AUTUMN LEAVES

“Hey baby, I’m here,” Sidney shouted as he walked into the house with Autumn’s Quebec souvenir in his hand. Closing the door behind him, he noticed Autumn’s bag still near the coat closet. “Autumn, are you upstairs? You forgot Mr. Caribou in the car,” he called again, his voice echoing in the empty lobby.

“Where are you, baby?” he asked as he headed towards the kitchen.

Sidney dialed her number once again. Autumn did not pick up, but he could hear her ringtone in the eerily silent house. “Autumn?” he said as he followed the sound of her phone down the hall leading to the living room. The stuffed animal dropped from his hand at the scene that greeted him. Sidney froze as his cellphone joined the fluffy animal on the floor. His arms were numb, and his legs were too heavy to move.

“Autumn,” he whispered, his lips barely moving as he spoke. “No! Stop!” he asked, fear lacing his voice. “Who are you? What do you want from her?”

The tall dark-haired woman that was holding the gun to Autumn’s forehead turned to face him.

“Laur-…Lauren?!” Sidney said in terror. He took a couple of steps into the room, his eyes glued to Lauren, making sure that it was really her.

“Lauren! What the hell are you doing?! Drop that gun right now!” Sidney barked at her once he sobered up from the shock.

“No! Don’t you dare come any closer!” Lauren yelled back as she pushed Autumn’s head harshly with the head of her gun.

“Lauren, hey, it’s me. Okay? Please, give me the gun,” Sidney said calmly. “Everything will be alright,” he added, trying to reason with the girl he grew up with, the girl he considered a sister.

“Give me the gun, Lauren. No one needs to know about this,” he said cautiously, extending an unsteady hand toward her.

“Don’t!” Lauren yelled when Sidney stepped closer.

Sidney glanced at Autumn who had the gun to her head; She was cornered and crippled by fear. He tried hard to maintain his composure as he watched the woman he loved standing one shot away from dying.

“Lauren, please,” Sidney pleaded, swallowing uneasily. “What happened to you?” he asked Lauren.

“She happened to me!” Lauren yelled. She looked dangerously unstable and ready to pull that trigger.

“Okay, but do you remember why you carry this gun?” Sidney tried to reason with her from another angle. Maybe if she recalled being bullied, she'd have some sympathy for Autumn.

“Yes. In fact, I do, but you don’t!” Lauren spoke harshly. “Dad had you believe that I was assaulted in high school because I’m his daughter,” she said shaking her head. “But those girls were jealous and attacked me because they thought I’m your girlfriend!”

“What?” Sidney asked stupefied.

“That’s right, dad loved you so much that he did not want you to blame yourself for what happened to me. You were always the son he wished he had, the son he wished I was,” she yelled between sobs.

“Lauren, look we can talk about this. But now, look at what you’re doing. You’re clearly not sober. You’re about to hurt someone, Lauren,” Sidney said as he took two more steps closer to her. Lauren turned towards Autumn, “stop fidgeting!” she ordered her.

“Lauren,” Sidney called, to take her attention away from Autumn who has not uttered a word since he arrived. “Let me help you, Lauren,” he said.

“I don’t need help, especially not from you!” Lauren said. “Tell me one thing Sid,” she continued as she wiped her nose with her arm.

“Do you love her?” Lauren asked. Sidney’s eyes went wide. He needed to pick his words carefully to avoid upsetting Lauren any further.

“No!” Autumn cried out.

“No one asked you!” Lauren screamed in Autumn’s face.

Turning towards Sidney, Lauren asked, “Do you love her or was she just another Jessica Hunter?”

Sidney shook his head, his eyes getting heavy and his throat dry. “Lauren, please, put that gun down so we can talk,” he said instead.

“You love her, don’t you?” Lauren said as fresh tears welled in her eyes. “This bitch made you fall in love with her,” she added as she looked Autumn in the eye and pressed the gun harder into her head, making her yelp.

Sidney took that opportunity to interfere. He positioned himself between the two women and pushed Lauren away from Autumn. However, he failed to snatch the gun away. Sidney stood firmly in front of Autumn’s trembling body and felt her grip his sweater tightly.

Meanwhile, Lauren was attempting to regain her footing after she was shoved hard by Sidney. She lifted her right arm once again and pointed the gun in the couple’s direction. “Oh, look at you protecting her,” she said with a tilt of her head.

Raising his hands slightly, Sidney said, “Lauren, please,” but his voice was no longer calm nor confident. Lauren was not herself, and she was holding a loaded gun. His palms were sweating and his heart hammering in his chest. He instinctively stepped back, closing the gap between his back and Autumn, to keep her out of Lauren’s sight.

“I loved you, Sid,” Lauren said sobbing, “but you just ignore me. You never cared.”

“Lauren, you know that I care,” Sidney said hurriedly.

Lauren shook her head furiously, “Not good enough! Move!” Lauren screamed. “I said, move away from her!” she screamed again when Sidney did not budge. “Move, or I’ll shoot you too,” she said firmly, her bloodshot eyes narrowing at him.

“No!” Autumn screamed from behind him. “Sidney, move!” she asked him. “No, please, don’t hurt him. It was all my fault. Leave him out of this, please,” Autumn pleaded from behind Sidney’s shoulder, her tears soaking his sweater. As she failed to push him away, Sidney turned to face her.

“I will never let her or anyone else hurt you, you hear me,” Sidney said as he clutched Autumn’s face tenderly and pulled it close to his. “Never,” he added as a single tear rolled down his cheek. “Lauren will not hurt me, okay? I promise” he whispered in her ear.

“I said MOVE!” Lauren yelled getting more and more agitated by Sidney’s affection for Autumn.

Despite Autumn’s protests, Sidney once again stood tall with his back pressing her against the wall to stop her from pushing him away. “You will have to shoot me first, that’s the only way you will get to her,” Sidney said, holding his chin up high, his voice deep and unwavering.

“Fine, have it your way.”

Notes