"Brody?"

"yeah?"

"Why did you kiss me?" I asked, still staring at the wall.

He said nothing at first, but then too a deep breath in. "Let's not talk about this now, Autumn."

"Then why did that man rape me?"

"Because he was crazy and thought it would be fun." He replied/

"And why did the guy who killed my family drive when he was clearly drunk? Why didn't anybody stop him?" I asked sadly.

"Because most people are stupid."

"Is that why you kissed me? Because you were being stupid?" I turned my head and looked at him. I stared at him with tears starting to escape from my eyes, waiting for an answer.

He looked back at me, searching for an answer in his mind. Then he spoke with his voice cracking a little, "Yeah. I was being stupid. I wasn't thinking and made a mistake. I'm sorry."

And with that said, he got up and walked out of the bedroom. So, kissing me was a mistake. Was me moving in here a mistake too? Was he being stupid when he signed those papers to give me home? I didn't know the answers. I wanted to but for now the answers remain a complete mystery. I decided that I couldn't stay here all day with Brody. Instead, I decided to go to school. It was only 6:30, so I had an hour to get ready for school. I quickly ran into my bedroom ,got my school uniform and swiftly ran out...I still didnt want to be in there. I ran into the bathroom and changed into my uniform, brushed my hair, and did my make up. I looked in the mirror and concluded that I looked great, like I did before my family's passing. I came out of the bathroom and found my book bag laying next to the couch. Brody was in the kitchen, cooking breakfast. I still had 30 minutes before school started, so I figured that would give me enough time to walked from here to there. I tried to make my way to the door quietly so Brody wouldn't notice, but failed. He peered out from the kitchen.

"Autumn? Where are you going?"

"School?" I said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I mean I did have my school uniform on.

"I think you should stay home. After what's happened and all." He suggested.

"No thanks. I want to get out of this apartment."

"So you decide on going to school? We could go someplace fun for the day. I;m not sure school will take your mind off things."

"I'm trying to take my mind off of you, Brody." I snapped at him and stomped out, slamming the door behind me. I walked down the street and stopped at a bagel shop. I ordered a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese and a coffee to go. I ate while walking. 20 minutes later I was at school. I made my way into the building and found my locker. Everyone was staring at me. I guess they heard about my family and about what happened last night.

I went to my first class...study hall. I asked my studyhall teacher if I could go to each of my teachers to get all the work I missed. She agreed. So I stopped by my English teacher first. He assigned an essay, some worksheets, summaries of Acts 1,2,3,and 4 of the Crucible, and an essay from John Proctor's point of view of the Salem Witch Trials. That's a lot of work to do.

My other teachers gave me less work. My math teacher gave me a worksheet on logic and told me to come after school if I didn't understand it. The other stuff he taught while I was out was stuff we learned last year. My Science teacher told me to work on pages 12, 14, 20, and 34 in the text book. All in all, I had a lot of work to do. It should keep me busy for the rest of the day, so maybe Brody won't bother me.

School seemed to go by fast. I kept my distance from my friends, since I really didn't feel like talking. They respected that since they knew what happened. They came to my family's funeral, but I didn't get the chance to talk to them. I haven't seen them in weeks. I know that seems like enough time to distance myself,but how can I get over everything that's happened in just 3 weeks? My friends understood. They sat with me at lunch, but none dared to speak a word. Maybe they were unsure of what to say, but even if they knew what to say they didn't say it.

The final bell of the day rang, ending school. I stopped by my locker to put back unnecessary books and to get the books I did need for homework. I slowly walked out the font doors, not wanting to get back home too soon...home...It's weird to call Brody's apartment home. I've only been there 3 weeks and it was a big change. Going from the house I've lived in ever since I was born, to going to a small apartment with someone I've only known for 3 weeks. But I guess I have no other choice.

As I was walking out the doors, I stared down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with anyone, but as soon as I stepped outside I looked up to see my surroundings. Yellow buses filled the parking lot with students getting on them. I never took the bus...I didn't like the long, bumpy ride to and from school. My mother or father would drive me or I would walk. I preferred walking. It was great exercise and it gave me time to clear my mind. It was really relaxing. I walked down the stairs, but stopped halfway down when a spotted a police car stop right in front of sidewalk where the stairs ended. The driver got out and walked to the bottom of the stairs. Brody, in a blue button down t-shirt and dress pants, looked up at me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him kind of rudely.

"I'm taking you someplace." He said with a smile.

"Where?"

"It's a surprise. Come on." He gestured me to continue walking down the cement stairs.

I thought for a minute. "I have 3 weeks of work to make up. Maybe some other time." I said rejecting his "Surprise".

His smile fade and he gave me the puppy dog look. "Pwetty Peaassseeee?? with sugar on top?".

I raised an eyebrow at him.

He rolled his eyes. "How can you say no when I just sounded like a little girl? You can do your work some other time. I'm sure your teachers won't mind you falling behind another day." He walked up the stairs until he was a step below me and took my hand and pulled me down with him. He opened the door to his police car and bowed like a chauffeur. I got in and he walked around and got in on the drivers side. He turned and looked at me. "So how was your day?" He said a little to perky.

"Fine. Now what's the surprise?" I asked getting to the point.

"You'll see." He said with a cocky smile. I was getting suspicious. He put the car in drive and we drove away from the school. We hit traffic on the thruway. "Ughhhhhh..I hate traffic!" He whined. He flipped a switch and the sirens turned on. Cars started moving out of the to let us pass.

I stared at him like he was crazy. "Are you allowed to do that?!" I exclaimed.

"Technically yes. Since I'm a cop, I can. But since I'm off duty, i shouldnt." He said concentrating on the road while weaving in and out of lanes at a fast speed.

"This surprise better be good if you're driving like a maniac to get there."

"Oh, it is."

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A/N So what do youguys think so far?! Good, bad, average? Comment, like, fan, add...etc. Thanks!