Love Heals All (6 page)

Hayes

Ella, the girl
who came by a few days ago, was walking over toward our group. Autumn's smile brightened as she approached. Ella wrapped her arms around Autumn tightly, gently kissing her forehead. Everyone smiled at the sight.

But Cameron was a different story.

He stood there, pale as a ghost, not moving. You could barely tell he was breathing. I then remembered that he hadn't been at the hospital when Ella first showed up.

“Hey, guys. I want you to meet her officially. This is my sister, Ella, or Ellie,” Autumn said with a huge smile. You could tell she was really happy. Everyone introduced themselves, knowing that we had barely gotten to speak to her for the short time she was here a few days ago.

“E-Ellie? I thought y-you left!” Cameron stuttered, stunned.

“I came back because I was concerned about Autumn, and I missed you a lot, Cam,” Ella said, looking at him intently.

Cameron

“E-Ellie? I thought
y-you left!” I stuttered, stunned. It's like a baseball bat just hit me square in the face.

I can't believe my Ella is back. I thought she was gone.

“I came back because I was concerned about Autumn, and I missed you a lot, Cam,” Ella said, looking directly into my eyes.

I ran up to her and pulled her into a tight hug. The next thing was unexpected because I never do this, but I started to cry. I cried only when Ella left and then when Autumn went into a coma.

“I'm so happy you're back. I can't live without you, Ella. I thought I'd lost you forever!” I bawled into her shoulder.

“It's okay, Cameron. I'm here now, and I will be till the end. I couldn't live without you, either,” she said also crying at this point.

“Okay, now that that's over, I want to introduce Ella to the girls and guys!” Autumn exclaimed, holding on to Hayes for dear life. You could tell she could barely stand.

I let go of Ella, but kept my arm around her waist. She put her head on my shoulder and I put my head on hers.

“I missed you, Ella-bug!”

“I missed you, too, Cam-Cam!” I kissed her cheek.

“Not to ruin this love fest, but can we go? My back hurts!” Autumn whined.

“We better go because everyone knows that Autumn never whines!” Tez exclaimed. Everyone started laughing while Hayes helped Autumn into her wheelchair and pushed her to the car.

We had two cars for everyone, so we wouldn't all be packed into one.

When we got home, we immediately went down to the basement to watch a movie. Apparently, since Autumn just got home, it was her choice. I knew exactly what she was going to choose:
The Breakfast Club
.

Autumn

While we were
driving home, I was in the middle row with Hayes, holding his hand, and talking to Ella. It was probably just me, but I think I saw Cameron's face drop as he looked back at Hayes and me. I wonder why.

Anyway, when we got home, we grabbed some candy, went straight down to the basement, and started to watch a movie.

Since I had just gotten home, I got to pick the movie, and I picked one of my many favorites:
The Breakfast Club
!

On the couch I had Ella on my left and Hayes on my right. Everyone else was scattered around the room, on the couch or on the floor.

“Hey, why don't we invite Alyssa over after this movie?” I asked everyone. They all nodded, but Ellie looked confused.

“Alyssa is a girl Shae and Bailey met in the airport. She's supposedly really sweet!” Cam whispered in her ear. She nodded and put her head back on his shoulder.

“Yeah, totally! I'll call her after the movie,” Bailey answered.

We all said okay and went back to watching the movie.

At the end of the movie, I was snuggled up into Hayes's side, with my head on his shoulder, half asleep. Ella and Cam were sprawled out on the couch asleep, which, may I add, was
so
adorable. Nash was half lying, half sitting with Shae on his side; Nash was awake, and Shae was asleep. Daniel and Bailey were lying on the couch about to pass out at any second, and the guys were cuddled up with each other on the floor in front of us sleeping.

“Autumn, you have to get a picture of the guys,” Bailey said groggily.

“Yeah, and one of Cameron and Ella, so we can show it on their wedding video,” Nash said, zombie-like.

I laughed and said, “Okay, Hayes, grab my phone, please!”

Hayes handed me my phone and I shot a photo of the guys and one of Cam and Ella. The photos were so cute!

“Can we just call Alyssa to come and swim tomorrow—I just want to sleep.” Hayes yawned.

“Yeah, I agree,” I said, snuggling my head into his neck again. He picked me up and arranged us in a more comfortable position while I just enjoyed his presence.

“Okay. Can you go swimming with your back, Aut?” Bailey asked.

“No, but I'll just tan or watch you guys. Y'all have some fun. I'm holding you guys back from so many fun things,” I said tiredly.

“Shut up—no, you're not. I'll just stay with you. I don't feel like swimming anyway!” Hayes said sternly.

“Whatever, let's talk about this tomorrow. I love you,” I told him.

“I love you more.”

“Not possible,” I said, already half asleep.

“Could you guys stop? Y'all are too cute for me to function!” Nash yelled.

“Shut up, we're trying to sleep! And thanks, Nashy-Boo,” I told him.

Hayes kissed my forehead, and I drifted off into a deep, dark sleep.

Autumn

I woke up
to cameras clicking and unfamiliar faces. That must be Alyssa and some other people I do not know about. I yawned and snuggled up against Hayes's chest.

“Ugh, why does everyone always take pictures of us?” Hayes groaned, and wrapped his arms even tighter around my waist.

“'Cause, y'all are the cutest couple
eva
!” Bailey said, jumping around. God, she's crazy.

“Can y'all shut up, I'm trying to sleep here,” I said. They probably couldn't hear it, though, because my face was stuffed into Hayes's chest.

“But we have people for you to meet!” Bailey said, pulling me out of Hayes's grasp and onto the ground. Well, thanks, Bailey, that didn't hurt at all.

“Goodness. Bailey, back, couch, now! BAILEY!” I screamed in pain. That stung.

“OMG, Autumn, I'm so sorry! I totally forgot about your back!” She scrambled me up to the couch like the madwoman she is.

“It's fine,” I breathed out, laying my head back on Hayes's chest.

I then realized that there were seven other people who I didn't know.

“Um, guys, not to be rude, but who are they?” I said awkwardly.

“Oh, yeah. Um, Autumn, this is my girlfriend, Gabby Elliot,” Alec said to me.

“Yeah, this is my girlfriend, Jordan Bird,” Tez said.

“This is my girlfriend, Abbie Summers,” Jonah said.

“This is my girlfriend, Abigail Jackson, or Abby,” Bart said.

“This is Alyssa James, my girlfriend. Not the Alyssa who Bailey and Shaelyn met at the airport,” Aaron said.

“This is Alyssa Dowell, or Aly,” Bailey said. I smiled and winked at her.

“And this is my girlfriend, Ashley Leonard,” Carter said, wrapping his arm around a girl whose face was caked with makeup. Did she stop at the Crayola store on the way here or something?

“Hi, guys, I'm Autumn! It's nice to meet y'all! Especially you, Aly!” I said, while getting up and shuffling the literal step over to Aly and giving her a hug.

“Come on, babe, you know you can't walk,” Hayes said, pulling me back down on the couch and wrapping his arm around me.

“I know y'all said they were cute, but not this cute!” Aly gushed.

All the other girls nodded in agreement, but Ashley just scoffed. What crawled up her butt and died this morning? Must be something big . . .

The girls and I all looked at one another—except for Ashley, of course—and gave one another weird looks. Bailey gave the look that said, We can talk about this later, and we all nodded slightly in understanding, so the guys and Ashley wouldn't see.

“Well, I'm hungry, so can we make some food or something? Ooh, Cammy-Boo, can you make me your special pancakes, please?” I pleaded.

I felt like having a home-cooked meal, and who wouldn't after spending three and a half weeks in the hospital?

“Sure thing, Autumn-Cakes!” Cameron said, then headed upstairs to the kitchen.

“GRACIAS!” I yelled up the stairs as Hayes helped me to my wheelchair.

“Babe, that was my ear!” he said, clutching the side of his head.

“Sorry, hon!” I said, and kissed his cheek.

“Now onward, my trusty steed!” I said to Bailey, who insisted on pushing me up the stairs because it would be “fun.”

Let's just say I'm happy Hayes is strong and was right by my side the entire time . . .

In the end, Nash ended up carrying me up the stairs while Hayes carried my wheelchair. God, I feel handicapped and
I hate it
.

I laid my head on Nash's chest and sighed.

“What's wrong, little Auts?” Nash asked worriedly. I guess that came out louder than I intended.

“I feel so handicapped, and I hate it. Y'all have to watch my every move, and you can't do anything like you're used to. I'm just holding you back,” I explained.

He nodded to Hayes, Bailey, Ella, and Cam to come upstairs, and we all went to his room and sat on his bed. I still had my face in Nash's chest, feeling like I was about to cry at any second. Why do I have all these emotions? I never cry, ever! I barely even cry when I break bones!

“What's wrong?” they asked in unison.

Nash explained to them what I had said, and they looked at me sympathetically. I looked Hayes in the eyes, and I don't know if it was just me, but I saw hurt. And that's when the tears started coming, one after another.

I just couldn't handle it anymore. I got up and limped to Nash's bathroom. It hurt, but what hurt more was knowing that I put my boyfriend in so much pain.

I closed and locked the door, then slid down slowly onto the floor with my back against the tub. I pulled my knees up to my chest, laid my head on them, and bawled.

I could hear the banging on the door, but it was faint. I had tunnel vision, and it was leading me right to a razor lying on the edge of the tub. I had never thought about using a razor to cut myself, just for shaving.

I picked up the razor and held it as I started to think. Maybe I was overthinking things, because I started shaking and I didn't know what to do.

Should I just cut myself and take away all the pain, or should I not and continue to live the miserable life I have at the moment with this stupid concussion and my stupid parents? The only things that were keeping me sane were the Grier family, my friends, my sister, and Hayes.

I can't do this. I won't do this. I have to be okay for Hayes, for Ella, for the guys and girls—well, not Ashley, because she's a witch. But for Elizabeth, Johnnie, Will, Chad, and for Sky. I can't do this.

I was crying uncontrollably, still holding the razor in my hand. I was thinking about life, about how my life would be if I didn't have deadbeat parents, if I didn't have the guys and girls, if I didn't have Cameron and Momma Dallas, if I didn't have Nash and his family, if I didn't have Hayes.

That's when . . .

The door broke down.

Autumn

“No
,
Autumn, what
are you doing?” Hayes yelled, running toward me.

He grabbed the razor out of my hands and threw it against the wall. I just dropped to the ground, curled into a ball, and cried waterfalls.

He picked me up and pulled me into his chest. I don't even know who was in the room; it felt like just Hayes and me at the moment.

“Why?” he asked, his voice cracking in the end. I could feel small teardrops landing on my hair.

I couldn't muster up the courage to talk, so I just sat there and kept bawling. “You don't have any reason to do this,” he whispered.

“YES, I DID!” I sobbed. “HOW COULD I PUT YOU GUYS THROUGH SO MUCH PAIN AND JUST COMPLAIN?! THAT'S ALL I DO—SIT AROUND AND COMPLAIN! I CAN'T DO ANYTHING LIKE I USED TO DO, AND Y'ALL CAN'T, EITHER!” I paused to take a breath. “I'M MAKING YOU GUYS DO SO MANY THINGS FOR ME AND PUTTING YOU THROUGH SO MUCH, AND I CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO REPAY YOU! I'M DONE WITH ALL OF THIS DUMB CRAP THAT THIS CONCUSSION IS PUTTING ME THROUGH! I KNOW IT'S ONLY BEEN A WEEK, BUT IT FEELS LIKE YEARS, AND I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I CAN'T LIVE LIKE THIS!” I screamed. And then I cried, “I just want to die. Leave me alone to die.”

I felt so weak. I could barely breathe from all the crying. I couldn't take it! I just wanted to die.

“Autumn, don't say that. We're doing these things because we love you.
I
love you. If you died, I wouldn't be able to live without you. I would just die with you or be alive and miserable without you! Would you want that? Sometimes I don't like doing these things, but then I remember I'm doing them for you, the person I love most in this world. And what do you mean, you complain all the time? We usually have to pull the complaints out of you because you're too stubborn to admit anything! Please don't do this again, I don't want to see you go through this. It hurts, sweetheart,” he said. I looked up at him, and he had tears running down his cheeks.

I, Autumn Nicole Brown, made Benjamin Hayes Grier, the kid who I've never seen cry, cry. Wow, I'm a bit impressed with myself. I wiped the tears off of his cheeks and gave him a long, passionate kiss.

“I love you, too, Hayes. And I won't do it again,” I said.

“Pinky promise?” he whispered.

I giggled. “Pinky promise.” We interlocked pinkies and I kissed his damp cheek.

“Autumn Nicole Brown, you better not scare me like that
ever
again,” Cameron said, running up to me, swooping me out of Hayes's arms, and giving me a giant hug.

“Okay, Cammy-Boo, I promise. I love you, bubby!”

“Love you, too, Autumn-Cakes.”

“Please don't do that, Auts! I've practically lost you once; I don't wanna lose you again,” Ella said in tears.

“Don't worry, Ellie, it won't happen,” I said as a tear ran down my cheek.

“MY
MUCHACHA
BETTER NOT DO IT AGAIN, OR BAIL'S GONNA CUT A BISH!” Bailey yelled. She ran up to me, then spun around with me in her arms.

“I promise,
muchacha
, it won't happen!” I laughed.

“I love you, little Auts,” Nash whispered, while crying and giving me a bone-crushing hug.

“I love you more, Nashy-poo,” I told him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

I limped over to Hayes, who was still on the floor, and sat down on his lap. I laid my head on his chest and closed my eyes. He kissed my forehead, and right then I heard a camera shutter.

“Really?” I mumbled.

“Yash.” Bailey smirked. I smirked back and gave her a wink.

You see,
yash
is a word Bailey and I made up. You probably don't want to know the things we've talked about . . . we are kind of crazy, and if you were a passerby and overheard our conversations, you would send us to a mental hospital immediately.

“Can we not tell anybody about this yet? I'm really not ready,” I asked everyone who was in the bathroom with us. It was really only Hayes, Cameron, Bailey, Nash, Ella, and me.

“Well, you see, they heard all the commotion and came upstairs to see what it was, and Bailey told them it was nothing, knowing you wouldn't want them to know right then. But they got really suspicious because they heard you crying and saw Hayes was crying, so yeah, we're not going to be able to keep it a secret for that long,” Nash said, scratching the back of his neck.

“Why were you crying?” I looked up at Hayes.

“I told you I'd die without you,” he said in all seriousness. Then he kissed me.

It wasn't long, but it wasn't short, either. It wasn't passionate, but it wasn't just a peck. It was the perfect kiss to make me feel wanted and safe. Right then and there, I knew he wanted me here.

In the Kitchen

We came down
talking and laughing, acting like nothing was going on, when Mrs. Cake Face decided to come in and speak up in her fake voice.

“Where were you guys?” she asked, her tone snobby.

“That's none of your business,” Bailey sneered.

Ashley scoffed and flipped her fake blond extensions, then walked off in her six-inch heels, shorts that were two sizes too small, and a shirt that probably came out of the baby section of a store. Lord have mercy, where did Carter meet this chick?

I guess Carter was in the bathroom or something, so I decided to speak up.

“Where the Popsicles did this slut come from?” I asked everyone in the kitchen.

“Language, missy.” Bart winked at me. I stuck my tongue out at him and listened to the others' responses.

“I don't know, but what I do know is that she's up to something no good,” Alec said.

“That dog needs to stay away from you girls. If she says anything, tell us,” Jonah said, wrapping a protective arm around Abbie.

“Yeah!” chorused all the other guys, even Hayes.

“And what would you do, Hayes?” I asked playfully.

“Stick up for my girlfriend, duhh,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I smiled at him, and he smiled back and kissed my cheek.

“Why can't she be like the rest of y'all?” Nash asked. We all laughed while the other guys nodded their heads in agreement.

“'Cause she's trash with no cause,” Bailey mumbled under her breath just as she and Carter walked back in. We all couldn't hold it in and started laughing uncontrollably.

“What's so funny, guys?” Carter asked. I gave everyone a warning look.

“Nothing, Carter, just an old Vine of Nash's that Shaelyn brought up,” I said sweetly, as if nothing was wrong.

Shaelyn glared at me, and I smiled at her. I picked her and Nash only 'cause she knew, like, every single one of Nash's Vines.

“And which one would that be?” Ashley asked in her stuck-up voice.

When did the witch pop in?

“Well, it's the one where he goes up the stairs really weird, like you did when you were little,” Shae said nervously.

“And I said that I still do that, 'cause I do,” I said, and everyone started laughing while Ashley stood there with a confused look on her face.

“I don't know what you guys are talking about.” She rolled her eyes.

“No surprise there,” I mumbled.

She gave me a dirty look, and I just glared at her.

“Okay, I'm hungry, where's the food?” I asked.

“Um, how about we go out to eat. I didn't really get to make any pancakes,” Cameron said uneasily.

“Okay, that's good with me. Let's go to IHOP!” I rolled to the front door, hoping no one would start asking questions about what had happened upstairs. I really didn't want them all to know about it yet.

“No wonder you're so fat—you eat like a pig, probably 'cause you are a pig,” I heard someone whisper behind me, and guess who it was: Ashley.

I just stayed quiet and put my head down. Was I really fat? I mean, I've been doing cheerleading for eight years and have been a flyer the entire time, but was I really fat?

“I swear, once you get out of that wheelchair, you will get the worst of me,” she seethed.

She then walked away, just as everyone reached the front door.

“Wait! I need to change! Ella, can you help me pick out my outfit, and Cam, can you take me upstairs?” I asked.

“Sure, little sis!” Ellie said.

“Anything for you, Auts!” They walked toward my wheelchair and Cameron picked me up and carried me up the stairs. Once we got to Hayes's room, he sat me down on the bed and walked out while Ella went to pick out an outfit for me.

“How about this? Even though it's summer, it's gonna be cold and rainy all day.”

She held up a black-and-white sweater, hot-pink leggings, a pink beanie with a pom-pom at the end, and black Ray-Bans.

“I love it! Oh, and hand me my black high-top Chucks, please!” I said.

“Kay.” She threw them to me, and I put them on.

“Gracias!”

“No problem! Now let's go. Cameron!”

“I'm coming, I'm coming! Gosh, who knew you could be as loud as you used to be?” he said, smiling at her. She smiled back and blushed.

“Come on, lovebirds, I'm hungry!” I yelled. They both blushed, and Cam picked me up.

“Just ask her out already! We all know she likes you!” I whispered into his ear.

“Soon,” he said. Ugh, he's so hardheaded! I think I've hung out with him for so long that I got my hardheadedness from him!

At the Beloved IHOP

When we got
to IHOP, I said I needed to go to the bathroom. I wheeled myself over to the bathroom, did my business, and when I came out, Ashley was in front of the stall with a smirk on her face.

“Can you please move? I need to wash my hands,” I asked in the nicest way possible.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Stop acting so nice and innocent! I know who you really are—you're just trying to get Hayes and his fame, aren't you? I know your game, because I'm playing the same one with Carter. But if I hear you tell anybody that, you're dead meat, you hear me?”

“Excuse me, but I didn't know about Nash and Hayes being Vine famous when I met them. I fell in love with the Hayes who's
not
famous! And for your information, I've known Cameron and his family my entire life, so why don't you back off! You don't know anything about me, just like I don't know anything about you, except for the fact that you're a coldhearted tramp who's just looking for fame from one of the nicest guys I've ever met!” I said, and I was enraged.

The next thing was kind of expected. She slapped me,
hard
! “And there's
way
more where that came from! You better watch your back, little one, or you're actually going to be dead this time,” she said.

“W-wait. How do you know about that?” I asked in shock. A tear slipped down my face, and I immediately wiped it away.

“I saw and heard the entire thing. And if you tell
any
of them, your little secret will be out,” she taunted then strutted out the door, acting like she had class, but she didn't have an ounce of class in that body of hers.

I rolled up to the sink to wash my hands and look at my face. There was a red handprint that was starting to form a bruise. Oh God, I can't go out like this!

I reached into my cross-body bag and pulled out Ella's makeup bag, which she'd asked me to carry for her. Luckily enough, we have the same skin tone, so I could use her concealer.

I dabbed some concealer onto my cheek. There was enough to cover it up, but not a whole lot, like Ashley's museum of crayons on her face.

I came out of the bathroom and wheeled my way over to the table.

“What would you like to drink, hon?” the waitress asked me.

“Unsweetened tea, please,” I answered.

“Why unsweetened, baby girl?” Jonah asked.

“I don't know. I've always drunk unsweetened tea. I guess it's because sweetened tea is just too sweet!” I said, and scrunched up my face.

“But you down pixie sticks all the time, Auts, and those are, like, pure sugar.” Carter laughed.

“I know, but that's different,” I mumbled. I still feel insecure about what Ashley had said to me earlier.

“What's wrong, sweetheart?” Hayes asked, intertwining our fingers.

“Nothing.” I smiled and kissed his cheek. I love it when he calls me sweetheart.

I gave all the girls a we-need-to-talk-later look. I need to tell them about Ashley, but we had to find a time when she wasn't there.

“Okay, Carter, I gotta go to work. I'll see you later, baby,” she said, in her awful, seductive tone.

“Okay,” Carter said, and moved to kiss her cheek, but she turned her head so his lips met hers, and they made out for, like, five minutes straight, before she finally left. Way to make someone vomit!

“Thank the Lord she's gone!” I whispered into Hayes's ear.