Page 10 of Aftershock

“No, I was actually referring to Jeffrey Dahmer. He was one insane fuck,” I shrugged, trying to hide the smile on my face.

Lexi let out a small laugh while shaking her head.

I could spend forever trying to make her smile.

“Okay, questions,” she stated. “So tell me, what is your name, random stranger, who I've been trapped in a bathroom with for fifteen minutes?”

Smiling, I answered, “Autumn Kennedy Blake.”

Autumn

“Autumn,” she hummed back.

“That’s a pretty name.”

Hearing her say my name almost made me believe it. Almost. I hated my name.

“Well, then you can have it,” I frowned.

“You don’t like your name?”

“Autumn symbolizes death.” Every tree, every leaf, every flower would shrivel up and die the moment spring turned to fall.

“It doesn’t have to,” Lexi countered. “I always thought it symbolized rebirth.” She glanced at me hopefully, anticipating that I’d come to the same conclusion.

“Every bad thing that’s ever happened to me has been in autumn.”

“So you think a season is causing all your problems?” She cocked an eyebrow.

“Well, take today as an example.”

“What’s so bad about today?” Lexi questioned. “Besides the fact that it’s the day you got stuck in a bathroom after a surprise earthquake with a total stranger who’s possibly insane, according to the tabloids?”

It wasn’t necessarily the day itself that bothered me, but more so, what would happen on it. Eventually, I would have to attend my dad's funeral. This was just the first leg of the journey I would need to take to get there. Without warning, the floor rumbled, causing me to sway back and forth. Lexi grasped at the wall, only to be thrown on her side. The lights, once again, began to rattle as the sinks vibrated vigorously. I could almost feel the bile rise in my throat as if I were on a boat, steadily rocking back and forth.

“Another earthquake?” I asked through chattering teeth.

After another thirty seconds, the shaking stopped.

Pulling herself into a sitting position, Lexi sucked in a deep breath before responding. “Probably an aftershock.”

“Is autumn the usual season for earthquakes?” I asked, oblivious to how earthquakes worked.

“There is no usual season,” she explained. “They just, kind of, happen whenever they want to.”

“Oh?” I said, accidentally posing it as more of a question.

If she didn’t know that I hadn’t experienced an earthquake before, I think my dumb question just clued her in.

“Yeah, no blaming autumn on this one,” Lexi expelled a puff of air while flipping her hair out of her face.

“Ha-ha.” I let out a fake laugh.

“What’s so wrong with autumn anyway?”

A loud knock on the door interrupted our conversation and was followed by a man yelling, “Lexi, are you—”

“I’m fine!” Lexi cut him off while rolling her eyes. “Anyway,” she said, directing her attention back to me.

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