•|Chapter Eight|•

September 8, 2017

It was finally Friday. I had finished a four day school week without him. It was hell, but a lot of people were still really focused on that rumor about one of those guys at that table.

I knew once they were old news, I would once again become the prey of the school. Who knows I am probably falling into one of their schemes right now as I walked to the library downtown to meet up with Brooke.

Deciding I have enough time to stop at Alternative Reality, a book store in town, before Brooke was done with her cheer-leading practice before tonight's game or something else. I wasn't really paying attention when she told me she would be there an hour after school got out.

The bell over the oak door ringed as I walked in, Ms. Erin smiled at me from behind the counter, talking to a girl with dark brown hair it was almost black that reached a little past her shoulders. I walk over to the sale stand and leaf through the books. Most are children books, while others just aren't interesting to me. Looking down at my phone I notice that I still have half an hour until I have to be at the library down the street.

I walk over to the book mark stand, some of them were pretty funny. Brandon would collect book marks. Every first Saturday of the month he would drag me down here when we were younger so he could get the newest book marks Ms. Erin had to offer him that were within his ten dollar allowance budget he got when we were eleven.

I walked over to the counter, setting the purple butterfly bookmark on the counter. I waited for Ms. Erin to come out from the back. She walked out and over to a chair that's between the window and the counter. I didn't even notice that the girl was still there. She received paperwork and left, telling Ms. Erin thanks.

"Hey Autumn!" She cheerfully greeted, pulling me into a hug, her grey hair spelling freshly permed, before she walked behind the wooden counter. "How've you been dear? Are you doing okay?"

"I'm holding in. I'm sorry I haven't be-"

"No. I don't want none of that nonsense. You and Brandon would come here the first Saturday of every month. When you guys would just walk downtown you'd stop in to say hi and look around. I knew if I saw one of you then the other wouldn't be far." She paused. "Eighty persent of the time you would come here with him, and he with you. And the another nineteen percent you guys would come in thinking of one another. You guys were glued at the hip, hell you guys seemed like a couple at times. I know how hard it is to lose someone you love. I know that you are doing okay, but I also know that you are struggling because your best friend is gone."

I stared at her stunned. I didn't know what to say, luckily she broke the silence for me.

"I also know that you never bought bookmarks, only Brandon did. He was the only reason I ordered more monthly. I'd tell you I'm sorry, but I know that doesn't make up for anything, it doesn't bring him back."

She put the bookmark in a paper bag, and told me it was on the house, something she would always tell Brandon when we were younger.

I told her goodbye as a mom with two children came into the store, and promised that I would stop by more as I put the tiny paper bag inside of my backpack.

I made it into the library and sat at one of the tables on the second level where all the teen, adult, informational book, and movie/VCR shelves were.

I waited another ten minutes before I left my bag at the table to wonder down the isles.

Our library wasn't that big. It had two floors and a basement that you needed the code to get into from the elevator. The only reason I know that is because Brandon worked here in the summertime sometimes.

The kids section was on the first floor, where the checkout was and the dropbox. It had a few computers for the kids and a room for conferences, events, or sales they would have.

On the second it was bigger, and the informational books took up most of the space, but the adult and teen sections did too. Their are ten computers for people to use, a tiny meeting room if you're doing a project with a few computers in it, and five tables outside of it.

I grabbed Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen, re-reading it for the third time, and sat down at the table. I was twenty pages in when Brooke came and sat down across from me. I put my new bookmark in it as I put it down, hearing Bran telling me that if I was going to use a bookmark I should just take one from the school library and not wreck the one I just bought, well was given.

"Im sorry I was late, things took a little while to get through at home," she said grabbing out her packet. "Do we have to do a presentation?"

"Yeah, it has to be a Google slides or PowerPoint, unless we want to do a poster."

"Okay, so let's get started. I'll ask a question and then you do the same?" As she finished her sentence she looked up at me, her eyes looked bloodshot like she had been crying. I nodded my head wondering what the real reason she was late for.

"Okay, let start off with question seven. Who do you live with? This includes pets, foster, adopted, or step siblings/parents/guardians. Tell me a little bit about them."

" I live with my mom, father, and my brother Keivin. We have a fishtank in our dining room kitchen area with a few fish, I'd say like fifteen? My mom makes the best pineapple upside down cake that I've ever had. My dad, he... He plays golf with his buddies. Keivin plays basketball for the school and the reck center, he also plays a lot of video games."

When I finished, she wrote somethings down before looking up at me.

"I live with my dad's best friends son's friends sense he is in New York working, and my mom is somewhere in Texas doing who knows what or who. My dad works a lot to provide for me ever sense my mom left five years ago."

I nodded my head, writing some of the stuff down.

"Question eight, do you have any siblings? This includes both dead and deceased. Tell us a little bit about them. If you are an only child do you want siblings?" I said aloud even though I knew she was an only child.

"I have no siblings. I don't really want one anymore, but when I was younger I did want someone that I could play with. You?" She inquired back even though she already knew the answer to that question.

"I have a younger brother named Keivin, and I had a older brother named Spencer who died two years ago in a car accident."

My throat felt like it was closing. I hadn't said his name aloud in a long time. I've barely thought much of him. I put him in a box and locked I up in the back of my mind, something I was ultimately trying to do with Brandon.

"Okay, question ten." We went on like this till five when she had to start getting ready for the game tonight. We finished all our questions, and all we had left were the paragraphs and the PowerPoint.

"So, would you like to meet up tomorrow or Sunday to do the slides?" She asked as she threw her stuff in her bag. I nodded my head.

"Let's meet up at one of our houses. Yours or mine?"

Tomorrow was Saturday, and dad would be drinking. Their was no way I was having her come over so that it would get out my dad's an alcoholic which will ultimately turn into one of their jokes they play on me.

"How about yours?" I told her but it came out like it was a question.

"Okay. Let's say nine? I'll send you the address." I nodded my head before she left.

Picking up my phone I called Keivin.

"Hey, what's up?" He answered, the sounds of guns and voices coming from a game.

"Can you pick me up? I'm at the library."

"Yeah, sure thing. I'll be their after this match, so fifteen minutes?"

"Okay, see you soon."

With that I grabbed the book and headed out to the checkout and waited outside on the bench for him.

~

We were eating spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. I was sitting across from my dad, and next to Kevin. Mom had left to go to the store to get stuff for the meals she was going to make, and her club. I wouldn't call it a book club because they don't read, but they do share recipes and gossip. Some lady's from her work started it last year so they could all get out of the house and have a good time.

"So, any plans tomorrow Brandon?" Dad asked.

"No. I might go to Chris's to hang out though," he shrugged, keeping his eyes down on his plate.

"Well, I you're back and you want to watch the game with me you know when I'll be."

"Yeah," he mumbled. "I'll remember."

Dad quickly glanced over at me before he returned back to his food and we ate in silence.

I knocked on Keivin's door twice with no response. Slowly I opened the door, peering inside. He was sitting on the edge of his twin bed playing COD with headphones on.

I made my way other to the TV stand, standing off just to the side. I waved my hand in front of the TV after he didn't make any acknowledgements that I was their. He quickly held up his hand, showing all five fingers. Sighing I sat down next to him.

We sat their for fifteen minutes until it was over and he told his friends he'd be back real quick.

"What's up?"

"You said you were going over to Chris's tomorrow? Do you know what time?"

"I might, depends on how the day starts off, why?"

"I need to borrow the car, early. I have a project I have to meet up with Brooke to finish for History," I rolled my eyes.

"Take it. I'll just get one of the others to pick me up," he shrugged, putting his headset back on. Noticing that was all I was going to get out of him I stood up and left his room.

As soon as I closed the door behind me I noticed dad was at the end of the hall. His eyebrows were furrowed, but his eyes held anger.

I made my way to my room, but he spoke up just as I got to my door.

"What were you doing in Keivin's room so late? Are you really that pathetic that you have to come on to your little brother? Why do you have to be such a whore?" His words were slurring, explaining that he had been drinking. I took a deep breath in before I opened my door, as I was about to walk in he pulled me back by my arm.

"You answer me when I'm talking to you, and you look at me," he fumed, his hold on my arm getting tighter.

"Let go of me," I tried to wriggle out of his grasp but that only made his hokd on my arm tighter. He slammed me against the wall, his hands on either of my arms as I tried to break free.

"You, my little whore of a daughter will not tell me what to do. You will do as I fucking say, do you understand me bitch?"

I nodded my head. "Use your words you dumb whore," he seethed as he slammed me against the wall again. A sob I had been holding in came out.

He slapped was going to slap me across the face, but before he could do it I heard my mother yell.

"Steve! What the fuck do you think your doing? Huh? Let go of her! You're hurting her!" My mom screamed, rushing forward. Once he saw her standing next to him he looked back between me and her before letting go of me.

"I-I don't know... Autumn, I'm so sorry baby." He tried to reach out for me but I just shook my head as I slowly inched my way to my door. "I didn't mean, Autumn you have to believe me." He looked so sorrowful, by I just shook my head going into my room and locking the door.

"Steve, what the fuck is wrong with you. What were you doing," mom seethed at him, trying to keep her voice down.

"I-I I don't know..."

"Just," she sighed. "Just go lay down, please. We'll talk about it later.

Not even a second later she tried to open my door. "Autumn, sweetheart. Please open up." Slowly getting up I walked over to my door and let her in.

"Baby," she cooed. "Are you okay?"

"Just fine."

" You know he-"

" Doesn't mean it?" I cut her off. "Because he's drunk? I'm sorry mom, but no. If he didn't mean it they why does he keep doing it to me? Too us? I, I thought last time was, was enough to make you notice. I guess I was wrong."

" Autumn-"

"Just leave me alone. I have to be up early tomorrow to finish a project."

" Autu-"

" No mom, go! Go check on the drunk, go mke sure he's okay. Just leave me alone."

She let out a sigh, looking at me sorrowful before she walked out, shutting the door behind her. I quickly locked it.

I claimed into bed, not having the energy for anything else as I blankly stared at the ceiling.