Chapter 184 Autumn’s POV

Chapter 184 Autumn’s POV
My apartment was so quiet, it almost felt like a sanctuary. For two days following my return from Jared's family estate and the intense therapy session in Dr. Margaret's office, I had dedicated myself to the slow, painful work of piecing my life back together. The one year promise with Jared hung in my mind like a soft golden future I was finally willing to heal for.

The rain tapping gently against my window no longer felt like a choking storm but a fresh start. Then suddenly, the ringing of my phone shattered the calmness. I stared at the clock, it was just three in the morning. I sat up in bed, my heart instantly leaping in my throat.

Who would call at this hour? I reached for the nightstand, my thumb brushing the glowing screen... Summer. A cold spike of anxiety pierced my chest, they weren't supposed to be calling me in the middle of the night. What could be the problem? "Summer?" I answered, my voice raspy with sleep. "Is everything okay? What time is it over there—"

"Autumn!"

She let out a high pitched, hysterical shriek that made me pull the phone away from my ear, she was hyperventilating, her words tumbling out in broken pieces laced with utter terror, "Summer, slowly down! I can't understand you," I sat up completely, throwing the duvet aside as my feet hit the cold floor, "what happened?! Are you hurt? What about your kids and Richard?"

"There was a shooting, Autumn!" Summer sobbed, the sound echoing through the line, followed by a muffled sound of background noise of distant sirens and hospital announcements. "Oh my gosh, there was so much blood! We were at dinner... having a quiet meal at the restaurant, and... and someone fired a gun through the window!"

The air in my lungs completely seized, "a shooting?! Summer, where are you?" I said, my heart beating hard against the ribs of my chest.

"We're at the hospital, I'm in the emergency room," she gasped out, fighting for breath, "Richard isn't hurt nor I, but... but Richard's best friend, Tyler... he took a bullet for his mother! He's currently in surgery, Autumn, they said the bullet hit his chest... and they said we should prepare for the worst."

My head spun dizzily as I dropped onto the edge of the bed, clutching the phone with both hands, "oh my God... Summer, that's terrible... but why... who would shoot at a restaurant?! A public space!"

"It wasn't meant for Tyler!" Summer cried out, her voice dropping into a terrified, trembling whisper that chilled my blood to the core, "it was meant for his mother. The shooter was aiming directly at her chest but Tyler threw himself in front of her right as the gun went off."

My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird, "his mother...? Are you talking about Richard's mother?"

"Yes! Catherine!" Summer wept bitterly, "Autumn, it's a nightmare... everything is literally falling apart! The police are here, Richard is completely disheveled, and Catherine... She broke down, confessed everything to us in the waiting room. The shooter wasn't a random mugger, it was a stalker who tracked her all the way from London."

The room seemed to tilt dangerously, my head banging so hard so I could breathe... Catherine... Catherine McAllister, the name hit my mind like a physical blow detonating a terrain bomb from a past I had spent years trying to run away from.

Whoever was stalking Catherine was definitely part of Richard's loyalists and if they were hunting down Catherine... a violent shower ran down my spine, the storm I thought was inside was roaring outside my door once again. "Autumn? Are you still there?!"

Summer's desperate voice snapped me back to reality, "I'm here," I whispered, my voice trembling so hard I could barely speak, "Summer listen to me. Stay inside the hospital, do not I mean do not leave Richard's side and do not go anywhere alone. Do you hear me?"

"I won't... I'm so scared, Autumn..."

"I know, sweetie. I know. I'm going to figure this out, just please stay safe," I hung up the phone, my breath coming in short panicked gasps. The quiet apartment that had felt like a safe haven suddenly felt like a fragile box waiting to be shattered.

I buried my face in my hands,tears of pyre terror leaking through my fingers. My thumb scrolled past my contacts until it stopped at a name that became similar with safety, strength and a shield against the darkness... Jared.

The line rang once... twice... "Autumn?" Jared's deep voice cut through the line heavy with immediate concern, as if he had been sleeping with the phone in his hand, "what's wrong? Are you okay?" As I heard his voice, something broke inside of me, "Jared... I'm scared," I choked out, my voice breaking.

There was a sudden, sharp movement on his end, the sound of sheets being thrown back and a rustle of fabric as he sat up instantly, "tell me what's happening... I'm coming."

"No, you don't have to drive up here," I wept, gripping the phone like a lifeline. Silence fell over the line for a tiny second,  my heavy were heavy and jagged, "I don't know what to say or how to tell you this but we made a pact—"

"Fuck that pact, protecting you isn't breaking that promise, Autumn. It's keeping you alive so you can fulfill it." I squeezed my eyes shut, fresh tears spilling over my cheeks, "lock your doors, I'm on my way," he said gently as he quickly ended the call.

As the call dropped, I walked towards the hallway to lock the deadbolts, the fear didn't completely disappear but the suffocating loneliness was gone. I wondered how Jared would react once he finally learnt of my dirty past, "I feel so miserable... when I finally think I'm out, another finds their way into my life."

I stared at the window, the rain drops on the window suddenly felt calming, I wasn't going to ever let my fear win again.