Wasted

Autumns head was pounding, even in the relaxing setting of her bathroom. She thought soaking in the bath tub would rid of her headache but it didn't seem to be working.

After visiting Frank he drove her back home where Riley and Taylor were watching TV on the couch. They noticed something wrong and she confessed to them what happened earlier. They were left speechless and hurt for their friend. Taylor ran her a bath while Riley got dinner ready, hoping to cheer a part of her up.

Autumn sunk her head under the bath water and counted to ten. If only, she thought, I could stay under for the rest of my problems.

A knock on the door broke through the water and she sat up.

"Autumn," she heard Riley's voice behind the door, "Gerard's here."

Autumn closed her eyes and sighed. "Okay, I'll be out soon."

She pushed her wet hair back and sat up, grabbing a towel beside her to dry off. She pushed her wet hair over to one side and wiped her face, with one arm holding onto the counter.
She didn't want to talk to Gerard right now; she didn't even want to see him right now. The stress felt overwhelming and she didn't know if she could go through with it.

She gripped the door knob and took a deep breath before walking down the hallway. She peeked her head around and saw that he wasn't in the living room.

"In here," a voice behind her spoke up.

She spun around with a small gasp and put her hand over her chest to calm her small shock.

Gerard was leaning against her door frame with his arms crossed over his chest.

She stepped in behind him and shut her door. Gerard's eyebrows rose when he saw her standing in only a white towel.

Autumn didn't even make a move towards her dresser to change. She wanted to make this quick, listen to what he had to say and then say goodnight.

"What are you doing here Gerard?" She sighed and took a seat on her bed.

He cocked an eyebrow and frowned. "I wanted to talk."

"So talk." She replied dully.

His eyebrows furrowed and he sat beside her but she shifted uncomfortably, making his frown deepen.

"I know you're mad but can you just talk to me?" He exasperated and ran a hand over his face, frustrated with her.

"I don't have anything to say," her voice came out monotone and her face held a blank expression.

"Jesus Christ Autumn!" he exclaimed and threw his arms up in frustration, "at least tell me how you feel about it all!"

Her eyes narrowed. "I told you. And by the way I cussed you out; you should know I'm angry and even more bothered that you decided to show up when I don't even want to see you."

His face fell and his adamn’s apple bobbed up and down, "I'm trying to fix this."

She scoffed and gave a bitter laugh. The usual eyes she gave him that were always glowing were now dark.

"Go home to Stacy, Gerard. She needs you more than me right now."

She knew she was hurting him but she didn't care. She was more tired than anything and she had to be up for the studio tomorrow. She almost laughed at how good the day started out and how miserable it had ended.

"You can't be serious right now," he spoke lowly, "after all the shit you and I went through you're going to give me the cold shoulder?"

She rolled her eyes and stood up towards her dresser. "Just give me some time."

He watched her search around her dresser for her clothes and wondered how they got here again.

"I fucked up," he started and walked up behind her, "but this doesn't change how I feel about you. It's still you and me sugar." He leaned down and kissed her bare shoulder tenderly.

She closed her eyes and dropped her head, feeling the sudden weight from today drop on her.

"I know," she turned and looked up at him with glassy eyes, "I just need time okay? That's all I'm asking."

He sighed softly and nodded. His hand came up and caressed her cheek softly. "Good luck at the studio tomorrow sugar." He pressed his lips against her forehead and walked out of her room.

She bit her lip to keep a small cry from getting out and climbed into bed, skipping out on dinner.

-

Autumn looked at her reflection in the mirror. Physically she looked fine and ready for the day but emotionally she felt like a wreck.

How was she supposed to feel about Gerard having a baby with someone else, especially Stacy? After watching them fool around for weeks she didn’t know how she could handle watching them raise a child together. And even worse, they hadn't even slept together and here she was bound to hear about Stacy's pregnancy that had Gerard as the father.

She told herself to pull herself together, especially for her first day ahead at the studio. She pulled into the entrance and stopped to tell the security guy at the toll booth her name who granted her access inside. She took a deep breath and shrugged away the nerves. If everything else around he was bad, she couldn't let her future job fall ill as well.

After walking around in search of Danny's office she finally found it and knocked, taking a deep breath to calm down.

He opened the metal door that had a small window and smiled when he saw Autumn.

"Autumn, hey there." Danny was an attractive guy, Autumn couldn't deny that. She hadn't seen him in person, everything had been over the phone but it was nice to put his face to his name.

Danny had brown hair that looked perfectly tussled and thick but hidden behind a knit beanie and blue eyes rimmed with dark eyelashes. He was tall, taller than her by far and was well built. He dressed in a loose grey t-shirt and jeans followed by a pair of boots. She shook away the thoughts of being attracted to him and smiled.

"Hi, I didn't come too early did I?"

He looked down at his watch and chuckled, "Right on time actually. I was thinking about showing you around the studio a bit, show you the ropes."

Her eyes beamed and she grinned, "Wow, that'd be great."

He shut his office door behind him and gestured for her to follow. They made small talk along the way around the studio. He showed her the sets where some movies and shows were shot and she engrossed and fascinated in it all. She enjoyed Danny's company more than she thought she would and actually wouldn't mind working for him.

"So pretty much, you're an intern but you get paid. You're kind of like an assistant but also an observer. You give us feedback on the shows and if you're lucky..." he gave her a small smile, "you could become a temp writer for one of the shows."

"Damn, I get paid for all of this?" She joked.

He laughed and opened the door of his office for her to walk in. "If you're everything my sister in law says you are then yes."

She grinned and looked around his small office. The walls were an off white color and he had a small couch in the corner of the room with a coffee table and empty cups of coffee scattered around. He had small knick knacks around, photos and posters of movies on the walls. She noticed a stack of papers that looked like a script on his desk and eyed them curiously.

He noticed her eyeing the papers and moved over to them. "It's an episode I'm trying to pitch for a show. I'm still kneading out the kinks." He put a hand in his pocket and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

She circled the desk and read over the few pages. "This is good, it's really funny."

His eyes widened and he swallowed, "Really?"

She looked up through her eyelashes, her yellow eyes catching the light and nodded with a small smile.

“Yeah, all I watch is reality TV but I would definitely watch a sitcom with this episode.”

Danny cleared his throat and let out a deep breath. "I'll go get the paperwork and we can just fill it all out and get your schedule."

Autumn cocked an eyebrow at his sudden mood change but thought nothing of it and nodded. He moved over to a filing cabinet and pulled out a small stack, smaller than she thought it’d be and for the next hour she read over the paper work and filled it out while they made more small talk.

“Just come at the same time tomorrow and you’ll get your schedule. But be warned, one of our writers Barry loves new women around the studio.” Danny walked her over to his office door.

Autumn snorted a small laugh. “I’m spoken for,” she frowned playfully, “poor Barry.”

Danny’s eyebrows rose, “Boyfriend, eh?”

Autumn nodded, ignoring the sudden stab in her chest at the thought of Gerard and forced a smile on her lips. “Yeah, damn I would’ve loved to get to know Barry.”

Derrick laughed back but it didn’t reach his eyes. Autumn opened up his office door and stepped out. “I’ll see you tomorrow then. Thanks for today Danny.”

He waved and said a goodbye before turning back into his office.