Telling Autumn the truth might be the dumbest decision I've made in a long time.
But at this point she deserves something better than vague answers and half-explanations.
So when the car reaches the edge of town and the road stretches empty in front of us, I finally say it.
"I got arrested last year."
The words hang in the air like a dropped weight.
Autumn turns toward me instantly.
Her eyes widen.
"You're serious?"
"Yeah."
"For what?"
"Fight."
She blinks slowly.
"That's it?"
"No."
I hesitate, debating how much to tell her.
But if I'm already this far in, there's not much point in pretending.
"Property damage," I add.
She leans back slightly in her seat.
"You destroyed something."
"A car."
Her eyebrows shoot up immediately.
"You destroyed a car?"
"He deserved it."
The moment the words leave my mouth I realize how insane they sound.
Autumn stares at me like she's trying to determine if I'm joking or not.
"That is not a normal sentence," she says slowly.
I laugh quietly.
"No. It really isn't."
"But it's your life?"
"Pretty much."
The road curves along the coastline as we drive, the dark ocean stretching endlessly beside us.
Autumn stays quiet for a moment, thinking.
Then she says something unexpected.
"You're not proud of it."
I glance at her.
"No."
"But you're not pretending it didn't happen either."
"No."
She nods slowly, almost to herself.
"That counts for something."
I frown slightly.
"You're taking this surprisingly well."
"I'm processing."
"That sounds dangerous."
"It probably is."
But the truth is-
She hasn't looked at me like I'm a lost cause yet.
And for some reason, that matters more than I expected.