#1.5 Finding Autumn by Wood Heather Topham

Author:Wood, Heather Topham [Wood, Heather Topham]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2014-07-14T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

I was trying to leap off a speeding train, and the impossibility of it was bearing down on me. I had done the unthinkable—I’d fallen in love with Autumn Dorey. It had hit me without warning, and I had no idea what to do about it.

I wasn’t allowed to even have an attraction to her—much less be in love with her. I imagined telling my mom and Delia about Autumn. Hey, remember that girl we all hated and blamed for our lives going to shit? Funny thing, she goes to the same college as me and it turns out I’m crazy about her. I was well and truly fucked.

The phone rang and I groaned. It was my mom. I’d been avoiding talking to her and Delia because keeping up the pretense was exhausting. It was a juggling act—laboring to keep my two worlds from colliding with one another. In the weeks since spring break, and my date with Autumn in Newpine, I’d been getting closer to her while driving my family farther away.

“Blake!” My mom barked out over the phone. I could already hear the sharpness in her tone and immediately realized the good mood she had held onto since hearing of Thomas’s release had fled.

“Hi, Mom. How are you?”

“Fine, I suppose. As thrilled as I am about your father’s release, I feel like I’m stuck in limbo right now.” My shoulders tensed as she put an emphasis on the word father. She had badgered me about cutting Thomas out of my life relentlessly since last year. I figured she felt like my refusal to forgive him reflected poorly on herself. If she could forgive him for his alleged affair, why couldn’t I?

I sat down on my bed. “Is he moving back into the house?”

“Of course he is. I thought we could plan a special family dinner for the night he comes home.” She let out a long-suffering sigh. “You have no idea what it would mean to him if you came.”

“I can’t.”

“Blake—”

I cut her off. “Was that the reason you called?”

“Why are you so damn stubborn?” she demanded. “Do you think it doesn’t hurt to think about my husband cheating on me with a student? But we have to move on. He’s admitted his mistakes and deserves a second chance. Do you have any idea what prison has been like for him? For god’s sake, Blake, he’s a middle-aged math teacher, not a hardened criminal.”

“Look, can we not do this again? I’m not going to feel sorry for him and you’re not going to make me feel bad for not wanting him in my life.”

“No, you look, Blake. You were a child when he came into our lives, so you probably don’t remember how bad things were. Your father died and we had nothing—no life insurance, no savings to tide us over,” she said, her words razor sharp. “I had to get aid from the state, and it was still barely enough to pay our rent and feed us.

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