Last Fall Novels & Stories

“You wouldn’t have heard of it. It’s strictly between heaven, hell and the fallen.” “What’s a fallen?” “It’s someone who used to be an angel in a past life. When they’re resurrected, they’re identified by a specific birth mark. You, my dear, are one of the fallen. You should have a birth mark that’s shaped like a star. It’s in different places for different individuals but your parents found yours on your hipbone.” What the hell. This is way too much information that I wasn’t expecting. I’m essentially in the middle of a holy war, if what she’s saying is the truth.

I drop my gaze and walk across the road, determined to check in on Ashley and make sure she is still recovering and studying for her test before I return to Vincent and a wonderful three-day-long weekend. The smell of fall hasn't settled in yet and the trees aren't turning, but after Labor Day the weather in Michigan will snap. Suddenly we'll be thrust straight into pumpkin spice and falling leaves. Hands down fall is the best season. Even though I hate to see summer go because that means Michigan snow, I can't wait for the opportunity to wear fashionable scarves once again. "Mackenzie Marshal," a voice calls from behind me and I stop and spin on my heels.

The next couple weeks passed by pretty uneventfully. With Homecoming excitement over with, everyone kinda lapsed into a lull of days filled with more of the same. We were all looking forward to having a break from school and the monotony. Thankfully, that was coming in the form of fall break, which was scheduled for the first full week of October.

As the fall semester was coming to a close, I found myself dreading finals. The last couple of weeks, Gray had been distant. I might have been imagining it, or it was possibly just the amount of time I'd had to spend wrapping up school projects and studying, but something was off. The summer had been perfection and going back to school had been tough. Each semester got harder, and this one had been daunting. The truth was, I missed him.

I always joked with Danny and told him that if we ever broke up, I would have to come get my dose of Aly every now and then. The drive to the farm was just about an hour, up through the calming Pacific Northwest. Autumn was my favorite time to live here, it was full of life and color. Barton had a lot of tourist traffic in the summer and early fall, but by mid-October, it slowed back down until deer season, when the cabins outside of town were packed full. The locals celebrated the quiet time with a fall harvest parade and weekend festival in the town square, an oxymoron if you ask me, but a tradition I loved nonetheless.

Chapter Fifteen Spring had arrived quietly, like a soft whisper after a long winter. The air smelled of blooming jasmine and wet grass. The sun hung lower in the sky, casting golden light through the tall campus trees. Everything felt alive again, even Nora. Weeks had passed since the gallery—since the painting, the apology, and the fragile truce between her and Jaden.

It was my life’s work…my blood. “You want my advice?” “No. But you’ll give it to me anyway.” “Your job has brought you the worst agony you’ve ever known. Yes, there’s good stuff like money, power, and enemies’ bloodshed, but for the most part, it’s fucking stressful. Sofia and Andrew have only brought you joy. I think the answer is pretty obvious.” Summer had ended, and now it was late September. Toward the end of the month was when things started to change. Leaves turned from green to red, and the humidity slowly turned into fog. Fall had arrived, bringing crisp days with sunshine.

Milrac Autumn arrived quietly. One tree at a time, the mountain turned colors. The green of summer slowly became gold. In the mornings it grew colder and colder. All the evenings began earlier. And the family dinners were more frequently moved into. I had always loved the fall. It had a certain integrity. Nothing disappeared suddenly. Everything simply changed. The mountain prepared. The trees prepared. The people prepared. Life continued. Hotter than usual was the dining room that evening. Not due to the fire!

He rested his profound gaze on me and asked, “How did you fall? When did you get here?” I clenched my fists tightly inside my sleeves. I knew that tearing things up at that moment would not do me any good. I obediently leaned into his arms like I always did. “I just got here. My heels were too high. I twisted my ankle.” The tension in his face finally eased. He scooped me up and headed out. He said in a low voice, “You’re not allowed to wear heels this high anymore.” I looked at the face I had once been so captivated by, yet an endless chill spread through my heart.

“It’s not like a four-course fancy meal or anything, though I think the preparation gives this meal five stars.” “You could have made me Ramen noodles and it would have been five stars.” Laughing, I take my last bite and put my plate on the coffee table, reaching over to get my water. Jim gets up to get a second helping, and I shamelessly watch his ass as he walks into the kitchen. Once we’re done eating, we lounge around a bit and then get dressed to head out. The weather turned overnight, and the air has a cool crispness in it that always excites me. I love the fall.