Chapter 1
AUTUMN'S POV
I was sitting outside on my balcony , a steamy cup of coffee warming up my hands as I look at the most perfect view , lake como . The clear blue lake shimmering in the morning sun . The peaceful sound of waves crashing against the rocks and seagulls squawking in the far end of the beach that consists of black sand . This , this is my favourite part in life . But at last , every good thing came to an end as my phone rang .
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How f*****g rude of people to call before nine in the morning . I sigh , standing up from my comfortable fluffy chair and heading back inside . I walk over to my bedside table , picking up my phone while glancing at the screen in utter annoyance . " Hi dad " , I answer the phone in the most cheerful voice I could come up with , trying my best not to be rude . " Hello my darling , how are you doing ? " Closing my eyes to take a breath " I'm doing really well dad , how about you ? How is everything at home ? " I mutter , not really wanting to know , " I'm glad you're doing well my dear . Well I was actually calling to talk about home , I need you to come back , immediately . " Silence fell between us . A million thoughts running through my mind .
" Autumn ? " Realising I spaced , I mutter , "Yes , sorry dad . Must have lost the signal there for a second . " I lie . " I'll leave as soon as I get a flight " I say rolling my eyes . " Great . Well I'll see you soon . " he mumbles " Dad " I say in a question like manner " Autumn " " May I know the reason I'm being summoned home ? " I ask like I'm going to jail " I'll tell you when you get here. Just be here before the weekend rolls in . " a sad tone laced in my father's words left me feeling uneasy . " Dad I deserve to know if something happened . " I try to argue , my nerves starting to eat me up " My dear, it is not news to discuss over a cellphone " he says sternly . A shiver creeps down my spine . He hangs up . I have to get home . I swallow my pride and call my travel guide , AKA - my best friend , Amelia .
I put my phone on speaker and throw it onto the bed as I grab a suitcase and start shoving clothes into it . " Corner on fifth street , five PM and I'll meet you there " Amelia says in a flirty voice. I can't help but smirk , " I'm kindly not looking for a hooker right now " I say as cheerfully as I can " I need help " I tell her sternly . Worry laced in her voice , she asks " What's wrong ? " , " Something has happened and I need you to book me a flight home while I pack . It's urgent so the earliest flight you can get me , please . " I beg while grabbing my warmest clothes and stuffing it into my bag. " I'm on my way home ." she says . Before I could resist , she hangs up on me .
I ignore the burning desire to cry because I'm completely lost , not knowing what is going on at home makes me emotional . Sure I wasn't very happy when daddy sent me away to Milan in Italy , helping me start a jewellery business so that I could make my own money and work alone . Did I forget to mention my stupid disease ? I can't touch people , skin to skin is a big no no . I have a bad allergy reaction to other human skin , I almost died once when someone bumped into me .
My disease doesn't have a name , because I'm the first f*****g person to get this kind of disease in the entire human history . It sucks , I know . Amelia knows about it and always books me two seats on a flight so that nobody would sit next to me or she books me in the A class where I am seated alone . Yes she books all my flights because she's way better at it than I am and mainly because I don't have time to do it myself .
I ended up here , shipped off to Milan by my dearest dad , just because of some i***t , day drunk asshole , who bumped into me because he couldn't walk straight . Now I'm stuck here , but I honestly don't mind it anymore , because I met Amelia and my business is doing so great . I even hired people to work for me over this four years . It's going great .
The only thing that sucks is I miss my brothers . Caleb and his best friend , Daniel that sort of have become like my other brother . When I was small , I had the biggest crush on Daniel , but growing up I knew it would never happen and I started seeing him as just another brother . My protectors whenever I had to go to doctor's appointments when my parents were to busy to take me , but don't get me wrong , they were completely free when they made the appointments on my behalf .
I grew to loathe my parents because they always preached but never lived up to their actions . It was disgusting how fake they were . Caleb and Daniel were the only ones to ever take care of me and look out for my well being . Maybe I should ask Caleb what our dad is hiding , it's been two weeks since I last talked to him . " So you have a flight at five am tomorrow morning , A class . " Amelia's voice snaps me out of my thoughts . I turn to her , " Thanks " I say , giving her a small smile " No problem , should I keep an eye on the shop for you ? " , " Please ? If you're not busy ? " " Listen , a trust fund woman is never to busy for her best friend " she winks at me . " Are we spoilt ? " I ask her seriously " Most probably . " she says seriously and we both burst out laughing . " Well you aren't , you work . " she says as she closes my laptop and heads off towards her room . We both got a house together , I pay it off because I have my own business and she buys electricity , pays for the water and she does the grocery shopping .
When I finished packing the toiletries I won't need tomorrow morning I grabbed my phone and called Caleb . It went straight to voice mail , well that's strange . His phone is on most of the time , maybe he's in a meeting . I sigh and just send him a text message " Hey Caleb , what is dad not telling me ? I'm worried sick . Let me know when you know something , alright ? See you soon . " I hit send and changed into some pyjamas . I put an alarm on for 3 AM , enough time to get ready and get to the airport before boarding at 5 AM . I put my phone on charge and got into bed , watching an episode or two of The Vampire Diaries before drifting off to sleep .