OH MY GOSH IT'S BEEN SO LONG! I'm so incredibly sorry about the 7 month wait. Obviously, I have commitment issues to my attempts at hobbies. I doubt y'all even remember this story. Heck I had to re read it last night to remember what was even happening. Anyhow, I apologize profusely. With fall sports done, hopefully I can get beck on track with this story and actually finish it before I'm 40...
Disclaimer: Don't own it or anything for that matter
Aubryn POV
School today was tough. Between thoughts of the conversation Mom was having with Austin (the one deciding my future without my say in the matter... Yeah that one) and Rylie Cate's constant pestering about the surprise that Penton made up, I was constantly distracted. The fact that I haven't gotten a ton of sleep this past week wasn't really helping either. Hunter was acting the same way so thankfully the attention was taken off my weirdness and directed towards him. When she wasn't bothering me, Ry was bothering Hunter. I've seen those two fight but the yelling match that occurred right after school was one I had never seen between them (I'd seen a similar between Mom and Austin though). Penton and I both had to get involved because Rylie was that close to hitting to Hunter. Something was obviously was on his mind but he didn't say anything about it.
The only good thing that happened was that I got to vent to Penton more. He's been incredibly nice and understanding to my dysfunctional family. After storming out of the house this morning, I got on the bus and plopped down next to him, disrupting our usual seating arrangement. He immediately hugged me, something we've been doing a lot lately, and let me stew quietly, waiting for me to begin my usual rant. We sat like that and talked until Rylie Cate and Hunter's bus stop and I moved up a seat before they got on to avoid suspicion. For the first time in a long time, the two got on the bus not bickering, Rylie on her phone and Hunter quietly observing. Penton tried to start a conversation but Hunter only gave short answers, leaving me to add Hunter to my long list of Everything That Isn't Right In Bryn's World.
By the time the fight had been diffused and we were on the bus, we were all in our own worlds, ignoring the other. I've been thinking a lot about what I want Austin to say and how I want my future to be and I still don't really know what I want. I don't want to see Austin just completely ignore us and forget we exist, living his life with another person who is not my mom. It doesn't help that I would get constant updates from the media because he's, gee I don't know, one of the most popular people in the world. Then again, I don't want him to just live with us and we all pretend like he's always been a part of this family and the last 14 years didn't happen. Besides, he can't just leave his career and come move to Nebraska. But I don't want to uproot my life that I have here with all my friends and Aunt Liz, even if it was to live in a mansion in Hollywood. I mean, Mom has done a good job of making ends meet but I know we don't have too much to spare. I learned from a very young age to be content with what I have and not ask for stuff that I'll only use a few times and then forget about it. Living with Austin, I could have a ton of stuff and never feel the strain. But that's not a good enough reason for me to leave everybody and maybe even Mom. I'm not sure how Mom and Austin's relationship is, if they want to get back together or not. He is dating someone else after all as Rylie has told me so many times. I haven't really said it to anyone, even Penton, but I really want Austin to be in my life and have a father figure. I don't want him to just have me at his house but never be there to talk to me, constantly working or traveling, leaving me under the supervision of a nanny.
"Hey Bryn," Rylie interrupts my thoughts.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah?"
"We're at your stop." I see the driver looking impatiently at me through the mirror. I rush to get up and say a quick bye, muttering an apology to the bus driver as I get off.
"Hi Bryn," my mom greets me as I walk towards the house. She's seated on one of the chairs on the front porch, opposite of a woman about her age. I know from Rylie that she's Trish de la Rosa.
"Hi Mom," I reply walking up the steps and nod towards Trish.
"Wow, Ally. She looks just like you. Very cute," She tells my mom. "Hi Aubryn, I'm Trish. You might of heard of me; I'm kind of a big deal," she introduces herself and then hugs me. Unsure of what to do, I awkwardly hug back. Thankfully my mom aids me.
"Okay Trish, calm down. You can tell her all about yourself over dinner. Until then-" Mom gets cut off by a phone.
Trish, annoyed, pulls it out. "I'm sorry guys but I have to get this." She walks a few feet before answering and barking into the phone. "WHAT DO YOU WANT NOW? DIDN'T I TELL YOU NOT TO CALL ME? GOD DEZ!"
Mom motions to Trish that we're going inside and she nods in understanding before going back to berating Dez. Mom leads me inside and I waste no time in asking questions.
"Why are you still here? Where's Aunt Liz? What's for dinner? Why is she here? Who is she really? Hunter was acting strange today, was Britt? Who's Dez? I mean I know who he is but how do you all know each other? And most importantly, what did Austin say?"
"Slow down, Bryn. I can't answer everything that fast," she replies smiling. "I'm here because I need to talk to you about everything. That's why Aunt Liz isn't here. Really Aubryn? In the midst of all this you want to know what we're having for dinner? I'll never understand you. What were your other questions?" My mom answers as many as she can.
"Why is Trish here? And how do you know her?" I remind her.
"Trish is here because I wanted to catch up with here. Austin called her to talk to here and she decided to come visit to help us and see me again. Its been nearly 15 years since I last saw her and we've been best friends since before kindergarten. She's Austin's manager you know." She explains.
"And who was she yelling at?" I prod.
"Who Dez? He's Austin's best friend the four of us have all been friends since we were 15. They still work together for Austin. Honestly I'm surprised you don't know anything about these people. Aren't you supposed to be up to date on all the famous drama? Plus aren't you best friends with Rylie Cate? She is obsessed with those three."
"I'm the one asking the questions here!" I answer her and she gives me a warning look. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be disrespectful." She smiles at me and asks me to continue.
"What did Austin tell you? How grim is my future?"
She answers me in the most unhelpful way possible. "He's coming over later tonight for us to talk. Until then, we're going to focus on Trish and -"
"You bet we are. After all, I didn't travel all the way from Miami to help Bulldozer," Trish interrupts as she enters the house. Mom raises an eyebrow and I just look confused. Who is Bulldozer?
"Really Trish?" Mom asks.
"What? I think its a pretty good name and I'm going to keep using it. Oh by the way, Dez says hi. He wants to meet Aubryn soon," she tells Mom distractedly and then looks towards me. "Good luck with that. Dez is quite the person." I smile, still lost at Bulldozer and how I'm supposed to act with Trish. Her personality is just so loud and out there. Similar to her fashion choice. She's famous for that?
Mom smiles at the mention of Dez and then goes to the kitchen for dinner. I stand awkwardly by Trish, not sure what to do. She does though because she starts grilling me with questions. Her voice carries and Mom reprimands her, telling me to go get my homework done and for Trish to go to the kitchen with her.
Thankful, I go up the stairs, checking my phone on the way. The group message I have with Rylie, Hunter, and Penton has been busy, with texts from all three. Rylie and Hunter both apologized for their behavior and are now talking with Penton about getting together this weekend. I see quite a few texts asking where I was. I answer apologetically but tell them I have to go. I want to get all my homework done before Austin comes over. I actually have a decent amount today since I was too busy worrying in class to get it done.
"Aubryn," My mom yells upstairs, "Will you come down and set the table?"
"Yes Ma'am," I call back. I hear Trish comment on my manners and how I obviously didn't get them from Austin. My mom's softer reply is about how manners aren't an inherited trait. Leave it to my mom to correct someone on their inacurateness. She should be a teacher.
After we say grace and begin to eat, Mom asks me to better introduce myself to Trish. I must look like a deer in the headlights because Mom laughs at me and starts for me.
"Well, you enjoy singing and reading and..." She trails off signaling for me to continue talking.
"I enjoy writing also. Um I have three best friends: Hunter, Penton, and Rylie Cate. Rylie Cate is in love with you. You and Austin both are her role models." Pretty soon we're talking about anything and everything and I realize Trish is actually really nice and I can tell she cares about her friends, even this Dez. By the end of dinner, I'm calling her Aunt Trish. When Mom asks if Trish can stay at our house instead of the hotel, I happily oblige, interested to see how this turns out.
Once I clean up the table and kitchen; Mom and Aunt Trish in the living room sipping on wine, still catching up with each other, it's 7:30 and Austin hasn't come. I go back upstairs to finish my English homework and my book. I'm so engrossed in my reading, I don't hear the doorbell ring or mom yell up at me to come downstairs. Instead, I'm brought back to Earth by Austin standing at the doorway to my room, observing my decorations. He clears his throat so I look up, startled.
"Hi," he begins, scratching the back of his neck nervously. I decided that no matter what happens tonight, I would hear him out and try not to be hostile. Seeing how nervous he was, I took pity on him.
"Hi," I answer. "Do you want to come in?"
"Would that be alright?" He questions. I nod and he walks towards my desk, sitting in the white chair, facing me. I move from laying on my bed to sitting upright on it.
"So..." I start.
"So..." he echoes.
"Does Mom want me downstairs?" He shakes his head, in what it appears to be an attempt to clear it. "What?" I ask.
"Sorry. Its just weird to hear Ally called 'Mom' that's all." He answers.
"Oh," I say.
"Yeah," he responds.
"Does she want me downstairs?" I try again.
"Well she did but we decided it might be better if I just talk to you alone first." He shifts nervously on the chair.
"Ok then. What do you want to talk about?"
"Well, your," He pauses, "Mom and I want to talk to about what we think will be the best course of action with you together but I wanted to talk to you a little and get to know you. Not as your dad, just as a friend. Well that's a little weird. View me as you want to I guess but just not as a celebrity. Pretend I'm some normal person."
"Well, my name's Aubryn, I'm 13 and I'm in 8th grade. My favorite color is green and my favorite food is pancakes. Pasta is a close second. Um what else?"
"What are your hobbies?"
"I like to sing and read and write. Mom taught me how to play the piano when I was younger. I still play it occasionally but I like singing more." I keep talking and he smiles and nods sometimes, interjecting every now and then to say something. Slowly, I see a real person, not just a popstar. He genuinely cares. I might not be fully on his side yet and I still remember how he treated my mom and me at the diner but I'm starting to warm up to him.
Conversation turns towards his public image. "Unless things get really out of hand, I'm not going to say anything to the media about you or Ally. Of course the tabloids always turn your actions against you but I'll be taking the brunt of the backlash. You seem like a responsible girl so I'm going to let you say what you want to other people involving me. I trust you know where to draw the line." He tells me and I nod. "And Aubryn?" He asks.
"Yeah?"
"I'm really sorry for how I treated you and your mother the other day. That was completely uncalled for. I'm not going to provide excuses, just know I'm really sorry." I smile at him and relief washes over his face. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
"I don't know, it depends on what you and Mom have decided for my future. But there is one thing," he nods, "My friend Rylie Cate is a huge fan. Is there a way you guys could 'coincidentally' meet. It would be great."
"Of course, Aubryn," he answers.
"Thanks. By the way, you can call me Bryn."
"Thank you, Bryn. We should probably be getting downstairs. Its getting late." I agree and he stands up stretching. His t shirt rides up a little bit and I hear an intake of breath. Austin doesn't hear it but I look over to my doorway and see my mom standing there eying the stretch of skin that's been uncovered, exposing his well defined stomach.
"Hi Mom," I say loudly and she jerks her head towards me.
"Oh hey guys! Just wanted to see how you were doing."
"We were just about to come downstairs," Austin tells her smiling and I see her blush. Rolling my eyes, I invite her in and she goes to sit on the window seat. They both face me and I prepare myself for whatever is coming my way.
"Bryn," Mom starts, "I want you to listen to the entire thing before you decide how to react."
"Yes Ma'am."
"Well, I want joint custody. Now because of my job, I can't move here to live with you two. I also don't want to disrupt the life you two have. So for the time being, you will be with me for the majority of your school breaks and a few weeks during the summer. I will try to time my trips and plans around your schedule so I can spend the most amount of time with you and you won't have to constantly travel with me," Austin tells me, "And Ally is free to come join us whenever she has time." He directs that towards her more than me and she smiles and nods.
"And I am going to try to get a different job or change my hours at the restaurant so I can spend more time with you everyday." Mom jumps in. "Also, when Austin isn't too busy, he can stay here and spend some time with us."
So far, this isn't terrible. We continue talking and I'm not told anything truly life altering. I don't have to live out the rest of my childhood without my mother in some mansion in California and I'll get to see Austin. I can tell they're both trying to do the best they can, which I'm truly grateful for.
Its late and Aunt Trish has already fallen asleep in the guest room. Which reminds me of Aunt Liz. We didn't really talk about what will happen with her. For that matter, we didn't touch on a lot of things. Like what Austin's girlfriend will think of this entire thing and what happens when Austin and my mom fall back in love because its going to happen. But we'll talk about that tomorrow. I hear Mom offering to let Austin stay the night as they walk out of my room and leave me to get ready for bed. Austin accepts and asks for some pillows and a blanket for the couch. I wonder how long it will take for them to just forgo the couch...
So yeah. Chapter 10, 7 months late. Again, I apologize. If you have any ideas for how this story should continue, please review. Also, any recommendations for other fanfics would be much appreciated. I'm getting back into them so let me know which ones y'all like.
I make no promises but there will be a new chapter by the end of the month. Your reviews honestly help me update faster because of the ideas y'all provide and plus I know there are people who want me to update. I don't do a "I need this many reviews before I update" type thing but yeah.
Thank you guys for bearing with me, it means a lot.
~ Reagan Maree