What are you doing with your life, Autumn? Blogging isn’t a real job. Isn’t it time you got a real job? Something that paid the bills? These thoughts nagged at the back of Autumn’s mind, clawing at her heart and spirit in everything she did. Bought a new palette? Mom was in her head, scowling disdainfully at the waste of money. Writing up a review on swatching MAC lipsticks on black skin versus white? Well, what was that going to do for society, Autumn?

It was sticking up for girls who goddamn needed it. But clearly, that wasn’t the answer mom wanted to hear.

Maybe dropping her life and heading out east wasn’t the smartest idea in the world, but hey. People in her life had done a lot stupider. And there were a lot worse places she could’ve landed than Ashdown, Massachusetts. Hipsters and college kids, it was Podunk enough to be quaint but real enough not to be suffocating.

Mom was disappointed. Dad was in a furious. But in a way, Autumn guessed they understood. Rather than fight day in and day out, they acquiesced. Offered her a monthly allowance alongside her own job (if she could find a real one, mom mumbled to herself,) until she squandered it away on her dreams.

Squandering wasn’t what she was gonna call it, but hey. Whatever. She was here, and she was free.

The first month had been pretty monotonous. She’d hooked a part time gig at the tea place, and was setting up her apartment to be livable. Otherwise she was hitting the pavement running, applying for a job wherever the hell she could get her foot in the door. The mailman was starting to learn her name, and while it was tough, Autumn was hashing out a life for herself.

And then the rumors started.

Kids going missing. It was the kind of s**t you heard about in the big city. Tragic as it was, Autumn was keeping her head down. No point in calling her parents and scaring them into bringing her home when it was just rumors around Starbucks right now. She wanted to help, she did. Autumn wasn’t a bad person. She just… couldn’t right now. Wasn’t her problem.

The news chimed up at the fifth person- another high schooler- was gone, and Autumn droned out the noise with a cup of matcha. Too many things on her agenda to get done. She was mentally writing up a blog response to the s**t comments on MAC’s instagram, a few new swatches she was gonna do, don’t worry about those kids, get her bath bombs… so what if her hands were shaking? People went missing. It was a thing that happened that you just had to feel bad over and move on. Happened all the time in Chicago.

She took a sip of her tea, strapped on her high heels, and glanced out to the door. Pouring rain again. Nothing she wasn’t used to. The s**t weather was actually pretty fitting for the s**t mood she found herself in. All she had to do was run to the apartment mail center, maybe go buy some cheap nail polish, and call it a day. Pulling her hood over her hair, Autumn unlocked the front door and stepped out into…

…a misty rain? The hell? She blinked a few times in confusion, and stuck her hand out into the open air. There was no damn rain, just a bit of spitting. That… didn’t seem right. Frowning to herself, Autumn turned and glanced back at her apartment. She could go watch House of Cards, pretend she didn’t have any plans.

But then, she heard her mother’s nagging, and scowled. No way. Some weird-a** feeling wasn’t stopping her from what she needed to do. Instead, she locked the door, and headed out into the unkown.

Oh, if only she had known what was in store.