Autumn in the City of Lights by Kirby Howell Read Free Book Online Page A

into his soup. “And at least only one of us is incapacitated in the hospital right now.”
    Connie burst into tears, and we all paused, staring at her. Daniel let the soup ladle fall back into the pot and pulled her under his arm.  She leaned into him, wiping her face to regain composure. Daniel murmured something to her, and she shook her head.
    “I’m fine, really.”  She picked up her spoon then set it back down again. “I’m just tired and not very hungry. I’m going to go to bed."
    She stood and kissed the top of Daniel’s head, then bent to kiss each of us in turn. Concerned, Grey began to speak, but she patted his shoulder.  “I just need some sleep; that’s all.”  She turned and started toward the master bedroom on the other end of the house, and called over her shoulder, “Rissi, don’t forget to brush your teeth tonight!”
    Everyone looked at Rissi, and she flushed hot pink and began tearing her bread into small pieces. “MA-rissa...” she muttered under her breath.
    “I didn’t mean to upset Connie,” Shad said. “I guess that sounded pretty callous.”  He paused and thought for a moment before continuing. “I’m just angry at the whole situation.”
    Daniel shook his head, helping himself to Connie’s bowl of stew. “We’re all angry. It wasn’t your fault, Shad.”
    I looked up at Grey, suddenly not feeling hungry myself. He’d been exchanging a look with Daniel, but noticed me looking up at him and quickly asked, “What are you thinking about?”
    “I miss The Water Tower, where the three of us used to live,” I said, looking at Rissi and remembering what it’d been like with just her, Ben, and me there. “When can we go back?”
    Daniel dunked his bread into his soup and said, “I’m not sure you’ll ever be able to, Autumn.”
    “What? Why?” This was news to me.
    “Now that we’re moving forward, or at least, were moving forward, with peace talks with The Front, it might leave that whole area off limits to us. But we don’t need the Westside. It’s safer here.”
    “This peace treaty is so asinine,” Shad said, glowering. “We came back to take the city and get rid of The Front, and now we’re treating them like welcomed neighbors. It’s like saying, ‘Let’s clean up an area that The Front hasn’t been able to completely ruin yet, and then invite them to come and piss all over it.’”
    Rissi’s eyes widened.
    “Shad,” I warned.
    He let his spoon fall into his bowl, splashing egg and soup onto the table. “It’s not my night to clean up, is it?”
    “No, tonight is Rissi and me,” I said, sighing.
    “Good. I’m going to bed.” His footsteps were slow and dejected going down the stairs to the basement.
    “Well, I guess dinner’s over,” Daniel said. He got to his feet, picked up a hunk of bread, and wrapped it in a napkin. “You’re a fine baker, Autumn. I’ll see if Connie wants any of this before she goes to sleep.”  Then he disappeared to join her.
    Grey kissed my forehead, and I whispered for him to meet me in my room later. He squeezed me tight, then waved to Rissi and left through the back door, crossing the dark lawn to the guesthouse.
    Rissi and I moved quietly around the kitchen, gathering up dishes, dumping vegetable remains in my compost heap in the backyard, and scrubbing the dishes and pots until the large kitchen was orderly again. By that time, it was after eleven, and the events from the last two days seemed like they’d happened a week ago.
    I sighed and stretched my sore back, then draped the damp towel over the edge of the kitchen sink to dry overnight. Rissi had been unnaturally quiet during the process, and I eyed her now. She eyed me back.
    “You worried about Ben?” I asked.
    She nodded.
    “Want to talk about it?”
    She shook her head, then sighed.
    “You sure? I don’t mind talking if you need to, Rissi.”
    “ MA -rissa,” she said quietly.
    “ MA -rissa,” I parroted.
    “I don’t want to talk