Hey guys! So I'm back and its been less than a month since I last updated. That is quite an accomplishment for me. :)
Anyhow I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own. Nope.
Ally POV
I awake Saturday morning to the smell of pancakes, which is odd since Aubryn is never awake before me. I throw an oversized cardigan on on top of my cami and go downstairs to investigate. To my surprise, I see Austin facing away from me and towards the stove. A plate of hot pancakes are next to him, dripping in butter and syrup. Quietly, I walk up to stand next to him.
"So I see you've found the pancake mix," I start. At the sound of my voice, he jumps a little bit and I laugh quietly.
"Oh hi Ally, I didn't see you there. Yeah it wasn't too hard to find the mix. Oh by the way-" He gets cut off by Aubryn rushing downstairs.
"Are those pancakes? And it's not even Monday!" Aubryn says as she runs downstairs. Austin laughs at her but before he can answer her question, I speak.
"What have I told you about running down the stairs?!" I reprimand exasperated.
"I smelled pancakes!" She defends herself. I smile and let it slide with a(nother) warning.
"Yeah they're right here. But don't eat all of them, I want some too," Austin tells her.
"Thanks, Austin," she takes the plate and sits down at the bar. Through a mouthful of food, she asks, "So what's the plan for today?"
"Aubryn! Have I not taught you anything? You're supposed to be making me look like a great mother in front of Austin," I joke.
"But I don't need to make you look good if you already are," she answers.
"I'm not sure if you're serious or just trying to get out of punishment," I tell her.
"Both." Austin gives her a high five over the bar and I roll my eyes.
"You're not helping either, Mister." He just shrugs. "Anyhow, to answer your question Bryn, I'll probably be working on cleaning the house and I think Aunt Liz is coming over later tonight to meet Trish. Why? Did you have plans?"
"Penton suggested getting together the other night," she answers and I raise my eyebrow and she rushes to continue. "With Rylie Cate and Hunter of course." I nod in approval.
"Well I don't see why you can't. Where are you guys meeting?" I give her my consent.
"We were talking about going to see a movie and maybe get something to eat afterwards. So I guess the movie theater and then the usual hang out. I'll let you know if anything changes."
"What movie are you guys going to see?" Austin asks. I'm not sure if he's trying to be a parent or just curious.
"Um we haven't gotten that far into planning," She answers and then directs her attention to me, "And I'll let you know once we decide. Don't worry, we won't see anything R rated."
"But all the good stuff is R rated," Austin says and I scowl at him.
"Not. Helping." I tell him and swat his arm. Which is incredibly defined. He sees my shocked expression and smirks at me.
"Something wrong, Ally?" He asks innocently. I give him my we'll-talk-later look, one Aubryn knows well.
"Oh, Austin, you're in for it," She tells him.
"Nothing I can't handle," He informs her and she laughs.
"Austin!" I say exasperated. He just smiles and goes back to eating the plate of pancakes he made for himself. "But yes Aubryn, you're allowed to go. Just let me know when you're going to be home. And you will not be watching a R rated movie," I tell her and Austin rolls his eyes.
"I would like you to know that I have been a part of some very good, box office hits that are rated R," He informs me.
"Good for you. Now finish your pancakes," I tell him. "How and when are you getting to the movie theater?" I ask her. "Should I drive you? Or will one of the other moms pick you up?"
"We'll probably see one after lunch. I'll text the other three and see about transportation," She answer.
"If you don't have a ride, I can take you on my way back to my hotel," Austin offers, and to my surprise Bryn accepts his proposition. I guess she has warmed up to him and I smile. Bryn excuses herself and after she places her plate in the dishwasher, goes up to her room. Austin looks at me intently. "What?!" I ask.
"Are you going to eat anything?"
I nod and get out a bowl for my yogurt. Once I've prepared it, I go to sit by Austin at the bar.
"So..." He starts. "What happens now?"
"Well, Bryn doesn't have a break until next month. I'll have to print out a calendar of her school schedule. We'll need to plan when she's at each house and try to plan ahead. Until then, continue doing what you normally do and we'll try to arrange something for her week off. I'm not sure how much longer you plan on being in Nebraska but you're welcome to stay here. Once Trish leaves, you won't have to sleep on the couch. When is Trish leaving?"
"I never know with her. And um I can't really stay here. At least not for the next few nights. Well I mean I could tonight but not after that." He says nervously.
"Why's that?"
"Well, Abbie kind of invited herself here from tomorrow until Tuesday. I mean not here, here. Not like here, your house. Just like here, this town." He looks like he's going to continue to discuss locations but I ignore him. Abbie, may be fiancee Abbie, is coming here. Not like here, here but here like - yeah it really doesn't matter where here, she's still going to be with Austin. Things were starting to look better for the three of us. Bryn was getting along with Austin and Austin wasn't angry at either of us. We even got as far as to settle a reasonable plan that satisfied everybody. But now Abbie is coming. She might ruin it all. Austin might realize that he doesn't want everything that comes along with the two of us and just wants to go back to the perfect California blonde. One who is stable and doesn't have a kid. And what if Austin tells her about me and Bryn and she flips? I don't want her to be mad at me for taking her boyfriend. Austin interrupts my thoughts.
"Ally?" He asks, his perfect features etched with worry.
I smile but it doesn't reach my eyes. "Yeah?"
He notices and gently takes my hand. "Hey, is this about Abbie? Because you don't need to be worried about her. I'll take care of it. She's my girlfriend and my worry, not yours. You can worry about everything else that you need to worry about." I nod and excuse myself to get ready for the day. Once upstairs, I pass the guest room and peek in to see Trish still out cold. I shake my head at her and quietly close the door again. Down the hallway, Bryn's door is cracked open and I hear her quietly singing to her music, her soft voice carrying. She has a truly beautiful voice and I hope one day Austin will get to hear it. If Abbie doesn't ruin this. I continue into my bedroom, trying to have better outlook on what will happen. I want to subtly impress Austin even though I know deep down, I shouldn't be and being in a relationship, Abbie forgotten, with Austin at this point is not a good idea. But I can't help it, I miss him.
I curl my hair loosely and put on a small amount of makeup, nothing too substantial. Austin always told me I look prettier without all the makeup. I settle on wearing yellow skinny jeans that fit nicely and a comfortable blue and white striped shirt that has midlength sleeves. I tuck the shirt semi into my brown belt and pull out my brown wedges in case I go somewhere today. I check the clock on my bedside table and see that it's already 10:30. With one last check in the mirror, I walk back down the hall and nearly bump into Trish. She rubs her eyes grumpily and I apologize. She continues her trek to the bathroom across the hall and I continue towards the stairs and pause by Bryn's room.
"Did you guys finalize your plans?" I ask her after lightly knocking on her door. She turns her music down and finishes her text before answering me.
"Yes we did. We've decided to see The Lorax since the theater is replaying it and Hunter still hasn't seen it. We're all going to meet there. Mrs. Butler offered me a ride but I said I'd go with Austin. Well, I didn't tell her I'd go with Austin, just that I had a ride."
"I'm glad you're getting along with him, Bryn," I tell her.
"He's a nice person, Mom. He's really trying. Plus he knows some famous people," She grins.
"You better not be leading him on just because he's famous."
"I'm kidding. Although it is an added bonus. Plus everyone will know who I am at school now."
"You sure you want that?"
"Yeah, no. Not really. I'll just let the news get out by itself. But if I wanted it to spread fast, I'll just have to tell Rylie."
"Well it's nice to see you and Austin getting along. I'm going to be downstairs and Trish is awake so tread carefully." She raises an eyebrow at me and nods. Once I leave, she turns her music back up a little and resumes singing quietly.
Downstairs, Austin is on the couch scrolling through his phone. "Do by chance have a charger for my phone?"
"Depends on what your phone is." To answer he holds it up.
"Yeah, it's in my room. I'll be right back."
Back in my room, I grab the charger and my laptop. I might as well do some research.
Once I make it downstairs again, I give Austin the charger and he nods in gratitude, shifting to the other side of the couch to be near the outlet. I set my computer on the coffee table and go into the kitchen to make some tea.
"Would you like anything to drink?" I call.
"Coffee?" He asks hopefully so I make him a single cup serving while warming up the water for my tea in the microwave. I walk slowly back towards the living room, concentrating intently. When he sees me, Austin rushes to get up to help. He grabs the mug that has his coffee and our fingers brush. He has a quiet intake of breath, so subtle, I barely hear it. He thanks me and walks back to the couch.
"There's cream in the fridge if you want some more. I tried not to add too much." I inform.
"This is fine, Ally. Thanks." He reads something on his phone and his eyebrows furrow.
"Anything wrong?" I ask.
"Hmm? Oh it's just PR," He says distractedly but I know there's more to it.
"What about PR?" I ask, worried it might be about Bryn or myself.
"It's just about something that went down last month. Nothing terrible."
Knowing he won't give any more up, I grab my laptop and curl up into the armchair, setting my mug on the table beside me. I power up the laptop and begin to work on finding a little information out. Before I got pregnant, I was studying to become a teacher and was almost done with everything required. In my free time lately, I enrolled in an online course to try to finish and get my degree. I was rewarded a few months ago and I'm now certified to teach. Now that I won't see Aubryn as much during her breaks, I want to change my job hours to be able to spend more time with her. I want to try and find a job I can easily sub at. I email the principals of the local schools trying to see if any of them have any positions they need filled.
Around my third email, Austin gets up and walks outside onto the back porch. I watch him as he makes a call, growing more and more agitated until he sags with relief. I'm not sure what it is about but I don't think he'll tell me anyhow. Before I can dwell too much on it, Trish comes downstairs and welcomes herself to some yogurt.
"Sure Trish, have whatever you want," I tell her sarcastically.
"Oh thanks, Ally!" She answers brightly, purposefully ignoring my tone. She comes into the living room and we talk for awhile. Austin is still outside on the phone. A few minutes later, as Trish recounts her story of her latest trouble with Dez, Austin walks in, ending his phone conversation.
"Ok babe, I'll see you tomorrow." She says something and then he answers, "Love you too. Bye." He takes the phone from his ear and ends the call.
"Hey, Trish. Took you long enough to get up," He addresses her. She retorts but I don't pay attention, still on the part of his conversation I heard. The "Love you too" part. Unless I just cannot, for the life of me, deduce anything, he was talking to Abbie. It saddens me that he talks to her the same way he used to talk to me. I know it's not my place to say anything and I gave up my right to do so when I left him, but it still hurts.
"Alls?" Austin asks, and I realize he's asking to borrow my laptop.
"Hmm? Yeah. Here, just don't exit out of anything I have pulled up." I hand him my computer. I minimize everything, leaving only my background, a picture of Liz, Bryn, and me, taken last year.
He takes it and pulls some page up, showing it to Trish.
"Ooh, that is bad. What are they doing to shoot it down?" She asks. What are they talking about? I voice my question and Trish and Austin exchange a look. It seems like I might get an answer but we are interrupted by my phone ringing. Sighing, I answer the phone and walk towards the kitchen.
"Yeah, Liz?"
"Am I still good to come by and meet Trish tonight?"
"Yeah, of course. I'm sure Trish would love to go out so if that works..." I leave my sentence hanging.
"Yes! I'll come by at around 6?"
"Sounds great." We talk for a few more minutes before we hang up. The clock on the stove alerts me that it's lunch time so I pull out the ingredients and set about making my homemade mac and cheese. While cooking, I hear Austin and Trish worriedly discussing something. They're talking too quietly for me to distinguish their words but occasionally Austin's voice will rise, however he gives nothing away, just displeasure.
20 minutes later, the pot is on low heat over the stove and I go to alert Trish and Austin lunch is ready. Then, I yell up the stairs at Aubryn. Moments later, everyone is gathered on the kitchen and we begin to eat.
"I should probably leave within the next 15 minutes," Aubryn tells Austin.
"I'll be ready," he tells her.
She goes upstairs to get her stuff together and I clear the table. I'm cleaning up the kitchen when Bryn tells me she and Austin are leaving. I go to the front door with them.
"Call me when you get there and update me regularly." I give Bryn a hug and she kisses my cheek and goes out to wait in Austin's car.
"Will you tell me what's wrong?" I ask Austin when it's just the two of us in the threshold of my house.
"Ally, now's not a great time. Sorry." I nod and lean up to give him a hug. "I'll call you soon." He tells me.
When Austin and Bryn leave, I go inside and begin to clean to clear my head. Trish is relaxing on the sofa, tapping away on her phone. She raises her eyebrow at me as I vacuum under her feet but doesn't say anything.
At 4, I am reminded of our evening plans and fill Trish in. She quickly runs upstairs to get ready. We still have two hours but apparently that's not enough for her. I do some laundry and go upstairs to get ready at 5.
I take a relaxing shower and try to keep my mind off of my crazy life. I blow dry my hair and pull it into a simple bun. I put my makeup on a little heavier so as to avoid protest from the girls.
I put on a peach colored dress that is mid thigh length. It has loose ruffles above the waistline. I put on hanging earrings that are dark grey, peach, and gold to match the bracelet I put on. My clutch matches my earrings and the light pink/nude heels I plan on putting on at the last minute.
Aubryn comes home right before Liz gets here and I give her the regular instructions and Trish and I walk out to meet Liz in her car. I introduce each woman to the other and they hit right off, sharing common ground of how impossible it is for me to have a want to get with a man. really I just don't have the heart to move on from Ausitn and it's easier to raise a kid single than try to introduce a boyfriend anyhow.
The night goes by quickly and I surprise myself by having a great time, completely forgetting about Austin. Despite their protests, I get Liz and Trish to leave before midnight and get home.
When we get home, I waste no time in taking off my shoes, sighing in relief once I do. I change into sweatpants and a t shirt, remove my makeup, and put my glasses on and go downstairs to retrieve my laptop.
I cocoon myself under a ton of covers and check my email. Before I do that, I see what Austin and Trish were so worried about.
Holy crap!
So... Another chapter finished. Ally's outfits are on the Pinterest page. Please review and tell me where you want this story to go!
As always, thank you for your support and the amount of people that read the last chapter even after I was gone for so long. Once again, I make no promises, but I hope there will be another chapter up before the end of the month. I have my own computer now so it should be a lot easier to update.
~Reagan Maree