(Winter) I did as I was told. I parked the car. I rushed inside. I locked the doors. I kept the lights off. I sat at the side of the bed, waiting. The silence was horrible. Staring at the clock didn’t help at all. The minutes were going too slow. I had no idea how long I was supposed to wait for Tripp to come back, if he did come back. What if he was killed? What was I supposed to do then? I hugged my knees and fought back tears. It was hard to explain, but Tripp meant everything to me. Whatever circumstances brought us together didn’t matter. When he was near me, holding me, touching me, loving me, it gave me a reason to look forward to tomorrow. The hell of darkness had been lifted. Until now. I was stuck in a room, in darkness, waiting. Hiding. Hoping nobody came to get me. My mind went back in time, too. I never meant to get pregnant. I never expected to give up my child. It was the hardest decision I had to face and yet my decision didn’t matter. Either way I was going to lose Autumn.
