AUTUMN LEAVES

“Sidney?” Mario asked.

“I did this to him… I should have never…. I should have left…I should have left him alone,” Autumn said incoherently, unknowingly answering Mario’s question.

“It’s Sidney, isn’t it?” Mario said in frozen state of disbelief. Mario’s ensuing shock was what had finally brought Autumn back from her own state of trauma and shock. Mario’s realization was all it took for Autumn to sober up.

Her lips quivered as she nodded weakly, “I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry? Are you admitting that… you and Sidney?” Mario asked his voice rising an octave.

“You and…. Sidney?” Mario asked again in utter disbelief. “It was him you cheated on me with?” Mario asked his eyes wide. “How…how…how could you? Of all men…how could you?” he asked with so much hurt. Autumn did not have the energy or the will to have this conversation when Sidney was on the operation table battling for his life.

“And Sidney? He …. I thought you were friends. All this time, I thought you two were just friends. I trusted him when I trusted no other man around you,” Mario said with a lump in his throat. As the truth started to sink in, Mario’s shock turned into a rage. “After everything I have done for him, that son of a bitch betrays me like this!”

Autumn, not caring much about Mario’s hurt feelings or the whole world knowing about their affair in that moment, simply walked away. But as she headed for the door, Mario’s tall frame blocked her path.

Mario stared Autumn down, a vindictive look on his face. “I hope he never makes it out alive, because if he does,” he paused and got closer to her, “I will kill him with my own hands!” Mario said between clenched teeth. Anger radiated from Autumn’s eyes as she pushed Mario away forcefully.

“As if your fucking daughter hasn’t done enough!” Autumn roared, finally revealing the truth of what happened. “My daughter?” Mario asked confused. “What does my daughter have to do with any of this?” he yelled back.

“Lauren…she did this to Sidney. It was your fucking crazy daughter! She wanted to kill me…” she said between tears as flashes of the events flooded her memory. “I need to go see him, move,” Autumn yelled, not caring about Mario’s shocked expression. “I said move!” she yelled again as she passed a motionless Mario.

Mario stood in the middle of a hospital room feeling lost. His wife cheated on him with his almost-son who may lose his life at the hand of his own daughter. Mario felt like he was drowning. He could barely hear what’s being said outside.

“Autumn, you need to tell the police!” Tiffany said having heard what Autumn had just yelled out loud.

“Autumn… Lauren would never hurt Sidney. She would never hurt anyone. You’re mistaken,” Mario said as he walked outside slowly, still overwhelmed with all these newfound realities, all the truths that were there, in front of his own eyes, but somehow managed to elude him all this time. “It was Lauren,” Autumn stated as she walked away with Tiffany.

“No, it cannot be,” Mario said with a shaky voice.

Autumn turned around briefly, “she left the weapon behind. Do you think you can recognize the gun that you bought for your crazy 20-year-old kid?!” she sneered.

“The security cameras,” Mario mumbled under his breath before leaving hurriedly, passing by the policemen who were all looking at Autumn expectedly.

Arriving at the scene, Mario did not trust his feet. He took each step at an agonizingly slow pace, trying to delay the inevitable. He filed toward the main investigator who was on the phone in the lobby. Mario stood next to the middle-aged balding Detective Mason and waited. If his daughter was the suspect, the police would tell him. Sure enough, few seconds later the detective hung up the phone and started talking.

“Mr. Lemieux, I was about to call you. A woman, who we believe is your daughter Lauren, had entered the house before Mr. Crosby and left before the first responders arrived. We have reasons to believe that she is either a witness or…” Mason trailed off.

Mario dropped down on the first step of the lobby stairs and covered his face with his hands. “Fingerprints are being analyzed at the lab as we speak, we will know soon,” Mason continued. “In any case, we need to talk to your daughter. I have just been informed that she is not at her current listed address. Have you spoken to her today, sir?” Mario shook his head, and slumped his shoulders, finally convinced that Autumn was not lying.

“I understand that this is a lot to take in Mr. Lemieux. Rest assured that we are doing our best to figure out what happened. But we will need you to tell us if you know anything. It is best that Lauren comes to us. Hiding her will not be helping her case,” Detective Mason said.

“I have been nothing but a model citizen for this city, for this country! How dare you accuse me of hiding my daughter from the law?!” Mario shouted.

“Well, in that case,” the detective said as he checked his phone, “her fingerprints are all over the crime weapon, just got the confirmation form the lab. The gun is licensed under her name with your signature and approval on file. She is our prime suspect and you will need to collaborate with us. Obstructing justice is a crime, I don’t need to remind you of course.”

Mario nodded seeing that there was nothing else he could do. He needs to find his daughter. He was too scared to call her earlier but now he had to.

Standing up, Mario held his phone to his ear, but the call went straight to voicemail. “She is not answering,” he said.

“We are in contact with your ex-wife and she hasn’t heard from her either,” Mason said. “Your daughter does not have a record, Mr. Lemieux. I’m sure that she will soon realize her mistake and look for help. That is why we need to monitor your phone and her mother’s too. In our experience, parents are always the first to be asked for help.”

Mario nodded his understanding and sat back down on the stairs that had yellow ribbons. His whole house was decorated with ribbons and men in all sorts of uniforms, the same home that was once filled with love and laughter, with kids running up and down these stairs, a loving wife cooking in the kitchen, a young ambitious boy shooting pucks in the backyard. Where were they all now?

“Where did I go wrong, officer? What did I ever do to deserve all this?” And just like that, the unbreakable Mario Lemieux broke down.

Notes

Hello hello!

Sorry for the wait. Life keeps happening. Thanks for reading :)

(Happy belated Canada Day!!!)

Stay hydrated! And watch for your pets if you have any. My dog is not doing so well in the heat :(

Charlie