Chapter 4
600 Words
Autumn froze mid-step, turning to find Julianne already looking straight at her.
"Nothing much. If you really want an answer, I'd say you're awfully easy, using a rock as a wedding bed?"
Julianne flushed bright red with rage. She raised her hand and struck Autumn hard across the face.
The blow was full of force. The salt tang of the sea air mixed with the stinging burn on her skin, and Autumn's cheek swelled instantly.
"Sharp tongue. But don't you know what they say? The one who isn't loved is the one who doesn't belong. I respect you, but don't think you're still Mrs. McBride."
Autumn pressed a hand to her stinging face, her mind reeling.
When she recovered enough to lift her own hand in return, Julianne stumbled back on purpose, let herself fall, and slipped into the waves with a faint, triumphant smile.
"Cameron! Help!" Her cry cut sharp and thin, then was swallowed by the surf.
Cameron, who had hurried back at the noise, saw it all.
He sprinted forward and dove straight into the water without stopping to remove his clothes.
Autumn's hand hung frozen in midair. Before she could speak, Cameron waded back onto the sand, carrying Julianne in his arms.
"Autumn! You hate her so much you'd try to kill her?! I never knew you could be this cruel!"
His hair clung dark and wet to his forehead, and his eyes burned with a fury she had never seen before.
Autumn flinched, opening her mouth to explain. "I didn't push her! She did it on her own—"
Cameron didn't want to hear it. He shoved her hard aside.
She stumbled and fell onto the sand.
The ground was soft, but a sudden sharp pain shot through her foot. Shards of glass hidden in the sand had pierced her sole, staining the grains red.
Cameron frowned, about to tell someone to help her up, but then Julianne in his arms began to cough and convulse, spitting out seawater.
She glanced at Autumn, and tears spilled down her cheeks like broken beads.
"Cameron, it hurts so much... I don't know what I did to upset her. She tried to push me into the sea. I can't swim. If you hadn't come, I would have drowned. I was so scared..."
At her sobs, Cameron's expression softened completely into pure distress. He brushed sand from her face and soothed her gently.
"You're safe now. I'll take you straight to the hospital. You'll be fine."
Autumn watched them leave, followed by the rest of the group.
Just before Cameron carried her out of sight, Julianne looked back and stuck her tongue out.
Autumn let out a bitter laugh.
She forced herself to stand, limping in pain, and asked a staff member for antiseptic and bandages to clean the wound.
By then, the beach house was empty. The party had broken up in chaos.
She finished dressing her injury and walked to the road to hail a ride, only to remember how remote the Mist Coast was. Her ride app showed no cars available anywhere nearby.
Whether Cameron had arranged it or not, several vehicles passed her by. She waved and called out, but none stopped.
Finally, one slowed down, the window rolled down, and it was one of the guests Julianne had called a "friend."
"Sorry, no room. Figure it out yourself. We don't give rides to murderers."
As the car pulled away, Autumn realized this was exactly what Julianne wanted.
She looked down. Her shoes were gone somewhere.
Barefoot, she began to walk toward the city.
- Writer
