The news hit him like a very kind truck had decided to one day hit him on the head.
The first time she said it, she had said during class slightly nonchalantly, conversing on how it's not good to let out a release of your emotions, and that she had done that, but he didn't hear her well, he was way across the classroom while she was up in front for being short and using her glasses during class.
The second time she said it once more during another class, he confronted her after school along with Trish and Dez.
He wasn't surprised that Trish already knew.
He was surprised that Dez stayed silent and gave Ally a huge hug when she finished.
Ally had said that her own mother didn't eat as much since she had an intestinal problem and couldn't use the bathroom normally; she stopped eating, because she would get fat if she ate and since she couldn't use the bathroom she decided not to eat.
She explained as well that she was getting treatment in Orlando.
He didn't understand though, how she said it so relaxed, shrugging every now and then, as if it weren't a big deal.
He knew it was.
That explained more things than possible, why she wasn't around as much, why Lester always picked her up after school.
It explained too many things and few at the same time.
He walked home, his mind always chanting
Penny has anorexia.
When he gets home, he needs to tell someone what has been on his mind. He tells her mother what Ally told the group, and then curses for being so straight forward and just coming out bluntly saying
Penny has anorexia.
Mimi stops washing the dishes and sighs, holding her son in a tight embrace, asking how's Ally he replies that she's fine, and doing well
Too well for me...
But for his mother not to worry, she says she's fine, doing fine and that Penny's doing well, Mimi Moon still holds her (taller than her) son in her arms and threads her fingers through her baby's hair, muttering something he couldn't comprehend very well but he could understand that said
"You have to take care of Ally, baby..."
He goes over to her house one day to get some homework and since Penny is there for the week, his mother decides to go with him as well. When he goes into the house he finds Trish and Dez there as well.
As well as Dez and Trish's mothers.
He finishes copying their English and Biology homework and tells his mother that he had finished. She dismisses him and tells him to hang out with his friends until it's time to go home.
They stay about an hour, talking about random things that had happened to Dez, or how long they could estimate Trish could hold down a job. Ally sits next to him, punching him in the arm or putting her head on his shoulder and reacted normally to everything but for some reason he can't accept that she's fine, she's just fine.
Because he's Austin and she's Ally and he's just has that feeling.
When his mother and her group of friends finish up their conversation, they go home in a comfortable silence in the shared car. Arriving at the garage, Mimi turned off the car and sighed, telling her son not to get out just yet, he slouches in his seat and before his mother begins
"How's Penny?"
"Better... she has to go to Orlando in a few days but she's staying for a while... Ally's happy"
"Yeah..."
"You're her rock, Austin. When school and work and writing you songs gets to be too hard, help her, talk to her on the phone, don't put too much pressure on her... she has enough to do on her own"
"Of course Mom"
"And I don't know, try to help her with her shifts and Sonic Boom, tell her that if she needs help that she can call you"
"I will mom, and she already does that... most of the time, if it's not me it's usually Trish"
"Let her have a release, remind her that her mother's is doing this to get better"
"She understands that mom; it's just that Ally is extremely close to Penny..."
"It's just baby... she's still just a girl." she sighs "A girl without a mother... she's a very strong girl"
"I know mom..."
A strong girl with very tall walls...
It happens all of the sudden for him one day when they're walking home, they were waiting for Dez and Trish to get a move on with renting some movies for the foursome's movie night.
They loitering in front of the store, and she's laughing for a minute after she laughs at her own horrible joke which he has to admit was a bit funny and then she stretches her arms to give him a hug.
He gladly accepts and holds her in his arms; as she began hide her head in his chest, her arms wrapped around him.
His world stops when she breaks down right there.
The petite brunette mutters something and he asks her to repeat it.
"I miss my mom"
"I know... but she's trying to get better, okay? She's going to get better and she's going to come home, Als." He's never felt so awkward; he had no idea of what to say.
She nods in his chest and in that moment their odd friends came out of the store and Trish leads her home, hugging her and holding her, whispering comforting words as Dez tries to make her laugh, he watches from behind walking slowly.
His heart sinks because he's never felt more useless.
Penny visits almost every three weeks and stays for at least three days; those are the days he notices Ally's eyes shine a little more.
After a painful vacation apart, she tells him that for the first week they spent their days in Orlando alongside Penny and a few relatives of theirs. Then during the second week, Penny was staying at home and was returning home, but then her depart was postponed another day.
While walking through the great halls of Marino High School, Ally spoke
"I don't want her to leave Austin... because when she leaves I'll cry more than before" she complains
He nodded in silence, accepting that he couldn't really do much and placed his arm around her shoulder
A classmate of Ally Julian overheard the conversation and turned around to look at Ally confused; Ally raised her eyebrow and questioned him
"What?"
He's pretty sure that Julian knows about Penny, but he's putting his money on the fact of how Ally said it so nonchalantly.
He's been repeating that to himself several times.
She distracts herself by putting extra effort in her science fair project on different social medias and the community's response towards them and to the whole idea of teenagers on their computers.
Her partner decided to abandon her in the middle of it so Ally stayed continuously alone and worked days and nights
When she presents it, she tells him that she put her sweat and blood into it and could only hope for the best.
Blood being the paper cut she got one late night.
Judges pass by her table as well as so many people and she tells them her project, a smile never missing, good and formal grammar or explaining more than once if necessary. Kids liked her project, judges were impressed, and adults never lacked complimenting her brightness.
He stares from far away and talks to her every chance he gets
He had to stay apart since one of the judges was there talking to her, but then Cassidy runs over she pulls him out of his gaze, shaking him and shrieking in excitement
"Austin! Penny's here! Penny's here to surprise Ally!" she jumps around excited and the blonde looks at the door and sees the skinny woman entering and greeting people from the school.
He smiles like crazy and looks over to her, Dez and Trish going by his side and doing the same, she looks him in the eye when the judge is reading her paper and mouths 'it's my mom'
He nods and sees how the judge greets her and her sprint to see her mother as quickly as possible.
Penny and Ally stay embraced despite it all the noise; and people moving around and talking, Penny hugs her daughter, Dez, Cassidy, Trish and Austin invading their moment by staring.
"I'm going to cry..." Cassidy comments smiling and looking away
"It's like I'm watching a movie" Dez says
"Okay, let's stop staring because it's a total invasion of their private moment" Trish turns them all around but at last second, Austin turns his head and sees his small best friend with her face red and crying but with a smile on her face, holding her mother's hand and then returning to the embrace.
He feels relieved.
Ally has to return to her booth and continue talking to people.
Penny is greeting almost everyone in school, since before she left she was a social butterfly of the Marino High School, greeting everyone; she saw Trish, Dez and Austin as well.
She holds Trish lovingly in her arms, greeting her and asking how she was, holding the embrace for a minute.
Dez was the same, with a smile on her face as Austin watched from the background and wondering how it would be for him, since Penny was almost as if she was another mother to him.
When Ally's mother finished talking to the redhead, for some reason, the Latina and said red head went to talk to Ally and left Austin and Penny alone. He continuously tried to swallow the knot in his throat, but he knew it wouldn't go away.
She smiled him, "Hello Austin" and took him in her arms
He was taller than her, but engaged her in a warm embrace her as well
"Hi..." he breathed out and held her in his arms
"How are you?" She asked, rubbing his back
"Good... and how are you?" he answered doing the same
"You know, here I am..." she shrugged it off and they stayed in silence, swaying by small centimeters, he heard her begin to cry as well and his heart fell, he needed to cry as well but he couldn't be that selfish "Take care of Ally, okay? She really loves you and I know you can take care of her..."
"Of course..." he remarks, breathing deeply to prevent tears from falling. Penny lets go of them embrace and tells him to tell his mother that she's here for a few days and she should visit, he nods and Penny goes off once again.
He bites his lip so he won't cry, because he can't do that to her.
He goes into the bathroom and explains everything to Dez. He nods and doesn't truly understand what he means, Austin basically screams, while salty tears stream down his face because he has to have some type of release or he'll go mad. He yells and gets mad at him telling him that he doesn't know how to take care of her, he wasn't a book character, and how he doesn't know where to start.
"I just want to protect her..." he says painfully
"From what?" Dez asks calmly
"Everything... she's been through so much and I just want to protect her from the fucked up world... I want put her in a tower and let her stay there..."
"You can't do that,"
"Why not!?"
"Because it's kidnapping" the ginger says as Austin slides down the wall "and since your her best friend, the only thing you can do right now is be with her when she's going through all this bullshit, so she doesn't think she's worthless, so she doesn't think that everything is against her." Dez finishes off with the one last sentence before leaving the blonde to his thoughts
"So she doesn't lose hope."
So... you might be asking what the hell is this.
This is based on what's happening with me right now. My best friend's mother has anorexia and is being treated and I'm am the whole... Austin in this... and it's just... I needed a bit of release, some of this is made up some of it is based on what has happened to me...
So I starting writing this yesterday and voila here it is...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYDEL
~Jackie is Grey