AUTUMN LEAVES

“What do you mean, everybody knows?”, Autumn asked terrified. Tiffany sighed heavily, hating that her fears came true. Autumn just ran out of the club with Sidney, in front of everyone, leaving his girlfriend behind and her husband worried sick as he’s been trying to reach her all night. Tiffany did not dare to answer Autumn’s phone. What would she tell him? Would she lie to Mario? She decided that her baby sister is no longer a baby and that she should start taking responsibility for her actions.

~Two hours ago~

“Why are you so jittery, girl? Have a drink”, Catherine said as she sipped on her Shirley Temple. Jessica sighed from her spot on the bar and leaned in to whisper in Catherine’s ear the reason why she was nervous. Her friend nodded, giving her a knowing smile, “Autumn is great, she can convince you to jump off a bridge if she sets her mind to it, trust me”, she joked. “She most definitely has Sidney’s ear too”, Catherine added with a wink. “She sure cares about him too. Maybe a little too much?”, Jessica hesitantly spoke, a hint of jealousy in her tone. “Don’t be crazy, they’re close friends. She’s Mario’s wife, you have nothing to worry about”, Catherine said with a chuckle, as if what Jessica had said is the most ridiculous thing in the world.

“What’s taking them so long though?”, Jessica whined. “What’s taking who so long?”, Kris asked with a happy grin, as he hopped onto the bar stool next to his wife. “Sid and Autumn”, Catherine answered casually. Kris froze, the mention of these two names in the same sentence alarmed him. Where were they? Kris wondered as he looked around to scan the club for any sign of them. Catherine knew her husband like the back of her hand, she could sense that there’s something he’s not telling her. She took him to the side of the bar, “quesqu’il se passe?”, she asked him in French not to alarm Jessica.

When he looked away, feigning ignorance, Catherine started questioning him. “Hey!Stop this”, Kris said, hesitant to tell his wife what he knew. “Kristopher, it’s been like half an hour since Sid and Autumn went outside. At least tell me if he’s said anything to you, is he breaking up with Jess?”, Kris laughed uneasily, his wife clearly was not suspicious of the “real” truth. “I don’t know about that. But that’s not what worries me”, Kris spoke as he looked around them to make sure no one could hear.

“Sid, well, he, um... he confessed to me months ago that he has feelings for Autumn”, Kris said carefully. Catherine was at a loss, eyes wide open with shock. Maybe Jessica was right to be jealous, she thought as she looked back at her chatting with Tiff. Kris turned Catherine towards him, “Cath, he told me this in confidence. You can’t say anything to anybody, especially not her”, Kris warned pointing discretely towards Jessica. “But, what do you mean? She’s married! Married to Mario! He’s like a father to him!”, she asked still stunned by the news.

“Calm down”, Kris said as he noticed his wife getting worked up. He told her all about the bits and pieces he knew, from Sid’s confession, to his promise not to act upon his feelings. Kris also said that Sid may still have feelings for her. “I mean after her accident at the hospital, I thought he’s overreacting, but then again, they’re close friends”, Catherine said, trying to make sense of what Kris had just told her. “Does Autumn know?”, Catherine asked. “I don’t think he’s ever told her. Not to my knowledge anyways. He’s trying to move on though”, Kris answered.

Then it clicked in his wife’s head, “you mean with Jess? He’s using my friend to get over…my other friend?”, she said in disbelief. “And you want me not to tell Jess?! Are you out of your mind?! Even if he’s your best friend Kris, we can’t let him use her to get over...”, she said angrily only to stop, still not processing the whole thing. “Autumn”, she continued with a shake of her head. “Don’t you realize how awful the situation is? Jess asked Autumn for help with Sid!”, Catherine said, upset for her friend. She explained Jessica’s situation to Kris, regretting that she was the one who suggested that she asks for Autumn’s help.

“We better not get in the middle of this mess, Cath”, Kris reasoned. “They’re both our friends. Besides, it’s not like Sid has done anything wrong”, Kris said. “Ha, Ha”, Phil laughed, appearing out of nowhere, interrupting the couple. “That’s what you think” Phil said wryly, taking a long swig ofhis beer as the couple looked at him with stunned expression, waiting for him to spit out what he knew. “Sorry, I just heard your conversation. Yes, Sid is in love with Dr. Scott and is most definitely using Jessica”, Phil said with a shake of his head, the alcohol helping him to finally blurt out the secret that has been weighing on his conscious all this time. “And Autumn Lemieux is most definitely aware of Sid’s feeling. She is not opposed to having sex with other than her husband either, even if it was with his trusted protégé”, he added.

“What?!”, Kris shouted way too loud. Catherine was too stunned to speak. “I promised Sid not to say anything, but you two clearly know what’s up. I thought that Sid has stopped seeing her since he’s dating Jessica Hunter. Man, this is way too wrong, I saw him and Autumn leave together earlier. They can’t keep doing this to Mario!”, Phil exclaimed. Kris had no words for what Sid did, he never thought his friend is capable of doing something this awful, to Mario of all people. But it takes two people to have an affair, Kris thought. Autumn was equally to blame in this mess.

Across from the trio, Tiff has gathered from her current chat with Sidney’s girlfriend that he was with Autumn somewhere outside at the moment, and has been for the last hour. Jessica was certainly unhappyto wait an hour for her boyfriend to come back and did not want to look desperate if she went looking for him. Their disappearance did not sit well with Tiff either, although for completely different reasons Jessica was not aware of.

“Are you sure they’re still talking about you?”, Tiff asked. At this point, Jessica didn’t care that a person she had just met was aware of the troubles she’s been having with her new boyfriend. She felt that the longer the two took, the worst the outcome may be. Is Sid telling Autumn that he’s rethinking their relationship? Does he really think she’s a distraction? What is taking them so long?! She thought frustrated.

“I don’t know”, Jessica said. “Maybe they’re not even together”, Tiff offered, trying to cover for them despite knowing that his girlfriend likely had no idea. “Now that I’m rethinking my conversation with your friend Autumn, I perhaps should have never asked for her help. Sid considers her a good friend, but I don’t know about her. She seemed too invested in him”, Jessica added, her tone filled with resentment.

“Let me stop you right there. I’m trying to be understanding here, but I’m not gonna be okay with you talking shit aboutAutumn. Besides, they ARE just friends”, Tiff lied in a desperate attempt to reassure Jessica. Sid’s great plan of “moving on” appeared to be falling apart. Tiff excused herself, determined to find them before someone else does.

She decided to call Autumn first. As Tiff got to their table,she spotted Autumn’s clutch along with her phone in it, showing a few missed calls from Mario. So instead, Tiff called Sid’s numberseveral times whichproved useless since he was not picking up. Seeing that she had no other choice, she sneaked outside where Jessica said they went, but was greeted with an empty patio. Why am I not shocked that they’re not here? She thought exasperated.

Tiff tried reaching Sidney several more times without any success. She went back in to check with Nathan to see if Autumn had told him about her whereabouts, but came up short, worrying Nathan in the process. The more she ran around like a headless chicken, the more her anger at Autumn and Sid’s recklessness bubbled up.

“Where did she go, I haven’t seen her in a long while?”, Nate asked concerned. “Our friend my dear has clearly lost her way”, Tiff saidbetween gritted teeth. Nathan was not only worried but also confused that he apologized to Elisa and followed Tiff to get his coat at the same time she fetched Autumn’s clutch. “I’ll tell you all about it. Let’s just get out of here first”, Tiff reassured Nate. Before they could make their escape, an angry Catherine blocked their way.

“You know, don’t you, Tiff? You know about the dirty affair that your dear saint of a sister is having with Sidney!”, Catherine shouted loudly, getting Jessica’s attention at the mention of Sidney.Tiff was flabbergasted, Catherine had just put her on the spot as Sidney’s girlfriend joined the conversation and looked at her expectedly.Nate’s jaw dropped, not believing a word Catherine had just said, “Cath, you certainly got your facts wrong! What are you talking about?!”, Nate said offended, jumping instantly to Autumn’s defense. He looked Tiff’s way,impatientlypleading for her todeny this ridiculous –and quite unbelievable – claim.

The longer it took Tiff to come up with an answer, the angrier Jessica got as she had clearly heard Catherine’s accusations. “They are, aren’t they?”, Jessica asked furiously, her face red with fury. Kris who was at his wife’s side now along with Phil shook his head in disappointment. “Tiff, is this true?”, Nate asked anxiously. “You all know! And here I thought that I’m the only one who knew about them!”, Phil joked loudly, ignoring the tension among the group. Tiff did not need to answer anymore, as Phil had just confirmed Sidney and Autumn’s cheating. She realized that Phil and Kris already knew and so did Nate and Jessica now.

Jessica wanted to disappear, she was so angry that not only her boyfriend lied to her, but so did her friend, Catherine. The fact that all these people knew left her embarrassed and needing to just leave.Catherine was hot on her heels as she gathered her things and walked away. Catherine caught up to her before she took the stairs. “Jess please, let’s talk, don’t just leave, I know you’re upset–”.

“Did you know about this when you convinced me that Sidney is no longer the manwhore he used to be?”, Jessica seethed. “No! Of course not!”, Catherine shouted. “Why would I believe you, huh? She’s your fucking friend! You were covering for her”, Jessica said. “Knowing the REAL man Sid is, he is probably still seeing herdespite that we’re dating, isn’t he? You know what? It doesn’t matter”, she added before storming out, ignoring Catherine’s pleads.

Catherine understood Jess’s reaction as shewiped her tears. Jess had every reason to be upset with her, with Autumn and with Sidney. Catherine was also upset and realized that Autumn was the person she was the most mad at and extremely disappointed in. How could she betray her husband like this?

When Catherine got back to the group at the table, she saw Tiff dressed up and ready to leave while Nate shook his head as her husband and Phil spoke. “So? What did Jessica say?”, Kris asked nervously. While his wife, Phil and Autumn’s closest friends could keep this secret from getting out, he was not sure about Jessica.She was the deceived angry girlfriend. Nothing was holding her back from telling. “She thinks that I knew all along and lied to her about it”, Catherine said, sadness evident in her voice.

She turned to Tiff who was still dead silent, “do you know where they are?”, Catherine asked her dryly. Tiff shook her head, “I don’t approve of it either, Catherine. I tried to rectify the situation many times. But you know what, they’re both adults, I’m done playing interference and so should you”, Tiff finally spoke, pointing her finger to Catherine and the two penguins. “At the end, it’s not our place to tell on them. None of you should try and play the hero. Let them figure out their own shit. It’s better if we all pretended that we don’t know”, Tiff added. “Come on Nate, let’s go.” With that the two friends left the club.

“Do you think Jess might tell someone about this?”, Kris asked Catherine. “How will I know?! She’s just angry with me. And I’m angry with you! You should have told me, Kris! You knew about Sid’s feelings for her and you let me hook him up with Jess!”, Catherine yelled. Phil returned towards the couple, “Sid is not picking up his phone. What do we do?”

“Nothing! Tiff is right. It’s their problem, not ours”, Kris spoke firmly, rubbing his face with frustration. “How can you say that, he’s our friend. He’s like your closest friend,Tanger!” Phil spoke, trying to get some sense into his teammate.

“He is my friend, but that doesn’t mean that I will defend him when he’s acting like an asshole! I don’t know what Autumn’s deal is with her husband, but Sid, it’s Mario’s wife he’s fucking with! That’s Mario, Phil. He’s like a father to him, he did nothing but protect him and care about him. You weren’t here yet, but I was, from the day he was drafted. Over the years, I’ve witnessed Mario giving him everything you could possibly imagine and more! He gave him a home, a family, a team. He gave him his dream. Mario doesn’t deserve to be treated this way”, Kris said, fuming with anger at his captain and friend. “Frankly, I hope he finds out! Maybe that’ll make Sidney wake the fuck up and realize what he’s doing.”, Kris added.

Kris’s outburst got Geno’s attention, though he couldn’t hear what was said from where he was on the dance floor. “Why so upset, Tanger?”, Geno asked as he came their way. He looked between him and Phil who remained silent. “It’s nothing, Catherine and I were just leaving, it’s past midnight”, Kris said as calmly as he could muster and walked away.

****

Autumn almost dropped the phone after listening to Tiff’s recount of the events following her escape with Sidney. She knew it was a bad idea but still chose to be with him. Sidney stood in his briefs at the door of the guest bedroom with a frown on his tired face. “What’s wrong?”, he croaked as he trotted towards where Autumn sat naked on the carpeted floor.“Everything”, she managed to whisper. “Jessica, Catherine, Kris and Nate, all of them know about us now”, she said covering her face with her hands.

Sidney was alert now at the mention of all these people knowing about them. He took a steadying breath and rubbed her back. “Are you regretting this? Choosing me, for once?”, he asked tentatively. She shook her head and gave into his embrace. Sitting in his lap, Sidney stroked her hair lovingly and was about to reassure her that their friends won’t say anything when she spoke. “Too many people know now, it’s a matter of time before our secret comes out”, she said with a shaky voice as she looked up at Sidney. “If we want to be together, we should tell Mario. We should not keep lying to him and I certainly cannot stay married to him when all I want is to be with you.”

Notes

So here's what happened at the club.

How are these two gonna move forwards from this? Can they even do that?

As always, thanks for reading and looking forward to your feedback.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!!!

Charlie