AN: Hi! Thank you to AzaleaLee, Dont-Stop-Believin, Jade, phia514 and the guests who reviewed. Thank you for all the love and support you have given me, it really means a lot :)

SONG: Dog Days - Florence and The Machines.

CookiesForMyTummy,x

~ Chapter 9 ~

Ally stood on the back porch as she watched Austin cleaning his motorcycle. It was a Harley-Davidson bike, and she watched the gentle look on his face. He looked at peace.

It had been a couple of days since she moved in and her mom had never came back. Ally wasn't going to take it to heart, because she was having fun here. Tyler hadn't come home drunk since she moved in and she saw that as a good sign.

Ally had shared a lot of innocent moments with Austin; like the one in the kitchen, and she had found out that Austin and Tyler had moved a lot of times because Tyler always got into trouble.

I hope they don't have to move again...

Ally sat down on the steps and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. He glanced over at her and smiled.

"I'm going to go for a ride in a minute, do you want to come?" He asked and she nodded her head, then raced over to him. She reached out and brushed her fingers against the leather seat and Austin watched her contently.

"Have you ever been on a bike?" He asked and she shook her head. "It's...relaxing."

Ally smiled at him and he felt his heart beat faster. He knew he shouldn't react this way because he was older than her and she was too fragile. But, he couldn't help the caring feeling that consumed him every time she smiled at him.

She continued to look up at him and he felt like he was a magnet being drawn to her. He quickly pulled himself away and diverted his gaze from hers.

"Where do you want to go?" Ally shrugged her shoulders. "Anywhere?" She nodded and Austin climbed on the bike and held out his hand to help her straddle the bike. He felt her chest press up against his back and he stiffened slightly. Her small hands rested on his stomach and he could feel her warm breath by his ear.

Austin turned on the bike and it rumbled to life, then they sped off down the dirt road. They passed thousands of trees and Ally watched everything pass quickly.

She began to think about the new freedom she had gained. Yesterday, Austin had dropped her off at work, then she had happily walked home back through the woods.

Home...this place is home.

It was the closest she was going to get to her dream of living on a farm. That was her dream, but that's all it was, a dream. She wanted to wake up early in the morning and listen to the animals, then she wanted to race out into the fields and tend to them all. She wanted to grow her own crops and make her own food. She just wanted a life which she could be proud of.

When Austin had said he'd work for her. She thought he'd been joking, but he was starting to appear in her dream and she didn't know what to think about it. She didn't even know how Austin saw her. What if he doesn't even see me as a friend? What if he is just pitying me? So many thoughts rushed through her head, but she shook her head, and held on tighter to him.

Austin drove into town and Ally wondered where they going, but after a couple of minutes he pulled up outside a diner. The bike came to a stop and Austin got off first and held out his hand for her. She placed her hand in his with a smile and she got off the bike. Her legs ached a little and they walked inside.

A waitress showed them to a booth and her eyes lingered on Austin. Ally felt a surge of jealousy rush through her, I have no right to be jealous. The woman handed them some menus and she slowly left.

"Tyler and I have some business to take care of tonight," He said, and she looked away from the menu. "We won't be back until the early morning," Ally raised an eyebrow at him, what business? "I told you that my brother gets himself into a lot of trouble…well, he owes someone some money and I need to sort it out, so we don't have to move again. I'm happy here."

She nodded her head, and flashed him a weak smile. She wasn't happy that he was having to clean up Tyler's mess, but she knew that he didn't have a choice. The waitress soon returned and she took their order, and Ally pointed out what she wanted on the menu, so Austin could say it for her. They waited for their food and sat in a comfortable silence, and when the waitress returned with the food, she left behind a napkin with her number on.

Ally looked at him, and she watched as he scrunched up the napkin and pushed it to the side. I wonder if that's what he did with the napkin I gave him the first time we met. His eyes met hers.

"I'm not interested," He said and he took a bite out of his burger. She didn't know how to react to what he said, but she chose to ignore it.

…

Austin and Tyler had left a couple of hours ago, and it was almost midnight. Ally was sat in front of the fire, thinking about all of the memories she had of her dad. She was feeling lonely, and she wished Austin was here, but she understood that he had business to take care of.

She got to her feet, and she walked into Austin's bedroom. She had been sleeping on the couch whilst she'd been staying here, but she wanted something comfortable to sleep on; Austin wouldn't be back until early in the morning, so there shouldn't be a problem.

She jumped on the bed and curled herself up into a ball. She forgot to turn the light off, but she wasn't comfortable with being in the dark, not without Austin around. She felt herself beginning to drift off to sleep, but the sound of her cell phone going off, pulled her away from sleep.

Ally got to her feet, and walked out of the bedroom. She grabbed her phone from the couch and saw she had a picture message from Trish.

I thought you should know that he really doesn't care about you…

Underneath was a picture of Austin kissing the waitress from earlier, and Ally felt her heart drop to the floor. She had no right to feel this way, but she couldn't help it. He was the only person who had shown any interest in her.

Tear stung at her eyes and she dropped the phone and rushed around the cabin, collecting her things. When she had everything in one bag, she took off out the front door and into the trees. She clutched her cell phone in her hand and sprinted all the way back to her apartment.

When she arrived, she saw her door was hanging off the hinges from when Austin kicked it down. She pulled her toolkit from the cupboard and she began to screw it back onto the doorframe. She messaged her boss and told her she'd do the early shift, and the late shift. Then she went into her bedroom and climbed into bed.

She blocked out all thoughts of Austin and tried to go to sleep, but it didn't claim her, so she lay in silence and stared up at the ceiling. The sun soon came through the curtains and she finally blinked her dry eyes and rubbed at them.

Her cell phone had been going off all night, but she never moved to get it. She looked over at it, and was too scared to have a look. She sat up and took it from her nightstand.

Message 1: Austin.

Where are you?

Message 2: Austin.

I've been to the meadow and you aren't there? What's wrong?

Message 3: Austin.

Ally, please, did I do something wrong?

Message 4: Austin.

Ally, where are you?

Ally looked at the message from her boss telling her that she was okay to work all day today, so Ally got ready for work and left her apartment. Ten minutes later, she arrived at the library and took a seat behind the desk.

She placed her bag under the desk, and her phone rested on top of it. Maybe I should reply to him? I can't tell him I ran away, because I knew he kissed someone…this is so messed up, I'm getting attached to him.

The time seemed to pass slowly and only a few people came in and by lunch time, Ally was ready to cry from boredom.

"Hey!" A hand slammed down on her desk and made her jump. "Why aren't you talkin' to my brother?" Tyler's voice was harsh and she jumped to her feet. "He's a mess."

Ally grabbed her notebook and pen.

He kissed someone.

"No he didn't-Oh, Ally that woman threw herself at him, my brother pushed her away…How did you know about that?"

Trish.

"That Latina chick," He growled and she held her notebook to her chest. "Ally, will you go and see my brother. He went crazy when he saw that you weren't there when we got back. You scared him."

Why does he care?

"Dollface, I should ask you the same thing. You ran off because he kissed a woman, even though you ain't actually his girl."

Ally didn't know how to respond and she looked around at the empty library. He's right…I overreacted. She nodded her head and grabbed her bag. She followed Tyler out of the library and she locked the door behind her. They got into his truck and he drove off towards the garage. They sat in silence and Ally tucked some of her hair behind her ear. I definitely overreacted…I just freaked out. I never meant to scare him.

They arrived after fifteen minutes and Ally smiled at Tyler, then slowly got out of the truck. He drove off and she was left on the sidewalk. She could see Dez standing by one of the workbenches and he had a cut on his cheek. She walked over and looked around to see if he was there, but he wasn't.

"If you're looking for the psychopath, he's in the kitchen," Dallas spoke up from one of the cars. She walked through the door and down the corridor. She stopped at the doorway of the kitchen and looked at Austin. He had his back to her and was washing his hands in the sink. She stepped in and he looked over his shoulder.

"Ally!" He exclaimed, and he ran over and pulled her into his chest, hugging her tight. She smiled and buried her face into his neck. He brought his hand to the back of her hair and she felt his lips brush against the side of her head. He quickly pulled away and looked down at her. "Where did you go? What happened?"

She pulled her notebook out of her bag and wrote down what she wanted to say.

Trish was wherever you were last night and she sent me a picture of you kissing the waitress from the diner.

"Oh," He grunted, and she looked into his tired eyes. "Ally, she kissed me…I'm sorry."

You don't have anything to apologize for. I overreacted.

"Why?"

I don't know…

"I was worried sick," He admitted. "Please, don't ever run off like that again. I know it's hard for you to communicate with people, but talk to me, leave me notes. I only care about you."

He cares…about me?

"I know that we haven't known each other for a long time, but I want you in my life. You have only just come into my brother's life, but he hasn't touched a drink since you arrived. You're making our lives better, and we need you. I need you," He reached out and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. She felt her cheeks heat up and he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

She inhaled sharply, then looked up at him. She felt a smile break out on her face, and she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. He cares.

…

Ally stared at the campfire with a smile on her face. Tyler was bringing out the meat to roast on the barbeque and Austin was sat nearby, engaging in an uncomfortable conversation with Dez, Elliot and Dallas.

Ally had told Austin to apologize to Dez for punching him in one of his outbursts, then she had told him to invite them around for dinner. They were all sat around the fire and the guys were drinking beer, except for Tyler, and Ally was drinking some apple juice.

She had tied her hair up in a ponytail and was wearing one of her only summer dresses. She couldn't fight the smile off her face, and she finally felt at peace. Ally never wanted to leave the woods, because oddly enough, she felt safe.

Austin stood up and walked over to sit down by her, and he took a sip from his beer, whilst the other guys talked about how many women they'd slept with. Ally rolled her eyes, and Austin looked at her.

"You aren't going to run away anymore?" She shook her head and he nodded. "Good…I'd miss your baking," Ally grinned at him and she felt herself move closer to him, so their arms were touching.

"And I'd miss checking out your ass whenever you bend over," Tyler spoke from behind them and Ally looked over her shoulder to see he was holding the tray of meat.

"Fuck off!" Austin snapped, and Tyler howled out a laugh, then walked over to the barbeque. Ally felt her cheeks turn red and she wanted to take her hair down to cover her face.

The sound of a car approaching the front of the house, echoed around the woods. Ally looked at Austin and he got to his feet and walked around the side of the cabin. She waited for him to return, and when he did, he returned with her mom behind him.

"Well isn't this cosy. C'mon, time to go Allyson," She held out her hand like she was summoning a child and she got to her feet, then walked over to her. "I've just about had enough with your childish attitude. You're going to be seeing a new therapist tomorrow, then you'll get your life together and start talking."

She's my mom, but I'm tired of being a pushover.

"Hell no!" Tyler hollered. "She ain't going anywhere with you."

"She's my daughter and she will do as she's told. She has spent enough time around you pieces of trash," Her mom grabbed her wrist and began to pull her along, but Austin reached out and roughly pulled her against his chest, so she was out of her mom's hold.

"Since she can't speak to defend herself, I'm going to do it for her. She's happy here, and we're happy to let her stay. She's sick to death of you walking all over, you treat her not talking like a disability. How about you look past that and you'd see who your daughter really is, a kind and caring person. You may think my brother and I are scum, but we're the only people that have shown her any kind of compassion and treated her as our equal. Now, you've got ten seconds to get the hell off my property before I call the cops."

Ally watched as her mom looked between her and Austin, then she growled and disappeared back around the cabin. Ally stepped away from Austin's chest and turned to look at him. She reached out and placed her hand of his heart.

"Thanks?" She nodded her head, then she jumped into his arms, and hugged him tight.