Part 1: Autumn
She awoke to a numb pain in her throat and ringing in her ears as she started to register the piercing scream escaping her mouth. She tried to get away from him, but the clasps that tied her to her bed were locking her in place. As her body thrashed around trying to find a way to escape the reality of her dreams, the nurses from the on-campus hospital barged in hoping to sedate her wretched and mentally tortured body. In her convulsing state, she barely registered the pinch of the needle and the sting of the sedative as it wove its way through her system. She felt herself go limp and drifted back into the one place she hated to be.
Autumn knew she was back in a dream but that “knowing” couldn’t keep her from her biggest terrors. She looked over and saw his haunting hazel eyes gazing at her from across the room.  She tried to look away, but it was as if she was paralyzed by his stare, and not even her eyes could move. His pupils enlarged in amusement as he watched her struggle to force any of her tiny limbs to move. Connor’s deep and raspy voice said her name and she cringed. He kept repeating it over and over again, chanting “Austasiamae” knowing that it would make her pale skin crawl. She despised that Connor knew her real name, as it was a privilege only few had. He moved closer to her, reached out and lightly stroked her frozen arm, sending unwanted shivers up her spine. Connor’s gaze broke and for a split second, Autumn felt free from him. Seeing as how she couldn’t move, she took in her surroundings and noted that they were alone back in his dorm room. The smell of pine wafted up to her nose and she felt a wave of calmness wash over her body. It reminded her of her childhood that was spent in the mountains every fall, and how she got her nickname. Connor slapped her and the sharp stinging reminded her where she was and why she was there. Fearing that he might hit her again, Autumn gave him her full attention and tried to focus on his well defined features. He was talking to her, but she didn’t hear him. The scar that moved across Connor’s forehead, through his eyebrow, and ended just above his cheek, hypnotized her; the flecks of purple in his deep hazel eyes transfixed her, and his impressive jaw line was all she could look at. He was attractive and mysterious and she knew that was what drew her to him that cold winter day they met at the library. Autumn tuned back into the mind-numbing words coming out of his oddly plump lips, and felt nauseous at the thought of his body pinning her down refusing to let her go; he broke any form of trust she could ever put in men again. She moved to turn away just as Connor grabbed her face. Autumn could only assume that it was his way of making sure she heard him when he whispered in her ear and told her that he would make her “his” again, and over and over until she understood what she was good for. He released his grasp on her face and ripped open her flannel, exposing Autumn to his hungry hazel eyes. As Conner reached forward to touch her frozen body, a tear ran down her pale, white cheek. He peeled off her ripped top and reached to unclasp her black-lace bra. Autumn bit back more tears as…
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Her eyes jolted open as her nightmare faded away into her subconscious. Her heart was racing and she was doing everything she could to not scream. Autumn had to keep herself away from him and the torture he put her through every time she went back to that wretched place in her mind. She did her best to take deep breaths, and as she did, the boy in her room woke up and looked at her like she was mad. Unlike Connor’s, the boys’ calming brown eyes put her at ease. Everything about Rylan mesmerized her; his perfectly ruffled hair, the way he was always smiling at her, his incredibly strong body that could never do any wrong. He stood by Autumn’s side through everything and she couldn’t fathom why as he had no idea as to why she was in the psych ward in the first place. She met Rylan on move in day of her freshman year at Kensington University, by tripping down the stairs and falling at his feet. They have been best friends ever since. He always had a swarm of girls around him and was on to a new girl every night, but Autumn was okay with that because they had decided early on to just stay friends. She came out of her thoughts and looked at Rylan as she thought he said something to her. Because she wasn’t entirely sure, Autumn stared at him until he spoke again. With a cool yet worried demeanor, Rylan asked how she was feeling and if she had another nightmare? She thought about it for a second, but all she could think to say was that she was fine now that she was out of her dreams. Speaking too much was always hard for Autumn as her vocal cords felt as if they were torn to pieces from all the screaming she did. His worried expression softened a little, but Autumn could tell that he wanted her to say more and to hopefully, eventually, tell him what was wrong with her to put her here in the middle of the semester. She promised herself that she would eventually tell Rylan what happened, but she was completely terrified that he wouldn’t believe her. So instead of talking, Autumn stared into his coffee brown eyes and let true peace take over for the first time in what felt like ages.
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