The next few days Austin gave Ally a break from him. Though it killed him, he needed to give her time to cool off.
"Austin! Come on, I'm here to pick you up." Melanie said. Austin looked at her. Pain in his eyes.
"What are you doing? You're not supposed to go out in public." He asked harshly. He seen the hurt flicker in her eyes.
"Austin. I'm getting better, you can't keep me locked in that house forever. And what do you think you're doing? Coming over to Chad's to get drunk? I thought that's why you stopped coming over here." She snapped back.
"Whatever Mel." He said pushing past her roughly. It hurt. She wouldn't deny that, she was still to weak that little movements like that hurt her body.
"Where are you going?" She yelled after him.
"Ally's." His voice slurred.
"Oh no you don't. I'll take you. I'm not letting you drive drunk." She said, angry. She grabbed his arm.
"Thanks for calling Chad. I'm glad you've grown up...a little." Melanie said. Chad sighed and nodded. She helped Austin into the passenger seat. His weight on her was almost unbearable.
"Okay where's Ally live?" She asked. She listened to his directions carefully, wondering if they were right.
"Okay. We're here." She said.
"Be right back." He said getting out. She watched, he only stumbled once. So he was on his way to being sober, but not quiet there yet. He focused on his phone. It was mid-night. He looked up to where he believed her room was, the light was on. He knocked on the door quietly. A few minutes later she opened the door.
"Austin, what are you doing here?" She asked. He knew she was still mad. He could hear it in her voice.
"I need to talk to you." She wrinkled up her nose.
"You're drunk." She stated. He sighed. "Austin, why would you do that?"
"Why would you drink?" She repeated when he didn't offer an answer.
"Because, being away from you is killing me." He said.
"Oh cut the crap Austin." She said.
"No really." He said.
"Just leave." She said. She slammed the door in his face.
"I love you Ally Dawson. I know I haven't known you for to long, but I KNOW that I love you." He yelled. He made sure the whole neighborhood heard. That's just how loud he was. Little did he know, he was breaking her heart.
Ally loved Austin. She felt completely stupid and idiotic, but she wouldn't dare deny her feelings for the blonde haired boy. He was amazing. Kind, generous, and cute. He had ways of making her feel alive again. She was terrified of those feelings. She had known darkness for so long now, that she was afraid to come back to life. Then, when he said he loved her, it broke her heart. She knew it was the alcohol talking. She just knew it.
-AUSTIN-
"Wow, way to get a girl." Melanie said. Austin chuckled without humor.
"Melanie, I'm so sorry." He whispered.
"For what?" She asked, confused. She noticed his eyes were getting watery. He was serious now.
"Everything. From tonight, and pushing you to what happened when we were fifteen." He said. Melanie closed her eyes. She opened them again and started the car.
"Austin I don't want to talk about it." She said firmly.
"No, I do. If I hadn't joined in on calling you those names, you would have never-"
"Austin. It's over. Okay? I'm in recovery. That's a good thing, so why ruin it with memories?" She said.
"Besides, I don't blame you. I blame myself." She said. "It's more of a psychological thing then it is social issues." She said, trying to make him feel better.
"Well, anyways. I'm sorry." He said. She grabbed his hand with her free hand and squeezed. Austin sighed at the touch. Her hands were still so cold. She might have been getting better, but she still had a little while to go before she was okay. He smiled at her.
"I love you Mel." He said.
"I love you too."
-THE NEXT DAY-
"Okay Ally, just listen to him. He means well." Trish said looking out the window at Austin. He had been at Ally's house since seven that night. It was now nine. He had continuously thrown tiny rocks at her window.
"No. Tell him he shouldn't bother. He's probably drunk." She said.
"That might have been a one time thing for all you know." Trish said, making a point.
"No. He would only show up here drunk." Ally snapped. Suddenly the throwing had stopped.
"Finally." Ally said, she had grown tired of the constant tapping of rocks hitting her window every second. Just as she sighed in relief, the door bell rang.
"Are you freaking kidding?" She called out loudly. She stomped her way down the stairs. Trish following closely behind.
"What do you want?" Ally yelled as she opened the door. Austin stood there, a dozen roses in his hand.
"These are for you." He said. He smiled when she took them.
"You didn't answer my question." She snapped. His smile disappeared.
"What question?" She groaned.
"Why are you here and what do you want."
"Ally, I want to apologize." He said quietly.
"For what? Showing up here drunk and telling lies?" He looked at her with confusion in his eyes.
"What are you talking about telling lies?" He questioned.
"Austin cut the crap, again. I know you were lying." She said.
"Ally what are you talking about?" He said.
"Telling me you love me?" She scoffed. "Yeah right." Austin sighed.
"Ally I do love you." He said. "Please just listen to me." He said.
"No. I don't want you here. Come back when you're sober." She said harshly.
"I am." He said. "So listen to me." He said confidently. Trish smiled at him and nodded, telling him not to stop now.
"I don't know what it is, what you do to me. You do not have any idea of the effect you have on me. My heart swells just thinking about you. I go out of my way to see you. I even called into to work trying to come to see you." He said. She was listening, she stayed quiet.
"Ally Dawson, what I'm trying to say is, I love you. Do you love me too?" He asked. She stayed silent.
"If you don't love me, it's okay. We can work our relationship up to that point." He said. Suddenly tears began to fall down her face. She turned and ran up the stairs. Austin flinched when he heard the door slam. He sighed.
"Well, just...I don't know." Austin said. He was going to tell Trish to tell Ally something for him, but he couldn't tell her to tell Ally that he left. That would be stupid. He also couldn't tell her to tell Ally that he loved her, because that severely ticked her off. He didn't know what happened in this girl's life to make her so angry and depressed, but he was determined to find out.
