Page 6 of Aftershock

Is it getting hot in here? Oh no, I think I forgot how to breathe! How do I breathe? Breathe Autumn!

After a few seconds of mentally freaking out, I slowly exhaled while bringing my phone onto my lap. I noticed that my hands were shaking slightly as I willed them to cooperate so that I could text my mom. I clicked the green bubble at the bottom of my screen and pressed “Mom” as I began typing out a message.

Autumn: Hey, mom. I just wanted to let you know Im ok.

Mom: Why would you not be okay? Do you mean okay with coming to California for your dad’s funeral?

Oh shit, of course, she didn’t know about the earthquake. She was on the other side of the country.

Autumn: Sorry I forgot ur on the West Coast. There was an earthquake here but DON’T WORRY. Im ok. I was in the bathroom when it happened and I guess something fell outside the door so looks like im stuck here forever…

Autumn: JUST KIDDING!

Mom: WHAT? ARE YOU OKAY? I'M CALLING YOU NOW!

I guess she completely disregarded the part where I said I was okay. A loud sigh pulled me away from my thoughts as I looked at Lexi, who was now running her fingers through her hair. Her phone began buzzing as she looked up at me awkwardly, then stood and walked to the far corner of the room and answered with a “Hello?”

Not twenty seconds later, my phone began ringing loudly as I haphazardly tapped the screen so that it would stop making noise.

Heh. At least I changed my ringtone from one of Lexi’s songs to the default tone a little over a month ago. That would’ve been awkward.

“Hey, mom. What's new?” I chuckled, trying to make light of the situation as I turned my back to Lexi.

“What's new?” She repeated my words with far more volume than what I had. “That’s what I should be asking you! Are you okay? What happened?” She asked, completely ignoring my humor.

“Relax, Mom, I’m okay. I’m not hurt. We are just waiting for the maintenance people to come to get us out of here.”

“We?”

I glanced back at Lexi. She was still on her phone, talking, when she must've felt me staring at her. Our eyes met briefly before she looked away once again. I heard her whisper something along the lines of, “Of course, I'm okay. I've survived much worse.”

“Uh, yeah, there was another girl in here when the earthquake hit, so it's the two of us,” I said conveniently leaving out the part about who this other girl was.

“Oh, okay. That's good, I suppose. At least you're not alone,” she paused, then continued, “So, do you think you can make it here for your dad’s funeral?”

I frowned at that. Being in a room with Lexi Harlow almost made me forget that I was still on my way to catch a flight to my dad's funeral.

What’s the point in even saying goodbye to him?

He had his chance to end things the right way, but instead, he just left. Life was way too fucking short to spend it focusing on the things that brought you pain. What logical reason could I have had for wanting to go see my dead dad? I mean, it's not like he could explain himself or even apologize for that matter. As cruel as it may have sounded, he was dead, and there was no changing that or what happened in our past…so why bother trying?

“I hope not,” I mumbled without thinking twice.

“Autumn! Your dad may have made mistakes, but that doesn't warrant you missing his funeral!”

Lexi chose that moment to walk back over and sit in her previous spot. She shoved her phone in her pocket as she tried to avoid looking in my direction to give the illusion of privacy.

I ducked my head and turned even more to the side.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked slowly, the words seething from behind my teeth. My mom was always the forgiving type. She was the one who tried to make their relationship work even when it was clearly hopeless. It almost seemed like she was trying to delay the inevitable. For months, she tried to put the broken pieces of their marriage back together and failed miserably. In the end, it was my father who left. She wanted him to stay, and he wanted to leave. For that, he deserved no sympathy. My thoughts began to jumble in my head as my anger increased at the thought of what my father deserved. “A mistake is when you forget to put your milk in the fridge! A mistake is when you leave the water on while brushing your teeth! A mistake is when you accidentally lock your keys in the car!” Lowering my voice, I added, “You know what's not a mistake? Having multiple affairs with women half your age and making no apologies for the damage it caused. You don’t get up one day and accidentally forget to come home!” I could feel my anger boiling to the surface as I pushed the tears away, ignoring the pang in my heart as I spewed out more insults directed at my father. At that point, I was too far gone to register the magnitude of the words I was saying. “Just because you’re not happy in a relationship doesn't warrant you to betray your wife and child! It doesn’t warrant you to fuck up your life and everyone else’s at the same time! Not only did he destroy my life, but he also destroyed my image of a perfect marriage, so excuse me if I’m in no rush to come to a funeral for the man I hate!” I yelled, unsympathetically, while clenching the phone in my hand.

“Watch your fucking mouth, Autumn, or have you forgotten that you’re speaking to your mother? You are not missing the funeral, and that’s that. End of discussion!” She screamed into the phone, causing the sound to distort.

“Watch me,” I deadpanned as I hung up the phone, slamming it on the floor next to me.

The bathroom echoed with the sound of glass clinking against the hard, ceramic tile.

Eighteen years old was when you legally became an adult, meaning you got to make your own decisions. At twenty-one, you were granted the same privileges and no less. No one could take that freedom away from you. Not even your own mother.

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