Luck & Intuition

THE DOOR CLICKED open. Autumn poked her head through the small gap and smiled lightly at the boy sitting up on the bed, his eyes searching through the messages on his phone.

“Hey.” She cooed and pushed the door open fully. She adjusted Ella Mae in her arms, and the mesh bag dangling from her wrist. Nick gazed up and smiled. “Is it alright if we come in?”

Nick set his phone down on the side table. “Yeah, of course.” Autumn entered and walked over to the permanent chair beside the bed. She took a sit juggling with Ella and the bag but managed. “I’ll take her.” It was an automatic reaction as soon as Nick spoke and Ella was placed on his lap, babbling nonsense to him.

“I got you some coffee. Supposedly you’re not allowed to drink it with the medication you’re on, but, what the hell.” Nick chuckled and took the venti sized cup with the steaming liquid.

“If I survived a bullet to my chest and have diabetes, I must be comparable to Superman by now. “ Autumn smiled and nodded. “Where’s Joe?”

“Where’s Storm?”

“I sent her home. If you were to look at her, you’d think she was the one that had gotten shot, not me. Just terrible.” Nick cornered his eyes to Autumn blankly mentioning that it was her turn to answer the question.

She rolled her eyes. “He’s with Greg and JT doing some ‘guy stuff’ or whatever that’s supposed to mean.”

The male watched Ella play with her bunny and stare up at the television which was on Disney, courtesy of Nick changing the channel for the two year old. However, his focus was not on the little girl, it was on something more intriguing to the twenty year old.

“He told me. He told that that he loves you.”

“He probably told the people in China too.”

“No.” Nick shook his head. “He hasn’t been to China lately so he couldn’t have. Please do not laugh at that horrible joke; I think the medicine is getting to me.”

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on it.” Autumn muttered and sighed. “Can I ask you a question? How many other times has Joe said that to his past girlfriends?”

“Said what?”

“You know.”

“Sorry.” He shook his head. “I don’t understand the last part of the question.”

“Nicholas.”A smirk crept on his pale lips and darkened. He began to laugh lowly and sipped his coffee again. “I don’t see what’s so funny.”

“I’m laughing because Joe is right, for once. You have Philophobia.”

“I don’t have a fucking fear of love, Nick! God. Who says that you two can talk behind my back anyways?”

“Actually it was Joe, Kevin and I. Plus we’re brothers so we don’t keep secrets.” Autumn narrowed her dark eyes at the poodle boy and pursed her lips together. “Okay, so that’s most likely a lie. There are probably some intimate things that we wouldn’t tell one another, like when the first time I had sex with Storm—"

“You’ve had sex with Storm?!”

Nick blinked. “Uh, no...?”

“Liar! I can’t believe she didn’t tell me. Wait, you said the first time which means... Okay, gross. I have an extremely vivid picture in my mind of you and Storm in a dark room with scented candles and rose petals scattered on the floor and on the bed...”

He cleared his throat and ran his fingers through his curly hair. “Going to back to answer the question: He’s said it to Camilla as we know led to heartbreak and a remix of a song written about Taylor Swift.”

“Yes, yes, I know.”

“I can sense some type of resentment to this honest side of Joe. Why’s that?”

“It’s not resentment.” Autumn stood up and walked over to the opened door and closed it. “His honesty is fine. I just don’t want him to say something that he doesn’t mean.”

“You think that he doesn’t mean it?” Autumn shook her head. She began to pace around the room to match her wandering thoughts and questions dancing in her mind. “From a sideline point of view, he does love you, Autry. Whether you want him to think it or speak it, he does. It's as simple as that. And from where this situation stands, I can see that you love him too.”

“We’ve been dating for over five months. Am I supposed to blurt it out that I do because to be honest I’m not even sure if this relationship is for me, Nick. I’ve been hurt before, someone told me that they loved me and the next thing I knew I was left alone.”

“He’s been hurt before, too.”

“I know that! I know that whole story; I know every story with every past relationship he’s been in: Mandy, Amelia, AJ, Taylor, Camilla, Demi (and Ashley)—Me. I’ve learned how they all started and how they have all ended.” Autumn laughed shallowly. “Don’t be surprised if my face shows up on People Magazine with the words HEARTBREAK written all over it. The majority of those breakups have been because of Joe.”

Nick adjusted Ella to be at his side instead of his lap. He licked his lips and tilted his head. “Are you implying that you are going to leave him because you don’t want to get your heartbroken?”

“No.” She breathed out and gazed out the window. Nick’s room was on the fourth level of the hospital. Down below was the main street with the morning traffic still trucking along with car horns blaring constantly. “My feelings for Joe have escalated extremely since I first met him. At times, it feels as if I can lose control and nothing ever gets old. For once I feel belonged, I feel special. I’ve realized,” She breathed out, “That love isn’t the word to describe how I feel about your brother. If there is a more powerful word that would be the description of how he makes me feel inside.”

Autumn dropped back from the window, yet still staring out the glass to the crisp blue sky. With a swift movement of her hand, she wiped away a surprising tear that leaked from her eye. “There is pain sometimes, how there is pangs in my stomach whenever he’s comes ‘round. Before he kisses me goodbye I miss him. When he sleeps I just stare thinking to myself how could I out of so many females have the experience of being next to someone so beautiful like he is.”

“That’s what I think.” Autumn spun around seeing the weary girl she called her best friend. Her eyes had a racoon appearance but her smile lit up the room. “About Nick, I mean. It’s what I always think.” Storm fully walked in with the oversized golf sweater that belonged to her own beloved. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”

“You’re supposed to be at home sleeping.” Nick judged with a frown.

“I believe it’s clear that if you’re not beside me to hold me that I will never sleep.” Storm told her head towards Autumn. “I thought you were Philophobic?”

“Autumn laughed softly. “It’s an undecided disorder. But I think Nick helped me a bit. Hey, if you’re music career doesn’t work out; you could be the next Dr Phil.”

“Doubt it.” Nick affirmed.

Storm stepped away from the side of the bed and walked towards her long time friend. “Promise me something: Tell him. Tell him today, possibly tomorrow. Don’t wait too long or you’ll lose him and it will be a bitch to try and get him back.”

“Tomorrow’s a brand new day. I think that’s where I’ll start.”