LAST CHAPTER! *tearface*
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the characters I made up and the plot!
"Ally! Come on we're already late!"
I glanced around my room one last time and looking in the mirror to fix my cropped leggings and Pink brand loose tank before slipping on my flip flops and scooping up my phone and purse. I shut off my light and ceiling fan before closing my door behind me. As I turned the corner to head towards the steps I ran directly into something moving fast, or should I say someone.
"Als come-Oh, there you are!" His arms went around me to stop me from falling.
"Calm down, we are still going to beat everyone down since you insisted being first" I playfully shoved him.
He smirked and leaned down for a kiss but I ducked away and ran down the stairs and out the front door, only to stop at the car waiting for Austin.
"Ahhlllyyy!" I heard coming from the house. "I want a kiss!" He approached me slowly, arms open.
"Cry about it, we're late!" I mocked him and jumped into the passenger seat.
He sulked his way into the drivers seat and started the car as slowly as possible. I was starting to lose my patience and boosted myself on the center console and leaned over to plant a quick peck on the corner of his mouth. He quickly reacted and turned his face while placing his hands on my cheeks, keeping my lips on his. The kiss deepened and I felt my ribs being smushed against the center console as I tried to get closer.
Finally out of breath we both pulled back and started to pant slightly.
"NOW I'm ready" Austin cheered and put the car in reverse as I buckled back up and let out a sigh. He never failed to surprise me.
I switched through the radio stations for the 100th time this road trip wondering when we would get there. Giving up and settling on one I brought my legs up and leaned on the window. Maybe a nap wouldn't hurt.
"Als, don't go falling asleep now because then you won't sleep later and we both knows what happens then and I cant deal with cranky Ally right now." Austin's voice quickly filled my ears and I let out a moan.
"Are we there yet?" I let the cliche fall off my lips as Austin let a stale laugh leave his.
"10 minutes calm down."
"No, I want to be at senior week with my best friends and my favorite guy in the whole world!"
"Buttering me up won't get you there any sooner" He disclosed.
"It was worth a shot" I shrugged and went back to flipping through channels.
"Please just pick a station" He snapped and my hand quickly retracted and I sunk in my seat.
He let out a long sigh and I noticed we had exited the highway and were now sitting at a red light. A light that was only a few minutes away from the house, to be exact. I turned my attention to Austin as he rubbed his hands down his face before reconnecting his eyes to the road. He looked awfully tired lately and I was starting to worry. I decided to try not to annoy him right now, especially so that I don't bug him so much that he shuts down. His mom's birthday was coming up and I just pinned it to that and keeping a close eye on him was most likely all I could do for him right now.
I was pulled out of my thoughts as I heard his door slam shut and finally realized we were now in the driveway. I glanced around before squealing and jumping out of the car. I ran up to the side door and fumbled with the keys before realizing the door was open. I stopped in my tracks and immediately looked to Austin with wide eyes.
"What is it? What's wrong?" He asked, halting his unloading of the car and walking over to me.
"It's open" I breathed out. "Do you think-"
"Als? Seriously? It's probably just one of the girls, they probably beat us down because you took forever to get ready this morning" He joked and went back to the car to grabbed the bags.
"Then wheres their car?" I shot back at him.
"It's probably Sydney and she probably parked in the garage" He hauled my bags back over and brushed past me, but not before mumbling a 'you're ridiculous'.
"Well someone is a little sassy today" Someone laughed from the kitchen.
Austin was right and I followed his path only to find Sydney and Tony sitting in the kitchen laughing.
"What's up his butt?" Tony asked between chuckles. I just shrugged. "He ran up those steps like a bat out of hell."
"Because he had to carry two huge bags of bricks, along with a suitcase of rocks... and that was just hers!" Austin exclaimed as he walked by and back out to the car, I tried to send a playfully glare but he was already gone.
"Geez Ally, why wouldn't you just pack clothes?" Tony joked before walking over to give me a quick hug and continuing past me and out the same door Austin disappeared behind.
"I didn't even ask him to take them up, so he has no right to complain" I huffed, walking over to the island where Sydney was eating some strawberries with a knowing look on her face.
"He's probably just cranky, looked like lack of sleep to me"
I nodded, popping one in my mouth before swallowing hard. "I think it's because his moms birthday is coming up. I'm worried but I don't want to press him because he will just shut down again"
"Well, I would just let it play out and cross that bridge when it comes." She offered and I nodded again in agreement.
We started small talk as I heard Austin storm through the house and back up the stairs. Tony was close behind him and instead of following Austin he turned into the kitchen and sat in the stool next to me.
"He is seriously in a bad mood. I don't think I've ever seen him so irritable. Geez Al, what did you do to him?" He cracked a smile but Sydney smacked his arm. "Sorry" He raised his hands and I got up to find Austin.
I walked up the stairs and went into our room to find Austin unpacking his bags and placing things in the dresser. I walked slowly over to the bed and sat down.
"Do you need hangers?" I asked in the nicest voice possible.
"Nope"
"Do you need any help?"
"Nope"
"Did I do something wrong?"
"Nope"
"Are you okay?" I knew this would get him and cracked a smirk.
"Nope"
My smile dropped and I watched as his movements slowed to a hault. I got up and approached him, taking his arm and turning him around. Instead, he pulled his arm from my hand and walked to get more clothes out of his bag.
"Listen. I just need to be alone, ok?" He snapped and I felt myself trembling out of the room.
I walked down the stairs and back into the kitchen where I found two more people had joined.
Tori turned around and as soon as we met eyes she squealed and brought me into a tight hug. Everyone else laughed at her dramatics and my pain.
"Tor...can't...breathe" I struggled out and she released me.
"Sorry, I'm just so happy. Where's Austin? He gets a extra big hug for convincing Scott to leave earlier than 12 o'clock." She looked around.
"He is upstairs...unpacking" I sighed and took a seat next to Tony again.
Scott gave me a hug around the shoulders before walking out of the room and heading upstairs. I would have called after him but hell, he has lived with Austin for the past few months he's probably used to his moods.
"What's wrong?" Tori asked, standing next to Syd.
I shrugged. "He was being really short with his answers then snapped and asked to be alone, so I left him alone."
"Al-" Sydney started.
But, Tori cut her off. "No! He doesn't get to be pouty pants, this is senior week. The one and only week where being underage isn't frowned upon!"
A small smile grew on my lips, caused by her excitement. "I know Tori, but he is upset over something and well, he probably has a good reason so I'm just going to give Scott a shot at making him feel better because all I'm going to do is get yelled at." I explained and walked out.
I walked up the stairs again, needing to unpack before lunch. Sydney planned a huge welcome lunch in the backyard, well her dad did. He had it catered and her mom came earlier to set up and everything. It is casual-formal attire, which translates to sundresses and khakis. We had also invited some of our mutual friends that were in the area for senior week, it was about ten more people but Sydney said only half will probably come.
I knocked on the door as it was closed and instead of someone telling me to go away the door opened. Scott appeared and gave me a sad look and shrug before walking away. I was afraid to go in but thankful because there was no yelling.
I walked in and shut the door behind me. I went over and moved my bags into the closet to start unpacking. I saw no sign of Austin although the bathroom was shut, telling me he was currently occupying it. I started taking my clothes out of my suitcase, they were already on hangers, so I could easily unpack quickly. I hoped that I would be fast enough to get out before he came back out as I wanted to respect his request.
I moved onto my shoes and placed them on the racks of the built-in shelving unit. After finally moving my undergarments and other clothes to the drawers I searched for something to wear for lunch. Finally narrowing it down to a black maxi dress and a floral and lace sun dress I held them both up and took a few seconds to decide.
"Color coding your closet already?"
I turned to see Austin leaning against the doorframe with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Um, no I was going to wait till later" I cracked a nervous smile "But, um yeah we have that welcome lunch and I thought I would unpack my bricks and rocks before getting ready for it, since I take a forever..ya know?" I looked down, hurt by his words from earlier as I they left my lips.
He let out a long breath and I almost thought he was going to just stay silent but then I heard his weight shift. I continued to search my bags, with my back to him, looking for some kind of jewelry or accessories to wear.
"You know I didn't mean that, right?" I just shrugged, wanting a better apology then that. "Well I didn't" I nodded my head, keeping my back to him. "Seriously? I don't have the patience for this right now."
My head whipped around but I only caught a glimpse of him walking away. I felt anger rush through me as I bolted up and stopped him at the door.
"That's it!" I yelled, causing him to forget the door he was about to open and turn to me. "Run away, like usual. Just keep running away from me, from your problems. You are being a coward." I hoped this would break down a wall that had been up for too long.
His face hardened and I took a subconscious step back. He tilted his head and looked at me for a long second before taking a step forward. I swallowed the lump in my throat, threatening to back down. But, then I caught myself and straightened out. I stood taller and stopped backing away.
"What?" I asked with force and power.
"I was just trying to remember when you lost both your parents, when your aunt abandoned you leaving you with NO ONE. I can't seem to remember when you had to scavenge for food because she left you home alone with nothing for days. When she would constantly berate you and tell you were worthless and the reason your own father left, only to come back and commit suicide. I believe that this all just seemed to slip my mind, so please enlighten me" He glared at me and I felt my heart drop.
I sat there in a paralyzed state, not able to move or speak. Finally I found my voice after long seconds passed. "I never knew" I whispered.
"What? Never knew what?" He spat out.
"I never knew she did that to you. Why….why didn't you tell me?"
He scoffed. "Don't you do that. Don't you dare feel bad for me or treat me different. That is the exact reason I did not tell you. Because you always make me feel like a charity case. Stop feeling sorry for me and for once just treat me like a normal guy. A guy who didn't lose both parents and was orphaned just before age 18. Just stop." He blew up, out of breath by the end.
"Austin-" I reached for him but he jumped back.
"No, please don't touch me. I..I just need to..to be alone. I'm gonna go down to the other house for a bit" He looked around and found his backpack.
"Austin" I cried out before he opened the door. "Please, be careful" I pleaded.
"I will" His voice softened, remembering it was me he was talking to.
"I love you" I offered, hoping maybe it would make him stay.
He nodded. "I know" in that instance my heart shattered, he always returned my love. Before I could bust into tears I heard him take in some air and open the door. "I love you too, always, I just need some space right now to clear my head. It's been rough lately, ok?"
I nodded, knowing he couldn't see me in my broken state. I guessed that he sensed my nod and decided it was now or never because with that he walked out and shut the door behind him.
All I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and wait for him to return but I knew that wouldn't look too good, so I picked myself up and walked into the bathroom to fix my makeup and hair, like the strong, independent, young woman I was.
I switched my outfit to the black maxi-dress with a red belt, I paired it with a light wash jean jacket and my necklace from Austin which also held my promise ring. As long as we still had that promise everything was going to be fine, at least that's what I kept telling myself.
I walked down stairs and saw that the girls were now changed too. Tori had on a high-low skirt with a simple v-neck and Sydney was in a maxi skirt and tight cropped top that didn't quite meet and showed some skin.
"Hey Als, where did Austin go?"
"Um..he said he needed some space..to think, so we decided that he would go and stay at the other house for a few hours. He just wasn't up for entertaining and interacting with all those people." I semi-lied, trying to make it sound ok when I knew it wasn't.
"Oh, ok" They shared a look and then looked back at me. "Lets go, they are going to start arriving soon!"
I walked into the kitchen for the most likely the 100th time during the party, checking my phone to see if Austin texted me. He didn't. I was starting to worry as the party was coming to an end and we were supposed to all hang out and watch movies tonight, Austin's favorite thing to do. I didn't want Austin to feel like this, I wanted him to be happy.
I was at the fridge getting a water when I heard my phone buzz on the counter. Practically running over I picked it up and saw it was a text...from Austin.
Austin: Meet me outside?
I didn't respond, instead I dropped my phone on the counter and rushed out the front door to see him standing at the end of the driveway. I slowed my walk, obviously to look calm when inside I was falling apart from the look on his face.
"Hey" I offered when I finally got a foot away from him.
"Hi" He looked up for a second and I saw the tears in his eyes.
"Austin?" I asked, feeling everything in my stomach bubbling up and a lump forming in my throat.
"You know I love you right?" I nodded, suddenly losing the ability to speak. "I love you more than anyone on this planet, but right now I'm not in the place to give you my unconditional love. I am so screwed up Als, I've been pretending to be ok for too long and with college right around the corner I think I need to fix whatever's wrong..so I can give it to you because that's what you deserve." He paused, taking a deep breath and I knew what was next, I couldn't let him say the words.
"Austin..please" I choked out, tears streaming down my face. "We can work through this together, you need support through this. You can't do it alone."
He shook his head and our eyes met, allowing me to see the pain in his eyes. "I'm not, I'm leaving to go to Colorado. Where my family's at, I need to be around them. I need to be around people who remind me of the happy days with my parents. Here, it's all sad ones."
I cut in. "And I remind you of that." I stated instead of asking, my heart slowing being ripped out with every word.
"No!" He jumped. "I love you Ally, nothing can change that. But I can't stay in this area anymore, I need a break from all the memories."
"So this is it. The end of the road." I said, almost to myself. He took a step forward to comfort me but then quickly retracted knowing it wasn't the best idea. I reached up and took off my necklace almost subconsciously, hoping to let this be fast and painful even though the speed would not save me from the pain.
He reached up and stopped my hands from handing over the necklace, pushing it back. " Keep it. I don't want anyone else Als, I'm not going there to find someone new. I have you and I hope when I'm done healing I still will. I'm not breaking up with you...unless that's what you want." He said, worriedly.
"I don't. I love you Austin and I will be here for you but I just think we would take a break while you're gone. I can't do the long distance, not anymore, not all the way in colorado." I shook my head and our eyes met again.
This time his face dropped, seeing the tears slid down my face bringing the dark makeup with them. The black tears fell down my face at a record breaking rate as standing in front of me was the man I loved with everything I had, the one person I would do anything for. I could see how broken he was and I knew he needed this, I just wish I could be there for him.
"I leave tonight" He finally said.
I lost all self control at that point and flew into his arms, it took a second but he wrapped his arms around me as we cried together, me being more dramatic with the water works but his slowly falling nonetheless. He dug his face into the crook of my neck, burying his face in my hair, as I clinged to his chest, tears soaking through his shirt in a matter of seconds. I never wanted to let go and I could tell by his strong hold and death grip he felt the same.
After some time he pulled back from my hair and kissed the top of my head. "We are going to make it through this Als, I know we are."
"When are you coming back?" I sobbed into his chest.
"I'm not sure, sometime in August most likely. I'll need to pack for college and everything."
I nodded and felt my heart rate pick up as my legs gave out. I was falling for a fraction of a second before I felt Austin support me. In that moment I realized that was my heart checking to make sure he was still there to catch me when I was falling.
"I love you" He spoke softly into my ear.
"I love you too, forever"
"For always, I promise" He kissed my forehead and replaced my necklace before we untangled and he took a step back.
This is when I noticed his bags were next to him and I saw the cab pull up to the curb. This was it.
"What about your car?"
"Take care of her for me?" He asked, giving a small smile.
I nodded and cracked a sad one. He helped the driver with his bags before opening the door and lowering down into the car. I saw him tell the cab driver directions then sit back and wipe a tear from his eye. I followed the cab with my eyes as it pulled away slowly, walking to the end of the driveway. As it was a few yards from the stop sign I took off running and screaming after them.
I watched the taillights go on and hold as Austin's door opened and he got out. He gave me a look of confusion as I quickly approached. Not even halting, I ran into him and planted the most emotional, loving kiss we ever shared on his lips.
His hands met my cheeks, cupping my face and returning the kiss, as my hands fell on his chest and slowly moved up and around his neck.
The kiss lasted until we could no longer breath and 3 seconds after. We both pulled back, both sharing labored breathing, both slowly opening our eyes.
"I couldn't let you leave without something to remember me by" I whispered.
"I will never forget you Ally Dawson. I love you with all my heart, all my mind, all my being." He whispered back, looking directly into my eyes, searching them for something. He reached up and wiped away the tears before kissing my forehead. "Don't you dare forget about me" He winked and we parted again.
This time, I waved him off and watched until they turned left and were officially out my sight. Out of sight but never out of mind.
Austin was gone, College was in 2 months and I was stuck at senior week with 2 couples and a broken heart. Strike that, I was left with an empty place where my heart used to be. My heart was in a cab on their way to a plane leaving for Colorado.
I slowly made my way back to the house, holding my necklace in my hands, thinking about how far we had come but how much I felt like we had just taken 10 steps back. Sure we survived the school year but could we survive a summer miles away? I knew he was going to heal but he could find someone there who filled that void that I used to. I knew I would never find someone here who could do that, no one could make me the way Austin made me feel...ever.
I thought we had survived the After Blast of the summer, but now that summer was here again and Austin wasn't I wasn't sure if we had actually survived or we were just running away from reality. Well, reality had hit and hit hard.
I knew one thing, I needed Austin in my life. I needed him to thrive in life, he made me a better person, he made me want to be a better person. I can't believe I just watched him slip through my fingertips like that.
I had him, I had everything when I arrived this morning and now I had nothing. It's amazing how quickly your world can come crumbling down around you, how one person can become so important to your everyday life. How much they become a part of you and when they leave so does that part and all you feel is emptiness.
Was this the end of the road for us? Only time could tell.
Only the strong survive, and Austin and I were strong. Our relationship was strong, but that was when we only had 32 miles between us. Our relationship with 1,694 miles between us? Well that was something we would have to wait and see. I had faith but my faith was running thin lately and the look on his face was a permanent reminder of that, imprinted in my brain. I still had that promise around my neck, Forever and For Always.
AHHH! Please don't kill me, I know such a bittersweet ending! But, hey! Whats a good story without a cliff hanger ending? So Austin is moving out to Colorado for the summer and left a broken Ally behind! But, I would also like to make sure you know that it wasn't easy for Austin either. He needed to do this to heal, so please I ask that you don't hate him.
So in other news am I hearing TRILOGY? Let me know if you guys want me to continue this series, I would love to write another but if you guys aren't feeling it then I will put my time and energy into something else. I am currently also writing I know you care, my newest story, and I love having two stories going so if this is the end of the road for this story then maybe I can start another. BUT I WANT TO DO ANOTHER, so let me know if you guys would read it.
Here's to another story on the shelf, XOXOX