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Post by Kiersten on Nov 7, 2023 23:03:56 GMT -6
“Come on, pick up the phone!” Autumn had called her parents, Natalie, and even her assistant, but no one was awake at three in the morning. She hit end on the phone call as she stared down at her failed attempt to fix the flat tire, debating on getting just walking the rest of the way, but she didn’t have a key to the place. She stupidly packed it in her boxes back in L.A., expecting to be here long before three in the morning. She groaned and leaned against her car, debating her next move, but the only solution was to walk home and hope she could get the attention of her parents or sisters, or she could just sleep for a few hours until everyone called her back.
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Post by Bri on Nov 7, 2023 23:45:28 GMT -6
Charlie was ready to go home and sleep after a long shift at the hospital. He loved his job, how it kept him busy and his mind off of his failed marriage but the long drives home always sucked, the time letting everything come rushing back. He was about to turn off onto a road to his apartment when flashing lights caught his eyes. He frowned a little and drove past the road he needed, pulling up behind the car and carefully getting out. "Hey," he called out, looking down at the spare tire and jack, "you need help?"
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Post by Kiersten on Nov 8, 2023 15:26:26 GMT -6
Just as Autumn was about to slip back into her car to try and get some shut eye, she watched a car pull up behind her. She had her phone ready to call 9-1-1 and even had her keys ready to strike if need be, but she was hoping this town hadn’t changed since she left. She heard someone ask her if she needed help, looking down at her failed attempt to change the tire. “Yes. I have forgotten what it takes to change a tire apparently.” She chuckled a little nervously, but felt like she didn’t have to for years while being an actress. Now she felt stupid for not remembering how and wondered if she could even ride a bike anymore either.
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Post by Bri on Nov 8, 2023 18:01:20 GMT -6
Charlie looked up as the car owner spoke, squinting a little in the dim light to see her. "I can help you out, if you want." He offered, not wanting to leave anyone stranded on the side of the rode. "This isn't the greatest time to be stuck out here, especially with it getting colder."
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Post by Kiersten on Nov 8, 2023 19:42:34 GMT -6
“Tell me about it,” Autumn chuckled again, thinking how lucky she was to drive all this way just to end up with a flat tire just minutes away from home. “I would love your help, I tried, and failed.” She said, noting the dropped tools and she held up her hand, which was wrapped in some handkerchief she was given and had just tossed into her backseat.
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Post by Bri on Nov 8, 2023 21:20:04 GMT -6
Charlie raised an eyebrow, taking a step closer to her but tried to mind himself, not wanting to make her nervous since he knew he could be rather intimidating. "Is your hand okay? I can take a look at it if you want. I'm a nurse, I promise I can help." He offered her a smile.
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Post by Kiersten on Nov 8, 2023 22:12:11 GMT -6
Autumn looked down at her hand and then back up to him, a light blush creeping across her face. “Oh its nothing really, just a small cut.” She lied, knowing it was probably bleeding through the handkerchief, but she didn’t want to inconvience him anymore than she had to. “Just a little cut from trying to change the tire. I honestly don’t know how or when it all went wrong.” That was also a lie, she considered the day her career fell was the day it all went wrong.
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Post by Bri on Nov 8, 2023 22:38:35 GMT -6
Charlie raised an eyebrow, "well even a small cut can get infected." He told her, "but it's up to you." He said, walking over to her car and looking at what she had done, or at least tried to do. He frowned a little and got down on the ground, turning on his phones flashlight to see everything better, "well, you at least got the jack in the right spot and the tire off and didn't lose any lug nuts so you got pretty far. "Your spare is in the trunk right?" He asked as he got back up, brushing his hands off on his pants. He would have looked for the spare himself but he didn't want to just start rooting around her car.
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Post by Kiersten on Nov 8, 2023 23:31:47 GMT -6
Autumn was glad he didn’t push it further, knowing she could just head to the hospital tomorrow, it was just a cut. That’s what she kept telling herself to make it feel better, even though she knew she’d probably need stitches. “Oh, yes hold on.” She had closed the trunk out of habit after grabbing the tools, thinking she’d grabbed the spare when she needed it. She popped the trunk which had two suitcases only inside, all she needed until she could have her things shipped. “Heres the spare.” She wasn’t going to tell him she hadn’t looked at it in years, she just hoped it would work.
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Post by Bri on Nov 8, 2023 23:49:32 GMT -6
Charlie followed her over to the trunk, finding the handle that he had to lift to reveal the tire underneath except when he opened the cover there wasn't a tire underneath. He frowned and looked over at Autumn, "uhm...that's not good...I can't do anything without a spare." He said, his frown turning into a slight grimace.
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Post by Kiersten on Nov 9, 2023 18:07:21 GMT -6
Autumn was busy looking at her hand as she walked back towards the trunk, stopping in her tracks when he said the spare was gone. She blinked a few times before quickly joining him to stare into an empty trunk. “What the fuck…” She had no idea where her spare tire went. She stared at the empty space where it was supposed to be before sighing, “Welp. Guess I’ll just…” She wasn’t sure what to do besides go back to sleeping in her car, but she hated the idea of saying it out loud.
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Post by Bri on Nov 9, 2023 19:38:14 GMT -6
Charlie grimaced, giving her an apologetic look. It was a really unfortunate moment and there wasn't much he could do to fix it, at least right now. "You'll what?" He asked, "sleep in your car?" He asked, having a sinking feeling that was her plan. "That wouldn't be that safe...I could give you ride to where you need to go?" He offered.
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Post by Kiersten on Nov 9, 2023 21:12:06 GMT -6
“Yeeees…. That was going to be the plan,” Autumn admitted, straightening her back a little, knowing the idea as bad, but she didn’t have another choice. “I'm headed to my friends house, she should be up in a few hours, and I don’t have… My key.” She admitted, rubbing the back of her neck nervously, her face turning a little pink.
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Post by Bri on Nov 9, 2023 22:26:58 GMT -6
Charlie frowned as he nodded, "okay, well, are you able to stay at a hotel?" He asked her, thinking there had to be at least one place around here with an empty room, he'd even pay for it if she couldn't. Well, depending on the cost, even with his job things were still kind of tough on a single income.
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Post by Kiersten on Nov 9, 2023 22:48:32 GMT -6
“Already called all the hotels. Booked up,” Autumn wasn’t sure why, something about the high school, she stopped listening after that and just moved on to call the next place. It was a small town so there weren’t that many places to stay. “ I just need to wait. I can do that.” She leaned against her car before blurting out quickly. “Thank you, for at least trying to help.” She gave him a small smile, expecting him to leave after that.
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Post by Bri on Nov 9, 2023 23:14:24 GMT -6
Charlie nodded, of course that's what was going on. He tried to think of a solution, looking over at her. "You're welcome...but I don't really feel right about just...leaving you here." He said, debating on staying here with her, at least then they could sit in his car and stay warm. He perked up a little when he remembered her hand. "Oh, let me look at your hand at least and clean it up."
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Post by Kiersten on Nov 10, 2023 18:08:13 GMT -6
Autumn looked down at her hand, “Oh, um.” She knew the second he saw the hand, he’d say she needed to head to the hospital, because the handkerchief was a reddish color instead of the cream color it was before. She sighed and held out her hand for him to look at it. “Its… Probably worse than I said before.” She admitted.
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Post by Bri on Nov 10, 2023 22:02:23 GMT -6
Charlie half smiled, "I'm already assuming it was." He told her, his voice kind. "One second." He headed to his car and opened up the trunk, taking out a first aid kit he had tucked into an organizer and brought it over to her, setting it on her car and opening it up. "If you could do me a favor and hold your phone so the flash light is on your hand?" He asked, gently taking her injured hand and unwrapping it.
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Post by Kiersten on Nov 10, 2023 23:05:28 GMT -6
Autumn felt her body actually relax as he spoke, realizing he was in the right profession if he could do this to anyone. Unlike her who tried and failed to be an actress. She worked to turn her phones flash on, the screen was a picture of the sun setting behind her house. She held out her injured hand, her phone held at an angle so he could see, as she watched him unwrap it carefully, wincing when he finally pulled it completely off, seeing just how bad it was. “The pain doesn’t match the wound.” She admitted, but felt her stomach drop a little at the sight of the blood and flesh. She knew immediately she’d have a scar there for the rest of her life, but at the moment she was trying not to pass out.
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Post by Bri on Nov 10, 2023 23:54:52 GMT -6
"Sometimes it doesn't," Charlie said as he looked at her hand then glanced at her, "do you want to sit down?" He asked, figured she could sit sideway with her legs out the door. He'd have to be crouched down but it would be better than her passing out and falling. He examined her hand, with a slight frown, it would be better if she went to the hospital and got stitched up but he could get her cleaned up and bandaged enough to last until then.
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Post by Kiersten on Nov 11, 2023 13:34:33 GMT -6
Autumn nodded her head when he suggested she sit, which she did in the driver seat of her car. She watched him examine her hand, waiting for the inevitable sting from cleaning it. “I’m, Autumn, by the way. Thanks again for helping.” She found it funny how back in L.A., people weren’t willing to go this far without some form of payment.
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Post by Bri on Nov 11, 2023 23:22:10 GMT -6
"Charlie," he said as he moved with her, moving his first aid kit closer to his reach, "and you're welcome." He looked up at her with a slight smile, "now this is gonna sting but I'll be my best to work fast and be thorough." He warned as he started to clean her hand, making sure noting stayed behind that didn't need to be there with a gentle touch. He didn't worry about getting anything on his scrubs as he worked and grabbed some gauze, pressing it to her hand after it was cleaned. He looked up at Autumn during this time and offered another smile, "guess after everythings taken care of you'll have to find a new spare."
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Post by Kiersten on Nov 12, 2023 11:32:31 GMT -6
Autumn breathed in through her nose and out her mouth, concentrating on that to keep herself from fainting, but smiled at his name. “Nice to meet you Charlie, even if it’s under these circumstances.” She chuckled softly and held her breath when he warned it would sting, having waited for it already. She hissed as he started cleaning, fighting the instinct to pull away from him, closing her eyes and waiting for it to be over with. “I still have no idea where it went.” She’d have to call her assistant to see if she knew here it had gone, but Lorelai wasn’t dumb, and wouldn’t have let her drive out here without it.
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Post by Bri on Nov 13, 2023 0:58:07 GMT -6
"It's nice to meet you too." He smiled back but tightened his hand on her wrist when he felt her pull away, "sorry, I know it stings." He told her, not letting go until he was wrapping her hand. When he was completely done he let go and cleaned off his hands. "Well figuring that out won't help much, you'll just have to find another one so you're ready if this happens again." He packed up his first aid kit and looked over at her. "Now...where do we, well you, go from here?" He asked, "I don't feel right about just...leaving you."
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Post by Kiersten on Nov 13, 2023 19:30:54 GMT -6
Autumn couldn’t help but return his smile, feeling like he was probably the most sought-after nurse at the hospital, she definitely didn’t want to let go of his hand. When he did though, she looked down and tested the waters, curling her fingers and finding it a little painful, but doable. “Unless you want to wait with me till my friend wakes up, I don’t know what else to do.” Besides drive back an hour to the next time for a hotel and she didn’t want to ask him to do that.
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Post by Bri on Nov 13, 2023 20:35:53 GMT -6
Charlie watched her hand, wanting to make sure she was able to still move it around to at least the minimum of its abilities. "Well...there's a diner in town, it's typically open pretty late, we could go there?" He offered, his only other thought being his apartment but she didn't want to make her nervous or uncomfortable. Even though he did help her he was still a stranger.
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Post by Kiersten on Nov 13, 2023 20:55:36 GMT -6
“Well, a cup of coffee would be nice… Even though I should go to bed.” Autumn chuckled and moved her fingers, though not too much, worried that if she did, she’d open her wound and it would start bleeding before it could heal. “My treat, for helping me.” she offered as she reached for her purse in the front seat and stood up, a little wobbly at first, but wasn’t going to faint on him. “Stood up too fast.” She joked, chuckling, though it was true.
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Post by Bri on Nov 13, 2023 21:37:20 GMT -6
Charlie stood up when she did but reached out when she swayed a little, waiting to take a step back until she was no longer wobbling. "I guess I can accept that." he chuckled a little. "Just take it easy, your body is probably still a little in shock." He warned her.
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Post by Kiersten on Nov 13, 2023 22:22:21 GMT -6
“Probably, a little bit of hashbrowns sounds nice,” Autumn figured something to eat would help her, along with the coffee, she hadn’t eaten much other than some protein bars and chips she’d picked up before heading out onto the road that morning. She let him lead her to the passenger side of his car and slid into the seat.
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Post by Bri on Nov 13, 2023 22:52:50 GMT -6
"Hashbrowns are the best after a rough day." He agreed, waiting for her to be fully in the car before closing her door for her then got in on the drivers side. He started up his car and pulled onto the road, holding back a yawn as he drove them into town. "This diner is pretty good, though I've only been there during day time." He joked as he pulled into the parking lot and got out, walking over and opening her door for her.
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