Chapter 9 - Autumn
1149 Words
As my Mum ushered everyone through to what she calls the drawing room… basically our second lounge, I attempted to slip away, moving toward the front door. I needed some space. Everything was already becoming too much, and this was only the first morning. I just needed a little time to breathe. My phone had buzzed while sitting at the table, and I stupidly had glanced at the message.
Why did Max think it was okay to send messages like that to me? Usually, messages like that only came after he was drinking, but at this time of day, he could not be drunk. It had turned my stomach. The thought of doing anything like that with him again made me want to retch. Knowing he was doing those things with other women had changed everything.
“Are you okay?” A voice made me jump, just as I walked out onto the steps of the house, the cool winter breeze hitting me as I did. I turned, only to find Theo looking down at me, his eyes warm and full of curiosity.
“I just fancied a little fresh air. Not to mention I don’t drink at this time of day.” I explained, hoping he would realize I was wanting to be on my own.
He nodded. “Likewise. Mind if I join you?” he asked. Okay, maybe the point of me needing time on my own had not got across very well, but while I desperately wanted to send him away, in order to find some alone time to gather my thoughts, strangely his company actually sounded quite good. I simply shrugged. I would let him decide.
“Though I do not think my parents would quite approve.” I suggested, with a small smile. In fact, I knew they would not approve. If any of them were to see Theo and I spending time together, it would most certainly raise questions. Questions I do not feel like dealing with right now...
“From what I have seen Autumn, they don’t seem to approve of much.” He looked at me knowingly, and I felt a slight humiliation spread over me. He had seen. Of course, he had. It was hard not to see when my parents spoke to me that way. I think their friends have become blind to it over the years. Family too. It was just the way they were.
I shrugged again in a bid to dismiss what Theo had said, not wanting to address it, as I walked away from the steps toward the gardens, and Theo followed. “It is fine." I told him. "Elodie is the perfect daughter. Me, I am more the embarrassing one. The rebel, I guess.”
Theo laughed, and while it took me by surprise, it was such a joyful sound. Genuine sounding too. Making me look at him, and my heart warmed at the way his eyes brightened with his laughter. “You don’t really strike me as a rebel sweetheart.” He said, and the way he called me sweetheart had my heart pounding unexpectedly in my chest.
I turned to look at him with raised brows. “Maybe not in the conventional sense, but in my parents' eyes I most definitely am.”
“You are doing what your parents want though, no? Married off, from what I hear.” He said, a little accusation in his tone, and my heart dropped. Someone had told him I was married. I don't know why I was disappointed by that, it was bound to come out in the time we were here. What do you say to that? The tone in which he spoke implied he was not impressed, yet I had done nothing wrong... at least not to him.
I had chosen the wrong husband, that was for sure, but Theo did not know that. I felt his eyes upon me, and I found myself chewing my lip nervously, totally unsure of what to say to him…
“Autumn?” Theo spoke again, and it was only then that I realized I had momentarily paused my steps. “Are you okay?”
I slowly raised my gaze to meet his eyes, and nodded. “Technically.” I muttered, quickly moving ahead, only to find Theo rushing to catch me up, his eyes watching me curiously, as we moved among the many flower beds within the well kept gardens of my family's home.
“Hmm, now you have me intrigued, sweetheart.” He went to reach for my hand, taking me by surprise, his touch almost burning, and I quickly pulled it away, continuing to walk. “Sorry.” He nodded in acknowledgment before continuing. “But something tells me there is more to this than you are letting on. Not as simple, I assume?”
“I don’t know you all that well…” I began.
Theo placed a hand over his chest, his mouth agog, feigning shock. “Oh, how rude!” he gasped. “Autumn! How dare you!” he chuckled, making me giggle. “Have we not known each other since we were so big?” he motioned with his hand to just above his ankle.
He was not wrong. Our parents had been friends since they had moved, in to the property next door to us... if you call it next door, when it is at least a fifteen-minute walk away... but Theo had been a friend throughout my childhood because of the friendship of our parents. It had been him that taught me to climb a tree... oh! How my mother hated that! He helped me to learn to ride my bike too... and we spent countless hours stealing fruit from the orchards within the grounds of my family home... we had been sick trying the various alcohol at one of the Christmas parties when left unattended... Actually, when I looked back, it seemed Theo and I had quite a few memories together... it seemed he did know me quite well...
I nodded. “It is complicated.”
“Ooohh, definitely intrigued. Is it a fake marriage? For the money? He gay? Are you… no, I see how you look at me…” he began, and I found myself gasping now, playfully slapping him, only causing him to laugh.
“You are not funny.” I warned him.
“No?” he questioned, hooking his finger under my chin. His gaze focused intently upon mine now. His big beautiful eyes made me feel like I was melting under their stare… “Because I am pretty sure I heard you laughing, sweetheart.”
Dammit. He said it again, and my heart was doing its own thing…
I had to move myself away before I did something crazy, having Theo this close was sending my mind into a whirlpool…
- Writer
