Autumn Falls (22 page)

And then the two former friends look at each other and simultaneously realize what’s happening. Amalita wheels around and starts banging on the door.

“I’m gonna kill you, Autumn!”

“Oh, that’ll make her want to come out,” Taylor says sarcastically.

Amalita spins back. “Do you have a better idea?”

Taylor shrugs. She stands there, motionless for a minute, and then blurts out, “I’ve missed you, Ames.”

Amalita freezes. I’ve never seen her so still. Slowly she turns and looks Taylor in the eye. “Seriously?”

Taylor blushes and looks at her feet. “Well … yeah. Of course.”

“Of course?” Ames scoffs. “ ’Cause to me you’ve looked pretty happy with your new little
cuate
crew.”

“Stop,” Taylor says. “Don’t be like that. I can have other friends and still be your friend too.”

Ames raises an eyebrow and tries to stare her down, but this time Taylor looks her square in the eye and doesn’t budge. I wonder if they’re both too stubborn and my plan is doomed.

Then a smile plays at the corners of Amalita’s lips. “So did you know Autumn was doing this?”

“No clue,” Taylor admits.

“Pretty sneaky.”

“Totally. I’d even say it’s devious and presumptuous.”

“Oooh, that’s good,” Ames agrees. She turns toward the door and shouts, “You hear that, Autumn? Devious and presumptuous!” Then she looks back to Taylor. “Gimme some more SAT words, Tee. What else have you got?”

“Scelestic,”
she suggests. “It means ‘evil.’ ”

Amalita manages a small smile. “J.J. would kiss your feet if he heard that.”

“Jack’s more the foot guy.”

I smile on my side of the door. Then Amalita screams and grabs Taylor’s arm. I move from the peephole to the kitchen window and spot the limo pulling into the driveway. For a second I feel like an idiot. Kyler Leeds could be in that limo right now. Am I really going to stay in my kitchen?

A man—not Kyler Leeds—gets out the passenger-side door.

“Amalita and Taylor, I presume? I’m Donovan, Kyler
Leeds’s assistant. Are you ready to begin your Night of Dreams?”

Taylor can’t even speak. Amalita squeals as she forgets that she hates Taylor, clinging to her arm and jumping up and down.

Donovan opens the back door of the limo. I can’t see anything inside. Taylor and Amalita exchange a look, grinning at each other in a way that wipes out any doubt about my choice, then race for the door. As they pile in I hear a pair of earsplitting shrieks. I watch the limo drive away until I can’t see it anymore. Only then do I realize my phone is ringing. It’s J.J.

“Hey,” I say as I walk back up to my room with the phone to my ear.

“Got an interesting call from Taylor today,” he says. “She wanted to know if she could trust you.”

“You said absolutely not and that I’m an abomination to all that is trustworthy and good?”

“Something like that,” he says, laughing.

“They’re on their way to the Night of Dreams right now,” I tell him.

“And you’re on the phone with me. You clearly got the better end of the deal.”

I laugh out loud. “Clearly.”

“Interesting thing,” J.J. says. “There’s not a single anagram for
mensch
. If that’s what you are, that’s what you are, no matter how you look at it.”

“Taylor used the word
scelestic
,” I share.

“I need to play Scrabble immediately. Come over, I’ll call Jack.”

“Next time,” I promise. “There’s something I’ve got to do first.”

Luckily, Mom is impressed enough by my act of generosity that she’s willing to chauffeur. We drop Erick off at his new friend Anthony’s house; then she drops me off and promises she’ll come back whenever I text.

It’s dark, but the house next to Reenzie’s is well lit. I walk up the front path and ring the bell. After a moment I hear footsteps and take a deep breath to calm my pounding heart.

“Go home, Autumn.” It’s Sean.

Stupid peephole. I push myself close to the door. “Sean, wait! Please!”

I stay perfectly still, but I don’t hear any more footsteps. He’s still there.

“Just give me a minute, and then if you want to slam the door in my face it’s okay.”

Sean opens the door. Then he steps outside and pulls it shut behind him. He frowns. “You’re wearing a Peyton Manning jersey.”

“I am,” I say. The jersey belongs to Erick and is actually a little small on me, but it can’t be helped. “And this”—I nod to the thing I’m shifting from hand to hand—“is a football. At least, that’s what they tell me.”

No response. It’s like talking to a Buckingham Palace guard.

“I was wondering if you wanted to maybe throw the ball around,” I say, trying to stay nonchalant. “I hear you’re pretty good. Star quarterback and all.”

“Can’t,” he says. “Reenzie’s here. She was pretty upset, thought she’d be doing something else tonight. So I had her over.”

“Right. Sorry. Well, I’m not here to play football, obviously,” I begin. “I just … I wanted you to know that I really like the way you said you saw me. It’s who I want to be, and I don’t know that I would have seen it without you, so … thanks.”

I turn to walk away.

“Autumn, wait. I talked to Reenzie about the site,” he calls after me.

I spin around.

“I didn’t tell her what you found. I just pressed her on it. She didn’t admit anything, but I know her well enough.… I believe what you said.”

“Sorry,” I say. I know it has to hurt him. He always defended her.

“We all make mistakes. Sometimes pretty bad ones.”

He says it looking right into my eyes, and I’m not sure if he’s talking about Reenzie’s mistakes, mine, or his own.

“Bye, Sean.”

“Maybe next weekend,” he says when I’m halfway down his walk.

“What?”

“To throw the ball around. I’m around next weekend.”

It’s like the sun came out at night. I feel warm all over.

“You sure about that?” I ask. “ ’Cause I won’t take it easy on you.”

“I’d never want you to,” he says. “See you, Autumn.”

He closes the door and I smile as I text Mom to pick me up at the opening of the development. As I walk the blocks to meet her, my phone buzzes. Amalita has sent me a photo of her and Taylor, with Kyler Leeds wedged in between them. They all look ridiculously happy.

And then I get another text.

I press my phone to my heart as a little sunbeam of happiness shoots through me. At that exact moment I glance up and see someone familiar standing in the shadows on the lawn. It’s a man, and even though it’s dark, I can somehow tell that he’s smiling at me.

A car comes by and the headlights blind me for a second.
When I look back at the lawn, the man’s gone, but I know who I saw. And what I felt.

“Hey, Dad,” I whisper into the night. “Thanks for the Thing. I’ll try to use it to make you proud. I love you.”

I blow a kiss to the darkness, then keep on walking.

Thank you to everyone who made
Autumn Falls
happen:

Thor Bradwell, my friend and manager, for always having my back and supporting me, and for all the funny jokes and secrets we share. Adam Griffin and Ryan Bundra, for always believing in me and for making this dream possible. Brian Barwick, for being the homie and keeping me organized: your job is never done. Laura Ackermann and Alex Heller, for always encouraging me, having snacks available, and making sure the world knows me the way I really am. Howard Fishman, for your negotiating skills and professional advice. Matthew Elblonk, for the constant reminders when something is due, for putting in motion a great book deal, and for being my support.

My Disney Channel Family and Hollywood Records, for pushing me to do my best and helping me discover and develop talents that I never knew I had. Without you guys, none of this would have been possible, at least not at this
point. Chris Thompson, for being my dad figure. When others said NO, you said YES. Rob Lotterstein, for your snarky wit, which has rubbed off on me and come in handy many times.

Delacorte Press, for giving me this opportunity; I am ever so grateful. Wendy Loggia, Beverly Horowitz, and Dominique Cimina, for assisting me in making this the best book and experience I could ever have imagined, and for your impressive notes and pure excitement about the book. Elise Allen, my collaborator, my friend, for always being there, for having an incredible wealth of imagination and talent, and for making sure we’ve told a very warm and personal story. Maddie, you are adorable, and I enjoyed our breakfast together when you came with Elise and we started on this long journey. It’s a memory I will always hold close to my heart.

Thanks also to Tristan Klier, my high school sweetheart, for your hours of tutoring and for being my best friend and the inspiration for the young romance in the series. To Kailey, Olivia, Bella P., and Claudia, for being great girls and the best of besties any girl could ask for. To Stephan Muskus, for making me ramen noodles when I have reading, writing, or any other type of work to do. To Remy, Dani, and Kaili for being the greatest friends and siblings I ever could have dreamed of; for being more than family: you are my heart. To Louis V and Kingston, my loving pets and companions, for reminding me not to work so hard by either stealing my homework or sitting on
my computer and making me laugh. To my grandma and my dad, for being my guardian angels who are working in heaven to keep me safe and on the right path. I feel your presence any time I make a decision. You were both big inspirations in my book. To my mother, my best friend, my partner in crime, the peanut butter to my jelly, the one who holds our family together and inspires me every day to find the good in the world and make it even better.

Lastly, to all those with learning disabilities: I hope my journey inspires you to never give up on your dreams. You can achieve what you set your mind to. As my dad—and possibly Calvin Coolidge—used to say, “Persistence breaks resistance.”