Love Heals All (11 page)

Autumn

What I saw
was
unreal
.

My parents were sitting in the garage, drunk and high, with empty beer bottles all around them. I stood there, shocked, not knowing what to do.

“What the heck is going on?” Cameron asked, just as shocked as I was.

“Ohhhh, look, honey—it's the little tramp who left us,” my dad slurred, while my mom just laughed.

“Wh-what's . . . g-going on?” I stuttered. My eyes filled with tears, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

“It's fuuu-nnn,” my mom slurred, standing up and stumbling toward me.

I stepped back and put my hands out. “Don't come near me. Just stop,” I said, scared now.

“What are you gonna do about it?” my mom screamed in my face, grabbing my forearm with one hand and punching me with her other fist. I winced and closed my eyes, feeling a few tears slip out.

“Don't touch her!”
Hayes yelled, pulling me back against his chest. I whimpered. He wrapped his arms protectively around me while the others surrounded us.

“Ella, grab my board, please?” I whispered. I heard footsteps, so I guessed she was getting my board.

“Wait, E-Ella?” Dad slurred. I heard chair legs slide across the hard concrete and the sound of footsteps stumbling toward the right side of the garage, where I had put my board when we unpacked.

Then I heard someone run to that side of the garage and say, “Don't touch her! Lay one finger on her, and you're dead.” It was Cameron, and I could hear the anger in his voice.

“Don't tell me what to do! That's my daughter!”
my dad screamed.

“I am so ashamed to be your child. I swear, if either one of you lays a finger on my little sister, ever again, you're getting a piece of me. Got it? Don't get near her, don't get near me, and don't get near my friends,” Ella spat at my mom and dad. “Let's go, guys. We are surely not welcome here!”

I'm ashamed to even call them Mom and Dad.

I whimpered again. Hayes picked me up, bridal-style, and carried me quickly to the car. He opened the door and sat me down. Then he climbed in after me and pulled me onto his lap.

“I'm so sorry you had to see that, Hayes! I didn't even want to see that. That was so awful—”

“Shh, sweetheart,” Hayes soothed. “It's okay. Don't worry about anything.”

I nodded, wiping the tears off my face.

“Good. Now, can I see that pretty little face of yours and how much damage she did?”

I looked up at him, and his eyes widened.

“What? Is it bad? Oh no, it's bad, isn't it?” I started to freak out.

“Do you want me to be honest?” I nodded. “It's pretty bad, but you're still beautiful to me,” he said, and kissed my forehead.

“Lemme see it.” He handed me his phone, and I opened the camera app.

It looked awful. My cheek was turning bluish purple and was beginning to swell.

“You call this beautiful? My black eye just healed, and now I have this!”

“You're perfect no matter what,” Hayes said.

I blushed. “Thank you,” I said, and kissed his cheek.

“You know, this is not ruining our beach day.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.” I smiled and hopped out of the car.

I walked over to everyone and saw Ella was crying. I threw my arms around her.

“Ellie, I'm okay. Just a little bruise, no big deal. See, look, big happy smiles!” I smiled and wiped her tears. She laughed and hugged me.

“I wish they were different,” Ella whispered.

“Me, too, sissy. Me, too,” I whispered back.

“All right, brotato chips, who's ready to go to the beach?” I yelled.

“Are you sure you want to go?” Gabby asked. Apparently, everybody already knew what had happened.

“Positive. They're not ruining my day. And besides, I need to hit some waves,” I said, returning to Hayes's side. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close.

“All right, let's go!” everyone called. I grabbed my board and strapped it to the top of the car. After it was tight, I hopped down and got in the car.

I was next to Ella and Hayes. Behind us were Shaelyn, Nash, and Sky, while Cameron was driving, and Bart was in the passenger's seat.

“Off to the beach!” Nash yelled from the back. I guess he was doing a Vine.

“Say hi, everyone!”

I covered my face, looked back, and said hi.

He posted it, and it quickly got thousands of likes and re-Vines. So many people see Nash as the Vine-famous Nash Grier. But I see Hamilton Nash Grier as my older brother, the one I can trust and always go to. He's just Nash, a normal teenager from North Carolina with a semi-normal life.

It was the same with all the other guys, especially Cameron. I've known him my entire life, and not once has he ever changed. And I loved him for that. He never let the fame get to him, and he's not cocky. He's a really kindhearted person and a gentleman—any girl would be lucky to have him.

While I was thinking about the guys, I guess I drifted off, because next thing I knew, I was asleep.

Ella

I never once
thought my parents would ever do that.

It hurt knowing my parents, whom I hadn't seen in ten years, would behave that way. I never, ever thought that my own mother would hit Autumn. I'm so disgusted even to call her my mother.

And I wouldn't have dreamed my dad was capable of charging at me like that.

Flashback to the Incident

We were walking
over to my parents' house, and I was really nervous. If they were home, what would they think—their firstborn daughter just showing up out of nowhere? But when Autumn opened the garage, I was shocked by what I saw.

My parents were drinking beer and smoking weed. I couldn't believe it. And they were the ones who told me not to take drugs when I was older, but look at them. I was in a rage.

“What the heck is going on?!” Cameron asked in disbelief.

“Ohhhh, look, honey, it's the little tramp who left us,” Dad slurred, while mom just laughed.

“Wh-what's . . . g-going on?” Autumn stuttered. Her eyes were glassy.

“It's fuuu-nnn,” my mom slurred, standing up and stumbling toward Autumn. I was too shocked and enraged to move.

Autumn stepped back and put her hands out. “Don't come near me. Just stop,” Autumn said, and I could hear the fear in her voice.

“What are you gonna do about it?” my mom screamed in her face, grabbing Aut's forearm with one hand and punching her with her other fist. My jaw hardened, and Cam had to hold me back.

“Don't touch her!”
Hayes yelled, pulling Autumn back against his chest. Thank the Lord he was there. The rest of us surrounded them and glared at my parents in warning.

“Ella, grab my board, please?” Autumn whispered. I nodded, and walked slowly toward her board, which I could see was on one side of the garage.

“Wait, E-Ella?” Dad slurred. I heard chair legs slide on the hard concrete and the sound of footsteps stumbling toward me. I didn't dare turn around. He grabbed my arm tightly and made me turn to look at him.

I heard someone run over and say, “Don't touch her. Take your hand off of her now, or you're dead,” Cameron said through gritted teeth. You could see the anger on his face. He pulled me behind him, and I gripped onto his T-shirt.

“Don't tell me what to do. That's my daughter!”
my dad screamed.

“I am so ashamed to be your child. I swear, if either one of you lays a finger on my little sister, ever again, you're getting a piece of me. Got it? Don't get near her, don't get near me, and don't get near my friends,” I spat at my mom and dad. “Let's go, guys. We are surely not welcome here.”

I heard Hayes and Autumn run off, and Nash came over to where Cam and I were. He pulled me back while Cam pushed my dad back toward the other side of the garage.

“Touch them one more time, and y'all are dead. Got it?” Cam's face was hard. Nash grabbed Autumn's board while Cam grabbed my hand, and we all walked out.

“Would it be too much to say that I wanted to beat your parents up?” Bailey asked, trying to lighten the mood. She was so good at doing that.

“No, and I'd help you.” I smiled at her. She smiled back, and we walked over to the cars.

And right then, it was all too much, and I started to cry. I put my hands over my face and let the tears stream. Cam pulled me into his chest and started shushing me.

“Shh, Ella, it's okay. Shh, it'll all be all right,” he soothed, kissing the top of my head.

He let go, and I felt two little arms wrap around me. I knew it was Autumn, and I just hugged her.

“Ellie, I'm okay. Just a little bruise, no big deal. See, look, big happy smiles!” Autumn said, wiping my tears. I laughed and hugged her tight.

“I wish they were different,” I whispered sadly.

“Me, too, sissy. Me, too,” Autumn whispered back.

I love when she calls me sissy.

“All right, brotato chips, who's ready to go to the beach?” Aut yelled.

“Are you sure you still want to go?” Gabby asked. She knew what had happened because Bailey and Nash had told the others.

“Positive. They're not ruining my day. And besides, I
need
to hit some waves,” Autumn said, walking over to Hayes. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his side. They were the cutest couple ever!

“All right, let's go!” we all called.

I hopped into the car with the others, waiting for Autumn to finish putting up her board. When she was done, we were off!

“Off to the beeeeach!”
Nash yelled from the back. I looked back and saw him holding his phone up. He was doing a Vine.

“Say hi, everyone.” I looked back and did a funny face. He smiled and posted it.

I liked and re-Vined it, then started to look at the comments. Some were nice, but some were mean. I put my phone down then, and looked out the window, thinking and watching the beautiful North Carolina mountains roll by.

Beach, here we come!

Autumn

I woke up
to someone shaking me. Opening my eyes, I stretched my arms over my head and yawned.

“Where are we?” I asked groggily.

“C'mon, Autumn! We're at the beach, and I want you to build a sandcastle with me!”

I knew that voice anywhere: Skylynn.

I grabbed her and sat her on my lap while I tickled her. Her little laughs echoed throughout the car.

“All right, munchkin, let's go build a sandcastle.” We slid out of the car, and I put my sunglasses on. Sky put hers on, too, since it was really sunny. As I took her hand and we started across the sand, I decided I'd surf later—I mean, who could say no to Sky?

“Where did everybody go?” I asked the four-year-old next to me.

“They asked me to wake you up while they set up the stuff,” she said, pointing down the beach at the others.

“Oh, okay. Now the most important question: Where do you want to build your sandcastle?” I asked her while we walked over to the group.

“
Our
sandcastle, and let's build it by the umbrella,” she said.

“All righty. Anything for my little princess.” I tapped her nose.

She giggled and sat down on the sand. I took off my shorts and sat next to her. Grabbing all the stuff we needed to make a sandcastle, we started building. We got halfway done when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

One
new text message from Hayes Is a Hottie.

(Yes, he put himself in my contact list under Hayes Is a Hottie.)

I opened the message, and it was a picture of Sky and me building our sandcastle. It was really cute. We were both smiling and working on the sandcastle, not looking at the camera. I smiled and saved it.

We went back to building the sandcastle, and an hour later it was finished. It looked awesome for the work of a thirteen-year-old and a four-year-old.

“Hayes, come here!” I yelled.

He looked up from his phone and started walking toward us.

“Will you take a picture of us with our sandcastle, Hayesie?” Sky asked him. I smiled at her, then looked over at him.

“Sure. Only for my two favorite girls in the world,” he said, and I handed him my phone.

I bent down behind the sandcastle and Skylynn stood in front of me, my hands on her waist. We smiled, and Hayes snapped the picture.

“All right, Sky, can I borrow Autumn from you now?” Hayes asked.

“Nooooo, Hayes, can I please stay with y'all?” she whined, giving him a pouty face.

“But—”

“Hayes! Autumn! Can I please stay with you?” She looked over to me, and I think I melted.

“Aww, sure, Sky! C'mon, Hayes, just for a little bit?” Skylynn and I both gave him pouty faces this time.

“Ugh. Fine! Only for a little bit, though,” Hayes groaned. Sky and I squealed, and Skylynn started jumping around clapping her hands.

I laughed. “All right. I'm gonna go get my bag from the car, and then we can have lots of fun.”

“Okay.”

“Fine. Be quick, though,” Hayes said, coming over and kissing my good cheek.

I started walking back to the car, when I saw a group of girls whispering and staring at my cheek.

“Isn't that Hayes Grier's girlfriend? How did she get that bruise on her face?” one of the girls whispered—very loudly, might I add.

I grabbed my bag from the car, slammed the car door, and looked at her.

“Excuse you, but that's none of your business, so can you stop making it so obvious that you're talking about me and just let me enjoy my beach day in peace? Thank you!” I said, really annoyed. They looked like snobby rich girls with fake friends.

“Ugh, whatever. Your parents probably did that to you because you're a worthless whore,” the fake blonde snapped at me.

I turned and walked away. I didn't let her get to me, though. She doesn't know my life. If she did, she couldn't handle half the pain I've gone through.

I walked back over to Hayes and Skylynn. I probably had a hard face, but I really didn't care. They were annoying and rude.

“Sweetheart, what's wrong?” Hayes asked worriedly.

“Those girls over there are what's wrong,” I said angrily.

“What happened?”

“They were talking about me and the bruise on my cheek,” I said, putting my hands over Sky's ears. “And one called me a worthless whore and said my parents probably did this to me.”

He pulled me into a hug. “Oh, baby, you're not worthless or a”—he looked down at Sky—“whore,” he whispered into my ear.

I smiled. “I know. I didn't let her get to me.”

“Good, 'cause you are beyond perfect. No one has any reason to hate on you,” he said sweetly.

I grabbed both of his cheeks and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around my waist. Hayes was the best boyfriend a girl could have. We kissed for about thirty seconds, until he pulled away.

“What was that for?” he asked. I smiled and giggled at him.

“What? I can't kiss my boyfriend?” I giggled more.

“No, silly, I love kissing you! But that was so unexpected,” he said, and blushed.

“It's because you're so sweet. I'm very lucky to have you, Hayes. I love you; I truly do,” I said sincerely, looking deeply into his eyes.

“No, I'm the lucky one. I love you, too, Autumn Nicole. Always.”

He kissed me again, but this time it was a small peck.

Then I felt a tap on my leg, and when I looked down, Sky was grinning up at me.

“Are y'all gonna be together forever?” she asked in her little four-year-old voice.

I laughed and pulled her between Hayes and me. He hoisted her up onto one hip and wrapped his other arm around me.

“We will be together forever, Sky. Always,” I answered, looking over at Hayes. He smiled, and I kissed his cheek.

“Good. I don't wanna lose my big sissy,” she said and hugged me.

“Aww, Sky, you would never lose me. If Hayes and I ever broke up, I would still see you every day and just ignore Hayes.” I winked at him.

“But we are never going to break up,” he said, pouting.

I laughed. “Never would I dare to break up with you. It was just an example, hon.”

“Good.” He kissed my forehead and the top of Skylynn's head.

“Can y'all lovebirds stop and come in the water?” Bailey yelled, her phone in the air.

“Yeah, if you send me the pictures!” Hayes yelled back.

“You got it, dude!” She looked down at her phone and began tapping the screen.

“First we gotta put sunscreen on you and Skylynn,” I said sternly.

“Fine!” they both huffed. I laughed and got out the lotion.

I lathered Sky in sunscreen and told her she could go play with Nash in the water while I put Hayes's sunscreen on. She nodded her head and ran to Nash. He picked her up and spun her around. Their relationship was so adorable.

“Your turn,” I said to Hayes with a grin.

He turned around, and I did his back and shoulders first. I then did his arms and face. Then it was time for his stomach . . . time to touch those abs!

I started to rub on the sunscreen. Was it wrong that I really liked rubbing sunscreen into his skin? I mean, he was just so freaking muscular! He made me want to pass out sometimes. Yes, I still got butterflies, was that wrong?

“Autumn, it's cold!” he whined.

“Hush up, I'm almost done. Do you want skin cancer?” I asked, just like a mom. I mean, I have to. Sometimes it seems as if I'm the most responsible person around, even though I'm the youngest! Except for Sky, of course.

“No,” he mumbled.

I laughed. “Okay, I'm done. Now let me put some on, along with some tanning oil. I'm pale as a ghost!” I started rubbing sunscreen onto my arms.

“Ugh!” he groaned, and leaned back on the towel we were sitting on.

When I got to my back, I paused. “Hayes, can you help me, please?” I asked.

“Sure.” He grabbed the sunscreen from my hand and started to rub it onto my back. I cringed and jerked away.

“Lord, that's cold!” I said.

“Now you know how I felt.” He laughed and kept rubbing the lotion for a moment. “Okay, you're done!”

“Thanks, babe.” I kissed his cheek and quickly sprayed on some tanning oil. “All right, let's go!” I stood and grabbed Hayes's hand, pulling him up.

We ran to the water, hand in hand. When we got to the edge, I felt someone pick me up, bridal-style. I looked up and saw Cam's brown eyes.

“Put me down now!” I yelled at him, and started to struggle in his grasp.

“If you say so,” and a second later I was submerged in cold water. I pushed my feet against the sandy bottom and came up.

I flipped my hair and looked at Cam with my angriest face.

“Cameron Alexander Dallas, you are dead!” I started to swim over to him. His face registered fear, and he started to swim away.

I caught up to him fairly quickly and tackled him. He came back up, and I jumped on his back.

“You're the worst,” I told him.

“You're the one who wanted me to let go!” he said, holding his hands up in surrender.

I pushed him under once more and heard everyone around us laughing. I laughed, too, and he surfaced.

“You are so lucky that my sunglasses didn't come off, or you would be a dead bish.”

I glared at him and swam over to Hayes. He grabbed my waist from behind and pulled me into him. We smiled at each other. I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the moment—until, as usual, the others had to ruin it.

“I got that one! I finally got one!” Carter yelled.

We looked over at him, annoyed, and he shrank down. “Umm, sorry?” he said nervously, scratching the back of his neck.

We laughed, and I told him to throw his phone to me so I could see the picture.

“No! You're a girl—you can't catch.”

I looked at him blankly.

“Really, Carter? She's on an all-star softball team. Autumn's not just a cheerleader, dumb butt.” Bailey rolled her eyes at him.

“Fine, I trust you.” He tossed his phone, and I caught it with ease.

I stuck my tongue out at him and looked at the picture. I'm just gonna say that it was one of the best they've ever taken. The sun shone on us perfectly, and he snapped it at the perfect time.

Hayes was kissing my cheek, and my eyes were closed, just enjoying the moment. “Holy God, Carter, this picture is awesome!”

“Thank you. I try . . . I try,” he said cockily.

“Don't get too ahead of yourself,” Gabby mumbled. We all laughed, and I sent the picture to Hayes and me.

“All right, let's have some fun!” I yelled.