A/N: 300 reviews! You guys are incredible! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing - it means so much to me, truly.
I'm really sorry about the delay on this chapter. I actually had one written and ready to go last week but it wasn't quite right. I threw out over half of it and wrote several new pages and I feel a lot better about where this went. I would rather take a little longer to write something good than just write something to get it out there. Let me know what you think!
. . .
Blindsided Chapter 25: Not a Love Song
. . .
It took 30 minutes for Ally to calm her father down with some help from Austin. She promised to do what she could and try to talk to her mom as soon as possible. When they hung up Ally leaned into Austin and he held her tight.
"We'll figure this out." he said.
"It's just - they are my parents. I always thought they had a great relationship." Ally said.
Austin took a deep breath. "Listen, as much as I want to go to the tallest building and shout to the world that you agreed to marry me, maybe we should keep it to ourselves for a little while. We need to focus on your family right now."
"You are part of my family too." Ally said.
Austin hugged her even tighter. "That means the world to me Ally. So, let's help our family then. I still want you, more than anything, but I don't know how the news would go over with your parents right now."
"Okay. Let's get this worked out and then we tell everyone." Ally said.
"We might have to wait until December to get married after all, but I'd marry you today if I could." Austin told her.
Ally pulled him closer for a kiss.
"We should tell your parents about our engagement." she said.
"Are you sure?" Austin asked.
"I'd like someone to know and be happy with us. Do you think they can keep it quiet for a while?"
"I think they'd do just about anything to keep you in my life." Austin said and Ally's tension eased slightly as she laughed.
"Call them right now then."
"Okay." Austin pulled out his phone and dialed his mom's cell phone. He put the phone on speaker.
"Hi Austin." Mimi answered.
"Hey mom, I've got you on speaker and Ally is here. Is dad with you?" Austin asked.
"He's out on the showroom floor. Hold on and I'll get him." They heard her call for Mike in the background. Austin put his arm around Ally, the adrenaline pumping again in excitement to share their good news. "He's coming." Mimi said.
"How is the store Mimi?" Ally asked while they waited.
"It's doing great. We are preparing for a sale next week so we're getting a lot of inventory right now. It keeps me busy in the office but Mike just loves being on the floor selling. He's in his element out there. Oh, here he comes." Mimi said. They heard her tell him that Austin was on the phone.
"Hey son." Mike said.
"And Ally." Mimi prompted.
"Hi Ally." Mike added.
"Hi." Ally said.
"We've got something to tell you." Austin said. "Ally and I are engaged."
"Really?" Mimi squealed. "When? how? Tell me everything!"
"Congratulations." Mike said at the same time.
"He asked last night and I accepted." Ally said.
"Did you get a ring? You never said a word! I didn't even know you were planning it." Mimi said.
"The ring is beautiful. I will show it to you soon." Ally said, giggling and happy again.
"We need to celebrate!" Mimi said.
"Mom, Dad, listen: we need you to keep this quiet for a little while." Austin said. "I'm proud to be with Ally, but her parents are going through a rough patch so we aren't going to announce it yet."
"But we wanted you to know. I wanted to have someone I can talk to about it." Ally said. "So I'd like to get together soon and chat Mimi."
"I would love that." Mimi said, quieter and clearly touched by Ally's words.
"I'm happy for you two. Austin couldn't have chosen someone better for him Ally." Mike said.
"Thank you." Ally said and she felt tears pricking her eyes. At least Austin's family was happy for them.
"I agree dad. I'm just lucky she said yes." Austin said.
Ally elbowed him. "As if you doubted my answer."
"Well, I had to snatch you up before someone else could." Austin said.
"Ooohh, you two are so cute!" Mimi cooed.
"Alright. I have to get back to work. We'll keep it quiet son. Bye." Mike said.
"Thanks dad, bye."
"Bye. I'll talk to you soon." Mimi said.
"Bye mom." Austin said and ended the call.
"That went much better than calling my dad." Ally said in relief.
"My parents love you." Austin told her.
"I love them too. They gave me you." Ally said.
It was cheesy but he knew she meant it and the sentiment wasn't lost on Austin. He kissed her, relying on that to show her he felt the same. Ally melted into his kiss and he lost himself in the sensation. She always had this affect on him. The woman he loved was in his arms, wearing his ring, and he was kissing her. They couldn't get married soon enough as far as he was concerned.
. . .
That afternoon Ally went to the Miami Zoo to see her mom during her lunch hour. One of the zoo workers named Jason led Ally to the Gorilla enclosure and let her into the building. Penny's office and work area were there, close to the animals she loved so dearly. He knocked on the open door when they got there.
"Special delivery for Penny Dawson." Jason said.
Penny looked up from her desk.
"Ally?" she stood up and took Ally's hand and led her to the extra chair as Jason left.
"Hey mom. How's work going?"
"Everything is fine here, but you haven't come in a long time."
"You stopped bringing me because I kept tripping and almost fell into the alligator pool when I was 11." Ally reminded her.
"Oh yes, that's right." Penny laughed lightly. "You and the zoo were not a good mix when you were younger. I was convinced I was going to kill you by bringing you here."
"So I started spending the day with dad at the new store." Ally said.
"Yes you did and that was a much better fit. You loved having all those instruments at your fingertips."
"That's when I started writing my own songs." Ally said.
"Then that was the right place for you. Your music is wonderful sweetie." Penny said. "As happy as I am to have you visit me, you still haven't told me why you are here."
"I spoke to dad last night. He's kind of freaking out. He said something about you leaving him to go to Africa." Ally said.
Penny paused and sat forward in her chair, taking one of Ally's hands in hers. She smoothed her thumb over the back of Ally's hand, a familiar and comforting gesture from Ally's childhood.
"Do you know that when you were 14 years old I was offered an opportunity like this, to go and study the gorillas in their native habitat for a year and really expand my study and write papers or books? Do you know what that could have meant for my career at the time? Even I don't know where I would be today if I had gone then." Penny said.
Ally frowned. She didn't know that. She had no idea before now that her mom was unhappy. "So why didn't you go?"
"Several reasons. You had just started writing music for Star Records, you were young and you were still so scared of everything after losing your sight. I was in charge of your education and had to keep on you or you would have just played music all day. Your father's store was still getting established at the time and was just beginning to make real money. You both needed me."
"We still need you." Ally asserted.
Penny shook her head. "It's different now sweetie. Look at you: grown up and independent and living on your own at 19. You have a successful music career and you have Austin. You don't need me like you did then." She stroked Ally's hair and smiled sadly.
"What about dad?"
Penny scoffed. "He has Sonic Boom. He is there all the time because it's busier than it's ever been and we don't see each other as much. He wouldn't miss me and I'm starting to question whether I would miss him."
"What? That's not true mom."
"Sweetie, sometimes people grow apart. For so long your father and I were on the same page taking care of you and dealing with your blindness. But now that you don't need us like that I can't remember what we have in common anymore." Penny admitted. "We've both grown and changed too. We aren't the same people who fell in love all those years ago."
"But you could remember if you wanted to. Mom, are you and dad getting divorced?"
"We haven't discussed anything that concrete yet. I have two weeks to let the zoological society know if I'm taking this trip. I just don't want to pass up such a good opportunity a second time." Penny said.
"But when would you leave?" Ally asked.
"The end of July. I will be here for your 20th birthday but not for long afterward." Penny answered.
"This is your dream isn't it? Like making music is mine." Ally commented.
"Yes it is."
That closed the subject for the moment. Penny offered to take Ally to lunch at the restaurant inside the zoo. She led Ally there and while they ate Ally asked about the gorillas that Penny worked with. There were a few still around who she remembered from when she was younger, but there were several new ones as well and one of the females had a baby that was a few months old. Ally listened to her mother and heard how her voice changed and was filled with excitement as she talked about the animals she worked with. This was what her mother loved, she had no doubt.
Ally left the zoo in the early afternoon. She had some things to think about. She couldn't blame her mom for wanting to do what she loved. It was the very thing Ally's parents had encouraged her to do with her own life and she had watched them set the example. Her mom loved the primates so they reworked their schedules and her home schooling around that. Her dad loved music and instruments and had dreamed of having his own store his whole life, so when she was young she watched her parents sacrifice and work toward that dream. Now the store was paying off and her dad was so happy.
The one thing that nagged at Ally was that her parents were losing their relationship in the process of following their dreams. She didn't think the two parts of their lives had to be exclusionary. She realized she was lucky to share the same dream as Austin and they were living it together, but not all couples had that and yet their marriages could thrive. She wondered if there was a way for her parents to keep both their relationship and their dreams.
It was also strange to hear her mom's insecurity about her relationship with Lester since their stability had always been a source of strength to Ally. Penny didn't seem sure that they loved each other anymore, but Ally could see their love for each other in things they did all the time. Or at least, she thought she had seen it. Her dad had always been supportive of Penny finishing her degree in biology and working even though Ally needed a lot of care. And Penny had supported him in opening the store even though it was a long shot. All of that couldn't be thrown away now.
During her bus ride home Ally texted her dad. She told him she would talk to him the next day. For now she was exhausted and her head hurt and she just wanted to be with Austin. She texted him as well and he met her at the bus stop closest to his house.
Ally set her purse and cane next to the front door when they got inside and Austin smiled. She was using her cane less and less in his house which meant she was getting used to it and knew her way around pretty well now. They sat down in the front room and she told him all about her visit with her mom.
"And she's not sure how she feels about your dad anymore?" Austin asked at the end.
"That's what it sounded like. She's not sure he still loves her either, but I think she's wrong about both of those things. I mean, you can't just forget how much you love someone, no matter how long you're together, can you?"
"I don't think I could." Austin said. He saw Ally's features relax a bit.
While she was talking to him she had pulled out her necklace and was playing with the small golden bar with her name on it and the engagement ring she had added to it before leaving to see her mom this morning. The long chain had been tucked into her shirt, close to her heart and out of sight of anyone else. She couldn't wear the ring yet or everyone would know about the engagement but she didn't want to be parted from it and what it meant. When she told Austin that earlier he was thrilled and helped her put the ring onto the necklace.
Now she was clearly stressed and worried about her parents. He was trying to be helpful and supportive. If he could just figure out a way for her parents to stay together.
Together. That was it!
"What if your dad went with your mom?" Austin said.
"You mean go to Africa?" Ally asked.
"Yeah. She helped him with the store and it's doing great right? So he could find someone to manage the store while he's gone and go with her to live her dream. That way they don't have to throw away their relationship and she can do what she needs to and he still has the store when he gets back."
"That might work. I just don't know how hard it will be to convince him." Ally said.
"He was pretty freaked out this morning. I think he wants to be with your mom, even if it means leaving stuff behind for a little while."
"Do you really think so?" Ally sounded cautiously hopeful.
"We can give it a shot. I mean, we talk to him and he has to decide, but at least he'll be thinking about it." Austin said.
"Thank you Austin. I knew I just needed to talk it through with you." Ally reached out to hug him and he moved into her arms.
"Hey, we can work anything out, together." he said as he hugged her. "We're a pretty good team."
. . .
The next day was Sunday. Austin called and invited Lester over in the evening so he and Ally could talk to him about their idea. Lester came after dinner, looking down and upset. It was odd to see the usually upbeat man that way. Austin hoped he would respond well to their suggestions regarding Penny.
Austin got them all some lemonade to drink and they sat down in the front room. Austin and Ally sat on the couch together turned toward the chair Lester sat in. Ally told him about her conversation with Penny and her impressions from it.
"Go with her." Ally concluded. "She's supported you with the store all this time, and she took great care of me growing up, so go and support her dream now. Show her you love her by doing this because she sounds like she's uncertain about you two. You've been married what, 23 years? You can't let that get thrown away."
"I don't want to lose your mom, but what about the store?" Lester wondered.
"Find someone to run it for a year while you are gone." Austin said.
"It's not that simple. This is a small business so there is no infrastructure for it to run itself. It has to be managed every day, down to the smallest detail. That doesn't just happen." Lester argued.
"But couldn't you show someone what to do for a while?" Ally asked.
"The tricky thing about small businesses is that they are the dream of their owners. No one else will care about this one little store the way I do and they won't put in the same effort to keep it running. Business is good right now and it would be the worst time to walk away. I may as well just close the doors now if you expect me to do that. Then what would all of your mother's and my time have been for all these years? No. I can't leave."
"But dad," Ally said.
"I'm sorry Ally. I know you two mean well and you had a nice idea, but it just doesn't work in real life. When you get older you will understand better." Lester said. "Hopefully your mom will talk to me soon and we can keep on good terms but that's between us. You two aren't responsible for our relationship."
"Will you at least think about it?" Ally asked, deflated.
"I love you sweetie." Lester got up and kissed her forehead. "I need to go home now and talk things through with Penny. Goodnight."
"Goodnight." Austin said, disappointed.
"Wait, dad, could you drop me home on your way?" Ally asked. She sounded young and afraid.
"Of course. Let's go." Lester agreed. He offered his arm and Ally clung to it like a shriveled leaf.
Austin followed them to the door and handed Ally her things, leaving a kiss on her cheek. She managed a goodbye and they walked out. Her change in attitude and stature worried Austin. She was so strong and confident most of the time, that seeing her hurting and shocked like this was disorienting. He determined to see her the next day. They had a final to study for and he hoped he could get her mind off of her parents troubles for at least a little while.
. . .
Austin showed up the next morning like he usually did when they had classes on Monday. He hoped that sticking to their regular routine would help Ally. Grace answered the door and let him in then went in search of her roommate. Austin sat down on the couch and pulled out his book and notes, preparing to study. He could hear the girls talking quietly in the hallway and a moment later Ally appeared, clad in pajama pants and a large sweatshirt of his he'd left here once. Her hair was pulled back into a braid and he could see the glint of a familiar gold chain around her neck but the necklace was hidden underneath her clothes.
"Good morning sleepy head." he said. "I thought we could study for the finals so we can kick some serious test butt."
"Test's don't have butts." Ally said and her face broke into a smile as her hand slid along the back of the couch and she made her way to sit beside him.
"Well, if they did, we would totally kick them. Not that you need to study or anything because I know you know all this stuff already. So help me out. I don't test well." Austin insisted.
"You know it as well as I do." Ally said.
"I've studied more here in college than I probably did in all of high school, but what can I say? I like my study partner." Austin leaned over and kissed her cheek.
Ally blushed. "I like having someone to study with too."
"So I was thinking we study this week during our usual class times and maybe some of the other days we could relax and work on some music. I have a song I want to run by you and get a little help with." Austin said.
"That's a good plan. You're starting to sound like me." Ally noted.
"Well, you were bound to rub off on me eventually." He conceded. "But let's hurry and study so we can reward ourselves with making out later."
Ally laughed. She'd been worrying about her parents all night and morning and Austin was able to break through that and make her happy again.
. . .
That Friday after studying for two hours Ally flopped back on the couch and let out a breath.
"I can't fit anything else into my brain. It's full and it hurts." she complained.
"Aww, poor Ally." Austin teased, but he reached out squeezed her shoulder, causing her to groan. "Sit up." he told her. She did as he said and he turned her away from him so he could massage her shoulders.
Ally's head slumped forward. "That feels soooo good." she murmured as his large hands kneaded at the knots of her tense muscles. Between preparing for finals and dealing with a few separate phone calls from her parents over the last week she was exhausted and stressed to the breaking point.
Austin's hands roamed her back and her upper arms, easing out the tension. He pulled out the elastic holding her hair up in a messy bun and ran his fingers through her hair, gently untangling knots and occasionally sliding his hands up to massage her scalp.
Ally finally slumped back against him, her head resting against his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her waist and gently kissed her neck.
"I'm turning into a pile of goo. Forget music: I should pay you to just do this all day." She said.
"You wouldn't have to pay me, I'd do it anyway." he said and his lips kissed along her neck some more.
"That feels too good. You should stop." she said without conviction.
Austin grinned and placed one last kiss underneath Ally's ear, making her shiver.
"I wrote another song. Do you have any idea how much you inspire me?" he asked.
Ally shook her head lazily.
"Do you want to hear it?" Austin asked.
"Yes."
Austin moved behind her and she shifted on the couch to lean back against it instead of him. He got up and quickly retrieved the keyboard from her bedroom. He quickly swept away their books and notes and set the keyboard on the coffee table.
"Jimmy sent me another email about nailing down my third album once finals are over. If you like this I'll play it for Jimmy soon, so be honest." Austin said.
"I promise." Ally agreed.
Austin began playing some chords and sang to her.
.
Every day, day, day, I fall for you a little more, more, more.
And every night, night night, I dream of you so beatifu-u-ul.
Every time we laugh I see the sparks fly and every time you blush I feel those butterflies.
And baby how we feel will always be in style: forever and ever.
.
This love is never gonna fade, we are timeless, we are timeless.
My heart will never ever change, we are timeless, we are timeless.
And we're gonna last, our love will always feel this way: we are timeless, we are timeless. Yeah, we are timeless.
.
We can talk, talk, talk, for hours and there's more to say, eh, eh.
And don't you know, oh, oh, that you and me fit perfectly, eh, eh. yeah.
Cause every time when you smile you light the world up.
No matter what you do I can't get enough.
And baby how I feel will always be in style: forever and ever.
.
This love is never gonna fade, we are timeless, we are timeless.
My heart will never ever change, we are timeless, we are timeless.
And we're gonna last, our love will always feel this way: we are timeless
.
Like the stars are in the sky my love for you will always shine.
It's you and me eternally and there's no way to stop us.
Cause we're timeless. we're timeless.
.
This love is never gonna fade, we are timeless, we are timeless.
My heart will never ever change, we are timeless, we are timeless.
And we're gonna last, our love will always feel this way:
we are timeless, we are timeless.
.
Austin played the last chord and turned to look at Ally.
"So? What do you think?" he asked.
"You wrote a love song." Ally said.
"Only for you, baby."
"I love it. You have to put it on the next record."
"I will." Austin promised. "I'll show it to Jimmy after our finals next week."
The front door slammed open and Grace walked in, muttering under her breath.
"Stupid, idiotic, can't believe he thought . . . Gah! So stupid!" Grace ranted
"Grace?" Ally spoke up on concern.
The roommate deflated visibly and Austin realized he'd never seen her angry like this before.
"Oh, you're home, sorry Ally." Grace said. She reached for the door and shut it again.
"Austin and I were studying. What's going on? Are you okay?" Ally asked.
"No, I'm not okay. I'm sick of stupid sighted guys and their stupid, stupid ways." Grace said.
"What happened?" Ally asked. Austin stayed quiet beside her.
Grace stalked into the room, angrily slapping her cane side to side although she knew the room like the back of her hand. "I'll tell you what happened. Garrett and his slutty magazines happened! Just because I can't see doesn't mean I don't know what playboy is! I mean seriously? It's like cheating. Oh, and then it's my fault he has them because I'm not some skank who sleeps around!" she ranted.
"I'm so sorry Grace." Ally said.
"You know what? I don't need him anyway." Grace felt her way into the kitchen and pulled down a glass from the cupboard. She grabbed a jug of apple juice from the fridge and set it on the counter as well. "He can have his stupid women in those magazines because you know what? I have more self respect than that. I can do better than a guy like him and if he doesn't know the difference between me and them that's his problem. Gah! I'm so sick of men!" Grace ripped the top off the apple juice and poured it, keeping one finger on the edge of the glass to feel when it was full. She took a long drink from the glass and set it on the counter hard, causing its contents to slop over the side.
"There are times I wish that I drank alcohol, you know that? And this is one of those times." Grace admitted in a low voice. Her shoulders began to shake and her rage dissolved into tears.
Ally heard it and was on her feet instantly. She went into the kitchen and felt her way around the counter to Grace's side. She found her friend and pulled her into a hug, letting Grace cry into her shoulder.
While the girls were busy Austin quietly returned the keyboard to Ally's room and then picked up all of their study materials. He stuffed his notebook into his backpack and left Ally's things in a neat pile on the coffee table.
He glanced at the girls still hugging in the kitchen and cleared his throat.
"I'm going to go. Sorry Grace. I'll talk to you later Ally." he said quietly and let himself out the door.
. . .
Austin led Ally out of the testing center a week later on June 4th. They had just completed their second final and both agreed that they felt good about it. Ally's phone buzzed and she answered it.
"Hi sweetheart." Penny said.
"Hi mom." Ally responded. She let go of Austin's arm and he took a few steps away to give her privacy, checking his phone for emails and messages while he waited.
"Are you all done with your finals yet?" Penny asked.
"Just finished the last one." Ally confirmed.
"Oh good. I was wondering if I could meet you for lunch today?" Penny asked.
"Um, sure. I'm with Austin now. Where do you want to go?" Ally asked.
"I'll pick you up at your apartment in 20 minutes okay?" Penny offered.
"Okay mom." Ally agreed and hung up. "Austin?"
"Right here." He slipped his phone back in his pocket and reached for her hand. "What's up?"
"Mom wants to take me to lunch. Can you walk me back to my place?"
"Sure. But when are we going to go out and celebrate being done with school for the summer? Dez wanted to get together tonight." Austin said.
"We have all weekend to celebrate. Why don't you go do something with Dez and call me tomorrow?" Ally suggested.
"Okay. But I'd rather have you there too." Austin pouted.
Ally leaned into him and squeezed his hand. "I'll miss you too. Just go have fun." she urged.
"Fine."
Austin dropped her at her door with a few goodbye kisses. Ally put her laptop away and grabbed her purse by the door when there was a knock.
"Who is it?" She asked at the door.
"It's mom." Penny answered and Ally opened the door.
"So where are we headed?" Ally asked as her mom led her down the hallway.
"There's a cute little sandwich shop not far away that I've been wanting to check out so I thought we could go there." Penny said. "How did your finals go?"
They chatted about Ally's classes and her plans for the summer. She had some concerts coming up starting in two weeks and she and Austin would be working on music together. Soon they were settled at a little table with their lunches in front of them and their conversation came to a natural halt.
"There's something I need to tell you." Penny admitted.
Ally swallowed a bite of sandwich. "Okay. What is it?"
"Your father and I are separating, officially. We will get divorced when I come back from Africa next year." Penny said.
"Oh." Ally said quietly. She had dreaded this moment and prayed that it wouldn't ever come. She wanted to wake up and have her parents be fine and work out their problems but clearly that had not happened.
"I know this won't be an easy adjustment, but I really do think it's for the best. Your father and I have talked everything through and we are okay with our decision. I need this trip and your dad has the store so he will be fine." Penny explained.
"Okay mom." Ally said. She had no words. What could she say anyway? They'd decided and apparently that was that. Forget the giant gaping hole in Ally's heart.
"If you have questions or want to talk about any of this you can call me any time okay? I know it will take some getting used to. But I don't think it will be so bad since you are already out of the house and living your own life anyway." Penny said. She kept talking but Ally didn't hear all of it. She was going numb inside.
She ate the rest of her lunch mechanically and managed to keep up some semblance of a conversation with her mom. Luckily Penny quickly moved on to talking about the reserve where she would be working and studying for the next year. Just when Ally was ready to gather up her garbage to throw away and get out of there her mother paused.
"Oh, honey, your necklace is tucked into your shirt. Let me fix that." Penny leaned forward and Ally felt cool fingertips on the side of her neck, pulling at the long golden chain.
Ally slapped a hand to her chest, preventing the necklace from rising higher. "No! It's okay mom." She said quickly.
"But it's your favorite, isn't it?" Penny sounded confused.
"Yes it is. I just don't know if it matches every outfit even though I wear it every day. Sometimes I just leave it tucked in so I know it's there no matter what." Ally explained, hoping her mom would buy the story. She couldn't imagine telling her mom that she was engaged just a half hour after finding out that her parents were going to be divorced.
"Well, gold goes with everything so you should be fine. But whatever you want." Penny said and left it at that. "Let me get rid of all this and I'll take you home."
Ally bid her mom goodbye at her door and immediately retreated to her bedroom. That was where she let herself finally break down and cry like she'd been wanting to for the last hour. She felt as though her foundation had been ripped from underneath her.
Her fingers ran over the Braille pendant on her necklace and found the engagement ring Austin had given her also. She didn't remember pulling it from her shirt, but was certain she had made it home before she did. Then her nervous habit took over and her fingers sought the familiar weight of the golden bar. Fresh tears streaked her face. How could she consider being happy about being engaged when her parent's marriage was falling apart in front of her?
Clearly marriage didn't mean what she always thought it did. Before now she had thought that marriage meant staying together through good and bad, working through problems together, not running away and getting divorced. Once she had let herself consider marriage and a long term relationship with Austin she had never once considered that it would end. Divorce simply hadn't entered her mind because to her it had never been an option. But now. . .
Ally had always loved love. Chick flicks and love stories, poetry, all of it had set her heart a flutter and kept her dreaming. Of course she knew that not all marriages and relationships lasted: she'd read sad books as well, but nothing had come this close to home for her. She thought of her fairytale romance with Austin and wondered if it was just that – a fantasy that wasn't strong enough to stand the test of time.
She knew that she would be miserable without Austin. Any time they had been apart or broken up was awful for them both. But she began to wonder if she was kidding herself and holding onto a childish dream. Very rarely did she hear of mature couples who had been together for years acting young and in love. They always grow out of the 'honeymoon phase' and aren't nearly as attached as teenagers and young people are. If Romeo and Juliet were ten years older their story most likely would have been very different. She wondered if she simply needed to grow up and face reality. But if that was the case, being a grown up didn't sound very appealing. Peter Pan may have been onto something after all.
. . .
A/N: K, sorry for the downer at the end of the chapter. On a lighter note: the honeymoon phase doesn't have to end if you don't let it. I firmly believe your relationship can be what you want it to be if you put in a little bit of effort. 11 years later and my husband and I still walk around holding hands everywhere we go. And yes, we've been caught slow dancing to a song we like in the cereal aisle at the grocery store more than once. We decide to be grateful for each other every day.