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I WAS ABOUT to go to bed when I remembered that Justin may still be mad at me. I'd cooled off and decided to give him a chance to speak. I didn't want to be on bad terms with him or go back to when we both didn't really care for each other that much. He was just worried I had told myself.
I knocked on his door, loud enough for him to hear but soft enough not to wake him if he was asleep. He wasn't.
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DOWNTOWN DINER WASdark and cold – not to mention, it looked like a set from a horror movie which was no doubt where someone would end up dying because they had chosen to seek out the source of an eerie sound.Dan and Cassie had not even bothered to show up. They were probably still in their houses where the heater actually worked (unlike Downtown Diner which was turning me into a popsicle) and inviting, flu
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I DREW A deep, chilly breath as I sunk further into the couch in the living room where there was a convention taking place–obvious from the looks of all the maps spread out on the coffee table. "You're sure you're ready? I mean, we've still got, like, two weeks."Soon after I had talked to Shane, I closed the diner for the day and raced home, hands still shaking.This will all come to end soon, I had told myself,
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"EARTH TO AUTUMN?"I snapped out of my reverie, blinking furiously. "Huh? What?"I was still very much lost in thought about what Justin had said last night. In fact, I h
All Things Lovely 48
I COULDN'T BELIEVEwhere I was standing. Couldn't believe where I was standing, and that I didn't want to be here.The Shade Mansion. A place I had once called home but was now was just a standing reminder of betrayal and lies. I was once as proud of this business as my father was, but now that I knew what happened inside, how lives were ruined, I wanted nothing to do with it.
All Things Lovely 49
JUSTIN THOUGHT QUICKLY and opened the door, pulling me inside with him into the darkness. The door clicked shut just as voices were heard.The two men were now talking just outside the door, and it was nerve-wracking. Every word of theirs seemed dragged, like a YouTube video playing at 0.75 speed. They could open the door at any time—which really wasn't helping my anxiety.The closet was dark and musty with a slight reek. It was almost pitch dark—I was only just able to see Justin's silhouette from where I stood a few feet away from him."It'll be alright," he said, and although people usually lied when they said that, I believed him for a blissful second.I hadn't noticed, but I was breathing hard, almost gasping. I ran my hands along the wall to look for a light switch, and when I found one, I flicked it on immediately, leaning against the wall. The people were still outside.The bulb was faulty and only sputtered light unsteadily, but I would take what I could get to shove away the
All Things Lovely 50
SNEAKING OUT HAD been very stressful. Especially when Parker decided that it would be wise to stand in the middle of a wide and commonly used hallway to admire the smoothness of the walls."I'm telling you," he had said seriously, "it's unnatural for walls to be this smooth."After a series of failed explanations on how we didn't have time to look at walls, Justin ended up losing it and dragged Parker behind him by the collar.I thought about it-about the incident in the closet and came to the conclusion that I had wanted him to kiss me. It was the first time I had acknowledged it.Then I found myself wondering if it was the right thing. I wanted it, but it wouldn't be right. It would make things messy, and I didn't want to start anything that ended in heartbreak. I couldn't see a future in whatever what going on with us. If I managed to score my dream job, I would have to work hard-I would even have to travel, if necessary.But I couldn't have Justin next to me through all that. I und
All Things Lovely 51
"WHAT'S WRONG?" he asked, voice filled with concern. And it seemed so genuine."It's nothing," I said with as much nonchalance as I could muster. I opened the door and got out of the car, aiming to go inside, but Justin, apparently, had other plans.Shocker."What is it, Autumn?" He was blocking my way, just as I reached the porch. He walked forward until we were almost touching. His fingers skimmed my cheek, making my throat run dry.I took a not-so-subtle step back."What makes you think something's wrong?" I looked away from his face, because I knew that if I did, everything else would peel away, layer by layer, until it was just the two of us-vulnerable and too overwhelmed with desire to think straight. I didn't trust myself when it was just the two of us."Are you serious? There's clearly something wrong, I just don't know why you won't talk to me about it."."I don't want to," I blurted out.He froze, and then moved closer, tilting my chin up to look at him. His blue eyes were ic
All Things Lovely 52
I WAS FLOATING.There was no other way I could explain it. I felt like I was floating, drifting with a summer wind. I stared up the ceiling for so long after I fell into bed, that I could swear it moved at one point. Or maybe I was just giddy from happiness.I covered my face with my hands, smiling into them like an idiot. I couldn't stop smiling, damnit.In that moment I hadn't thought of the consequences or everything that could go wrong, and it sure as hell had felt good to forget, even if for a moment.I liked Justin. There was no denying that, now. He knew it, too. I just hoped he didn't regret it. Because that would probably be something I couldn't bear. I was too invested in this to have it end as something unrequited.A knock on my door, almost made me jump out of my skin. It could only be one person outside given that Drake and Parker had already gone to bed by the time Justin and I had come back in.I cleared my throat. "Come in!"Justin wasted no time doing so, shutting the
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