(Edited)

Oh, my goodness, what have I done? How could I have been so reckless and recoil in front of him? When his arm went up out of nowhere, I instinctively flinched away to protect my face. It was only after a few seconds that I realized what a horrible mistake I made. His face filled with utter horror, pain and confusion; it showed that hitting me wasnt his intension. I went to confront him but instead, I messed things up even more. If he wasnt interested in my secrets before, he sure was now.

I grabbed my duffel bag from the closet and started packing for the camping trip; the one I was now more reluctant to go on. Emily explained that I only needed clothes because she was providing the rest. I looked around the room and checked if I had left anything, realizing that I left the bedroom door open. I wasnt bothered by it, because I was the only one here and they usually would come back late.

I finished my homework quickly because Michaels mum, Amanda called me when I was leaving school - more like running away from Michael- to babysit May-C. If she didnt sound so desperate, I would have cancelled, but I liked spending time with May-C, and I needed the money. I was so caught up in my thoughts, nearly missing the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. I didnt have enough time to close the door, so I pushed the duffel bag under the bed and stared at the door, my heart beating out of my chest.

My blood ran cold when my foster dad entered. He didnt waste any time and jumped, attacking me. He threw my small body against my painted wall, and I swallowed my cries. He approached fast, not sparing me a second to breathe and started punching me in the stomach. My almost healed ribs felt like they were worse than before. It felt like something was poking and scratching at my heart. I couldnt pull any oxygen into my lungs. The monster grabbed onto my hair and slammed the back of my head against the mall, a dizzy spell consuming me.

"You wont go anywhere!" he kept yelling, his foal breath hitting my bruised face. I fell to the side, hugging my body, protecting as much as I could.

He started kicking everywhere; his pointy shoes felt like they were denting my body. I was going in and out of consciousness, the blood loss worsening my dizziness. I felt it coming like an invisible force, and I welcomed it with open arms. The last thing I heard before I blacked out was, "He wont have you!"

I woke up groggy, lying on the floor. Blood covered my body, and I ached all over. I looked around the room, making sure he wasnt in here. When I saw no one I crawled, achingly slow to my drawer. I pulled the drawer open and removed the pain meds out, but the bottle was empty. How the heck was it empty already if I only got the bottle last week?

'You pop them like their candy! Cant blame you though, they always leave a number on you,' Lilly said pitifully.

I took a sharp intake of breath and squeezed my eyes shut until the pain passed; it never did. I grabbed the last Advil I had left and drank it, forcing myself to the shower. I wasn't sure how long I sat in there, the water running down my body taking the blood with it and numbing some of the pain. Every time I closed my eyes, the memory would replay itself; I would see and feel every single hit repeatedly.

I let myself cry freely, my shoulders shaking uncontrollably. After a while, I stood up wincing with every step and walked to the closet. I put on a pair of comfortable sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt that covered everything. I left my hair down and put on some shoes and make-up to cover up my swollen eyes and bruises that were already forming. I didnt have time to buy more Advil, so I just grabbed my phone and rode the bus to Michaels house. One pill had to do for now.

"Hey, Amanda." I greeted when she opened the door. She looked exactly like the first time we met, only this time she was dressed in her work uniform. She smiled brightly.

"Hello sweetheart, thanks for coming." She ushered me inside, closing the door. "You must think I'm the worst mother for leaving her daughter with a stranger?" she led us to the kitchen. I shrugged and then remembered she wasn't looking at me.

"Not at all!"

She gave me a small hesitant smile, calculating what her next words might be. "I hope you know that if this wasn't an emergency, I wouldn't leave May-C like this."

"I believe you." I smiled, but it wasn't a genuine one. "Duty calls!"

She grabbed her things and put on the finishing touches. "Michael dropped me at the very last minute, and I can't call one of the boys because they are all together." She cursed her son for being selfish and smiled sheepishly when she remembered that I was here. I smiled, feeling sorry for her. Michael could be inconsiderate sometimes.

She gave me a once over, and I squirmed slightly. "Autumn, honey, is everything okay?"

"Yes! Everything is just peachy."

"Are you s-?" May-C ran into the room cutting her off. Bless your heart child!

Amanda left after explaining to me all the rules and where to find the emergency contact numbers. She told me to help myself if I needed anything and left food for us. The rest of the day, May-C and I spent in her room drawing and watching Rapunzel about fifty times. Around eight, I put May-C to bed and sat on her rocking chair in the corner of her room, waiting for Michael.

BAM!

I jumped up from the chair, a loud noise startling me awake. I looked at the clock, and it was past one in the morning. What the freaking heck? Please tell me Michael did not just show up?

I marched over to his room, ignoring the pain that was back and pounded on his bedroom door. The bloody nerve of him, how am I supposed to get home? I was about to lift my fist again when the door opened, revealing Michael in all his magnificent glory. Like always, I was at loss for words when I saw him. The messy bed hair that he always wore stood up more than usual like he was running his hands through them a lot tonight. Or maybe one of his girls did that? Ugh, why do I care?

'Because you like him, sis,' Lilly smirked. Shut up, Lilly.

"What are you doing here?" His voice startled me. I blinked a few times to regain my senses and realized that he was a bit on alert. I scowled at him.

"I was babysitting your sister because you were to busy doing who knows what to do it." I yelled-whispered so that May-C wouldn't wake up. "Thanks so freaking much for returning on time." I spat.

He looked at me and then down the hall. When he saw that there was no threat, he leaned against the threshold crossing his arms, his muscles flexing involuntarily. Ugh, no, don't do this to me! I looked at him, cursing in my mind. How could one guy be so incredibly good looking but have the utmost worst personality on the entire planet?

The look in his eyes—while they were roaming up and down my body, sending shivers all over me—held something unexplainable. I had this strong urge to share all my secrets with him, with the utmost certainty that he would hold me tight and tell me that everything would be just fine. But it wouldnt be, it never was.

He shrugged. "I got sidetracked," The tone in his voice indicating that he didnt care.

"You are an inconsiderate jerk, did you know that?" I huffed out, annoyed with him.

I saw Michael bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from smiling. His eyes got that calculating glaze over them and I instantly tensed. He was analyzing me, something he was extremely good at, and I absolutely hated it. Fear crept up my spine and my shoulders tensed. Please dont mention it! Please dont! I begged him silently. I looked up at him, and the panic on my face startled him, but I didnt give him a chance to address the matter, I turned around and tried to bolt out the door. Keyword Tried!

A warm hand wrapped around my arm, spinning me around; crashing into him, I held my breath. Fear paralyzing me.

"Breath, Princess." He whispered in my ear, but it didnt seem possible.

It's just Michael, Autumn!

After the fear left me, I felt that my body was on fire from just one single touch. How was this possible? How could he make me feel so out of place in my own body, yet like I was on cloud nine? I shook my head to clear the fog that clouded my judgment and took a step back out of his arms. He let me go, reluctantly. I looked up at him expectantly, waiting for him to speak. He didnt though; he just looked at me with so much emotion in his eyes that it frightened me.

"Michael?"

He snapped out of whatever internal battle he was having inside his head. He reached back into his pocket, pulling his car keys out, extending them to me. "Here, drive home. Just bring it back tomorrow morning before school."

When I did not attempt to take them, he grabbed my hands and pulled me forward, placing the keys in them. He leaned forward making my heart stop. He changed directions at the very last minute and left a lingering kiss on my cheek. I gasped softly and looked up at him through my lashes, stunned. He let me go and walked back into his room, closing the door in my face. What the heck just happened?

While driving home, I tried sorting all the things that were running through my mind. I was so confused, he never lets anyone drive his car. Why did he do this? I hope he wasn't feeling sorry for me. Why did he look at me with so much emotion? What changed suddenly?

Oh my goodness, Michael kissed my cheek!

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