Page 45 of Forever After All

"Okay? And?" My brother, the man of few words, isn'tmaking me feel better about this situation. "Autumn said she's gone home for a funeral. What's the big fucking deal, man?"

"I like her, man. I really,reallylike her and I'm fucking worried about her. That's what the big deal is," I say in frustration.

"Carter? Hello?" My sister-in-law's voice takes over on the end of the phone.

"Autumn, you knew that Alice went back to England?" I ask.

"Yeah, I knew. She told me last night that she was going." Autumn's voice echoes a little down the phone, and I press my finger into my free ear, trying to help me hear her a little better. "I told Alice to let you know. I told her to speak to you."

"Well, she did let me know, she just told me," I start to get a little irate at Autumn—for reasons unknown. "Why didn't you go with her? You know why she's going, what is wrong with you?" And without really meaning to, I shout.

"Carter." Her voice becomes scarily calm and quiet. "I am only going to say this once. Don't you ever, and I meanever,presume to know the reasons why Alice went back to England by herself." I totally deserve the vitriol that follows. "I love you, but if you ever speak to me like that again, I don't care how big you are, how famous you are, or how rich you are, I will kick your ass." My sister-in-law is quite scary when she wants to be. "You listen to me, and you listen good. I have knownthat woman since I was a tiny kid. I know her better than anyone. You have known her for a miniscule amount of time in comparison, so don't you ever try to lecture me about what she needs.” There is a pause and the composure in how she speaks is honestly a little terrifying.

Sawyer's gravelly voice takes over the call, where Autumn finished. "Oh, and let's be real,bro—if you had told Alice how you really felt about her, then maybe she wouldn't be sitting on a plane, alone on an eight-hour flight, and maybe you wouldn't be getting angry with my wife. You'd be a wise man not to do that again." Then he hangs up the phone, leaving me in the silence of my office.

Carter, you asshole. You deserved that.I feel immediate guilt shouting at Autumn. What kind of man shouts at a woman? Oh yeah, apparently that’s me.

Without really thinking about it, I grab the closest bag I can find, stuff clothes, boxers, and socks inside, before grabbing my passport, and keys, and I lock up the apartment behind me and run down the stairs, into the parking garage.

Jumping in my truck, I put it in drive and speed out of the lot.

With no real idea what I am doing, I aim for my brother's house.

It's still a goddamn construction site, but Sawyer and Autumn's home is almost complete.

The outside looks finished, but there is still work to do inside. I jump out of the truck and hammer on the door.

Autumn pulls it open and looks at me with pure annoyance. "What are you doing here?" she asks flatly.

"I'm here to apologise," I reply faster than anticipated. "Autumn, I am so sorry. That was so fucking rude of me."

"You're right, it was rude, and you're lucky you weren't standing in front of her at the time, because I'd have put you through that new drywall," my brother answers from behind her and steps to his wife's side, glowering at me, as he tucks a pencil behind his ear. Sawyer wraps an arm around Autumn's shoulders and he pulls her to his side. She spreads her hand out across his chest and looks up at my brother, smiling.

"Apology accepted, Carter. We all say things we don't mean sometimes." Then she steps away from Sawyer and pulls me into a gentle hug. "Now it's great that you're here and all, but why are youreallyhere?" she asks, able to completely see through me.

"I need to know where I'm going." I rub a hand across my face and wave at the bag visible in the passenger seat through the window of my truck.

"Where you're going?" She tilts her head to the side and honestly looks a little confused for a moment before her eyes widen slightly. "Oh,fuckwhere you'regoing!" she exclaims. Without me needing to say it, she turns to my brother and says, "Ha, I was so fucking right. He loves her."

"Well, shit, my little brother is in love." And he bear hugs me before rubbing his knuckles across the top of my skull.

"Ow, get off me, asshole," I say in response, wrestling to get free. I’m a big guy—a brick wall, to be honest—but my brother is something else. He even makes me feel weak.

I confirm nothing and move on to find out the details. "How do I find her, Autumn? Tell me where I'm going."

Autumn picks up her phone and starts typing. I try to speak, and she holds a finger up to me, urging me to stop. My phone vibrates in my back pocket.

"I sent you the address. You're going to have to fly to Heathrow, then get the train to central Bristol. I can direct you from there, but really, you just need to get in a cab and ask them to take you. It's about an hour from there." Autumn nods at me.

"Thank you, sis. You're the best." I pull her into a giant hug, and she stumbles a little but laughs as she does. "Don't say a word to her, okay?" Urging my sister-in-law to keep this quiet.

"Not a word, I promise." She holds her hands up in front ofher.

I head back to my truck, pull out my phone, book the next available flight to London, and drive towards the airport. The dust from the gravel road swirls up around my truck as I drive away from the house.

I don't have a plan; I just know that I need to get to Alice.

I should have brought a jacket. England is cold, rainy, and grey. Oh, and did I mention cold?

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