Everything Autumn owned fit nicely into two duffle bags. One bag contained the weapons she used when she had been a hunter. For the last five years they had remained in this duffel bag, only being taken out once every few months for her to inspect and clean. She had spent her entire life learning how to wield them, so it had felt weird to leave them behind when she left the Ranch. Weird and unnatural. It felt weird and unnatural now to leave them behind as well.
The other bag contained her other items: clothes, shoes and anything else she had acquired since she’d left the Ranch, which wasn’t a lot. It’d actually surprised her just how little stuff she had. Aside from a few little souvenirs and knick-knacks she’d gotten, everything else in the Winnebago belonged to Isaac. That wasn’t exactly a lot either, mostly just the essentials: plates and cutlery, blankets, pillows and other essentials. After a brief debate, she ultimately decided that she needed to take at least one blanket and a pillow with her. The pillow was on one duffle bag, the blanket folded and on top of the other.
She was ready.
Autumn sat at the tiny kitchen table, both bags on the floor next to her, and waited anxiously for Isaac to come back from work. He’d said the night before that he would be back before 5:00. It was only 4:00 now. Autumn oscillated between chewing her thumb nail and twisting the band around her ring finger as she stared at her phone, willing the time to go faster.
More than once she debated calling Castor to come get her now. At one point even she even picked her phone to dial his number but thought better of it at the last moment. She owed Isaac some kind of explanation. He had given up the last five years to be her guardian. As much as Autumn knew that was ever bit as much for himself as it was for her, she still owed him for staying by her side long after most people would have left. She just hoped that Isabel hadn’t given him a ride home. They didn’t need an audience for this.
The clock on her phone had just ticked over to 5:20 when she heard someone outside. Autumn peeked out the window and saw Isaac locking up the bike to the side of the Winnebago. At no point did either of them think anyone was going to steal the old heavy thing, but it was better to be safe than sorry. He then leaned against the old crumbling picnic table and lit a cigarette.
Autumn took a breath. She debated waiting for him to come inside, but that seemed like prolonging the inevitable. She wanted to rip this Band-Aid off as soon as possible.
She opened the door and peered out. Oil splattered the front of his mechanics coveralls with a few traces across his face and on his hands. He was sweating, she could see it glisten on his forehead. Fall was right around the corner, but it was still so hot outside. Watching him, dressed for work, knowing the day he’d put in, Autumn almost lost her nerve.
Almost.
“Isaac,” she called to him.
“Hey,” he nodded back, blowing out a lungful of smoke. “Sorry, I’m late. I got stuck working on a catalytic converter. I’ll get dinner started after I’ve showered, alright?”
“We need to talk.”
Isaac raised a brow. “About what?”
“Can you come inside?”
Isaac glanced at the barely-smoked cigarette between his fingers then at Autumn. Seeing the look on her face, he matched it with a worried one of his own. He snuffed the cigarette out on the table before depositing it into the tin can by the firepit and came inside.
In the close proximity of the Winnebago, Autumn could smell the sweat and oil on him. They were both so familiar that Autumn had stopped noticing them a long time ago. For some reason today they seemed so pungent, almost suffocating her with the reminder of his stupid promise.
Before she could start, Isaac saw the two duffle bags on floor along with the blanket and pillow. “What’s going on?” He asked, his gaze looking from them up to her. He asked the question, but Autumn could tell by the look in his eyes that he already knew the answer, but didn’t believe it.
“I’m moving out,” she said.
He laughed in disbelief. It was such a strange sound. “What?”
Autumn hated repeating herself. “I’m moving out,” she said again in the same flat tone. “I’ve got a job and Castor has offered me a place to stay –“
He cut her off. “Castor has…?? What are you talking about?”
Autumn sighed. “Do you remember what you said last week?” She asked. “About being the person who always supports us?”
“I didn’t mean—”
It was Autumn’s turn to cut him off. “Yes, you did,” she said. “And I meant what I said.”
For a brief moment, Autumn saw the look on Isaac’s face change. It looked like she had punched him straight in the gut. In a blink it was gone and replaced with an expression of anger. “I’m not a pet, Autumn!” He growled at her. “I made a promise--”
“Shut the fuck up, Isaac!” Autumn fired back. Her heart was racing so hard now. She could barely hear herself over the sound of it in her ears. “You keep using that stupid, fucking promise as an excuse to keep from living your own life. The truth is you can’t, can you?!”
He opened his mouth to answer, but Autumn plowed on right over him. She was so sick and tired of hearing about Isaac’s promise to Andrew and of Isaac hiding behind it. “Of course, you can’t!” She shouted. “You’re so used to serving someone that it’s all you fucking know! I don’t need you helping or serving me. You’re not helping me, Isaac! You’re holding me back.”
He was staring at her now. His expression was unreadable, but long ago, Autumn had learned to look at his eyes to truly know what it was he was thinking or feeling. What she saw was something she had seen all the time when he’d first arrived in Horseshoe all those years ago, but she’d never figured out what exactly it meant. She didn’t know what it meant now, either. But she didn’t like how it made her feel.
She took a breath and willed her voice to remain strong and not crack. “I need to figure things out,” she said. “Figure myself out and I can’t do that with you.”
The air in the Winnebago was stifling. Autumn picked up her duffle bags, the pillow and blanket. Tears stung her eyes as she stalked across the small patch of green that separated their lot from the lot next door. She listened for the sound of the Winnebago’s door open and for Isaac to call after her. There was a part of her that, deep down, hoped he would. He didn’t.
Autumn kept walking, her eyes straight ahead, until she came to where the main road around Ridgewood Estates started its loop. Only there did she pause long enough to pull out her phone and finally dialed Castor’s number. “Castor,” she said, her voice shaking badly. She hated the sound of it. “Castor, please come get me…”