Page 58 of A Sea of Unspoken Things

Ben appeared startled by the question, taking his hands from the counter and finding something to clean instead. He tugged a rag from the ties of his apron, wiping at the surface along the back wall. “Yeah. I know her.”

“I’m trying to get in touch with her, and I was wondering if you’ve heard from her recently?”

His wiping slowed, but he didn’t answer. Behind him, I could see that Sadie was watching us now, eyes moving between us.

I tried again. “My brother was—”

“I know.” Ben cut me off abruptly, and his gaze fixed on mine, unblinking. His tone had taken on an unexpected edge that I couldn’t pinpoint the origin of. Was it the mention of Johnny, Autumn, or both of them?

“I haven’t heard from Autumn since she left Six Rivers,” he said.

I studied his posture, his body language exuding that same rigidity I could hear in his voice. “Do you know how I can reach her?”

“No.”

He swept the rag over the counter again, but I leaned in closer.

“Are there any other friends in town that I could—”

“I told Johnny before. I haven’t spoken to her.”

“Johnny? When did he ask you about Autumn?”

He lowered his voice. “Look, if my mom hears me talking about this, she’s gonna freak out.”

My brow furrowed, trying to interpret what exactly that could mean. But when I opened my mouth again, Sadie was suddenly behind him.

“Honey, can you get that trash out for me? The bins should still have room.” She had one protective hand set on her son’s shoulder.

He answered with a nod, moving past her toward the kitchen.

“Thanks.” She watched him go before she turned back to me. “Sorry.” She smiled apologetically. “I couldn’t help but overhear you two talking about Autumn, and honestly, it’s a very sore subject.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” My eyes went to the swinging kitchen door, where Ben had disappeared from view. “I didn’t know.”

“Is there something I can help you with?” she asked, carefully drawing my attention back to her. There was a vigilance in her face now, too, carefully concealed beneath her sweet, maternal expression. All at once, I could see both versions of her—the girl I’d known twenty years ago and the one who existed now.

“I was just trying to get in touch with Autumn Fischer. I have a phone number but haven’t been able to reach her, and I thought she and Ben might still talk.”

“Oh, no. They haven’t spoken since Autumn left.” Sadie picked up the rag Ben left behind on the counter, folding it neatly. “What’s this about?”

I tried to think, stringing together bits of information that wouldn’t sound suspicious. “I just ran across some of her photographs in Johnny’s things—from when they worked together. At the school?” Now I sounded like I was trying to convince her or make excuses for Johnny. I attempted to change my tone. “I wanted to get them back to her.”

“Oh.” She laughed. “That’s sweet of you, but I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Autumn’s kind of all over the place. The girl’s hard to pin down.”

“What do you mean?”

She shrugged. “She and Ben dated, and you know how it works in small towns like this one. Sometimes young people get to thinking way too much about their future before they’re ready.”

I swallowed, knowing too well what that meant. That was me andMicah. Honestly, it was her and Johnny, too, though it had been one-sided. Sadie had thought for years that she and Johnny were inevitable. That eventually, he’d fall in love with her and they’d end up together. But it had never happened.

“I tried to temper the seriousness of the relationship, of course,” Sadie continued. “But Ben had it in his head that Autumn wasit,and when she broke it off and left, things didn’t…go well.”

I waited.

“She kind of dropped everything on him all at once. Hadn’t even told him she was leaving for school.”

She met my eyes pointedly, making sure I was drawing the same parallel she was. That was exactly what I’d done to Micah, wasn’t it?