Hi guys!

It's Tuesday, so here's chapter 4! It's kind of a prologue for chapter 5, really, where juicy stuff is gonna start happening (and that's all I'm gonna spoil).

So yeah, not much to say besides thanking everyone who follows this story, but most of all the people who review. Thanks for the encouraging comments, I hope you continue liking this story.

Enjoy!

day five (part 1)

Austin quickly realized that the daily therapy sessions with Patrick were the most interesting part of his schedule. Group therapy made him uncomfortable to no end. He never knew what to say and his group lacked anyone with an interesting story. He would've preferred having it with Dez, Trish and Ally, just because it would've been a way to find out more about them. He doubted that Ally would say anything at all during the sessions though, and he already knew way too much about Trish, while Dez and his whimsical ways continued to be a mystery. Meditation was even worse, because he was just left alone with his thoughts, and never could find a way to relax. Art therapy wasn't bad, but not very exciting either.

Since their encounter in the music room, Austin had looked for occasions to talk to Ally, but hadn't found many. She never gave him much to work with when they talked, offering monosyllabic answers and weirded out looks. He did however think that she was starting to warm up to him, and had heard from Trish that she seemed more relaxed when she was hanging out with her as well, talking more and putting her book down a bit more often. He liked to think that he was helping her making progress, that his stay there could be helpful at least to her. According to Patrick, he still had a lot of work to do on himself, work that he didn't feel like doing at all.

"I won't hesitate to prolong your stay here, if you keep avoiding to face your problems this way," he'd told him that morning during therapy. Austin had just sighed and rolled his eyes.

He really didn't understand what he wanted from him, so he'd just started talking about Kira. He'd explained how he could hear her resentment when they talked every night, and how much it pissed him off that she was mad at him, since he was the one stuck in rehab, not her. Patrick had seemed pleased enough at the end of the session, and Austin himself had walked out a little more relieved. He had found Ally outside, sitting on the edge of the pool, earbuds in her ears and her book resting right next to her. Since it was Saturday, therapy was their only obligation for the day.

"Hey," he greeted, knocking on her shoulder to get her attention as he sat down next to her.

He sinked his feet into the cool water and whistled his relief.

"Hi," she said back, taking out one of the earbuds.

"What are you listening to?" he asked.

"You," she said simply, with a smile.

He felt his cheek warm up and cleared his voice, trying to get his cool back.

"How was therapy?" she asked, little after.

"Patrick told me I'm going nowhere, so I hit him with some girlfriend drama."
"Nice move," she winked.

She was wearing a white, buttoned sundress, red bikini strings popping out from the neckline, while her hair was up in a high ponytail. She looked happier than usual and, though he couldn't really tell why, he was glad. The more time he spent with her, the more he found himself worrying about her. She'd never told him anything personal, he still had no idea why exactly she was in rehab, nor how long she was supposed to stay.

"Is anyone coming to see you this weekend?" he asked.

"Nope. You?"

"No."

"You look like you're happy about that," she noticed, tilting her head slightly to the left as if to get a better look at his expression.

"I don't feel like seeing anyone," he admitted.

"Not even your girlfriend?"

"Especially her. She's been acting like a spoiled brat," he growled.

"Don't be mean, I'm sure she's worried about you."

Austin didn't answer, instead he turned to stare at her, a funny expression coloring his face. "What's up with you, today? You're usually a big, moody grouch."

She shot him a dirty look before giggling. "I was thinking back on your first day, when you asked me to be friends," she explained. "And I guess that wouldn't be so bad. Trish and Dez seem nice as well."

Austin smiled brightly and, without thinking about it, took her hand in his, startling her a little. He watched her cheeks turn red as she locked her eyes in his, and it felt as if he was looking at her for the first time. He could see how scared she was of the world, and he could see the sadness that hadn't quite left her yet. Her smile was beautiful, entrancing, and he chose to focus on that and on the fact that he'd been the one to put it on her lips. He felt his heart drum against his chest too hard, as he was hit with emotions he wasn't quite ready to understand yet. He decided to cast them all aside once more, because he knew that it wasn't the time nor the place. He had a girlfriend, a career to worry about, and she needed to get healthy again, probably had a life of her own to piece back together. For the first time since he'd gotten there though, rehab didn't feel like a place with no escape. For the first time in a long time, he felt hope.

"Hi guys!" greeted Dez, sitting down next to Austin.

He dropped Ally's hand immediately and felt his cheeks burn, as he focused his attention on the water.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Nothing, we were just hanging out," answered Austin casually.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all. Care for a swim?"

"Dude, you read my mind."

They both got up and took their shirts off, abandoning them on the deck chairs, then Austin jumped in, his roommate following close behind. The water splashing hit both Ally, who hurried to grab her book to put it to safety, and Trish, who'd been just walking by.

"YOU JERKS!" she yelled, just as the guys came back to surface. "Diving is forbidden!" she reminded them, furious.

Austin looked around and shrugged. "Nobody saw," he pointed out.

Trish grumbled a few more insults, but thankfully got distracted by Ally, offering her a towel.

"Thanks," she said, with a hesitant smile.

"No problem. I'm gonna jump in too, wanna come?"

Trish glanced at the water. "I think I'm just gonna stay here, work on my tan," she decided.

"Alright."

Austin watched Ally put her book and iPod into her bag, then pull her sundress off over her head. The red of her bikini suited her nicely, and Austin couldn't help the impure thoughts that formed into his mind. He dove into the water, trying to shake them off. When he emerged, Ally was halfway down the steps and water had reached her belly button. He swam closer to her, splashing water around on purpose.

"Com'on, dunk! It's much better than going in an inch every minute," he teased.

She stuck her tongue out to him, and he hugged her in retaliation, laughing when he heard her squeal.

"You're freezing! How can the water be so cold? It's like a 100 degrees outside!" she yelped, trying to escape from him.

Instead of letting her go right away, he threw himself back into the water, pulling her down with him. He let go as soon as her whole body was wet, and when he came back up she splashed water in his face.

"That was rude!" she complained, unable to hide a smile.

"Sorry," he shrugged.

He hadn't realized how close they actually were, until he noticed that she had to tilt her head back to look him in the eyes. He was actually glad when Dez grabbed his ankles from underwater, causing him to lose his balance and fall. He could hear Ally's laughter even while still under.

"That's what you get for bugging a lady," Dez warned him as he emerged, and he spit pool water in his face, causing the lady in question to burst into another fit of giggles.

"Keep it down, you three! This is a place of cure!" yelled Trish from her chair.

The three looked at each other, still snickering. The day was actually shaping up pretty well.

They spent the whole afternoon outside, splitting their time between swimming and lying in the sun. When they had dinner, the tips of their hair were still wet, and they could feel tiredness seep through their arts. The food was delicious as always and they enjoyed it till the last bite, chatting among themselves about unimportant things. No one mentioned their addiction issues, no one made comments about therapy, doctors, or their family and friends outside of the facility. They told stories about their childhood, talked about their favorite bands, books and movies. Ally was not as talkative as Trish or Dez, who spent twenty minutes discussing why Zaliens 3 was the best Zalien movie, but she still participated with observations and anecdotes of her own, sometimes even offering little jokes. Austin did his best not to stare at her all night long, trying to ignore the feelings that were making his heart beat faster and gave a hard time to his attention span. He had a girlfriend, he'd known Ally for less than a week and had spent very little time alone with her. He was drawn to her because she was pretty and he and Kira were going through a rough patch, and that was all.

After a few very long games of rummy and a small Mancala tournament, Trish stretched and theatrically stifled a yawn.

"Curfew is in thirty minutes," she reminded them. "I think I'm gonna head upstairs."

"Oh, I have to call Carrie," said Dez, in the middle of putting the game back in its cardboard box.

"Ally, are you coming too?"

"Sure, go ahead though. I'll return the cards to Maria and be right there."

"I'll come with you," announced Austin, without taking time to think about it.

Trish bid the boys goodnight and headed inside, while Dez left shortly after, phone already pressed against his ear. Ally looked at Austin.

"Let's go," she smiled, taking her bag and the deck of cards.

They stopped at the nurse station and chatted with Maria for a few minutes, then Austin offered to walk Ally to her room and she nodded, blushing slightly. The walk upstairs was short and awkwardly silent, but still he didn't feel like saying goodnight once they'd reached her destination.

"I had a good time today," he told her, smiling brightly.

"Me too," she said back.

He knew he was probably making her uncomfortable, but couldn't look away from her. He felt as if something was drawing them together.

"So, have you broken any rules since you got here?" she asked. The question sounded weirdly random, and Austin frowned.

"No, why?"

She didn't add an explanation, instead she grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward the small, seldom used elevator at the end of the hallway.

"Where are we going?" he asked, even more confused.

"Just trust me," she whispered as only answer.

He looked at her and he realized that, even though he didn't know exactly why, he did trust her.

Little cliffhanger, but don't worry, I will post chapter 5 on Friday.

Please review in the meantime! I always love to read what you think about the story.

xx emoeses