are dancing so perfectly that if we were on "Dancing With The Stars," we would automatically win.
The song ends and we both fall on the couch, exhausted from dancing and laughing from the fun. When our laughter finally comes to an end I smiled and looked over at her. Wow I can't believe she is going to be my wife. I then lean over and kiss her.
The kiss ends as I say, "How do you think Johnny is going to react?"
She looked at me and plainly said, "I have no idea. I don't know him that well, so."
After that, nothing was said. We just went upstairs and got ready for bed. We cuddled close and then fell asleep.
Around 7am, I find myself awake and alarmed by the doorbell going off. I get up out of bed after sitting there frustrated for at least 5 minutes. I end up tripping on the rug right before the steps.
Luckily, I catch myself before I actually go tumbling down the stairs. I take a deep breath and then casually walk to the door, acting as if I didn't almost break a few bones here and there. Slowly, I open the door to find that Johnny is standing on the front porch pacing back and forth.
I watch him for a few seconds and then I say, "Hey, Johnny. Do me a favor. Stop pacing back and forth, you're making me nervous, and tell me what you're doing here, at 7 in the morning."
He stops moving and says, "Oh, I'm sorry. I need to talk to you and Autumn."
"Okay. Come inside and I'll go see if I can get her up."
So Johnny comes in and sits down on the couch, while I run upstairs. A few minutes later I came back downstairs with Autumn's hand in mine. We sat down on the couch and waited for an explanation from Johnny.
After about 3 minutes of fidgeting, Johnny looked at us and said, "We need to get you two out of here as soon as possible."
Autumn looks at Johnny concerningly and then says, "Why, Johnny? What's wrong?"
"Autumn, it's Chassen he called me. He told me that he was coming after you and that I needed to leave you alone. He told me that the two you have some unfinished business, to finish."
Autumn then said, "God dang it! He always has to ruin my life doesn't he. I wanted to stay in Nashville and have our wedding here. Then later in life build a family. But before children I wanted to go back and finish school."
She laid her head on my lap and cried. I looked at Johnny who obviously was confused.
"What do you mean, have your wedding here? Are you two engaged?"
"As of last night, yes."
"Jesus! You disappear for a few hours and you miss all the good stuff. Well, congratulations."
"Thank you."
"Autumn I'm sorry. But we have no choice. I don't live close enough to you in order to keep watch. We have to leave."
We all sit there silent for a few minutes.
Then I get an idea and say, "Johnny, why don't you just come live with us? I have a spare bedroom. That way we can have our wedding here and we don't have to move. Plus you'll be able to help me keep watch."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure that won't be any trouble for you two?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Thank you."
"No problem."
Then Autumn sits on my lap and wraps her arms around me. She hugs me tight and then gently kisses me.
"Umm. I am going to go get my stuff from my place. And give you two some privacy."
We pull our lips apart, laugh and say, "Okay."
Then I pull her closer and kiss her roughly. Johnny laughs and then leaves. It took me a while, but I just acknowledged everything that Autumn said.
"Wait, you want to have kids?"
"Well not right now. I hope we have kids later in the future. Why? Do you not want kids?"
"Yes, I want to have kids. I want at least one girl, who inherits your beauty and personality, and one boy, who inherits my looks and good qualities."
She waited a few seconds, then kissed me over and over again. Then I carried her, on my back, into the kitchen. As I made coffee and searched for something that I could make us for breakfast, she went through her text messages on her phone.
Nothing seemed to interest her. So she put her phone on the counter and came up behind me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me tight.
"Do you think we can go to the mall and start looking for dresses?"
"Anything for you Cuddlebug."
After I give her an answer she goes in the other room. She sits down at the piano and opens the lid. Then she plays softly as she sings along. I stop moving and listen to the lyrics she is singing.
"I'm an angel with a shotgun, shotgun, shotgun. An angel with a shotgun, shotgun, shotgun."
Then I go back to making breakfast. Once I finish cooking I call her into the kitchen. We eat breakfast quickly.
While I am cleaning up she is sitting at the piano playing "Sucker For Pain." I begin to hum along as she sings like an angel. She puts a spell on me and makes me believe every word she sings. Her voice is so captivating.
Finally Johnny returns with a duffle bag or two. I show him his room and let him settle in. After he has put everything away I show him around the house.
"Okay. Now remember if you need anything just ask me. Feel free to help yourself to the food in the kitchen. I am going to go get Autumn. After we get dressed we are going to go look at wedding dresses."
"I thought that the groom wasn't suppose to see the wedding dress."
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Well maybe my friend Jess can help Autumn. I will just drive her there."
So I leave the room and go get my phone. I tell Autumn to go get dressed. Then I call Jess.
"Hello?"
"Yeah. Hey Jess. It's me Nathan."
"Oh, hi Nathan. What's up?"
"I need you to do me a favor."
"Okay. What is it?"
"I need you to accompany my fiancé, Autumn. She wants to start looking for a wedding dress today and I can't be there because I'm the groom."
"Okay yeah! That sounds like fun. Wait a second. Her name is Autumn?"
"Yes her name is Autumn. Why?"
"Is she, by any chance, the same Autumn you've been looking for, for like 5 or 6 years, is it?"
"Actually yes she is. We just got engaged last night. You always told me to just forget about her and to settle down with someone else. Well I found her and I've decided to settle down with her."
"Yeah I'm sorry about that. I should have been encouraging you. Congratulations though. And yes I will hang out with her today."
"Alright. Thank you. Bye."
"Alright. Bye."
I hung up the phone and put it on the counter. Then I went upstairs to get dressed. After we were dressed, I took her to the bridal store. Jess was already there so I just dropped off Autumn and left.
I listen to music as I drive home. Once I reach the house I sit in the car until my favorite song ends, which is "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts. When the song comes to an end I go inside.
"Johnny? Are you still here?"
After a few seconds I hear a muffled voice say, "Yeah. I'm still here."
"Okay. What do you want to do until Autumn and Jess are finished?"
"I don't know. We can go look for a tuxedo for you?"
"I would say yes, but I don't want to get a tuxedo until I know what color her wedding dress will be. That way it will go together."
"That is really smart and it makes sense. Well maybe we can just hang out here and watch a movie."
"That sounds like a great idea. Here you go look for a movie to watch and I'll be right back. I have to make some phone calls."
"Okay."
As he is looking at the movies, I go in the other room and take out my phone. Then I call Justin. I tell him all that is going on because I haven't talked to him since the day before Autumn came.
"You're getting married! Congratulations. When can I meet her?"
"How about later today?"
"Okay that sounds great."
"Okay. See you later."
After my phone call with Justin I go sit down at the counter, in the kitchen. Then I call Autumn.
"Hey cuddle bug. How is the dress shopping going?"
"Hi. It's going great. But there are a lot of dresses to choose from. So it's kind of hard."
"Well at least you have Jess there to help you."
"Yeah. Speaking of Jess she is really nice. Plus I kind of recognize her from somewhere."
"Well she went to our old school, but then you left."
"Oh. That's where I've seen her."
"Yeah. I bet you look beautiful in every single dress you try on."
"Aww. You're so sweet and you're making me blush."
"Good."
"Alright, well I have more dresses I need to try on. So I will talk to you later."
"Alright. Talk to you later. I love you cuddle bug."
"I love you too love bug. Good bye."
"Bye. Good luck."
"Thank you."
I then go into the living room, where Johnny is sitting on the couch waiting for me.
As I sit down next to him I say, "So what movie did you pick out?"
"Oh. I picked 'Star Wars: Rogue One.' Is that okay with you?"
"Yes. This is a great movie."
"Okay good. Are you ready for me to start the movie?"
"Yes."
So we sit there and watch the movie. At the end of the movie I asked Johnny, what he thought.
"That was such an amazing movie."
"I know right. Anyway, I have to go get Autumn and Jess. So, I'll be back later."
"Okay. Bye."
"Bye."
I get up grab my phone,  jacket, and keys. Then I get in the car. As I start the car, the radio comes on. The song on the radio reminds me of Autumn. The song is "I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz.
I start driving as soon as I receive a text from Jess, "I'm going home. One of your friends just picked up Autumn." One of my friends? Wait what?! I call Jess.
"Yes?"
"What do you mean, one of my friends just picked up Autumn?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. A guy  came and got Autumn, he said he was your friend."
"What was his name?"
"Um, it started with an A. Oh now I remember. It was Armando. Why is something wrong?"
"I don't know anyone named Armando. Oh crap!"
"Is everything okay?"
I frantically say, "No. Everything's not okay. How long ago did he pick up Autumn?"
"About 30 minutes ago."
"Okay I got to go."
"Alright bye."
I hang up the phone and I accidentally drop it on the floor of the passenger side. I pull over and try to grab my phone. I hear horns blaring. I get out of my car and walk around, because I still can't reach my phone. I get my phone and then I walk a few feet in front of my car.
Just then I hear a big crash. I turn around to see what had happened.
"OH MY GOD!"
Someone crashed into my car. I run up to their car and I look through their window. I call 911 and they tell me they are on their way. I open their car door and begin to help them out. There is a child in the back seat.
I pry open the back door and get the child out of the car seat. It's a baby girl. She looks like she is about six months old. She is screaming and crying. I am holding her and trying to calm her down.
I go and stand by the woman who was in the driver's seat. I am rocking the baby back and forth. The woman is injured all over her body. The baby is calm now and luckily she was not harmed in the accident.
Finally the ambulance arrive. I call Johnny as we are on our way to the hospital. My car wasn't really damaged so I put the car seat in my car and I followed the ambulance to the hospital with the baby in my car. I get off the phone with Johnny, after telling him about Autumn being kidnapped and about the car accident. I turn off the radio so that the baby can sleep peacefully.
The whole way to the hospital I can't help but wonder, what caused the woman to crash into my car in the first place. We arrive at the hospital shortly after the phone call. They rush the woman into the Emergency Room while I sit in the waiting room with the baby. She started to cry, so I pick her up and rock her in my arms. I hum a lullaby and wrap her in my jacket. She falls asleep nuzzled up against me. I smile and then look up only to find, that Johnny is standing right in front of me.
"Jesus Christ... you scared the crap out of me," I say in a whispered tone.
"Oh sorry."
"It's fine."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah I'm okay. I wasn't in my car when it got hit. I'm really worried about Autumn though."
"It's okay. We are going to find her."
Just then the doctor came over to me.
"Were you the guy who was the other car in the accident?"
"Yes I was."
"Alright. Well, I am going to need you to come with me. You can bring the baby."
"Okay."
I follow the doctor to a room, with the baby sleeping in my arms. We go inside the room, making me abruptly adjust to my new surroundings. I make my way to the chair next to the hospital bed. I take a seat gingerly to make sure I don't wake the baby.
The woman opens her mouth and begins to speak, "Thank you so much. You saved my life. Also thank you for taking care of my baby, Anna."
"It's the least I could do. May I ask you a question?"
"Sure, anything."
I pause for a moment and then say, "What caused you to crash into my car in the first place?"
"Well here is the story. Anna had dropped both her pacifier and her bottle. She was screaming and crying. So I tried to reach back and grab one of the items, she had dropped. I ended up letting go of the steering wheel and losing control of the vehicle. That is how we crashed."
"Oh wow. I am so sorry."
"It's okay. All three of us are still alive."
"That's true."
I look down at Anna and I begin to gingerly rock her back and forth in my arms. She is the sweetest and quietest little thing.
"You are very good with kids. Do you have any children of your own?"
I smile and look up at her saying, "Thank you. Actually no, I don't have any children. I'm only 21 years old. I just got engaged a few days ago."
"Oh, congratulations."
"Thank you."
"So what's your fiancé like?  Where is she?"
"Her name is Autumn. I actually met her in seventh grade. She loves music and she has the voice of an angel. I was actually on my way to pick her up. She was out dress shopping. But I found out she was kidnapped by some guy named Armando."
"She sounds lovely. I am so sorry she is missing."