Hanging By A Thread
Chapter One:
Ally steps into the shower, the hot water easing the aches out of her tired muscles.
She stands there for a moment, before grabbing a washcloth and scrubbing her skin clean.
She's careful around certain areas on her legs that are sporting fairly large and very noticeable bruises.
And people wonder why she doesn't wear shorts in the summer.
If, by chance, anyone sees one of them she is to tell them she is a klutz an the stairs are slippery when not properly dusted.
The bruises on her legs aren't nearly as bad as the broken bone in her elbow which hurts like hell when moved too much. Fortunately she doesn't use her left arm for much.
She lazily washes her hair, then turns off the water and steps onto the cold linoleum floor that hasn't been clean in ages.
'Cold and dirty,' she muses, 'just like him.'
Ally slaps her forehead in realization as she figures out she didn't bring clothes in with her.
She inwardly groans and gives a sorrowful look at the bathroom door.
No doubt, he's in the den watching "those kinds of shows" and getting wasted like the horny bastard he is.
She'll have to creep past him if she wants to make it to her room.
"Ugh, this is my life now," she mutters quietly.
Ally opens the door as quiet as possible but the damn thing refuses not to make its presence known.
'He's probably to drunk to hear,' she silently prays.
She's almost to the bottom of the stairs. So far, so good.
It isn't until she trips on the rug that he notices she's behind him.
"Well, what do we have here?" His sickening voice pipes up with a bit of a slur to it. "Were you trying to sneak past me, huh?"
Ally can't make any sort of protests because she's too focused on the pain. She hit her head on the bottom stair on the way down and the burns on her back from last week hadn't exactly healed yet.
Lesson learned. Don't make mom mad while you're making dinner.
"J-jack please..." she manages to squeak out.
He leans down toward her with a devilish smirk on his face. "I like it when you say my name," he whispers huskily.
The comment makes her want to gag but she's too busy holding back sobs.
Now all she can do is make a pathetic attempt to fight back while he carries her upstairs. Ultimately a battle between her and a 40 year old man who takes steroids is one she's gonna lose.
The pervert doesn't even have the decency to take her into a room where her mom isn't passed out on the floor. Not that she'd care if she woke up to that. She'd just wave it off and continue to drink herself into a stupor.
She knows that this is it. There's no where to run, but she's thankful she's been able to hold it off this long. So while he trails unpleasant and unwanted kisses down her neck, she can only cringe and wait for it to be over.
"Get off of her!" A voice, one full of hatred and anger, yells behind them.
Austin.
She breaths a sigh of relief when his bone crushing weight is release from on-top of her.
"What are you doing here, punk?" Jack bites back looking the blond dead in the eyes.
Austin does the same, "I got worried when I called Ally and she didn't pick up. Knowing she was with you pricks, I knew she was in trouble."
"You shouldn't have come here."
Austin looks behind him to the tear stained face girl wearing a terrified expression. "Looks like I came just in time, actually."
Ally kicks the unsuspecting man to the ground, jumps over him, and makes her great escape with her blond haired best friend/hero.
They run outside to his Mercedes Benz (he's a rich kid, no doubt) and hop in.
"Oh my gosh, Austin I will never be able to repay you," she gushes and grips him in a tight hug smelling his Axe body spray and never wanting to let him go.
He pushes her off lightly though. "We'll talk later," he says starting the engine up, "right now we just need to get the hell out of here."
She nods her head in agreement and he drives out of her driveway like a madman.
…
He drives and never looks back until they reach and old, abandoned park where they can talk in private.
Ally is trying her best to control her breathing and not let the tears slip over her lids.
Austin rubs her arm comfortingly letting her know its perfectly okay for her to cry.
She gets the hint and then buries her face in her palms.
He looks at his friend. She looks exhausted beyond belief and is deathly skinny. This makes him wonder when the last time she had a decent meal was. He notices her strange attire for the first time.
"Ally."
She looks up at him when she hears her name.
"Any particular reason why you're wearing a towel? And only a towel?"
"Ah, shit!" She hastens to cover herself up, blushing on the spot and suddenly becoming totally insecure.
She sighs before starting the story. "I took a shower and then realized I didn't bring any clothes with me. So I tried to sneak out, but ended up tripping on the rug and, well, I think you know the rest."
He nods, confirming the story needs no other further explanation.
Austin already knows that her stepdad is a douchebag/skirt chaser who's been trying to have his way with Ally ever since he laid eyes on her. He already knows her mom is a tramp ( not to be disrespectful to her mom, but that's one of the nicer words you can use to describe that woman) who only married Jack to feed her alcohol problem.
Memories instantly flood back to him. Thoughts of him on top of her, her with expressions of horror on her face. The thought sickens him.
"He could have killed you, ya know?" she brings this to his attention.
He gives her a humorless laugh. "I'd get my ass kicked any time if it means you can stay a virgin one more day."
She beams an appreciative smile at him. He knows that that's all she wants. Is to save herself for someone who will be gentle and who truly cares about her. If she wasn't still a virgin things would be different. She would have let him do it years ago just to get it over with so he could lose interest in her, but that wasn't the case.
She wraps her arms around his waist. "Thanks Austin."
He slings his arms around her protectively and even though its sorta awkward since they are seated in a car, they somehow make it work.
He lets go of her and notices she shivers at the loss of his warmth.
Duh, she's cold! Her hair's wet and she only wearing a skimpy towel.
"Come on," he starts up the car again, hearing the purr of the engine, "I'm gonna get you some clothes and then take you to McDonalds so you can eat till you puke."
She laughs lightly and presses her back against the leather seat. "I love you."
"Same here."
…
At his house, the Moons don't press on questions like, "where did you go," or "why were you gone so long" or even "why is Ally only wearing a towel". They are all fully aware of her situation and instead they just hug her and silently let her know they are happy she's alright.
He walks her upstairs to his bedroom. Sure, she could wear his sisters clothes, but she likes his better. They are comfortable and smell amazing.
He gives her some black jeans and his "this is my zombie killing hoodie" hoodie (one of her favorites) and she shows herself to the bathroom to change.
They both walk down the stairs. He loosely wraps his arm around her shoulder and lets his family know they are going out to eat.
Mr. and Mrs. Moon nod and before Austin and Ally can get out the door, Aiden, Austin's older brother, playfully yells, "don't worry! We won't wait up!"
Ally laughs and sticks her tongue out at him childishly. This action makes him laugh in return.
'At least she hasn't lost her sense of humor,' Austin mentally notes.
...…
The restaurant is packed with screaming kids and annoyed parents.
The truth is Austin doesn't even like McDonalds. But he knows that Ally craves their overly salted fries and that their burgers make her smile. And he'd do anything to bring a smile on her face.
He'd even let nine-year old brats bump into him constantly.
'This why they have play places,' he thinks. Images of them being locked up in those things fill his mind.
Is that mean?
He decides its probably mean and quickly puts a stop to those thoughts.
Besides, no matter how much he tries to deny it, he's a huge kid at heart.
They give the cashier their orders, receive them and make their way to the back of the restaurant to find themselves a table.
Lively conversation emerges between the two like it always does. Before they know it, they are chatting and joking and the whole world is tuned out. It's just them.
"You know," Ally looks at her fries feverishly,"today reminded me of the first time you ever rescued me."
"Oh yeah."
"Yeah."
{Flashback}
Austin and Ally were both fourteen. It had been almost a year since her dad had left.
Austin Moon was bored. For once in his life he was actually bored as he sat on his bed, playing with his newly acquired phone.
He realizes that he had texted Ally without meaning to, but just went along with wondering how she would respond to a text that said, 'hsiisj'
None came though.
That worries him. She always texted him. Even if she was busy. She would send him a text saying, 'Sorry, Austin, doing homework. Can't talk' or 'Eating dinner. Ttyl' but this time nothing.
He waits ten more minutes before he sends another text her way.
This one read, 'R u okay? Plz text back soon Ally!'
It wasn't just that she didn't text back, it was also the way she had been acting recently. She was now distant and stand-offish. She had even worn her glasses to school last week. And she never did that. Ever.
He only waits a couple more minutes before he grabs his leather jacket and climbs down the tree by his window.
He was out of breath by the time he got on her front porch. Her front door was open so he let himself in. Cautious not to make a sound.
The first thing he hears is shouting. It was Ally's mom and it was coming from the kitchen.
He creeps closer and ducks behind a plant conveniently placed in their living room.
Austin surveys the scene. There, in the small, white kitchen, was Ally's mom only wearing a robe draped around her shoulders. Standing next to her was a strange man stripped down to his boxers.
Ally was across the room from them. Her eyes were red and puffy. Fresh, new tears were running out of them like a waterfall.
"I'll drag you out of that school! You hear me? You'll never see any of those social outcasts you call friends again!"
Her mom's voice rips through the air like lightning.
"B-but... but mom," Ally sobs, "this isn't.. isn't r-right. You're married.."
"Who gives a shit?! You shouldn't because its none if your damn business!"
Austin stares in disbelief as her mom grips her around the neck and spit words of anger at her.
"Either this stays between us, or I'll ship you out on the next flight to Africa! Understood?"
Ally did her best to nod with the vice-like grip her mom had on her.
"Good," she said. "Now, James and I are going back upstairs. I trust this time we'll be uninterrupted and if we are, you can say goodbye to your boyfriend."
"He's," she pauses in order to let out a sniffle, "he's not my boyfriend."
Ally's mom laughs, "of coarse he's not! What would he want with you anyways? You drive all men away!"
Ally then collapses on the floor in a fit of tears while her mom and her mom's "friend" make their way upstairs.
Austin doesn't come out from hiding until he hears the solid thump of the door closing.
"Ally," he speaks up.
She whips her head up at the sound of her name and screams in shock/horror. "Austin! What are you doing here?! What- what you saw back there... it- it wasn't what it..."
She trails off, uncertain of what to say. He just looks at her. She looks so sad. So miserable. He frowns at the deep impressions around her neck that Ally's mom's nails gave her.
She looks so pitiful. He wants to just hug the crap out of her and tell her everything will be okay.
But he doesn't.
Instead, he grabs her small wrist and leads her away from that awful place. She doesn't protest.
They climb up the tree into his bedroom window.
"You snuck out?" She asks with two emotions in her voice. One of lecture and another of gratitude.
"I got worried when you didn't text me back," he answers simply.
"You didn't have to sneak out."
He shrugs, "who else was gonna get you to leave?"
She sits down on his bed, wiping away tears.
He sits down by her and hugs her tightly. She hugs back.
"What was that? Back at your house?" Austin questions.
She shakes her head furiously, "No, Austin, I can't. I just... can't."
"Ally," he whispers, still hugging her, "I saw the whole thing go down. There's no way you can hide it from me."
She pulls away and looks at him with his sweet, caring face. Finally she caves and lets him in on every detail of her horrible life.
He wants to cry himself, just hearing about the pain she goes through on a daily basis.
He can see she's about to cry, so he does the only thing he knows will calm her down.
He gets his guitar and strums one if her favorite songs.
There's a calm surrender to the rush of day
When the heat of a rolling wind can be turned away
An enchanted moment, and it sees me through
It's enough for this restless warrior just to be with you
And can you feel the love tonight
It is where we are
It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer
That we got this far
And can you feel the love tonight
How's its laid to rest
It's enough for kings and vegabonds
To believe the very best
He stops playing and looks over to see her eyes closed and a small snore escapes her.
He smiles down sweetly, "goodnight Als."
{end of flashback}
That's the reason that him, and only him, know her secret. Not Dez or even Trish know this.
Just him and his family, because he told her he never kept secrets from his family and she respectfully ( and reluctantly) confided in them as well.
Austin glances at her as she chews intently on her burger.
Her hair's still slightly wet, and she's in his clothes, stuffing her face with food.
But he silently decides she's never looked better.
A/N
Okay, that was my first chapter of my A&A fanfic 'Hanging By A Thread'. *sighs* I'm hoping its not as crappy as I think it is.
So, a couple of notes.
First, this story is basically completely AU. In this story Austin and Ally have known each other for years an she is his best friend and the songwriter for his band. Austin has 4 siblings and they are all in a family band ( wonder where I got that idea from? ;) ) and Ally's their songwriter.
Second, have you ever seen those hoodies thy say "this is my zombie killing hoodie" on them? I think they sell 'em at Hot Topic. Anyways they are really cool and I totally want one and that's the hoodie I was referring to in this chapter.
Third, the song I used was 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight' by Elton John. Don't hate.
Anyways, please review this chapter telling me what you think. Please?
Kthanxbai!
