Chapter 38
Thirty-Eight
Autumn sat on her bed, her smartphone trembling in her grasp. Her chest ached—to the point where she couldn’t function. She hadn’t slept in days. Not since Caleb cheated on her and Misty plastered it all over social media like a bitch. As usual she was the last one to find out although she suspected him of being unfaithful.
How she wished she’d listened to her gut. It wasn’t his first time cheating on her.
As she looked at a picture of them kissing, her vision fogged, then reddened. She took her phone and smashed the device against her night table, causing the battery to fall out of the back. She instantly regretted her decision. Crap.
A knock came to her door, and she jumped to her feet searching through her night table. She discovered a roll of packing tape and a package of butterfly stickers in her drawer to hold the battery in place with.
She sucked in a breath as the door opened and her mom peeked inside. Her highlighted hair sat in a curly bun. Her mouth straightened.
“I thought I heard a noise, are you okay?”
“Yes,” she stuttered, tossing her phone onto her bed.
Her mom walked into her room. “What happened to your phone?”
“I—” she started, but it was too late. Her mom ambled over, seeing the photo of Misty and Caleb that remained on the screen covered with cracks. Autumn struggled to lock her phone as the screen froze with their glowing faces in place.
She sighed, sitting next to her on the bed, lacing her fingers together. “He doesn’t deserve you.”
Autumn glanced at her hands. “I know, but I can’t help but love him.”
Her mom shook her head. “He’s not worth your time. You shouldn’t have to work this hard for love. It should happen naturally.”
“But we’ve known each other since?—”
“It doesn’t matter how long you’ve known him, and it doesn’t make it okay for you to destroy your property. You should cherish what’s yours. What you have one day isn’t guaranteed for the next.”
Autumn nodded in silence.
“Your father and I work hard to keep a roof over your head and to give you the best life we can. What’s he going to say when he sees what happened to your phone and when he finds out you destroyed it over a guy?”
“Um,” her fingers twitched. She’d never thought of that.
Her mom ran a hand through her hair.
“Sorry,” she muttered. It was all she could think to say under the circumstances.
The door slammed shut downstairs. “Hello, is anyone home?” Her dad yelled through the hall. He’d been under a lot of stress at work, and she was mad at herself for adding to the mix.
When her mom went to move her foot, she kicked a paper bag under her bed.
“What’s this?” Her mom knelt, reaching beneath her comforter skirt.
Oh, no , Autumn cringed as she tried to take the bag first, but her mom was too fast. The paper crinkled in her hands as she pulled out a brand-new flat iron.
Her mom’s brows rose. “Since when do you straighten your hair?”
She crossed her arms, twisting her mouth to the side. “Since now.”
Her mom sighed. “I hope you’re not doing this for some guy to look like some girl .”
Autumn took the bag from her. “No, I’m not. I’m doing this because I want to.” An outright lie.
Her mom hugged her tight. “You’re beautiful just the way you are, and you don’t need to do this to prove it to anyone. Especially someone who doesn’t deserve you.”
Autumn remained quiet.
“I’ll tell you what, let’s go downstairs and have breakfast with your father. Afterwards, I’ll go out on my run and see about getting you a new phone, so he doesn’t get suspicious,” her mom winked. “He doesn’t need to know about this, he’s under enough pressure at work as it is. The catch is, you have to pay me back when you can. You can’t go around destroying your property like this. Do we have a deal?”
She nodded. “Yes, I’m sorry, Mom. It won’t happen again.”
“I know,” her mom hugged her tight, perfume smelling of lavender. “I promise everything will get better with time. Time heals all wounds.”
Autumn wished she’d never let go.
Autumn yawned and stretched as her body slid against deep-purple satin sheets and a warm comforter. A gentle hum thrummed in the background. The air smelled of hot cacao. As she sat up, her head pounded. Ouch . It took a moment for her foggy vision to sharpen and for the colors to settle against her weary eyes.
The room she occupied was beautiful with rainbow twinkling lights dancing across the silver ceiling in a flickering stream. Clothes in many vibrant hues spilled from a side closet. Stars and planets whizzed by the long rectangular windows at an impossible speed.
When she went to sit up, the sound of utensils and cups stirred in the corner of the room.
“Wait, don’t get up too fast. You took quite the beating,” a familiar voice said to her, soothing and even.
She did a double take, followed by a deep wave of relief coursing through her limbs. Leyla stood in the room, dressed in the strangest clothes. Her cascading light-brown hair was arranged in two braids like a milkmaid across a central part. She wore a long silver dress with bell sleeves trimmed with white fur. The ensemble highlighted her glowing blue features.
Autumn bit back a smile.
Leyla rolled her eyes. “I know I look utterly ridiculous, but it’s the traditional Zambarian custom for the winter festival of illa lunam deam. And to think, I thought Earth’s fashion was subpar. I guess the jest is on me.”
She stared at her in silence and Leyla shrugged, cheeks shifting pink. “You know what I mean. Here, drink this, you’ll feel better.”
She ambled over with a silver tray and two steaming hot beverages, then handed Autumn one. The metal mug warmed her frozen hands. A dollop of cream floated in a sea of bubbling hot chocolate. She sipped her beverage, and the liquid heated her throat. Suddenly, she froze. The hairs on the back of her neck raised at perfect attention.
“Where’s Valdez?” Her eyes bulged.
Leyla blinked, then shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m assuming she’s still back at the palace wreaking havoc. Everyone saw how she tortured Kyo’s younger sister, ordering her lashed. I hate her guts.” Her eyes welled with tears, but she wiped them away before they could fall. “She deserved so much better.”
A wave of relief coursed through Autumn’s body. At least Valdez wasn’t here. Her imagination had played tricks on her earlier.
Leyla continued. “And Dante, I never want to see him again. After what he did to me and Kyo’s family,” she grew quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry to complain so much, it’s so very selfish of me. What about you? How are you feeling, and what were you and Armienti doing all the way out here in Universe 18 on planet First?”
Autumn took a long sip of her refreshment, answering between gulps. “We were stranded there by Valdez. She tried to kill us.”
Leyla gasped. “That shrew. You were lucky we stumbled upon you when we did. We happened to land to gather more ice for sculptures to continue the celebration of the winter festival. The oxygen levels on First are low, rendering it uninhabitable for elongated periods of time. If you remained there any longer, you could’ve died, which is probably what she wanted in the first place.”
It all made perfect sense considering how awful she felt and how her and Armienti’s abilities vanished without a trace. Hopefully after she rested up, they would return. Damn Valdez Aventura. She tightened her fists, trembling. How she despised her.
“When Dante finds out, he’ll wage a war,” Leyla shook her head. “He’s never been one to forgive or forget, especially when it comes to someone he loves as much as he loves you. But you already know that.”
Autumn twisted her mouth to the side then hesitated. “That’s not all, Armienti was in on my kidnapping. It’s his fault we were stranded on planet First and almost died.”
Leyla sipped her drink as steam poured over the metal mug. “What do you mean?”
“He was planning to overthrow Dante, something about his birthright and them being brothers. He believes he’s entitled to the throne.”
“Oh no,” Leyla shot to her feet. “I’ve always suspected, with the way my mother treated him and the frequent fights she had with my father. Sometimes I would hear—never mind, it’s not important. We must warn him. Dante is on his way as we speak. Although I think Armenti’s actions were idiotic and unwarranted, I don’t want to see him executed for treason.”
She didn’t want to see him executed either. Armienti had made a foolish mistake, but she didn’t want him to die for it. Everyone deserved a second chance, or at least that’s what she believed.
Leyla grabbed her hand and set down her drink on the tray. Autumn wobbled to a trembling stand. Her energy was low but gradually coming back. She held onto Leyla’s arm.
“Here, let’s get you changed,” Leyla brought her over to the closet and pulled out an equally horrifying gown for her to wear. The fabric was ruby metallic red with long bell sleeves trimmed with thick white fur.
It was an outfit Mrs. Claus would wear. She was sorry she laughed earlier.
“I’m sorry, the fashion here is atrocious,” Leyla rolled her eyes. “I can call for help?—”
“No, it’s fine.” Autumn pulled off her dingy teal bodysuit, tossing it to the ground, then took the most hideous dress she’d ever seen in her life and pulled the fabric over her head. Leyla laced up the back. Her long dark curly hair cascaded over her shoulders. She sighed as she pulled on a pair of black sparkling booties. It couldn’t get any worse than this.
They walked toward a steel door. It slid open and they entered the bustling hallway.
This time around, everyone noticed her. She had an inkling as to why. They curtseyed and bowed as she made her way through the crowd with Leyla, who held her head high. Her feet seemed to float as her gown dragged against the heated metallic floor.
This species of alien appeared different from the Elattions with silver skin and hair that was either jet-black or a stark white against their striking metallic complexions. Their long, pointed ears pierced through the strands. Many were tall and lean with elongated arms and fingers. Others were built as well as Dante and Armienti, with toned muscles bulging against their skin-tight navy-blue uniforms.
Autumn bit her bottom lip as her thoughts drifted to Dante and how she couldn’t wait to see him again. But as soon as the thoughts arrived, she pushed them out of her mind. She needed to focus on the task at hand.
She followed Leyla down a series of winding steps and into an open corridor lined with countless doors on either side. The hallway was empty, save for a few servants carrying trays of steaming hot food. Her stomach grumbled but she willed away the sensation. She couldn’t wait to have a real meal again.
They stopped mid-way in the hallway. Leyla raised her fist and knocked hard. Autumn flinched as the sound of hollow banging steel echoed against her eardrums.
“Armienti, Armienti, I know you’re in here,” Leyla demanded. “Don’t tell me you’re in there screwing around with some Zambarian girl. Gross, you’ve only been here for a few hours’ time.”
The door slid open and Armienti stood there dressed in a navy-blue bodysuit like the silver-skinned aliens she’d seen moments ago. His golden, wavy hair was affixed in a sleek low ponytail. His arm was slingless as he pulled on a pair of elbow-length gloves. Knee-high boots of the same hue concealed his feet.
“No, I assure you I’m perfectly by myself,” his chiseled features straightened. “What on earth are you both wearing?”
Autumn’s face heated as she glanced down at her garish outfit.
His eyes drew to hers. “Never mind, I need to talk to Autumn. Preferably alone.”
She looked at Leyla. “I’ll be okay, just give us a moment.”