Beware [COMPLETED]

18. Safe at last

"I'm tired. I'm going back upstairs, okay? You enjoy yourself down here. It's your birthday after all."

The words seemed foreign to Autumn but she found the voice to be familiar. At first, she couldn't put a finger on who it belonged to, but when a memory stopped by her mind, she knew.

Around her, the soughing of wind in the trees was low and the night sky was covered with gray clouds. Autumn dragged herself forward while limping around the multiple graves. There was a thick branch in her hand that she had broken from a tree, and she used it to hold herself up.

When she had woken up in a graveyard, she instantly knew which memory she was seeking for. She knew where to find her last friend, but the darkness of the night made it hard for her to see. She couldn't exactly tell where she was in the cemetery, but she was now going around to look for something familiar. Something that would lead her to her final destination.

"Aria? Are you in there?"

Autumn frowned at the anxiousness in Adam's voice. She didn't like where this was going, but sadly the event had already taken place when she was sixteen.

"I love you, little brother, and I know that you do too, but you don't have to worry about me. I'm just tired. Don't bother checking up on me, okay?"

Autumn slowly navigated her way around the tombstones. The relentless pain made her dizzy after every couple of steps ahead. It drained her energy and left her tired. She felt like retiring and never getting up again. She had bled out and gotten bruises. Her stomach was aching and her throat was parched and dry. Whenever she coughed, her hand came back with red spots.

A loud scream vibrated in her ears and a cry for help shortly followed it. Autumn had been present there when Adam had screamed and cried. She had been there on his birthday. The birthday on which his elder sister had committed suicide.

-

Autumn pulled her jacket tight around her and wrapped her arms around her body. Her hair was down and the strong wind was taking it everywhere with it. Autumn did not bother fighting back and just walked ahead and around the many headstones.

In a distance, she could spot Adam sitting on the ground in front of a grave. His stare was focused on nothing in particular and his mind was clouded with thoughts and memories.

As she got closer, she noticed the dark circles under his green eyes and his dried and chapped lips. His skin had lost its rich colour and he looked lifeless.

Wordlessly, Autumn sat next to him on the ground and let him rest his head on her shoulder.

None of them said anything for a good twenty minutes. The only sound was the ruffling of leaves and the rumbling of thunder. Second by second, the sky was getting darker as the gray clouds covered the sun. The weather was a perfect representation of Adam's current aura.

The wind tousled their hair around with its strong grip but none of them cared. When the first drop of rain fell, they didn't move. They just sat there on the damp soil with no word between them.

"After our parents died, Aria was the one who always took care of me." Autumn silently listened.

"She was my legal guardian and... I depended on her too much that I didn't even realise she was hurting as well."

Autumn's heart clenched. She had been there at the funeral of his parents and she had seen how Aria had handled everything. Having seven years on her brother, she hid her emotions well and made him believe that she was completely fine. Little did anyone know, she was slowly losing it.