It had been a few days since she went out with Rowan. Since then he hadn't come to check up on her. Autumn continued her daily schedule of hiding in her house all day, hardly eating, and cutting herself at night. She didn't want to do anything else. She was afraid to step out into the world. The thought of it made her anxious, her heart throbbing in her chest.

    She was, however, taking showers every night after hurting herself. Sometimes she would simply sit in the water, other times she would bathe her skin as needed. It was a small step in her recovery, but it was progress nonetheless.

    She had just finished her shower around midnight when she received a knock at her door. She assumed it would be Rowan so she grabbed her blanket and wrapped it around her body to conceal the scars.

    When opening the door this time, she only hesitated for a few seconds before turning the knob. The wood creaked open, revealing a tall figure. Since it was dark outside, she couldn't tell who exactly it was.

    "Autumn..." The voice whispered.

    She froze.

    She knew that voice anywhere. She heard it a dozen times in her head, apologizing for the things that had happened. Saying sorry for the behavior that was ensued. Falling back into her arms and forgetting about the whole situation. The two of them living happily ever after.

    Aiden pulled Autumn into a tight hug, tears rolling down his eyes and onto her blanket. He was crying. Aiden. Was crying. In her arms. The very moment she had dreamed of was happening right in front of her.

    She wrapped the blanket around Aiden, pulling him inside. When she spoke, her voice was weak from shock, "What- What are you doing here, Aiden. Are you okay?"

    He continued to cry on her shoulder, his words coming out between gasps, "I- I- I am so sorry Autumn... I am so sorry. I'm so sorry. I am so so sorry."

    He was apologizing. Just like she had imagined.

    For the first time in almost a year, a smile spread across her face. She led him to the couch, sitting down while holding onto him, "It's okay Aiden... It's okay... I forgive you... I forgive you."

    "I treated you so horribly," he managed to look up at her, his face tear streaked, "I don't know why I did what I did. And for that I am so sorry."

    "Did something happen? Between the two of you," Autumn whispered, hoping it was him that split things off.

    "I broke up with her. I woke up one day and realized that all of this was wrong. It was so wrong of me. Of her. Of the rest of our friends. We wronged you and I am so sorry. I miss you baby. I miss you..." He whispered, gently kissing her cheek, "Please forgive me. Please take me back. I miss you."

    A gaspe escaped her mouth at his words. "You- You want me back? Really?"

    "Of course I do. I love you. I was an idiot. I was just... Going through some stuff and instead of being mature about it, I went and hurt you. It was stupid of me. And I will understand if you don't want me back."

    She looked into his eyes, searching them for any sign of him lying. She had wanted this moment to happen for so long. She had often fallen asleep thinking about it. And here it was. Autumn found zero signs of him lying in his eyes. All she saw was pure hurt in his eyes. Pure regret and guilt.

    "Oh Aiden... I love you," she whispered, "Of course I will take you back. How could I not?"

    "Oh thank you Autumn. Thank you. Thank you so much," he sobbed, resting his head on her lap while whispering, "Thank you Autumn. Thank you..."

    She smiled softly, holding onto his hand and lacing their fingers together, "Shh... Go to sleep, my love. I am right here with you. I've got you..."

    Aiden fell right to sleep in his girl's arms. She finally had him back. And in that moment, she felt happy. Overjoyed, as if the past few months were simply just a fever dream. Was she finally getting her life back?

...

    "Autumn..." Aiden whispered to her, causing her to wake up.

    "Aiden?" She mumbled, her eyes squinted.

    "What happened to you?"

    "What?"

    "Your body. The scars. They are everywhere..." He mumbled.

    Autumn's eyes shot wide opened as she looked down at herself. The blanket had fallen off of them during the night. She was wearing short shorts and a tank top, leaving almost all of her scars out on display. Right in front of the boy who caused her to do so.

    "Nothing. It's nothing," she grabbed the blanket and hastily wrapped it around herself.

    "Babe," He sat beside her, holding onto her hand. He rubbed his thumb against her skin. A gentle gesture that almost made her absolutely melt. She missed this affection from him. She missed him.

    "What happened? You can tell me. I am right here with you..."

    She looked into his eyes, finally caving in. She couldn't resist his eyes and he knew that. "I... When you and Hannah left me... I started to... You know..."

    "Self harm?"

    "Yeah..."

    "Oh god Autumn," he pulled his hand from hers, covering his mouth in disbelief, "Why would you do that? How could you do that to yourself?"

    "I was just... In a lot of pain. But it's okay," Autumn crawled onto his lap, "I'm okay now. I've got you. All the pain is gone. It's vanished."

    "Please tell me that's the truth and not some bogus lie to change the subject..." He sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist.

    "I promise. It's not a lie. I'm okay. I'm happy and full of life. You're here. In my house with me. I can't think of anything else I would rather have," she pulled her lips to his, kissing him with a gentle touch. God, she had missed his lips. His warm, soft lips that drove her absolutely crazy.

    Aiden pulled away from the kiss, smiling, "What do you say we go out? Spend some time together huh? We can go shopping and go out to eat and I can buy you whatever you want."

    In order to avoid Aiden feeling worse than he already did, she nodded and smiled back at him, "Sounds perfect."

    "Go get ready. I will wait here for you," he patted her back. She stood from his lap, walking to her room with a smile on her face. It hurt her skin to smile. It had been awhile since she'd done so. It was as if she had never allowed herself to move her lips in such a way.

    Walking to her closet, she grabbed a red, short dress with spaghetti straps. She knew Aiden loved this dress on her, so why not wear it just for him? It was tight on her body, revealing her beautiful curves.

    She took the opportunity to curl her hair as well and pick out some pretty gold jewelry. She hadn't dressed up for anyone, not even for Rowan, in almost a year. It felt good to do this for Aiden. To look pretty just for him.

    Checking her finished fit in the mirror, she rubbed her lips together to spread the red lipstick she put on. She looked as though she were going to a friend's birthday party. And that's how Aiden liked it.

    Grabbing her black purse with a gold chain, she exited her bedroom and walked over to Aiden who was scrolling through his phone on the couch. She walked up behind him, seeing him scroll through their old friend groups posts. Autumn frowned for a moment, but quickly smiled and tapped his shoulder.

    Aiden turned his head around and smirked at her, "Well don't you look sexy."

    "Mhm! Just for you!"

    "What about your scars? Don't want anyone thinking I'm abusive or some shit," he chuckled.

    "Oh. Uhm. Well, I thought you would like this dress..."

    "Oh yeah sure, I do. It's a pretty dress. You look good in it. Maybe wear a longer dress and a cardigan or something though. Just to be safe."

    "Oh. Okay. Sure thing," she frowned as she walked back into her room, going through her closet to find something else to change into. Aiden wanting her to wear something different made her feel insecure about her scars. She felt self conscious now, of all the cuts surrounding her body.

    Maybe it was because he felt guilty for what he had done to her. Perhaps he didn't want to see the reminders of the effects it had on Autumn when he left.

     Yeah... That's what it is, she grabbed a long pink dress that flowed down to her ankles, wearing a white cardigan with it, he just feels guilty, that's all.

    "Much better," Aiden smiled at her as he walked into her room, "You look gorgeous."

    "Thank you," she smiled and tilted her head a bit at him, "So, where are we going?"

    "Well first, I thought I would take you out to coffee. And then we can go do some shopping for you. I'll buy you whatever you want, as much as you want. And if you're up for it, I would love to take you out to lunch."

    That sounded like the perfect day. Warmth filled her stomach and chest, a blush rising to her cheeks, "Oh that would be so wonderful. If you are okay with paying for all of it. I don't have much."

    "Oh yeah, I'm cool with it. Let's go, shall we?"

...

    After getting coffee with her boyfriend, the pair of them went shopping downtown. Autumn was hesitant to get anything, afraid that she would spend too much of his money. However, Aiden insisted that she go and try on a bunch of clothes. Unable to resist his gorgeous ocean blue eyes, she complied.

    Autumn walked into the changing room with a handful of clothes. She placed them all on the handles, biting her lip, "What should I try first? Maybe try on the outfits that don't cover my scars over with first... That way he doesn't have to worry about them." She grabbed a short, white dress with puffy sleeves, trying it on. Examining herself in the mirror, she looked at all the scars on her body. Please don't freak out. Please don't freak out...

    Stepping out of the changing room, she's met with two pairs of eyes. One of the pairs is her boyfriends. And the other.

    Rowan.

    Rowan's eyes scanned her body, his lips forming into a frown as he takes in all of her scars. He had never seen them before. She had concealed them from him when they went out to get coffee.

    Rowan's eyes cast down to Aiden sitting in a chair, talking about how the dress doesn't cover the wounds on her skin. Rowan instantly new that this was the guy that had hurt her. He was the cause of all her hurt. Her pain. The isolation and the hardships she put herself through. He was what she needed to be saved from.

    Autumn listened to Aiden with a frown on her lips, her eyes staring at Rowan as he talked.

    "That's just not the dress for you. It shows too much. Go change, quickly."

    "Aiden almost all of the things you picked out for me shows them..."

    "Then I will just have to pick something else out. I'll be back," he stood from his chair, stalking off with a purpose.

    "Remember I'm an extra small now!" She called out after him, biting her lip. The anxiety arose in her chest when he left. She was alone, in the store, with Rowan mere feet apart from her.

Just ignore him. Go back in the changing
room. Autumn began making her way back when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Instantly, she knew it was Rowan.

    "Autumn," he whispered, "Are you okay?"

    Autumn slowly turned around, looking at Rowan, "What? Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

    "It's just... Well I haven't heard from you in awhile. And that guy seems pretty intimidating."

    "Who, Aiden? No, not at all. He has everyone's best interests at heart."

    "Then why was he so strict about what you can and can't wear? Isn't it your choice?"

    "Yes, it is. And I don't want to wear something that shows a lot of my skin. It was my choice."

    Rowan could tell that she was lying, but didn't press the matter further, "Well, it's good to see you out and about. That's wonderful." She simply nodded, casting her eyes to the floor beneath her.

    Aiden walked over to the two, his brows raised, "Do I know you?"

    Rowan turned toward Aiden, extending a friendly hand with a smile, "Hi, I'm Rowan. Autumns neighbor."

    "I didn't know you were friends with your neighbors," Aiden ignored Rowan's kind gesture, looking up at Autumn.

    "We only just met, really. Do you have the new clothes for me to try?"

    "Yeah, here," Aiden handed her the pile of clothes.

    "I suppose that's my cue," Rowan nodded, backing away while smiling at Autumn, "I'll see you later."

    "Yeah. Bye." She gave him a curt nod, scurrying off to the changing room.

    Throughout the rest of the time that Aiden and Autumn hung out, he didn't say a word about Rowan. It was just the two of them. Laughing, smiling, and having the time of their lives. Autumn felt happy again. There was joy in her steps. A genuine happiness to her smile. She started to talk more, to eat a little more, and to take care of herself. Now that Aiden was back into her life, she felt complete. The eye bags under her eyes began to seep away. She stopped cutting herself, allowing the fresh wounds to heal. She cleaned up her house, getting all of the blood stains out of her sheets and carpet. In fact, her and Aiden were redecorating her house, giving it a new kind of energy.

    Autumn was back on social media, posting about her and Aiden and their progress with her house. She would occasionally chat with some of her old friends and they would get along just fine. It was as if nothing had happened to her. Aiden had bought her some cream to help take care of the scars and every night he would lather the cream all over her body. That usually ended in making out naked on the bed, which is why she loved the cream.

    She gained everything she had lost. Her boyfriend. Her friends. Her life and dignity. She had it all back, and she wouldn't have traded it for anything. Life was finally good.