Ally's POV

The car pulled up in front of the house I grew up in. It was a big Victorian style white house with red shutters and a big red door. I sighed as childhood memories came flooding back.

No turning back now, I thought.

I opened the door and stepped out into the fresh fall breeze. I could smell the salt water from the beach down the street and the food from the pier on the beach.

"Get my luggage," I told my step-mom before I start walking toward the front door.

"I have a name you know," she responds.

"Whatever!" I call back before I walk up to the door and turn the handle. I walk into the house and the smell of cigarette smoke smacks me in my face. Yep, my dad is here somewhere.

"Dad!" I call. "Are you here?"

"Yeah! In the kitchen!" I walk through the living room and around the corner into the kitchen. I see my dad sitting at the table with another figure across from him. I can't tell who it is, but he looks like he works out. A lot. And he has the hottest blonde hair I have ever seen.

"Hey dad. Who's your friend?" I ask. The figure turns around and by breath hitches in my throat. He is hot. Really hot. Really really hot. His hair flops now on his forehead perfectly and he looks amazing even though he's in gray sweatpants and a plain blue t-shirt. But, something looks familiar and it's giving me an unsettling feeling.

"This is Austin. Austin Moon." I look at Austin and our eyes lock. Austin Moon.

"I have to go… U-unpack," I stutter.

"But Ally-gator, you just got here. I wanted to catch up with you. And talk about your new look," my dad whines.

"Umm. Maybe later. Sorry dad." I turn around and walk as fast as I can out of the kitchen, but stop as soon as I turn the corner. "And stop calling me Ally-gator! My name is Ally!" I scream.

Trish walks in the door and sees me standing at the bottom of the starts trying to catch my breath.

"Are you okay Ally?" I look up at her and a tear slips out of my eye and rolls down my cheek. I get up and run upstairs.

"Ally wait!" I hear her scream, but I'm already slamming the door to my room.

Austin's POV

"Hey dad. Who's your friend?" I hear a voice behind me. I turn around and see a gorgeous girl standing in the doorway. She has brown hair that cascades down to the middle of her back with an ombre effect on the tips. She's wearing red skinny jeans and a baggy old sweatshirt that looks vaguely familiar. I smirk at her and her cheeks turn the slightest shade of pink for a split second before Mr. Dawson speaks up.

"This is Austin. Austin Moon." He says. Her face goes pale and she looks at me. Her eyes are a deep chocolate brown color and they are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life.

"I have to go… U-unpack," she stutters.

"But Ally-gator, you just got here. I wanted to catch up with you. And talk about your new look," Mr. Dawson whines. New look? What new look? What did she used to look like?

"Umm. Maybe later. Sorry dad." She says and she turns and practically runs out of the room. I turn to face Mr. Dawson and he shrugs.

"And stop calling me Ally-gator! My name is Ally!" we hear from the living room. I chuckle a little and Mr. Dawson just shrugs again.

"That's your daughter?" I ask.

"Yeah. I haven't seen her in two years. It was a long complicated story."

"I've got time." I shrug. "Tell me everything," I say now intrigued. I rest my elbows on the table and lean forward so that my head is resting on my palms. He laughs and shakes his head.

"If you say so…"

Trish's POV

"Ally please come out!" I yell through the door while banging on it repeatedly. "Tell me what happened."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Ally, I'm your best friend in the whole world. You can tell me anything." I hear a few footsteps and the door opens in front of me to reveal an Ally with red puffy eyes and mascara lines down her cheeks. I swing my arm over her shoulder and lead her to her bed. The room looks just like it did two years ago when we used to have sleepovers ever night.

"Okay. It's Austin."

"Austin? As in Austin Moon? As in the re-" she cut me off.

"Yes. Austin Moon." She spat with some venom.

"Did he recognize you?"

"No. I don't think so. I don't know. He just kept looking at me and he smirked and then I ran out."

"Why? That just looks even worse."

"Because I didn't want him to recognize me. I'm over that Trish, I don't want anything to do with him ever again. He hurt me more than I thought anyone ever could."

Austin's POV

Mr. Dawson took a deep breath before he started his story.

"Okay. So, Ally is my daughter, obviously. We used to be really close. Closer than most daughters are with their dads. Me, her, my wife, and my other daughter, Amanda, were the kind of family that everyone wanted to be. We had family dinners and family game nights and family meetings and we all knew everything about everyone in the family. From favorite color to crushes. Hell, I even knew when each of them were scheduled to be on their time-of-the-month. But, one day my wife, Penny, and Amanda were driving to a school thing Amanda had, she was supposed to be the lead in a musical that she had been practicing for months. There was ice all over the roads and it was a Friday night. They were turning onto the highway and started sliding across lanes, but couldn't control the car. A, uh, a…"

He paused and put his hand to his forehead to regain his voice and slow his breathing. I let out a shaky breath and reached my hand over to his.

"It's okay. You don't have to finish." I told him.

"No. I need to get this out. Okay. So, a guy who had been out drinking with friends while on the job was driving a semi-truck down the highway and didn't see them sliding and he ran straight into them at over a hundred mph. They were both killed instantly. Ally didn't take it too well. She stopped eating and talking and people at school started bullying her for being anorexic, which just made it worse. Then, all of a sudden, she started sneaking out without my permission and hanging out with some boy I didn't know and still don't know. But, she seemed happier, so I left it alone. I made sure she was safe and happy, and she was. I thought she might finally get over her depression and it seemed like she did, until one day she came home crying and soaking wet from running home in the rain. She said she never wanted to see him again. She ran upstairs and locked her door. I tried talking to her, but she wouldn't listen to me. An hour later she came out of her room changed and holding an old guys sweatshirt and pulling suitcases behind her. She said she was going to Trish's for the weekend. I believed her. Next thing I know, I get a call from Penny's sister saying that her and Trish are in New York with her. I haven't seen her since. Well, not until today. And she's no longer the little Ally I knew. She's changed and I'm afraid that I'm losing her." He finished. I blinked a tear away and rubbed the back of his hand.

"It's okay. The old Ally is in there somewhere. I'm sure you'll find her."

"No. That's the thing. I can't. Only one person can. And I know who it is."

"Who?"

"That boy." He growled. Then, he looked up at me and his face softened. "Only bad part is, he doesn't know it's him."

I hope you guys liked it! I realized that my last one was really short so I'm trying to make them longer now! Hopefully, this is good. I feel like I did okay, but the ending was a little off. R&R

Who is the boy?

What's in Ally's past?

Who was the guy driving that semi?

Who is Ally's step-mom?