Page 16 of When Love Becomes A Need
“Fatima.”
“Well, I’m on my way to grab something to eat. Want to tag along?”
I stared at Autumn curiously, wondering why she was being so nice to me. We didn’t know each other, only spoke once, and besides a casual wave when we saw each other in passing, we didn’t interact.
Autumn laughed. “By the way you’re looking, I can tell you’re confused about why I’m over here. You just looked upset and you seem like a nice person. I don’t know anyone in the neighborhood, and we look around the same age, so I thought I’d be nice and speak,” she smiled.
Even though I was still in a shitty mood, I couldn’t lie and say Autumn’s energy didn’t rub off on me. I gave her a small smile and nodded.
“Let me take this in the house and grab my purse.”
“Cool, I’ll be in my car!” She turned and headed back to her house.
Getting out of the chair I was occupying, I closed my eyes, enjoying the small breeze that just went by. It was hot today and not a cloud was in sight. The sun was beaming, and you would think it would mean a good day, but for me, it was the total opposite.
Pushing my failure to the back of my mind, I went into my house to get my stuff.
____
“How long have you lived in the neighborhood?” Autumn asked me, picking up one of the wings on her plate.
I wiped my mouth before I answered. “For about three years. It’s a pretty good area, quiet, and everyone pretty much stays to themselves.” I shrugged and grabbed a fry. “What about you? What brings you here?”
Autumn nodded. “I was tired of living in an apartment. Not being able to be loud when I wanted, having to be mindful of my neighbors.”
I laughed. “That could be a pain in the ass.”
“Do you have a boyfriend? I never see a guy coming or going from your house.”
My eyes widened. Autumn wasn’t shy whatsoever. “Uhm, no. I don’t really do relationships.”
She smirked. “God, you’re one of those. You sound just like my brother.” She shook her head.
I cocked my head back. “One of what?”
“You got your heart broken and gave up on relationships.”
Quickly, I shook my head. “Never been in a relationship to get my heart broken. I just don’t do them.” I hoped Autumn let it go because I wasn’t trying to go into how relationships had been ruined for me since I was ten years old. How my scars ran deeper than just a random guy breaking my heart. How the first man that was supposed to show me what it meant to truly be loved dropped the ball tremendously. That was the last thing I wanted to think about on top of everything that happened today.
Autumn must have picked my uninterest as a sign not to go deeper because she let it go. “Mhm. Well, I’m a hopeless romantic.”
“You have a boyfriend?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m casually dating right now but nothing serious. Guys nowadays don’t want to settle down and start families. All they want to do is to bust a nut and move on,” she paused and rolled hereyes. “I don’t want that. I want to find someone that I can start my life with.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-four.”
“And you think you’re ready to settle down already?” I stared at her, shocked. Most girls our age still wanted to play the field. Hearing Autumn say she wanted to settle down already was rare.
She shrugged. “Yeah, I mean why not? Sleeping around with different people doesn’t appeal to me. It never has. Throughout high school, I was in a relationship with my high school sweetheart until college took us two separate ways.”
“Wow, really?”
She smiled and nodded. “Yep, I wanted to be loved and love someone else. That’s how it is with my parents, and I want the same thing.”
Suddenly, I felt envious of Autumn. She seemed to have a great example of love while I was damaged and never wanted to experience it. The way she talked you could see how the thought of being in love excited her. Her eyes sparkled and her face lit up talking about spending the rest of her life with one person. I grew queasy just thinking about the fact.
