Hi, everyone, I'm so so so so sorry for how long this took! I've had midterms and homework, and just college life in general. I know excuses aren't the best, but I just want you all to know I haven't forgotten about this story!

Also, this chapter would have been up a few days ago, had the document manager not hated me... I wrestled with it for three days before I figured out it didn't like uploading Word documents. Either way, it's here now!

Cyber pumpkin spice cookies to: Rusher Driver, Super girl, Turtle Lynn, Guest, and anybody else who has read and done anything else for this story.

Hesitantly, I peeked out my door, my stinging forearm pressed to my side. Upon seeing no bodies claiming the space of my immediate eyesight, I breathed out a sigh of relief. I quickly grabbed one of the towels folded neatly on the edge of the bed and snuck to the only bathroom in the house, thankful the walk there did not involve running into one of the four boys.

Once in the brightly-lit bathroom, I carefully closed the door. The rainbow shower curtain stared at me, and I nearly laughed at how ridiculous it looked. The entire décor looked like it was straight out of an early teen magazine.

I passed by the mirror and froze. My skin looked a little too pale and my eyes a little too sunken in. I gingerly lifted up my sleeve, hissing when the fabric hit the fresh wounds. The red stood out in stark contrast to the pure white of my skin. A sudden anger took over and I harshly pushed away from the sink and forcefully turned on the shower.

I stripped away my clothes and stepped into the warm tub, my emotions instantly washing away. Kendall's words tried to echo in my head, but I forced them down, and instead tried to focus on the task of washing my hair.

About five minutes in, a knock at the door sounded and my mom's voice called out "Autumn, honey, can I come in to get your dirty clothes? I'm going to run a load of laundry."

I allowed her, not thinking anything of it, and finished my shower quickly.

I stepped out, the fog swirling around me. I dried myself off with the towel and instantly froze. "Shit." I muttered. In my emotional haste, I had neglected to bring my pajamas with me. I tried to reason that it would be alright, and I would just wear my dirty clothes back to my room.

I searched around the tiny bathroom, frustration growing. "Where did they go? I wore them in here…" I growled. I got down on my hands and knees to search under the counter, and then a realization hit me. "My mom grabbed them," I groaned.

"It'll be ok. Nobody was around when you walked here, so you should be alright to walk back to James's room in just a towel." I thought. The towel was wrapped tightly around my body as I took a few careful steps toward the door. Voices could be heard from the other side and I wanted to scream. I took a deep breath and quietly cracked open my barrier to the rest of the apartment. Kendall, Katie, and Carlos were sitting on the couch watching something on the television, their attention diverted from the bathroom.

I took a silent step out, the cold air making me shiver. Before anybody could see me, I took off, gripping the towel and bounding forward on the balls of my feet.

As soon as I reached the hallway, I slowed to a walk, and looked back, my heart pounding. Out of nowhere, I collided with a large mass, sending me flying to the ground. My head snapped back around to find the horribly attractive James Diamond staring at me, his mouth agape. I looked down to avoid eye contact and froze with fear. There, completely on the ground, was my towel. I, dreadfully enough, was not covered by it.

I tried to move, but nothing in my body seemed to work. James seemed to be in the same predicament. "Do something!" I shouted to myself. "You're sitting naked in front of your brother's best friend!"

"WOAH!" Came the started voice of Logan, effectively breaking the two of us out of our fear-induced trance. I scrambled up, wrapping the towel back in place, holding it down with an iron grip.

"D-dude it was all her!" James spoke. My mouth dropped open. "She ran right into me!" I could feel the heat rising to my face. The shorter of the two boys looked at me, a slow grin coming to his face.

"Looks like somebody's grown up to be a little bit of a slut," He taunted with a laugh. At his words, a sudden anger took over. I pushed past them and walked the short distance to my temporary room, slamming the door shut behind me. At the loud bang, I could hear James make a noise of surprise followed by snickering.

I threw my towel aside and dressed in a red haze. "If you're a woman and you've had sex, you're automatically a slut, but if you haven't, you're a prude," I muttered to myself. Outside, the California sun shined, making me annoyed. I stomped over to the window and practically tore the curtains down. The dim room calmed my emotions a bit and I let out a breath.

I glanced over at the digital clock to find it was only 7:30, but I felt exhausted. "Stupid California time," I spoke with disdain. I fell onto the large bed, letting myself take comfort in the sweet smell of the sheets. Just laying in the protection of the enclosed four walls sent a wave of relief through my body. Outside, I could hear the laughter of the four boys.

"You see that? Happy without you. You were so delusional to think they would want you back. You're not important to this family. Nobody wants an ugly, unwanted, horrible piece of trash like you."

I could feel my throat tightening and I squeezed my eyes shut to stop the burning tears from pouring down. It hadn't always been this way. Eight years ago, I made one decision that tore me away from some of the most important people in my life. I made one choice that caused Kendall, James, Carlos, and Logan to hate me forever.

A tiny sob racked my body, and before I could do anything, the floodgates had burst. Hot tears streamed down my face. Tremors rocked my body, but I didn't make any noise. Nobody wanted the burden of taking care of me. Not a single soul needed to know what was going on. My brain was sick, and it wasn't ok.

Eventually, I become too tired and fell into the land of unconsciousness. The blissful blackness took over. When asleep, I didn't have to worry about life's problems.

"Mo-ooooom, Autumn won't stop mooing, and it's annoying!" Eight year-old Kendall complained. His six year-old sister, adorned in a cow onesie and black and white ears, skipped into the kitchen, giggling and mooing.

"Autumn, dear, please stop," her mother requested gently while trying to wrangle Katie into a pumpkin costume. Heavy footsteps sounded from the stairs to reveal Mr. Knight holding two bright orange jack-o-lantern buckets.

"Who's ready to get some candy?" He asked excitedly. Autumn and Kendall started bouncing up and down with joy, and little Katie let out a shriek of happiness at her sibling's energy. The older version of Kendall walked farther into the warm kitchen. "Your candy collector, Mr. Hockey Player," he said while handing one of the plastic buckets to his son. "And for you, my beautiful little cow." Upon his words, Autumn let out a tiny "moo", eliciting a groan from Kendall.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "I got it!" Kendall called as he raced to the front door. Katie let out another shriek before bounding into the living room, buck naked. Mrs. Knight let out a frustrated sigh and her husband laughed.

"I'll take care of the naked toddler. You go talk to Brooke, Sylvia, and Joanna." He pulled Jennifer in for a hug before attempting to tackle down Katie.

"-and now I can look just like my papi!" Came the excited voice of Carlos. The young boy was decked out in a little cop uniform. Autumn's head snapped up at the sound of the approaching boys and excitement filled her eyes.

"Carlos, your costume is cool and all but I think mine is bett-" James was cut off by the tiny force that slammed him in his torso. A tiny voice squealed out his name and he gave a smile. "Hi, Autumn," he regarded warmly. The little girl giggled and let go.

"Oh, how cute is that? James is a cowboy and Autumn is an actual cow!" His mother spoke from down the hall. Suddenly, Katie, now fully costumed, ran up to the group and nearly fell on the hardwood, had her brother not caught her. Mr. Knight strolled back into the small kitchen.

"Hey, everyone looks great! Logan, I'm loving the Harry Potter costume." At his words, the smallest member blushed and let out a little 'thank you'. "And it is now 6:00, which means trick-or-treat has officially begun. Let's go get some candy!"

The hoard of people occupying the house found their way out into the cool, October Minnesota air. Already, the streets were packed with little children dressed to imitate princess or fictional characters. Autumn ran up to her brother and took hold of his hand, for fear of getting lost. He looked down and squeezed her palm, silently letting her know he wouldn't leave her.

They went up to the first house, where a hoard of children were pushing to get their sugary treats. The boys all rushed forward in the eager pursuit of candy. The cow, however remained back.

"Autumn, aren't you going to get candy?" Her mother asked. She shook her head. The sudden fear of being trampled by all the people took hold. "Oh, that's right, you don't like a lot of people, do you?" She shook her head and gripped her candy bucket tighter. Her dad rubbed her shoulders comfortingly.

The boys came back, huge smiles on their faces and slightly more full bags. "Autumn, did you want to get some?" Carlos asked. She took one more look at the large crowd and her eyes widened. Logan noticed her fear and gently placed a box of Nerds from his bag into Autumn's bucket with a soft smile.

"Oh, Logan that was super nice of you. What do you say, Autumn?"

"Thank you, Logie."

As more people approached, the small group left in pursuit of other houses. Carlos skipped over to the tiny farm animal and took her hand. "Just stick with me, and I promise you won't be scared, ok?" Autumn nodded her head and let out an 'ok' back.

"Ok, these are the last few houses of the night, and then we have to get this little moo beast to bed," Mr. Knight informed the children while affectionately poking his daughter. She squealed before bursting into a fit of giggles. It was only Mr. Knight, the four boys, and Autumn left. Katie had fallen asleep an hour into the Halloween festivities, and as soon as Kendall suggested his friends spend the night, the moms disappeared.

Autumn, now confident with the sparse crowds, skipped right behind the boys up a dark driveway. Her pumpkin had overflowed and she had to resort to carrying a plastic grocery bag instead. A breeze hit, sending cold fall air right in the kids faces. They shivered, but persisted on, anyways.

They had almost reached the door, when all of a sudden, a teenage boy in a clown mask popped out of the dense hedges, screaming and getting uncomfortably close to the kids. Autumn let out a shriek of pure terror and fell back, hitting her head and sending candy flying everywhere. An enormous pain erupted from the back of her skull, and when she she reached to rub it, her hand came back wet. With the fear, the little girl burst into tears that quickly escalated to screaming sobs of pain.

Her dad bolted up the driveway and lifted her into his arms, worry and panic written clear across his face.

"Autumn, baby, what's wrong? What hurts?" He paused to brush her hair back, and his eyes widened when he felt the warm stickiness of blood. "Kendall, take your sister and make sure she keeps her eyes open, ok? I have to make a phone call." He instructed in a forced calm before handing the small girl off to the protective arms of her bother.

Kendall gripped her with his life, his face white at the sight of her blood on the pavement. Autumn suddenly felt very tired and her mossy green eyes started to close. "Hey, Autumn, you need to stay awake for me, ok? Please do this for me, little one," he pleaded, tears rolling down his face. "I promise, that as long as you're in my arms, nothing will hurt you, but you need to hold on for me. Please."

James grabbed Autumn's hand and squeezed gently. "You'll be alright, I know you will," the second oldest of the group murmured. Carlos and Logan came in closer, both afraid.

"She's not going to die, right?" Carlos asked fearfully. Kendall shook his head fiercely. His sister started to lose consciousness again.

"Hey, hey, you have to stay awake. What can we do to help you?" James practically pleaded. Autumn was now as white as a sheet of paper.

"Sing a song," she managed to get out quietly. The boys looked at each other and nodded, not giving it a second thought.

"Somewhere, over the rainbow," Kendall started, the sound of sirens in the background. Carlos, Logan, and James joined in, their voices slightly shaking and tears in their eyes.

A few minutes later, an ambulance appeared and three men with a stretcher rushed forward to save the near-death child. Kendall handed her off, and panic immediately registered in Autumn. She used what little energy she had left to start grabbing for her brother and began to cry when she wasn't allowed that.

"KENDALL, I WANT KENDALL!" She screamed. The paramedics tried to soothe her, but to no avail.

The young blond rushed over to his sister and tenderly grabbed her hand. "Hey, little one, don't worry. I'll be right there when you wake up. You have to be very brave now, ok?" She nodded. "Carlos, Logan, James, and I will be there for everything. I promise we'll never leave you."

I woke up, an unusual warmth throughout my body and a smile on my face. I blinked a few times, and the happiness quickly faded when the events of the previous day came crashing down on me. I gently ran the tips of my finger over my forearms and tears sprung into my eyes. I harshly pushed them down, willing myself to feel nothing at all. It was easier that way.

I sank deeper into the soft pillows, reflecting on the dream. It was over ten years ago, and Kendall's promise still haunted me. Once again, I felt the raised lines of flesh on my arm and a sudden flash of anger took over.

"Always be there for me, my ass." I muttered through clenched teeth. "You're the worst brother a person could ever ask for."

Phew, ok, chapter three is over! Once again, I'm so sorry for how late this came out! I've been swamped with work. No joke, for my English class, I'll have to read 400 page novels in like three days and write five page essays over them once every few weeks. Ah, 'tis the life of an English education major.

Please, please, please, don't hesitate to review or anything along those lines. It absolutely makes my night to hear from you all. Plus, I like to make friends, and when you review, you're automatically my friend! Please, I just want love!