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Post by Kiersten on Apr 7, 2024 19:01:25 GMT -6
Weeks had passed and Autumn hadn’t found a house to buy yet. She was blaming the fact that none of the houses appealed to her, but she knew deep down the real reason was how she felt being with Charlie, even if all they did was hang out with each other. He was fun to talk to, easy to be around, didn’t demand so much from her like everyone in L.A. The past few weeks she had started working on her jewelry line, something she had loved doing when she was in high school. The new routine she had was open days that she scheduled with a few house showings, designing, but often she was just sitting on the couch watching T.V. She often stayed up late to wait for Charlie, since he was her only form of communication except for her assistant and realtor, and they talked while he had his dinner, or breakfast. Tonight, she had a headache from her mother’s last voicemail begging her to come back home to L.A. and had gone to bed early in hopes of relieving herself of it. She wasn’t sure what time it was, but she heard the faint beep of the fire alarm detector and found herself groaning as she rolled out of bed to replace the thing. The fire alarm was unfortunately on the part of the ceiling in the entryway that was way too high for her to reach, even with her standing on her tip toes on a chair, in only her PJs, her fingertips brushing against the thing.  |
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Post by Bri on Apr 7, 2024 21:38:22 GMT -6
Charlie sighed, rubbing his eyes as he pulled into the parking lot to the apartment complex. Though he was tired he couldn't stop himself from smiling a little as he remembered that Autumn would be there. He was finding himself really enjoying her company, it was nice to come home knowing that someone was there waiting for him and they could at least eat and watch a show together though of course he tried not to think about how one day it would all...stop. He shook that thought from his mind as he shifted his car into park and got out, grabbing his lunch box and heading up the stairs to the apartment. |
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 8, 2024 12:01:05 GMT -6
“Almost got it.” Autumn said to herself as her fingers brushed against the alarm again, knowing she could wait for Charlie, but didn’t want to make him work after getting off from a shift at the hospital. “Come on, can’t I just grow an inch!” She sighed, feeling her shirt ride up along the skin of her hips and stomach, glad Charli wasn’t home yet.
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Post by Bri on Apr 8, 2024 21:32:50 GMT -6
Charlie sighed as he opened the front door, taking a step inside of the apartment when he suddenly came face to face with a set of hips and all the skin in between. His eyes widened in surprise, snapping up to look at Autumn but he quickly tried to avoid from having them look up her shirt, his face turning a little red. "Uh...you okay up there?" He asked.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 9, 2024 18:03:40 GMT -6
Autumn was caught off guard, having not heard the door opening despite being right next to it. She screamed slightly and felt unbalanced on the chair, grabbing Charlie by the shoulders to steady herself, opening her mouth to reply when the alarm beeped its alarm that the battery was dead to inform him what she was probably doing, and mocking her height at the same time.
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Post by Bri on Apr 9, 2024 22:47:57 GMT -6
Charlie blinked in surprise, everything moving fast and not in the way he thought it would. Instantly he reached out, catching her in his arms and holding her close to steady her. He was about to ask her if she was okay when he heard the smoke alarm. He looked up at it then at her, raising an eyebrow. "You okay?"
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 10, 2024 16:04:26 GMT -6
Autumn felt the moment was like in a movie, they’d slow this part down, soft music playing in the background, really get the heartstrings tugged in the audience. Normally she had to force those feelings, go over the script a thousand times before getting anywhere near that feeling for the movies. She cleared her throat, not realizing her arms had instinctively wrapped around his neck, “I’m okay. Just feeling like the alarm is mocking me.” She chuckled lightly, only realizing how much their skin was touching when her fingers started twirling in the hair at the back of his neck.
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Post by Bri on Apr 10, 2024 23:06:08 GMT -6
Charlie looked back at her, his mind feeling a little fuzzy from the small space shared between them. The feeling of her fingers against the back of his neck made him stand a little straighter, coming to his senses. "Want me to take care of it?" He asked but didn't move to put her down just yet, not realizing that he could or should.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 11, 2024 19:14:22 GMT -6
Autumn opened her mouth to say yes, but she didn’t want him to put her down, though he really should. They were just roommates, though really, she was basically borrowing his spare bedroom until she found her own place. She felt her cheeks flush at the fact she didn’t want to leave his apartment either, and she cleared her throat to force herself to concentrate. “Yes, please. Or you’ll never get any sleep either.” She joked, laughing lightly.
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Post by Bri on Apr 11, 2024 22:30:01 GMT -6
Charlie's eyes roamed her face as she seemed to be piecing together her thoughts, unable to stop himself from smiling. "Well, I don't know about you but I need sleep." He joked and set her down then pulled himself up on the chair, easily reaching the smoke alarm. He popped out the old batteries then looked down at Autumn, holding out his hand, "you got the new ones?"
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 12, 2024 19:20:00 GMT -6
Autumn stood where he placed her on the floor, a shiver running down her spine, suddenly wishing she could mess that scene up again and again just to feel his hands around her. “Oh, um, Yeah, right here.” She shook her head as the images of calling cut to repeat the moment vanished and she grabbed the replacement batteries and held them up to him.
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Post by Bri on Apr 12, 2024 23:58:13 GMT -6
"Thank you." Charlie took the new batteries and handed her the old ones then popped them into the smoke alarm and put it back in place. He waited for a minute to ensure it wouldn't beep again before getting down, dusting his hands off on his pants. "There, now it won't be bothering us." He smiled as he picked up the chair, carrying it back over to the dining table and putting it back in its place.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 13, 2024 13:58:45 GMT -6
Autumn took the old batteries from him and looked back up to watch him put the fire alarm back. When it didn’t make a beep, she sighed with relief, though now that it was over, she realized she wasn’t as tired as she was before. “Thank you! Let me fix something for your heroic deed.” She partially joked, though she’d gotten better at cooking since staying here, she still ruined a lot of her meals. She walked into the kitchen and tossed the batteries away before looking around to figure out what to make him.
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Post by Bri on Apr 14, 2024 15:15:30 GMT -6
Charlie looked back at her and chuckled, "I don't feel that heroic, maybe I need a cape." He joked back with her, not opposed to her making him something to eat, that was also a nice part of the bargain. "That would be great actually, I think I'm going to shower really quick." He told her as he wandered down the hall towards his bedroom to get a change of clothes, ready to shower off the feeling of work.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 14, 2024 15:44:50 GMT -6
“Alright, should have it mostly ready when you get out.” Autumn pulled out a pan from the cabinet and found her way to the fridge. So far, she’d learned to make a great omelet and she hadn’t burned toast in forever. She couldn’t help herself as he wandered down the hall, her eyes watching him as he disappeared into his room. She had to stop herself, she didn’t want to find a house, and find herself wanting to stay here instead. She had to admit it might already be too late.
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Post by Bri on Apr 14, 2024 17:00:00 GMT -6
"Okay." Charlie called back to her before slipping into the bathroom and starting up the water. He took his hair out of its bun at the nape of his neck, shaking it out with a sigh as he felt the tension leave his skull and running his fingers through it before undressing and stepping under the water with a sigh. Once he was done he dressed in loose sweatpants and a souvenir t-shirt from Montana and headed back out to the kitchen, drying his hair with a towel.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 14, 2024 17:33:20 GMT -6
Once Autumn heard the water running, she got to work, making toast, a cheese and veggie omelet, and poured him a glass of OJ. It was all ready for him when he walked out several minutes later, set up at one of the spots at the breakfast bar. Autumn sipped at her coffee, having the need for one despite the fact that she should go back to bed soon.
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Post by Bri on Apr 14, 2024 18:21:31 GMT -6
Charlie walked over to where the food was, tilting his head as he looked at it all then looked at Autumn with a big smile. "Looks and smells good." He told her, running the towel over his damp hair one last time before walking back to the bathroom, tossing the towel into the hamper then returned to the kitchen to eat, his hair falling in an uncombed mess around his face.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 14, 2024 19:02:43 GMT -6
Autumn held her breath as he studied the food, knowing she had burned quite a few meals before she finally got a handle on what she was doing. “Thank you, I worked really hard on it,” though it was now easy for her to make, she knew it still wasn’t the same as working a full night shift. She watched him head back to the bedrooms before returning, her thoughts instantly going to images of running her hands through his hair, but she pushed it away quickly. “Dare I ask how your night went?” Some nights he wanted to talk about it, others she knew better than to ask.
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Post by Bri on Apr 14, 2024 21:38:10 GMT -6
Charlie sat down next to her, his smile softening, "I know, thank you for it." He said, really meaning it, if it wasn't for her he'd been eating out of a top ramen cup and a couple cookies out of the pack. "Tonight was good," he told her, picking up his fork and cutting himself a piece of the omelet, "most of the kids were having a good night." He told her, though there were a few that he kept a special eye on. He loved his job but at the same time it pulled at him to have to watch innocent children suffer with diseases that their little bodies struggled to handle.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 15, 2024 18:08:16 GMT -6
Autumn couldn’t stop her smile from growing when he took a seat next to her, she had to force herself to concentrate on sipping her coffee, “Glad it was a good night.” She couldn’t imagine working in the hospital, especially with sick children, her heart would just break. If she wasn’t trying to keep her identity a secret, she would go visit, but she didn’t want a bunch of cameras to find and follow her, disrupting their already disruptive lives.
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Post by Bri on Apr 15, 2024 22:42:55 GMT -6
"Me too." Charlie nodded, knowing that tomorrow could be a whole different story but he didn't want to think negatively, it would just drag him down deeper into a dark hole. "So," he said, wanting to change the subject, "what else were you up to besides trying to fix the smoke alarm?" He teased.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 16, 2024 19:26:09 GMT -6
“Hmmm, I was trying to sleep honestly,” Autumn thought about what she’d done that day. “Before that I was looking for a house.” She sipped her coffee not wanting to think about actually finding a place and leaving, but she couldn’t stay here, feeling like she was taking advantage of Charlie.
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Post by Bri on Apr 16, 2024 21:50:10 GMT -6
Charlie nodded, not wanting to dwell on the house thing, he didn't want to think about being alone again. "Huh, too bad the alarm got in your way," he said before taking another bite, "you gonna try to go back to sleep or did you give up?" He teased, reaching out and tapping the side of her mug with his fork.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 17, 2024 15:13:24 GMT -6
Autumn giggled lightly when he tapped the mug and shook her head, “At least, not immediately. Too wired now,” She figured she could actually search for a house, even though he hadn’t said anything about her needing to leave, she didn’t want to impose on him. “Maybe a little house hunting, maybe some work.” She didn’t think she could work on more designs at the moment though, her eyes would cross and she’d be stuck like that. She laughed softly at the thought, knowing her mom used to say how they’d get stuck like that if she kept doing it.
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Post by Bri on Apr 17, 2024 23:13:59 GMT -6
Charlie chuckled and ate a bit more of his food but looked at her when she mentioned house hunting and work. His brows furrowed slightly, "how about instead," he started, holding up his fork again, "you have fun and we watch a movie or something?" He offered, feeling like she spent a lot of time doing those two things and it wouldn't hurt to take a break...plus, it could delay her from having to go.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 18, 2024 21:13:42 GMT -6
Autumn held her breath for a second when he started suggesting something else. She wasn’t sure what she was afraid of, she didn’t think he’d kick her out right then and there, but it never left her mind that he might one day change his mind. She sucked in a short breath when he mentioned watching a movie, “Sure,” She said a little hesitantly, hoping he wouldn’t pick a movie she was in. “Did you have one in mind?” she asked, racking through her brain for a movie she could suggest if he didn’t, slightly panicking and blanking.
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Post by Bri on Apr 18, 2024 23:12:33 GMT -6
"Nope." Charlie grinned, "usually I play Netflix roulette," he told her, "I just press a bunch of buttons and scroll randomly and whatever it lands on I watch." He explained, figuring it made it more fun and less mind numbing if he held up the choice to fate.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 18, 2024 23:59:17 GMT -6
Autumn tried to swallow the lump in her throat, what if the roulette landed on one of hers. She didn’t know if Charlie knew who she was, but he treated her like she was just Autumn, and not some movie star. She sipped her coffee to stall, finding it a little easier to get the lump of fear down. Something had her wanting Charlie to know who she was, she wasn’t sure why, but she liked him a lot. “Alright. Is popcorn involved?” She asked with a small smile, still a little worried, but watching a movie with him sounded fun.
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Post by Bri on Apr 19, 2024 0:42:02 GMT -6
Charlie grinned, "of course, can't have a movie night without popcorn." He smiled back, oblivious to what she was worrying about, he wasn't much for modern movies or really paying attention to whoever was famous and who wasn't. He was more focused on the people he served at his work and numbing his brain to mindless television. He finished off his food and got up, "how about you take care of the movie and I do the popcorn?"
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