𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐧 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟐: 𝐈'𝐦 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲

Greyson

February 27th, 1997.

Last night, I brought Astraea home. She stayed for dinner with my mom. Her presence and soft laugh lightened the room. I hadn't seen my mom smile the way she did last night in a long time. Astraea radiated happiness and joy. Her voice could instantly calm a racing heart. She had that effect on people.

I felt my pain slip away in her warm touch. When I cried in her arms, I felt a bond between us shift. She had seen me in a vulnerable state of mind. Her embrace was what I needed at that moment.

"Greyson." My mom calls out. I wash my face with cool water, then dry it with a towel. Before I exited the bathroom, I heard the front door open and the aggressive sound of my father's voice, "Is he here?"

I feel my muscles tense. I'm a burden to my father, and so is my mother. He was barely present in my life. It never made sense why he never left. I assumed it was because of the money my grandparents would send to pay for hospital bills. A quarter of that money went to my mom's bills, while the rest went to my father's drug addiction. He'd either buy drugs for himself or sell them. He was never a good person. It was always my mom who'd take me on trips or buy me gifts for my birthday.

Eleven-year-old me would be terrified to walk outside the door and confront my father. I'm sixteen. I've grown, and I'm no longer the little kid afraid of his father. I open the door and exit the bathroom. My eyes immediately trail to my mom gripping onto the wall leading to the kitchen. Fear and anger are lurking in her eyes. My father is inches from my mother with his hand gripping her shirt.

I grip my hand on the collar of his shirt and shove him off my mom. I wrap my arm around my mom's shoulders. She mumbles, "You didn't have to do that, Grey. He was just worried about you." I shake my head and chuckle. He never cared. My mom had hoped that one day he'd change, but men like him will never change.

He stands up and leans against the wall. He shouts, "You son of a bitch." I sat my mom in the living room. My eyes shift to a new bruise formed on her shoulder. I gently caress my hand over her shoulder and wonder, "Do you want me to get you ice?"

Her eyes are stern. Usually, I could read her emotions, but at this moment, I couldn't. She says, "Greyson. I'm fine." Lie. I stand up and approach my father in the front of the house. He's still leaning against the wall with a bruise on his neck and arm. Fury consumes his eyes. He laughs and admits, "You disappear for days, maybe weeks, and leave your dying mother alone. You're a sick son of a bitch."

He's a coward for scolding me for leaving my mother when it's something he has done his whole marriage. I step closer to him and press my hand hard against the bruise on his arm. A groan escapes my father's lips. Pain. I say, "You're a coward. I have taken care of Mom since the day she was diagnosed. I have worked since I was eleven to pay for her medical bills because her husband could care less if she lives or dies. You are nothing. You lay another hand on my mother, and I'll ruin you."

I release my hand from him. I dust off his shirt and shove him lightly closer to the door. He scoffs and leaves, slamming the door behind him. I release a sigh of relief. He wasn't gone forever. He'd come back eventually. But for now, he's gone. I enter the kitchen and pull out an ice pack from the freezer. I approach my mom and sit beside her. I place it on her shoulder, and she flinches a bit. I tell her, "He doesn't care for us, Mom. We have to leave. Start someplace new."

A laugh escapes her lips. She turns toward me, and her soft green eyes meet mine. She confesses, "Greyson, I can't leave. It feels like this disease is slowly taking over my body. Even the doctors believe the treatments have their limits." She pauses with tears in her eyes. She places her hand on mine. She says, "I had a trust fund made when you were born. But seeing that I won't be around when you turn eighteen, you'll receive it when I—"

She couldn't bear to finish her sentence. I knew what she was about to say. My eyes began to water. I could feel my chest begin to tighten. My biggest fear in life is losing my mom. She was there for everything. She'd sacrifice her world for mine. She'd hold me when I cried. She'd know when I lied. Or I wasn't alright. She knew me better than anyone. And I was about to lose her.

I wrap my arm around her. Tears begin to pour from my eyes. It's hard to breathe between my sobs, and my eyes have become bloodshot. My mom whispers, "When I'm gone take the money and leave. Start a new life. You deserve it, my love." Her voice breaks, and so does my heart. I shake my head and sob, "I can't lose you, Mom. I don't think I'll survive without you."

She wipes the tears from my eyes. She assures me, "You will survive. You won't be alone. I'll always be here." She places her hand on my heart. My mom says, "It kills me to know I won't be there to watch you grow up, but Azrealea and Astraea have promised to be there for you when I can't. I'm sorry, Grey."

I'm sixteen. I'm watching my mom lose her battle, and there is no treatment or medicine to save her. I knew one day I'd lose my mom, but I never thought I'd lose her this soon. We grew up together. She had me at a young age. Her family turned on her for having a baby at sixteen. I was all she had for many years. They eventually forgave her, but for ten years, it was just her and I. My father was either absent or abusive. My mom would take me on trips to get me away from him. She'd give her life to protect me.

I had feared that one day I'd turn into my father because of my drug addiction, but I'm not him. I radiate my mother. I have her eyes and her smile. I hold her values. DNA is the only quality of myself I share with my father. My addiction stems from my father's abuse. Being around my mom heals all the wounds and cuts he has caused me. I'm alive because of her. Once I lose her, I don't know if I can hold myself together.

"I'm sorry, mom. I failed." 

-

Thank you so much for reading chapter twelve of "Autumn Fate," I absolutely love this book and it tears my heart into pieces. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. 

 Once Autumn Fate is close to finished would you be interested in me releasing "Trapped Fate" and "Islana Russo" at the same time? I don't have specific release dates set yet, but it is a work in progress. Follow my Instagram for more updates authorjuless 

I love you all and until we meet again my loves.