Autumn Browne Character Analysis

It’s as if all of Opportunity falls away. We’re lost between making a home and escaping one. It won’t be long before our secrets choke us, before she finally realizes I don’t deserve her and she leaves me too.

Because what can I tell her? That I have the ticket out of town she’s been longing for? That I don’t even know what to do with it? Before Mamá fell ill, I would’ve leaped at this chance. But how can I leave now? Autumn would never understand.

My brother, who cared for my bruises when Dad couldn’t contain his grief. Who helped me dance in secret. My fingers wrap around the ballet charm. Even after everything he’s done, he is my home.

The only things that give us purpose are the stories that tie us together. We all have so many secrets to keep. And I hold mine close.

This town—this school is taking everything away from me. My home. My mother. My sister. Why am I to blame?

I can’t imagine what it’s like not to have that. For as much as I despise Tyler, I love Autumn. It’s why I could never tell her what he did. I want her to be able to keep the only true family she has.

“It was your fault,” he says. “All of this, it’s your fault.”

I need to get to Sylv before Ty sees her. Because if he does, there will be nothing left. If she dies, I will never be able to tell her that she is the one who keeps me standing. That her lips taste like a promise. That she makes me want to be a better version of myself.

The last thing I see before I fade is Ty turning the gun on himself. The last thing I hear is Ty saying, “I just don’t want to be alone anymore.”

Ty made good on his promise. I didn’t need to die for him to kill me. He simply lowered his gun and pulled the trigger. And his bullet tore my knee to shreds.

It’s as if all of Opportunity falls away. We’re lost between making a home and escaping one. It won’t be long before our secrets choke us, before she finally realizes I don’t deserve her and she leaves me too.

Because what can I tell her? That I have the ticket out of town she’s been longing for? That I don’t even know what to do with it? Before Mamá fell ill, I would’ve leaped at this chance. But how can I leave now? Autumn would never understand.

My brother, who cared for my bruises when Dad couldn’t contain his grief. Who helped me dance in secret. My fingers wrap around the ballet charm. Even after everything he’s done, he is my home.

The only things that give us purpose are the stories that tie us together. We all have so many secrets to keep. And I hold mine close.

This town—this school is taking everything away from me. My home. My mother. My sister. Why am I to blame?

I can’t imagine what it’s like not to have that. For as much as I despise Tyler, I love Autumn. It’s why I could never tell her what he did. I want her to be able to keep the only true family she has.

“It was your fault,” he says. “All of this, it’s your fault.”

I need to get to Sylv before Ty sees her. Because if he does, there will be nothing left. If she dies, I will never be able to tell her that she is the one who keeps me standing. That her lips taste like a promise. That she makes me want to be a better version of myself.

The last thing I see before I fade is Ty turning the gun on himself. The last thing I hear is Ty saying, “I just don’t want to be alone anymore.”

Ty made good on his promise. I didn’t need to die for him to kill me. He simply lowered his gun and pulled the trigger. And his bullet tore my knee to shreds.