Chapter 24: How He Turned Up.

Another week had passed and Ally hadn't heard from Austin, not since their connection broke. She hadn't cried, nor had she slept. She rarely ate, and conversation wasn't something she was willing to participate in. Dez had been watching her from afar, and she had overheard him talking to Austin on the phone, but it's was nothing important. Nothing about me.

She was currently sat in the common room with Jaime. She had actually become good company, as she didn't like talking much. Even though the things Jaime had said to her hadn't been nice, it was just the hard honest truth, and Ally truly believed that.

She was wearing a grey oversized jumper and a pair of black yoga pants. She had stuck to this dress code for a week and she didn't want it to change. Who was I trying to impress anyway?

As Ally hadn't said a word in a week she had become a strong observer. She had noticed that Jaime had some kind of hold over Dallas, even though Gregory made her laugh, there was something about Dallas that touched her, maybe it was the fact that he didn't put up with her shit, or maybe it was because he knew a lot about her, but there was definitely something between them.

Her mom had tried to talk to her, but she really didn't feel like talking. Pouring her heart out to her mom wasn't something she wanted to do. She just felt so depressed, and down. It was the same when her dad had died.

Jaime shifted from next to her, and Ally could sense she was uncomfortable. Something was making her on edge. The phone on the table nearby went off, and Dez appeared, picking it up. He glanced at Jaime, then he exited the room. Ally wanted to ask what that was about, but she didn't have the energy to talk.

Jaime grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch, and placed it over her body. There was something in her eyes today that was different. She looked nervous…scared?

"Stop looking at me like that," She grumbled. "I hate it."

Ally looked away from her, then stared at the television.

…

Dez walked into his office, and sat down at his desk. It was quite today, no one seemed to be lively, they all seemed down and depressed, especially Ally. He stared at the file on his desk, then glanced at the open door.

Something wasn't right. Someone had come to collect Jaime yesterday, but it wasn't who they expected it to be, which means they know she's here. Dez needed to remove her safely from this house to another, but it was going to be hard to do that without being seen.

He opened up Jaime's file, and flicked through the documents inside. He heard the gentle sound of footsteps, and he looked at the door, then watched Ally drag her exhausted body down the hall. Her face was blank, her eyes were tired, and she was getting skinny and frail from her lack of food. This is getting ridiculous.

He roughly picked up his cellphone, and dialed. He tapped his fingers against the wood of his desk, waiting for him to pick up.

"Dez?"

"You're a dick, you know that!" He snapped.

"What the fuck?" Austin grunted back, and Dez grumbled.

"Do you not care about her?"

"Excuse me!" Austin hissed.

"She hasn't slept, she hasn't eaten, and I'm not being mean towards Ally, because she is a beautiful woman, but she looks and feels like shit!"

"Dez-"

"The therapist here has been watching her…she says Ally's showing signs of depression, and do you want to know why?"

"I-"

"It's because she feels like you've just dumped her here, as if she's baggage you don't want to carry anymore. She's not alright, she's far from it. You need to decide what's more important, your job or Ally!"

…

"Tell me how you feel," Ally stared at the therapist, blankly. "I know you're in a difficult situation, but-"

"Don't think for a second that you understand my situation," Ally spoke up, her throat was dry, making her voice rough.

"Try me," The woman retorted.

"I'm not getting pulled into your psychological bullshit," Ally said.

"You're depressed-"

"Don't make assumptions about me," Ally crossed her legs and buried her hands into her lap.

"Your body language gives me all the answers I need. But, I'm glad you're talking to me, it's the first time you've talked in a week," She explained.

"I'm leaving," Ally got up from the chair, and stormed out of the room. She stormed down the corridor, then entered the common room. She froze instantly.

Jaime was rocking backwards and forwards in a ball behind the couch. Her hands were over her ears, and her eyes were shut tightly. Ally looked around, and saw no one around, so she cautiously stepped closer.

"Jaime," She croaked, but Jaime began to mutter things to herself. "What's wrong?"

"D-Don't h-hurt him," She stammered, keeping her eyes firmly shut.

"Hurt who?" Ally asked.

"D-Don't h-hurt my d-dad," She hummed a tune to herself, and Ally crouched down in front of her.

"Jaime-"

"DON'T HURT HIM!" She screeched at the top of her lungs, then her eyes flew open, and Dallas ran into the room. Jaime began to thrash about, and Dallas picked her up off the floor. She wiggled in his hold, and screamed loudly. Ally watched the scene unfold, and wondered what was wrong with her. She was fine this morning.

"Ally," Dez walked into the room, and he nodded behind him. "Can I talk to you in my office."

Ally got to her feet, and followed him to his office. It was nothing grand like Austin's, it was rather dull, which made her feel more depressed. It was weird how it happened like that, depression, she could go from thinking about happy memories, to thinking about the bad, and hating herself for everything wrong she'd done in her life. It was like a shadow creeping up on her whenever there was light.

She took a seat, and Dez moved some files and put them in the cabinet. Ally guessed those files were not for her to see.

"I wanted to have a chat," He said. "You're not well."

"I'm not sick."

"I'm talking about mentally," He replied, and intertwined his fingers together, then rested them on his desk. "When did you last sleep?"

"I don't know," She muttered, sinking back into the chair.

"You look exhausted-"

"I know…" She stared blankly at the wall behind him, and he sighed, then opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off. "You have no idea what it's like, feeling this way. Happiness was never a common thing in my life, not until Austin came into my life. He thinks I'm stupid," She laughed. "I know he paid off all the money I owed to people, and he did it so secretly, because he knew I'd get annoyed if I found out, but I let that slide…it's things like that which I miss, how well he can read me, but what do I have now. I can't sleep…I need him to sleep, I hate waking up to an empty bed, and an empty room. I know I have my mom, and I should be grateful, but I've depended on Austin for so long, that he is all I need, because I love him, and nothing's going to change that. I understand that he's busy, I really do understand that, but I wish I could be selfish, and have him here right now. I wish he'd just forget about his work and come and see me, because I would do the same for him. I feel like he no longer loves me the way I do! Distance does not make the heart grow fonder! It makes it weaker! More vulnerable! More useless! I'm an emotional wreck! I'm depressed! I'm hungry, and exhausted, but I don't want to solve any of my problems…I just need him here, but he's not, and it's hard to face the fact that he doesn't miss me as much as I miss him…"

"Why would you think that?" Ally's eyes widened, and she slowly turned her head to stare at the open door.

"Austin."

AN: Hi! Just a quick chapter for you, this is kind of a filler one, because I needed this to get onto the next. I will try to make the next one longer, just for you guys. In the next chapter Austin and Ally will have a heart to heart, and someone will be paying a visit to the safe house :) Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, they all made me smile. So, please review this one :)

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