“Good. I was worried I would poison you,” he joked. Autumn let out a laugh and then took another bite.
“Can I have some?” Jasper asked as he sat down next to Jacob.
“Get your own,” Jacob told him, smacking him on the arm.
“Come on, man. I’m hungry,” Jasper complained.
“No. Get your own food. This is Autumn’s,” Jacob said firmly.
Autumn felt her cheeks heat again as Jasper looked over at her. “It smells good,” he commented. Autumn nodded and then took another bite. She didn’t reply.
She wasn’t sure what to say. She wasn’t used to being around so many people, and it was making her uncomfortable.
She could feel them watching her, and it made her shift uncomfortably. She glanced up at Jacob, who gave her a reassuring smile.
She finished eating her breakfast, and then Jacob took her plate from her.
“You cooked, so it’s only fair I clean up,” he told her. Jasper laughed.
“I like her,” he said. Autumn felt her cheeks heat even more, and she dropped her gaze. She didn’t say anything.
“I’m glad,” Jacob replied. Autumn glanced up in time to see him smirk at Jasper. She shook her head, a small smile playing at her lips.
She stood and then made her way out of the kitchen. She walked into the living room and sat down on the couch.
She took a deep breath and leaned her head back. She was still tired, but she didn’t want to go back to bed.
She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. She blocked out everything else. She just wanted to relax.
After a few moments, she felt someone sit down beside her. She opened her eyes and turned to look over at Jacob.
“What are you doing?” he asked her.
“I don’t know. Nothing, I guess. Just trying to relax, I suppose,” Autumn admitted.
Jacob gave her a small smile and then stood.
“I’ll be back,” he told her, and then he walked out of the living room. Autumn watched him go, wondering where he was headed. She didn’t have to wait long to find out.
Jacob came back into the room a few moments later with a bag of popcorn and two sodas.
“What’s this?” she asked as he handed her one of the sodas.
“A picnic,” he said as he sat back down beside her. He spread a blanket over the coffee table and then placed the bag of popcorn on top of it.
Autumn couldn’t help the smile that crossed her face.
“A picnic? Here?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Jacob smirked at her as he opened the bag of popcorn.
“Yes. Here,” he replied. He took a handful of popcorn and then ate it. Autumn couldn’t take her eyes off of him.
He looked so carefree, so relaxed. She wasn’t used to seeing him that way.
She reached out and took some popcorn. She ate it and then took a sip of her soda.
“This is nice,” she admitted after a few moments.
Jacob nodded. “It is. I’ve never had an inside picnic before,” he admitted.
“I’ve never had a picnic before at all,” Autumn told him.
Jacob looked over at her, a look of surprise on his face. “Really? Never?” he asked.
Autumn shook her head.
“Nope,” she replied.
“Well, we will have to have a real picnic sometime,” Jacob said.
Autumn smiled. “That would be nice,” she agreed.
The two fell into silence, eating their popcorn and drinking their soda.
Autumn leaned her head against the back of the couch and closed her eyes again.
She was happy. She hadn’t been happy in a long time. She had forgotten what it felt like.
She felt Jacob shift beside her, and she opened her eyes to look at him.
“What’s wrong?” she asked when she saw the look on his face.
“Nothing. I just… I’m glad you’re happy,” he told her. Autumn gave him a soft smile.
“I’m happy too,” she said. Jacob reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She closed her eyes at his touch.
“Autumn, I… I know things have been bad between us. But I’m going to change that, I promise. I’ll make it up to you,” he vowed. Autumn opened her eyes and looked at him.
“You don’t have to do that,” she said.
“I want to. I need to. You deserve better than what I have given you,” Jacob told her. Autumn felt tears spring to her eyes, and she quickly looked away.
“I’m not mad at you, Jacob. You don’t need to make anything up to me,” she whispered. She heard Jacob take a shaky breath.
“Yes, I do. I’ve treated you horribly, and I don’t blame you if you hate me,” he breathed out. Autumn whipped her head around to look at him again.
“I don’t hate you, Jacob. I could never hate you,” she promised.
Jacob reached out again and gently cupped her face in his hands.
“You should,” he whispered. He let go of her face and dropped his hands into his lap. Autumn leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him. She buried her face in his shoulder.
“I won’t give up on us, Autumn. I promise,” he told her.
“I don’t want you to,” she whispered, her voice muffled against his shoulder.
“Good, because I’m not going to. We’re going to get through this. You’ll see,” he vowed.
Autumn pulled away and gave him a small smile.
“I believe you,” she said softly. Jacob gave her a smile in return.
“Good,” he replied.