Page 92 of Ms Perfectly Fine
“Sure. Give me five minutes, and I’ll call you right back.”
Aimee hung up, forcing Autumn to wait in silence. It was the longest five minutes of her life, and that was saying something, but if Aimee found the photo, it meant Heather was telling the truth. And if she was telling the truth about the photo, she might truly be innocent.
If she’s innocent, then whoever is sending me the roses is still out there.Autumn jumped when the phone buzzed beside her.
“Find it?” she asked before her friend could get a word in.
“No, sorry. There were no photos that I could see, and I checked the drawers as well. Is it important?” Aimee said.
Autumn sat on the piano bench, unsure of whether she was disappointed or relieved.
“Don’t worry about it. But while I have you, can I ask if Nina has said anything about my solo seat to you? I heard she was worried I wasn’t up to it.” She couldn’t ask Nina in case her friend didn’t want to admit she had been talking about her behind her back, even if it was out of concern.
“I think she’s just worried. A solo is a huge undertaking. She’s been the only big-name soloist in the showcase for the last five years; she’s worried about you and the theatre in case you have to drop out at the last minute, especially considering how the press reacted to your return,” Aimee told her.
Autumn chewed her lip, surprised that it was true.
“Please don’t take it to heart; it was all said out of care for you,” Aimee said when she didn’t respond. “I mean, you are headlining the posters. We sold out in minutes because of your return, and if we don’t pull it off, it could ruin the theatre.”
“You don’t need to explain. I understand exactly what my absence would mean. I will be there on Friday, you can be damn sure of that.” Autumn didn’t mean to sound so defensive; Aimee was only the messenger. However, she couldn’t help her frustration from spilling out.
“I have every faith in you. I know you wouldn’t agree if you weren’t able, and you deserve that seat. You’ve earned it,” Aimee said, ever the cheerleader.
Autumn tried not to dwell on the thought of others gossiping about her. It wasn’t like it hadn’t happened before, but having her friends’ doubt stung. “One last thing—don’t mention this conversation to anyone else?” She didn’t want to cause more drama.
“Sure thing,” Aimee said. “Sorry, but I have to go; we have a run-through in five.”
Autumn barely got the chance to say goodbye before she hung up. She wished she was there rather than at home, slowly losing her mind over whether Heather could be believed or not. She threw her phone against the couch, trying to work out her frustration. It didn’t matter how hard she worked; they would always doubt her.I’ve never given them any reason to think I would back out of the showcase. I’ve never been late to a rehearsal, nor skipped a day. Any time I missed practice was because Sasaki sent me home, but if it were up to me, I would have stayed.Rolling her neck, she tried not to let it get to her.
“Maybe she didn’t leave the photo and she just wants to distract me?” she asked herself.
Brinkley snuggled up to her legs, sensing her unease.
“What do you think? Did she leave me the photo or not?” She hunkered down face to face with Brinkley, who couldn’t answer but did eagerly accept ear scratches.
“Who might have left you a photo?” Elijah asked, coming out of the office wearing a hoodie Autumn hoped to one day steal.
She sat at the kitchen counter while he took one of her smoothies from the fridge. She didn’t care about him eating her food anymore; she now considered it theirs.
“When I was in the interview room with Heather, she mentioned she left a photo of the both of us with Mollie in the dressing room, but I had Aimee check and she couldn’t find anything. I don’t know why she would lie about something like that when admitting to leaving me anything might get her in more trouble.”
Elijah wiped the green stain from his lips and left without saying anything. Watching him disappear into his office, she swung around in the chair and got up to follow him, wondering what he was up to. He was kneeling by his desk.
“Either you’re sick of me, or you’re looking for something—and trust me, at this pointI’msick of me,” Autumn said, sitting on the couch.
He glanced over his shoulder at her and winked. “I could never be sick of you.” He pulled out a small packing box. “When I had the movers gather your belongings from this room, they accidentally left a box under my desk that was meant for storage. I thought it was one of mine. When I opened it, there was a photo of you on top, but it might not be the one you are looking for.”
“It might be. I keep all my old photos in the attic. It’s too hard to have them out, but I don’t know how it would have ended up in the house,” she said, staring at the box he placed on the table before her. “I guess Heather said she left it three weeks ago, which is around the time you moved in.”
Elijah didn’t rush her, merely waited until she was ready. Not wanting to be there all night, she swallowed her nerves and removed the lid.
There they were: Autumn, Mollie, and Lena, with toothy smiles and bright eyes. The sight of their younger selves took her breath away. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d looked at a photo of her younger self. Reaching for it, she almost stopped herself as though it could hurt her, but she had to know if there was a note on the back. Autumn gripped the corner and turned it over. There it was, just as Heather had said it would be.
Millbrook Cemetery Saturday 2:30 pm
Lena x
“Lena told the truth…about the photo, about Nina talking to Sasaki,” she whispered to Elijah, who was looking over her shoulder. “Why would she tell the truth about those things but not confess to the rest?”
